I know this might sound revolting to some, but my
dog just ran into a brick pillar and tore his leg open,
with a gash of around two inches. He was taken to
my vets and had with out any pain relief some staples
in and then sent home with pain relief tablets and
anti-biotics.
My question is can we do repairs ourselves? Or is it
considered illegal to do this. It is not that I particulary
want to do it, but looking at what a crude job my vet did,
I could of done it myself. Plus I am now £140 worse off.
I have to go back late next week for the staples to be
removed.
So to my question can we do minor surgery ourselves or
not? How does the law stand on this?
Nutkin

Hi Nutkin

I think legally we can treat our own dogs but cannot treat anyone elses. But would you want to run the risk of treating your dog yourself and getting it wrong - do you have the correct pain killers and antibiotics to reduce the pain and risk of infection?

When Hazard tore her undercarriage last week (thank goodness she was not male or she would have ripped the whole lot off) the first thing I did apart from strapping her up was ring the vet - no way would I want to treat that sort of accident.

Staples are sometimes less painful than stitches!

Christine

Hi Nutkin,
I found out all about staples in January with my ankle. Staples look really messy & sloppy until the swelling goes down & begin to heal. But they are more even than stitches & much easier to take out. They also leave a smaller scar where the original cut was made. I had about 16 in the region of my calf & ankle. I can still count the scars. But your dog's hair will grow over & cover them. Since I was in surgery, I have no idea what they would have done if I had been awake.

When she took them out, the ones next to the bone were the most painful -- I think I almost broke my hubby's hand squeezing it...but not a peep, esp. after he called me a crybaby :) Gee, ya think he was trying to manipulate me? ;)

good luck with your puppy. I hope he gets better soon. BTW, I did stitch up a dog years ago when I worked at the vet's -- more difficult than one thinks. Skin isn't the same as cloth & the dog moves around. Perhaps your vet should be replaced instead of a diy job.
toodles

Thanks for your replies. I think probably my
vet should be replaced as you said, as I just
felt that a better job could of been done.
I did have this done on a bitch years ago, with
staples and they looked so much neater then.
I don't think I would attempt to treat a wound
myself unless I had been shown how to by a
professional also the dog would need some pain
relief. Even though mine was given none by my
vet. Only after wards when I got home I gave it
some pain relief.
I was just posing a question that I had
wondered about, as I wonder sometimes if I run to
the vets too quickly.
I have to say that I have spent a fortune in the vets
with one thing or another, and would spent every penny again.
I had some micro surgery done on my bitches muzzle
last year, cost me tons, but I would do it again.
So don't panic everyone I am not about to go and
do anything stupid, I just wondered what the law
was on treating a dog. You see I am one for giving
medication to dogs. My dog was stung by a bee three
years ago and its face blew up like a balloon, then huge
blotches started on the back and then the breathing
sounded laboured. So I reached in the cupboard and
gave some childrens piriton syrup, and reached in the
other hand for my mobile to phone the vet. His exact
words were, thats the best thing you could of done.
Keep a check on her and then get back to me if she does
not improve. Within 10 minutes she was feeling comfortable
and two hours later a different dog. So after speaking to my
vet I know keep piriton in the doggy first aid box.
Nutkin.

That was a good idea of yours....
also:
What you might look for is a dog's Emergency or Health book. I used to have one & I know I need to get a newer edition. It will tell everything that can or can't be used on a dog for minor first aid.
For instance: Asprin is ok (I don't have any around the house though, since I am allergic to the stuff)
Never: Tylenol or Ibuprofen based drugs.

They also have 'flow charts' asking a basic question & if the answer is yes or no heading off into other possibilities including "call a vet immediately"

Hope this helps.
toodles

If Nutkins dogs hair will eventually cover the scars then why won't yours?....I thought you lived in Germany!!!

Lara,
Were you asking me about hair covering my scars? I'm not sure, since you didn't specifically address your post. Yes, I live in Germany, but why do you ask?

My scar is about 5 inches long and it ranges from almost the bottom of my right foot up the outer side of my calf. I have no hair there....well, ever since the day after the last cast was removed. I couldn't wait to shave. Not a pleasant memory of my withered leg. It looks pretty much normal now, just with the long scar. C'est la vie.

Eventually, I'm going to have some type of tattoo there, perhaps a vine. Even the drs told me that if they do remove the plate and screws in 18 months, it would help to line the skin up...very wierd to hear that benefit of getting a tattoo
toodles

Don't worry! - my strange sense of humour flies over most peoples heads :)

Ok, No prob :D :D :D Just easy to confuse after a very LONG two weeks ;)

I feel obliged to explain now! - the comment was about German women NOT shaving their legs!

:D :)

Hi
I keep a full kit of suture & needles, plus I have a natty little stapler & do all minor tears myself. Its quite common for the hounds to get little rips etc when they are hunting & also get quite a few torn ear flaps when the odd dispute breaks out! My vet showed me the basics, and yes, I do know my limits & when to visit the professionals, but I have sewn up all manner of tears & think my needlework is quite good. I have also sewn up my horses flank when he got a b-wire tear. I use lignol when neccessary & am confident in what I do, which is half the battle.

Sam your talents are endless :D Good on ya though :-)

Sam,
Don't feel bad about not knowing all of those names we were listing. You actually HAVE a life. I just go to the movies or watch DVD's and dream someday I too will HAVE a life after the moving around and living in rentals or the city are finally over. :D :D :D
toodles

PLEASE NOTE: anyone reading this thread that the staples the vets use are NOT the sort you use on stationery!

Kerioak
(having horrible visions of someone using a stapler on their dog!)

