Accidents happen, and dogs can be like small children in the way they’ll come home with all sorts of scraps from the adventures they have in the great outdoors. From farm animals to other domesticated types of animals and from emotional support animals to service animals, injury is inevitable. Over the years your dog may have a few accidents, but don’t worry, most of these may be treatable at home via first aid techniques.
Running around outside in unknown terrain and in sometimes hot temperatures may probably cause injured paws. This is a particularly tricky injury to treat in that it’s important to keep clean but the dog still needs to walk around. Sometimes, you may not have a first aid kit readily available if this happens to your furry friend, so be sure to look out for spotted little red marks on the floor along with it licking it, then you may want to use salt baths to help clean and heal the wound. To do this, you simply need to have a bowl ready, boil some water, let it cool and then add a good amount of salt. Ensure that the bowl is just the right size to dunk the dog’s injured paw in and then use cotton balls to clean any stubborn dirt or fluff. Then the kitchen roll to dry it off. It takes around a week to heal up and depending on how deep the cut is, and it may be a good idea to let the dog walk on a lead to give it a good chance to heal.
Sometimes it develops a limp or two, from being let off the lead too early on its walk. Like any of us humans, dogs too need to warm up before their outdoorsy exercise, so it’s a good idea to delay some time for it to prepare or else it’ll come home with a pulled muscle or two. It might seem a bit weird but it’s safe, to simply give your injured dog half an Aspirin. It works in easing the pain and stopping the limp after a day or so. Many dog owners use the same treatment with their dogs to great success. These are instances of home-made first aid treatments for dogs if injured.
The aforementioned are simply home remedies but there are some pretty good kits for sale you could keep in the cupboard just in case. There are also ways you can simply make your own first aid kit for your dog. Here is a relatively comprehensive list of typical first aid kit items to make your pet comfortable until you can get to a vet (some are suggested by PetMD):
- 2 x Medium Dressing Bandages with Ties – to cover an injury;
- 1 x Foil Blanket – to retain body warmth and help combat shock;
- 4 x Plastic Pouches – to cover foot injuries and help keep them clean;
- 4 x Alcohol-Free Cleansing Wipes – to clean wounds;
- 1 x Scissors;
- 1 x Tweezers
- 2 x 20ml Pods of Saline – to wash away dirt and debris from your pet’s eyes and other areas;
- 5 x Gauze Swabs – for cleaning up fluid or after saline use;
- 1 x Microporous Tape – to help hold dressings in place;
- 1 x Conforming Bandage – for use with suspected sprained joints;
- 2 x Pairs of Latex Gloves