How to bandage an injured dog

By Jerry Welsh


All homes with pets must have an animal first aid kit. A first aid kit enables a dog owner to administer emergency care to the injured pet. Bandages are one of the essential contents of a pet's first aid kit. Dogs often find themselves in dangerous position that would cause minor and serious injuries thus a pet owner has to be competent in administering first aid to the pet.

Bandages are used for a variety of reasons. Dog owners find it difficult for stop injured dogs from doing their normal activities so that the injuries of the pet would worsen. Bandage will immobilize the wounded or the fractured body part. Bandage keeps the wound from getting dirty and because of the pressure exerted on the wound, swelling is controlled as well. Bandages are used to temporarily stabilize fractures before the injured pet is taken to a veterinary facility for splinting, casting or for surgical repair. An injured pet can gain these first aid benefits only if the bandage is correctly applied.

Correct bandage application has to be learned by every pet owner. A pet owner can easily apply the bandage but keeping the bandage on can be a problem given the dog's propensity to bite, to pull and chew. Naturally, the adhesive bandages used by humans would not do for the furry pet. Dogs would not know the benefits they can gain from this first aid treatment thus the bandage will be removed. Dogs would always try to remove the bandages thus the owner has to make sure that the securely applied.

Dirty wound must not be bandaged to prevent infection. It is necessary to thoroughly clean and disinfect the wound before the application of bandage. Dry the affected area and cover the wound with a double strip of gauze. The strip of gauze that covers the wound has to be wrapped with several layers of gauze and secured with medical tape. Dogs would always try to remove the bandage so to hold it in place, the bandage must be secured to the fur with adhesive tape.

Severe bleeding of wound can be controlled with bandaging. By wrapping the wound with layers of gauze, pressure that stems the bleeding is applied. However, the bandage must not be applied too tight to cut off circulation. A wound can get infected if the bandage is not kept clean and dry thus it has to be regularly checked. Infection can be easily noticed as the injured body part would swell and have a bad odor. It is therefore necessary to keep the dog indoors so that the bandaged wound would be kept clean and dry.




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