Oh Lord Christine, I'm glad you issued a warning.
... I hadn't even thought about that!!!!! A regular stationary stapler wouldn't work too well, so I even can imagine someone using an industrial strength power stapler on their poor dog!!! It could break bone!!!!
toodles

ROFL! But a good warning - I'm only laughing because it never occurred to me before that anyone might try!

Well done Christine. :-) Keep forgetting that people could easily misunderstand what is being said.

good point Christine....mine was supplied to me by my vet, with his blessing (he was getting a bit fed up with having a full facial cleanse from my hounds whilst stitiching them up week in 7 week out!)

eeerrrmm I heard a tale once of a man who used to errrm 'play' on the conveyor belt at his place of work resulting in him loosing part of his genitals in the machine. He was to embarressed to go to the doctors immediately so he used an industrial staple gun to 'stitch' the wound together! He went 3 weeks later when the smell was a bit too much and they removed 8 inch long staples!

OOoooooohhh YUCK!!!! Stupid Man!!!! Well, bet that taught him better than to be messing around at work, eh? ;)

Oh yuk! to the one about the man and his bits Yuk!:p
:d
Anyway I am on about the subject again as my dog
has just run into a tree and took the skin off his head.
Talk about accident prone. Never mind!
I am seriously now thinking of putting together a first
aid kit, I am sick of going to the vets. Where can I get
the staples? Sam you said you got them from your vet,
I spoke to my vet and he said I would be very capable of
doing it but he basically wont as he wants the money himself
and if he let all his patients do it, then he would be out of
pocket. Lovely! Anyway I can see his point, so can anyone
help where anyone not a vet can buy this stuff?
I hope I can do it after all that, I think I have a strong stomach.
Nutkin.

Nut,
It's a US supplier, but they do overseas shipping. They might also help in locating a vet supplier in the UK. If you search under "Staple" it will come up with the right item, at least I think it's the same thing ;)
KV Vet supply
good luck,
toodles

Nutkin.....my vet supplied mine, with excellent grace I might add! However if I get stuck sometimes (my vet is a 90 mile round trip) then I get stuff through the post from Arnolds veterinary products Ltd of Shropshire.

How do you manage with the vets being 45miles away?? Are they the nearest vet or are they the sort of vet that you'd travel hours to go and see??

Fiona
x x x

Well there are half a dozen vets that are nearer, and my "horse" vet is only 10 miles away, but I wouldn't trust ANYONE but my two vet friends with my hounds. I have taken the terriers to the local vet & also would take young pups there for a vaccination, the cat goes there too. However, my two vet friends that are the other side of the moor are the only ones allowed to touch my hounds. if there was an emergency tortion that was so desperate it couldn't last the hours journey, then I would get to the nearest vet, but once the emergency was in hand I would hot foot to my own vet at once. I have helped operate on every single one of my dogs & hounds over the years, the only one I couldn't bear to stay with was a leg amputation because it was my favourite boy ever & I just couldn't face it. All the others have been knocked out with me present and woken up with me present. If a vet didn't let me stay & watch/ask questions then I wouldn't use them I realise how lucky I am that my vets are not only two of the best, but also extremely good friends.:)

Sam a friend of mine in the Highlands feels much the same about her vet who is an hours drive away. She gets a closer vet to give a booster vaccination or whatever to each dog, so that they are all registered with him for absolute emergencies. I'd be the same if I hadn't been so lucky. We had decided on a vet here before we even started to house hunt, and it was only chance that the chosen practice also happened to be the closest to the house we bought.

Sam - I don't doubt you are competent in what you are doing here but that is not something that I would recommend for others to follow suit. The potential for infections and suffering inflicted is too real. :(

Lara....correct...I am very competent at it.

Lara, I'm sure Sam has been given a 'don't DIY if' list by her vet and has it off by heart, which is fine, but I'm inclined to agree with you in general. Suturing is easy once you get past surprise at how tough skin is and become confident, but the real trick is in knowing when not to suture at all, and when simply joining one edge to the other isn't a good idea.

Sharon - after reading some of the comments on this board over a period of time - I wouldn't put it past some of them to run a tail through a sewing machine :D

Now that's cold, Lara :D :D :D :D

Lara, after too many years of unpicking the embroidery of inexperienced Accident & Emergency docs, I suspect that it might be better if some of them did use sewing machines :D :D.

As long as it was a "straight" stitch and not the "buttonhole", Sharon ;) ;) :D :D :P

Thanks to eoghania and sam for your comments
I will look at both.
I see someone does not like the idea doing it
them selves. After what I have seen of some
vets and doctors as well, I think my needle work
would be better.
My daughter had a bad accident and tore her arm
into the muscle, right around the arm, the doctor
bodged it up at the hospital, and now she has got
to have plastic surgery when she is a teen, to redo
a bad job the hospital doctor did. I had to dress this
poor arm daily for 4 weeks, and in the end I was told
I had done better care than the nurses. Also my son
chopped the top of his finger off. He was only 3 the
nurses could not dress his tiny finger well,
so I had to do it as the nurse could not.
You could say I am used to accidents now I have dogs
what run into trees, etc. Good job I took a first aid course!
It would probably be a good idea to do a dogs first aid course
if their was one. I would know if a dog need any anti-biotics
and not stupid, and would go to the vets if needed. I think
most people know when it is the correct time to go and get
vets help.
Nutkin

I saw my vet again today and asked him again what his
views were. This time he was more helpful as he could
see I was quite serious. He told me he would get me
some special super glue that works wonders on cuts,
tears etc. He is ordering some in for me, this sounds
much better than sewing. He did offer to show me how
it works etc, he also suggested intrasite gel for small
cuts, which heals leaving less scaring and I got some of
this costing around £3-50.
Nutkin

That sounds really good, Nut. Congrats. :D :D