Doggy first aid kits

Doggy first aid kits?

My poor Barney decided charge at, end up underneath, and take a tumble under the legs of a cow on Xmas day whilst at my parents, and now he has a very badly split paw pad Here's hoping he learnt a valuable life lesson.

The poor boy, he is limping around feeling sorry for himself, he is the sensitive one of my two doggies! I will take him to the vet tomorrow if it doesn't look better in the morning. I cleaned it out with saline, put some antiseptic in and bandaged it up with some stretchy bandage and put a cone on him. I was lucky to find some stretchy bandage, I only had some because it was what I used to tape the splint to my finger after Barney broke my finger when I first got him (that's another story! lol)

It got me thinking though...what happened to Barney had the potential to be very serious.

Does anyone have a commercially bought dog first aid kit or one they made up themselves? Ex vet nurses, what are your suggestions so my clients are covered and also our own doggies if anything bad happens? What should we have available that wouldn't be in a standard human kit?

Took the Pettech first aid coarse. Here are some things I have in mine, I have to confess I don't have EVERYTHING that was recommended.

Sanitary napkin

vetwrap

saline

hydrogen peroxide

stomach relief (for gas)

gauze

string (for makeshift muzzle)

chemical ice pack petroliam jelly

baking soda (for neutralizing burns)

antibiotic

thermometer

adhesive tape

betadine solution

towel or blanket (for transportation)

That's all I can think of now!

Bless you Lorie! I've been meaning to make one up for some time now, but do have the basics always on hand. Planning to get it together asap.
Non-stick wound dressings are invaluable and there is also a gel you can get to apply which is antiseptic and helps avoid sticking too. Betadine is a must!
Poor Barney - a split paw is very painful....Louis has done that too - bled like a stuck pig but luckily my niece got here before me and took him to the vet. In my experience it had to be kept well bandaged and I had to confine him as he kept leaping around (standard poodle....) and opening it up. It took a long time to heal but now you wouldn't know it happened. Waterproof adhesive bandage over the dressing and vet wrap helped.
Afterthought - I would add some Illium Dermapred (antibiotic and anti fungal) and some broad spectrum ear drops.
This ain't gonna be cheap . It would be an excellent present for doggy friends....

PS Lorie - in my experience medication in the U.S. differs somewhat from ours. What is the "stomach relief" for gas? I would usually go to the vet as I am paranoid about bloat.

Poor Barney, paw pads are the worst to try to get to heal as they tend to reopen. Hopefully he feels better soon.

I have a combined (human/animal) one that lives in my car in a tool box. Has everything from a basic human first aid, Plus some stuff i added myself

Saline
gauze swabs
arm Sling
band aids
bandaging material (doubles as a muzzle if needed)
safety pins
Non stick dressings etc

I added
Neocourt lotion (hard to get unless you have to have it for your own dog at some stage)
Curash powder (good for clipper rash/skin irritations)
Betadine
First aid gel for burns and cuts (cooling action) For people not animals (not sure if toxic or not)
Stingose -For people not animals
Vetwrap
Panadol -For people not animals
large band aids
slip lead (for strays)
Foil blanket
elasteplast bandage

Being on the road, I find it helpful to have this on hand for me or an animal.

Awesome, Ill start adding to my human kit. I frequently use the human kit while working...I'm a clutz, and as you all know we are exposed to sharp things all day....I've already cut myself on the new Kenchiis...

Barney's foot is holding together well now. Fortunately he is keeping quiet, he is acting very depressed. Oh dear! I was worried, it was very open and I could see all the flesh before I got it banaged! Looks good now though

Fingers crossed it will stay together

Thanks GG...my kit will be all the better for your input . Also remembered a spray can of stuff for non open wounds like bites - human stuff but fine for dogs.
BB I could see Louis flesh too - just be glad he is being quiet - maybe he is a bit depressed because it hurts?

Thanks Carissa. Very good information to know. I'll make a list to add to my first aid in car..........

mutleymanor wrote:
BB I could see Louis flesh too - just be glad he is being quiet - maybe he is a bit depressed because it hurts?

I'm not sure, he is not an average dog....he might be getting over the shock. His apple cart is easily upset. He might be quite sore and tender all over, he has some big bruises on his chest aswell. He looked a little brighter this afternoon. He is lucky me and my partner are not working at the moment! He is being a big slug on the lounge all day watching the cricket with my other half

BTW, I found Vetwrap at a good price on Ebay.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/120810917104?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

I paid around $9 for one roll today at petbarn for Barney

Ooohh, I forgot that he had the cow encounter....having bruises on his chest is a different issue. He probably is sore and tender all over, poor baby. I'm worrying that he may have internal issues, but the fact that he is looking brighter is a good sign.
Thanks for the vet wrap tip - I buy it from Petedge when I do an order and it is so much cheaper but it only pays when you have other stuff to get. $9 is a rip off!
go Barney!!

Just googled petedge and their vet wrap 4 inch is $2.69 per roll.
Worth a look and the postage as it is light as, plus a good exchange rate.

Just a cool tip. The saline solution I got at the drug store is in a spray can! It's not a one shot deal. I use it on cotton for cleaning cat faces

Yeah I think he is ok, he is an emotional being...its hard to describe, but sometimes we think he has doggy bi-polar. If such a thing exists! When I first noticed his moods, I used to think he WAS sick, but nah he is just moody. He ignored us for 2 days after we left him at a kennel for 2 nights! (We have spent a small fortune on doggy psychologist visits for more serious behaviour for our spoilt darling Barney) I've also needed my own human psychologist visits to cope with him lol JK

He currently has non stick dressing, yellow $9 a roll vetwrap, then a soft doggy bootie over it, then taped on. Means we don't need the cone. He isn't too bad at pulling at it, and we're watching him most of the time Looks so funny

Vet wrap is available from here is Aus
http://www.adcsupplies.com.au/medical/2-inch-syrvet-flex-bandage-black

and if you have Hydrogen Peroxide in your kit make sure it is only 3% w/w which is normally only available from a Chemist...

A little off topic, but some good advice nonetheless

My dog/human first aid kit became invaluable today! I was at my parents for the weekend. A young L plater ran off the road into a tree at about 70km up the road. Very scary. She had some huge lacerations on her legs. You would never guess what the most handy item in that box was.....the VET WRAP. It held on the wound dressings easily and was super quick to put on. Meaning we could concentrate on keeping her calm until the Ambulance arrived. Seriously, it should be in EVERY first aid kit, rather than stuffing around with crepe or cloth bandages and those stupid bandage clip things. I wonder what the Docs thought when she arrived at Emergency with purple vet wrap around her legs? Hehe
On a serious note though, everyone should be first aid trained, have first aid kit in their car and home + Some VET WRAP!
This young girl and her family were very lucky, and Im happy I did what I could with that first aid kit and training

Well done B&B, I agree, you can never have enough vet wrap in any First Aid Kit.

Chris...