Dog Injury on Trail

"Duct tape can cover broken nails too."

Dsvid,
Have you dealt with broken nails in the field?

Just wrap the foot to immobilize flapping parts?

Thanks.

Taped them around with duct tape . Blue is the prefered color.

I am a veterinarian. Easiest pain reliever is aspirin, as it can do double duty for both human and dog. The dose is 10 milligrams per kilogram body weight of the dog. Roughly, divide the dog's weight in pounds by 2, then mulitply by 10. This 42 pound dog should get 1/2 an adult aspirin.

Benedryl is even easier, as it is the dog's weight in pounds-a 50 pound dog gets 50 mg of diphenhydramine (Benedryl).

I have folks split Tramadol all the time, the dog has never been "over-narcotized". They do taste foul, though, and many dogs will refuse them. Unless I knew how my dog dealt with Tramadol, I would not carry them-some dogs get really goofy on them, and that is not something you need to deal with in the wilderness. Also, there is some debate how well Tramadol actually modifies pain in dogs. Unfortunately, it may be the safest drug to give an elderly dog, or one like this where NSAIDS may cause trouble.

Diane,
What circumstances would suggest Benedryl?
(I don't know what purpose it serves.)

Its for allergies greg. My dog gets them in the summer due to grass allergies. Also got it after an adverse reaction to a lepto vaccine.

I am currently using it on my dog for a flea allergy. Seems to help.

Primarily I would use it in case of bee stings/spider bites. Dogs don't have a huge anti-histamine response like people do, but it can be helpful in those acute, severely inflammatory reactions. You wake up one morning, and your dog's face is terribly swollen–your Labrador now looks like a Shar-Pei! Benedryl is the drug of choice for this.

Also, if you had a situation where you needed to slightly tranquilize your dog, Benedryl makes them sleepy too, just like us. Dog is anxious in the tent, barking at every little noise? Benedryl can take the edge off somewhat.

Thanks Diane.

Good stuff to know…

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Some people do use Benadryl to take the edge off. I don't, because as a doctor, I have access to better meds! The key with any method of sedation is to get it on board BEFORE the dog is agitated. Acepromazine is what we commonly prescribe–we hand it out like candy right before 4th of July.

For a solution that is not a drug, I do like the homeopathic Rescue Remedy. It has to be given early, and given every 15 minutes until the response you need is seen, then as needed. Can be placed in the water bowl, too (no plastic, only glass, ceramic or metal), but that method relies on the dog voluntarily taking in water. Also helpful are Thundershirts. If you have a dog that tries to hide, stuff himself behind the toilet, under the bed, then the Thundershirts can be very, very useful. With both these non-drug methods, pretreatment is KEY. Once they are agitated, it is going to require drugs to bring them back down.

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