Dealing with Hunting Dog Injuries

Cuts are common in hunting dogs. Briars, barbed-wire, broken glass, or even sharp broken saplings can slice a dog’s skin as it hunts. Appropriate field care of wounds can decrease healing time and make the vet’s job much easier. Remember the watchwords: flush, fill and wrap.

Flushing

Fresh cuts might look pretty clean to the onlooker but most times, tiny bits of debris and definitely microscopic bacteria are there in even the freshest lacerations. A strong flow of a suitable liquid can knock out the tiny foreign objects in the wound and physically get rid of heaps of the early germs that are around.

A plastic squeeze bottle or, even better, a brand new spray bottle ought to be in every hunter's ute for cleaning out wounds. Your vet can tell you the best fluid to use, but distilled water or sterile saline solution are good to go. Don't be shy with the cleaning. The stream won't cause any damage so whack the spray bottle on the “stream” setting and give the wound a good drenching. Pat the area dry with a clean surgical sponge after you've given it a good flush.

Filling

After the initial clean with the flush, wounds can be protected by filling them with a harmless gel. K-Y Jelly®, EMT Gel®, or Collasate™ are top choices. These gels provide a physical barrier to hair and other contaminants on the way to the vet clinic and the EMT® and Collasate™ products might do more towards healing.

Your vet might suggest other creams or ointments. Topical antibiotics, like the ones in Neosporin® ointment, are common but I've always doubted the worth of antibiotics in a cream. Still, they don't do any harm.

The key is the physical presence of the gel or ointment helping prevent further contamination. In a pinch, petroleum jelly would work but is difficult to remove as the vet prepares to suture or treat the wound later.

Wrapping

Many wounds can't be bandaged or don't need a bandage. Cuts on the chest wall, back, snout, etc. aren't easily covered. Gashes on the legs, tail and ears can be bandaged. The trick is to avoid putting dry cotton bandage material straight onto the wound. Dry material sticks to the tiny cells that start healing within minutes of the injury and rip them from the wound edges when the bandage is taken off. Plus, the little micro-clots that form soon after a cut will also be disturbed when you take off the bandage and could lead to more bleeding.

Normal clotting time for healthy dogs is between two and three minutes. Those are laboratory values; dogs that have been running hard may take up to five minutes for bleeding to stop. That's a long time to sit and watch your dog drip blood in a field. Direct pressure from your hand or a snug bandage is the best way to stop bleeding. A small kit containing some bandages impregnated with petroleum jelly (Adaptic® non-adherent bandages) and a larger piece of absorbent cotton can work well to stop bleeding.

Place the Adaptic® sponge over the cotton and press it to the wound for five to eight minutes. Then, gently remove the material to check for bleeding. Serious arterial bleeding is a dangerous situation with an obvious spurting blood stream. These wounds should be immediately covered with the blood-stopping pressure bandage or held in place by hand while the dog is transported to professional care.

For non-bleeding wounds, a simple bandage should cover the cut after it's been filled with the protective gel. The aim is just to lessen further contamination. Snug is alright, but too tight bandages can cause serious problems.

Several tapes are available and good. Vetwrap® is popular and useful. It sticks only to itself, which makes for easy removal at the vet clinic. Good old standard adhesive tape in a 5-centimetre width is also useful. In a pinch, hardware duct tape will suffice for first aid use but it leaves a substantial residue of glue after a usually difficult removal process.

Again, the risk of getting any bandage too tight should be considered. As you place the tape over the wound all pulling should be done against your other hand. Don't pull the tape directly around the wounded area. Place two fingers against the tape near the roll and put the pressure on the fingers not the dog. Then, place the tape gently over the wound.

Cuts on the tip of the ear flap (called the “pinna”) are especially troublesome. As the normal clotting process proceeds, the dog tends to shake its head which breaks loose the tiny clots that have formed and the process starts all over again.

Wrapping the ear's the way to go, but it can be a bit tricky since the dog's likely to flick off the bandages in no time. Sticking the nicked ear tip to the top of the head should do the trick and help with the clotting.

But, be extremely careful if you decide to wrap the tape all the way around the dog's head and neck. The risk of blocking the dog's airway is significant. You should be able to slip two fingers easily under the bandage on the bottom of the neck if this type of wrapping is needed.

Don't waste precious time in the field re-bandaging ear tip nicks or other cuts over and over. Quick transport to the vet is the best course.

As always, a yarn with your vet is the best way to find out about field care for cuts.

Always check your local and state regulations related to dog training and the use of game birds on private and public property.