[Mirta]

Hello
We were walking in the forest today with our two dalmatians - Mirta and Pluto and their Great Dane friend Dana who belongs to a friend. We were having a good time - the dogs were fooling around in the snow among the pine-trees.

There were kids and skiers in the woods today, it was a fine sunny day. We came out on a small clearing in the forest and decided to stop and watch the dogs play. Pluto and Dana were 'preying' on Mirta. Mirta likes hiding in bushes, and unfortunately she did exactly that today too.

These were not dense shrubs but immediately as she got there she yelped and came up to me on three legs. The other two left her alone, having understood that something bad had happened. I checked her paw and saw how badly it was bleeding. I tried to stop the blood with snow. To no avail. The snow cleaned up the wound and I saw how horrible it was.

I was shocked - we were deep in the woods with three dogs. Pluto is still a kid. My friend, being an owner of a Great Dane, always carries a cloth to clean her drool. She usually has bandage and wound cleaners, but not this time. Anyway, we put the GD's towel on Mirta's wound and it became black with blood in a second! I took my white woolen gloves and we tried to use them to cover the wound and stop the bleeding, but it did not help.

I called my husband, asking him to come as fast as he could to the edge of the forest. Meanwhile we both took the dog and carried it to the road. Pluto, on the loose, did what he wanted with the dogs and kids we met on the way! Dana was not a problem - she is trained and well behaved. Mirta was losing a lot of blood while we were carrying her.

Luckily we managed to come out to the road - the poor dog couldn't stand on her feet. We drove to the vet and he repaired her paw - 4 hamstrings were cut!
We had all the stress we could get today. Now I would like to ask if someone has had this kind of unfortunate experience; how to better care for the dog and what to expect. The doctor said that she would be fine. But we are worried. I have no idea what caused such a deep and sudden cut. It was something in the snow, we had no time to check. We will go there tomorrow to check the place.
I am sorry for many words - I am just very upset and insecure, wanted to explain in detail...

 

[GeorgieGirl]

Oh my goodness! Im glad you got your dog to the vet and he could help her. That right there was the best thing you could have done for her.
I have not had this happen to any of my dogs, but I hope that you Mirta heals well and is back to having fun with her friends soon.
Please keep us posted and if you do/did find what cut her in the woods, please let us know.

Hugs to you and Mirta
GG

 

[Mirta]

Thank you GeorgieGirl for your support! Mirta is resting now on the couch, she can walk only on three legs and we carry her around a lot. She is quite heavy! I am afraid she might gain weight while recovering.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

Your most welcome for the support! Sometimes that helps more then anything-to know that there is someone to give hugs even if they are virtual!
She sounds like she is more comfortable. I would imagine that with a few days of getting used to her inury, she will learn to walk around ok-even on three legs! That is awsome that your are so dedicated to her care.
Hugs to you both
GG

BTW thanks for the update! Please let us know how she proresses!

 

[Sheltiemama]

Oh dear heavens! What an awful thing to have happen to your poor baby! I'm so glad you were able to rush her to the vet immediately. That had to have helped.

No advice, just wanted you to know I cared!

Jo

 

[Mirta]

Oh I am so sorry for misinterpreting the term! It's not the hamstring, but the tendon sinew that was cut indeed. I started researching in the net and found out the most correct English term for that. It is bad anyway and we are worried. The dog is on strong antibiotics. I do injections myself since I know how, we decided not to get her into more stress by going to the vet every day for her daily injection.
We searched the area very carefully and found no glass, no sharp objects that could do this. There were hare prints on the snow and a man's footprints - very cautious - a poacher - ?!
Thank you so much for kind words! Mirta will recover, but it will take awhile.

 

[dch]

Hi,
Ouch! What a painful injury! You did all the right things. You may want to bring with you on your walks, vet wrap. Or Ace bandage. The vet wrap is a self adhesive bandage, it's stretchy and very easy to take off and on. The ace bandage is stretchy too, but doesn't have any adhesive on it.

Vetrap - 4'' 3M (Equine - Horse Health Care - Bandages)

ACE BANDAGE VELCRO ACE 7602 Size: 2"

For future reference for injuries with lots of bleeding: ball up any material you have and put it directly on the wound, wrap it securely so it is tight, but not too tight to stop circulation. You want the wrap to have enough pressure on the balled up material to stop the bleeding.

Using the snow was an excellent idea!

Sounds like she is on the mend. Good luck and lots of pats to her!

 

[Sheltiemama]

As strange as it may sound....I wondered about some sort of trap that your dog might have gotten into in some manner.

Jo

 

[Mirta]

dch,
Thank you for the information! This vetrap is something that the vet put on her paw that day. He did not have enough though and I could not find it in any pharmacy in town. As to that ace bandage - I have not seen it yet here at all. Maybe in hospitals?

I will definitely buy it and will take this stuff with disinfectant on our walks. I know also that the bleeding wound needs to be bandaged really tight. I intuitively knew that then also, but I just had nothing to use as bandage. Only when I was already at home I realised that I might have torn my sweatshirt into straps, but then... it was just too much of a shock. Good thing I wasn't alone and the car came relatively fast.

We do not want to give up walking in the woods. Traps mostly are illegal and I will go to the police and the forest keeper/ranger. We will choose safe places - more open among the pines. In summer, however we often go deeper in the woods, looking for mushrooms... I guess we'll have to change some of our habits.

 

[dch]

Your welcome.

Check out horse supply places for the vet wrap. Ace bandages are sold here in drug stores or medical supply stores. People use it to wrap up a sprained knee, wrist, elbow, ankle..... stuff like that. It's similar to the vet wrap as it has elastic in it so it's stretches. It's also thicker than the vet wrap so it adds a little padding. It doesn't have any adhesive on it so you would have to pin it or tap it to secure it.

 

[Mirta]

I have got the wrap in the vet's office. But the healing process bothers me. It is the third week already and she does not attempt to use the paw. Also, as soon as the bandage is removed she licks the paw like crazy adding more sores. We had a long antibiotic course and I am afraid if I go to the vet again he will insist on more antibiotics.

 

[dch]

Where is she licking her foot? At the injury site or between her toes? Does her foot have an odor? Any swelling?

You can soak her foot in vinegar. This will sooth the skin and help with the itching and if she has a fungal infection the vinegar will help kill the fungus.

It will take time for her to be able to use her paw normally. Don't baby her or get worried in front of her. As she will think something is still wrong with her foot! Dogs are great at this!

If she lays down with you on the couch, while she is relaxed, stretch her pastern and each toe. Like if she was walking on it. Keep taking her for short walks around the neighborhood. The more walking she does the better.

Also if you have access to a pool, have her swim! This is great therapy, as she will have to use that foot to swim, and there is no impact.

Good luck with her!