The idea of wrapping a bandage around your dog’s leg can be silly and intimidating. However, for an uninterrupted and speedy recovery, you ought to bandage their wounded leg. The biggest dilemma is how you can do it without inflicting pain on your furry friend.
When a dog’s leg is wounded, it will be a pain in extreme pain already. That’s precisely why you need to be careful and follow certain steps to bandage an open wound on the dog’s leg.
Here’s an article that gives you an insight into how you can bandage the dog’s wounded leg. We have so much more to share through this informative post. Dive in right now!
Purpose of Bandage
Most dogs are troublemakers. Correction: they’re adventurers and explorers who are curious about everything. Since they love exploring places and might bump into something inside the home or the outdoors, they may get a wound. Accidents happen, and that’s why we recommend pet parents keep bandages handy.
A minor accident outside or at home calls for some immediate treatment. Pet parents should keep some supplies at home to treat wounds. What if it is late at night and all the veterinary doctors are off-duty? Perhaps you are stuck in the middle of nowhere, and your dog needs immediate treatment.
You would need sterile pads, antiseptic, adhesive bandages, tape, cotton gauze, sticky tape, clean water, and some medical ointment for dogs. Dog’s leg wound could get infected too soon if you don’t attend to it. An injured pup or a full-grown dog needs attention immediately because they would be in pain.
Your supply NEEDS to have bandages because they help protect a wound, injury, or incision. In addition, the healing process speeds up when you bandage your pup’s wound. It also protects the surface of the wound from dirt or any debris.
Now that you know what a bandage does, you might want to check out the over-the-counter liquid bandages for open dog wounds.
Bandage Layers: All You Need to Know
A bandage should be padded because your dog is an explorer, and they might want to venture out even if they have a wound on their log. There are three layers in a bandage: primary, secondary, and tertiary.
Cleverpuppytraining.com team has gathered enough details for you about the bandage layers:
Primary: The primary layer would be a non-stick and non-adherent material like a soft pad. It helps in preventing tissue desiccation.
Secondary: The second layer is roll cotton or cast padding. This is the actual bandage that you would need to wrap around the non-adhesive soft pad.
Tertiary: The tertiary layer is the adhesive tape which helps in securing the bandage.
Please ensure that the bandage should not be too tight or too loose. A loose bandage will give way to bacteria and moistness. On the other hand, a tight bandage will cause a hindrance to blood circulation. Thus, you would want a perfectly fitted bandage.
Steps to bandage an Open Wound on a Dog’s Legs
A dog would vary as per the:
- Cause: Abrasion, puncture wound, or laceration
- Location: Abdomen, eyes, or paws. In this case, we are talking about the legs, which also include the paws.
- Contamination level: Clean wound or contaminated/infected wound
Based on the condition of the wound, the veterinary doctor will suggest the best solution. If a contaminated wound is left unattended for few hours, the veterinarian will ensure that it is clean. The doctor will remove the contaminated/dead tissue before dressing the wound and bandaging it.
If it is an open wound on the dog’s leg, follow the steps mentioned below:
A Step-by-Step Method:
Step 1: The first step is to check the wounded area. Do you see any foreign objects or contaminants? If yes, it’s best to clean the wound and disinfect it.
Step 2: If it’s the paw, you may find some blood on the area. Wash it with warm water, and please ensure that no foreign objects are stuck to the wound. Use tweezers to remove the foreign objects. This is an essential tool you need in your pet first-aid.
Step 3: Clean the injured paw with betadine or any other solution which helps in disinfecting a wound.
Step 4: Apply a veterinary-approved antiseptic cream. Use an absorbent pad (non-stick) over the wound, and then wrap a gauze bandage over this. Use tape to secure the bandage.
If your dog likes to lick or chew bandages, you must use an anti-lick spray to keep the bandage secure and free from chews and licks.
You may find the entire procedure cumbersome. If you feel that putting a bandage on your dog and changing it time and again is a challenging task, consider getting a liquid bandage. Dog bandages for legs are helpful, but if you don’t want to go through the hassle of changing it frequently, a liquid bandage is a much better option.
How Often do you need to change bandages for your dogs?
A loosely wrapped or dirty bandage needs to be changed. Moreover, pet parents would need to change the dressing as well. Since dogs are explorers/adventurers, their bandages could get wet, and it poses serious problems.
- A wet bandage will swell up and become too tight. It can cut off blood circulation and cause swelling and a host of other problems.
- A bandage soaked with urine, rain, dew, or water can make way for bacteria. Thus, a soaked bandage is the breeding ground for several infections and bacteria growth. Please note that any severe infection can cause death or loss of limb. You should contact your vets if your dog open wounds get infection for antibiotics. you could read our article “Antibiotics for dogs: How they help in healing open wounds” for more information.
Ideally, it would help if you protected the bandage when your dog goes outside to pee. If it’s raining or the dog needs to relieve themself, put a plastic bag on top of the bandage.
As for the frequency of changing the bandage, you must speak to your dog’s veterinary doctor about this matter. They may recommend changing it once a week or once every day. If the bandage gets wet or is loosely or too tightly wrapped, you have to change it as soon as possible.
Dogs tend to lick the bandage or try to chew it off. If you see any sign of the bandage being chewed off or the dog is licking it incessantly, go ahead and change it. There are some anti-lick sprays that you can use on the bandage, but we have a better option for you.
You can use a liquid bandage on an open wound on the dog’s leg. This is very easy to use – you have to spray the solution, and it will dry up at a speedy pace.
The best liquid bandage for dogs does not need to be changed frequently.
Spray it on and forget about it. These days veterinarian doctors are recommending this solution simply because pet parents have a tough time changing the regular bandage time and again.
Bandaging Considerations
Before you get down to bandaging your pet’s leg, there are some considerations you need to keep in mind:
- Whenever you step out with your dog, it is ideal for carrying a quick first-aid kit. Accidents can happen anywhere and anytime. So make sure it has pads, roll gauze, antibiotic ointment, and cream.
- In case you do not want to put a lot of work into bandaging the dog’s leg, consider buying a liquid bandage. Liquid bandages are far superior as compared to regular bandages. On second thought, it depends on the severity of the dog leg injury.
- We recommend liquid bandages because dogs aren’t aware of why we want to cover their legs. They get curious and start chewing the bandage. This means that you would need to change the bandage time and again. Pet parents are now comfortable with liquid bandages because dogs can’t chew them and do not change them. If your dog has a wound on its paw, using a liquid bandage will be helpful because this is where the bandage can reopen quickly.
- If you feel that the wound can be taken care of at home and does not require the vet’s attention, you can use a liquid bandage on dogs. It is easier to use and does not require any expertise. Call your veterinary doctor before covering the wound with a liquid bandage. However, it is safe to use, and you should not be worried.
Don’t use liquid bandages if the cut is too small. By letting the wound breathe, you will speed up the healing process. - A dog bandage does not stay on for a long time simply because there is a lot of fur on your dog’s leg. Moreover, they walk on all fours, so there is a chance it will come off quickly and will be exposed to moisture. In the latter case, you can change the dressing/bandaging frequently to avoid contamination or infection.
- Dogs may lick a bandage, and that’s why you need to place an Elizabethan collar over their head. There are anti-lick sprays as well. Once you make your dog wear it, they will not be able to reach the bandage. The Elizabethan collar does not work efficiently on aggressive dogs. It would be best if you had an anti-lick spray here.
Concluding Thoughts
We hope that this article helped you to know about the difference between regular bandages and liquid bandages. Liquid bandages save time, money, and effort, whereas regular bandages are something that everyone is well-versed with.
The good news is that liquid bandages are readily available in the market, so you can easily order them and make them a part of the pet first-aid kit.
An open wound on the dog leg should be inspected before you bandage it. In case it is too small, let it breathe but disinfect and clean it. If it is too large, you need to clean and disinfect it and take your pet doctor’s expert advice to cover the wound.
So, go ahead and read the considerations and step-by-step method of bandaging the leg. You should not miss any step. In the case of using a liquid bandage, the procedure will be simple.
Be gentle and don’t panic because a dog knows something is wrong when they see your facial expressions.
