Re: Cut paw Hallo. I hope your Puzzle's cut paw heals well and quickly. Sorry, off topic of the cut paw, but I am very interested to know about the turmeric. My boy is also allergic and I also started giving him turmeric, the dried powder you use for cooking -- started about 4 months ago. (When I remember for myself, I drink a heaped teaspoon in water for my aches and pains and chronic headaches.) I'm not sure how much to give him. He weighs 35 kg and I give him about 1/8 teaspoon (approx -- I don't actually measure, it looks like 1/8 of a tsp) once a day with his food -- not always guaranteed he will ingest it cos, unlike a typical Labrador, he does not lick his bowl clean!! He gets raw food so I try to sprinkle it on the food and then try to encourage him to lick the bowl clean if he's left any remnants behind to ensure all the turmeric is swallowed. I am afraid of overdosing -- although not sure you can overdose on turmeric? I'd be very interested to hear about your experience with turmeric -- perhaps in a new post? And also to hear what dose you give, the source (ordinary cooking turmeric?), etc. I know people who take it to ward off senile dementia, so perhaps this will be an added effect for our dogs!
Re: Cut paw Thanks Annabelle. I found a recipe on the internet for Golden Paste and will follow it. I am sure Snowie will eat up all the turmeric in the coconut oil -- he loves coconut oil! Let's hope it has good effect because he has recently started scratching again, although I think that might be due to the changing seasons -- we're heading out of spring into summer and he's starting to moult a little, which might explain the scratching. But he's also started to chew the backs of his legs. The vet said that is cos he's trying to pull the hair out as it moults and suggested I brush it well. I've brushed it and very little hair comes out. If you have any other tips for itchy skin, I would love to learn from your experience. Ironically, Snowie has a magnificent coat -- you wouldn't believe he's allergic just looking at him. But it's the scratching and chewing and licking, particularly in the middle of the night, that drives me mad! And probably him, too, poor boy.
Re: Cut paw Thanks Annabelle - I will try the aloe vera. I have not heard of Dorwest Easy Green Powder but will look out for it. What is the key ingredient? I am sorry to hear about the severity of Barley's allergies. Thankfully Snowie's are manageable and we've managed to keep him off medication except for the odd Allergex (antihistamine) when we want a good night's sleep. Not sure if it has any effect or not; apparently not effective in all dogs. But I think it makes him sleepy, which is good enough for the night time. I am also very careful with Snowie's food -- only human grade raw food. But I recently discovered that he has been foraging on the mountain! I take him walking every morning off leash on the mountain, and he always races over to where a group of guinea fowl are foraging. He isn't particularly interested in chasing them, just a cursory race up to them and then I thought he was just interested in sniffing around them. It's a fair distance from the path with lots of bushes so I can't see exactly where he is sniffing. But it appears that someone puts out bread, etc for the guinea fowl, hence why they're always in that spot. And I bet my boy has been scoffing up whatever he can find -- which makes sense now, cos I could not understand why his eyes would be gooey. Now it makes sense: the bread!
Re: Cut paw No doubt i will get slain for this , But ensuring the cut is cleaning and after using a disinfectant my wife and i apply 2 drops of neat tea tree oil then Super Glue it seals the wound instantly and ensures a clean and fast healing wound within 2-3 days and generally normal exercise is not interrupted .
Re: Cut paw hmmm....well....I guess people need to make their own minds up about the wisdom of using tumeric/tee tree oil/superglue and so on. I wouldn't personally use any of those things, and go with treatments prescribed by my vet - it's not that I can't see that sealing a wound might be helpful, but I'd want a vet to do it. I honestly believe that it's best to stick to your vet's advice, and for problematic conditions which are not clearing up seek a specialist opinion (eg a dermatologist), rather than trying out alternative treatments suggested on the internet.
Re: Cut paw Also - lots of plants are poisenous to dogs, Aloe Vera is one of them. I'm not sure about the juice 'tho? Here is a link http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poisons/ Hope his paw is soon on the mend! :-\
Re: Cut paw Some herbal remedies are extremely powerful, and not all are suitable for dogs. Aloe vera for example contains salicylic acid (aspirin) which I believe dogs are quite sensitive to. Please take care with home remedies - and I strongly recommend that you consult with your vet before treating your dog for injury or illness. In addition, I would like members, when posting about herbal remedies, to link to a reference that presents the evidence for the remedy you are recommending. That way we can read and discuss whether or not this is a good idea for the forum to be involved in promoting the product.
Re: Cut paw Point taken i am certainly not advising people to go off and just administer anything , My wife has used oils for years and is quite clued up so we have took measures with caution . When Jake pulled his claw out everything the vet advised failed to work so we had no option but use herbal remedies which after weeks ensured permanent healing within days after weeks of visits to the vets . And any cut is carefully cleaned and super glued . We have a preference for one vet only in our local practice , Jake got thorn in his foot the other day a wife belived it had gone right into his paw so off to the vets , Luckily their was nothing in and all was fine and as she could not see or preferred vet we got another who recommended 2 injections an antibiotic and an anti-inflamatory . Their was clearly nothing wrong with his foot which would have needed medication . Clearly some vets like milking customers for all they can get .
Re: Cut paw [quote author=Mike link=topic=8138.msg116319#msg116319 date=1413127834] Clearly some vets like milking customers for all they can get . [/quote] In which case, perhaps change vets? But not a reason to abandon veterinary advice, I would have thought.
Re: Cut paw I am clearly not abandoning vets advice : : , But neither do i personally think that a dog should be rushed of to the vets at every single injury . I am pretty sure that most parents dont rush their kids to the doctors or the hospital when they cut their finger or something similar :
Re: Cut paw [quote author=Mike link=topic=8138.msg116319#msg116319 date=1413127834] We have a preference for one vet only in our local practice , Jake got thorn in his foot the other day a wife belived it had gone right into his paw so off to the vets , Luckily their was nothing in and all was fine and as she could not see or preferred vet we got another who recommended 2 injections an antibiotic and an anti-inflamatory . Their was clearly nothing wrong with his foot which would have needed medication . Clearly some vets like milking customers for all they can get . [/quote] [quote author=Mike link=topic=8138.msg116806#msg116806 date=1413298835] I am clearly not abandoning vets advice : : , But neither do i personally think that a dog should be rushed of to the vets at every single injury . I am pretty sure that most parents dont rush their kids to the doctors or the hospital when they cut their finger or something similar : [/quote] An interesting topic, when to seek veterinary advice, just like when to seek doctor's advice. I would imagine a parent of a first child will be running off to the doctors at every cut and graze. But come the third or fourth child and that child just gets some Savlon and a band aid, if anything! Same as with dogs I would imagine. Experience counts for a lot. I, too, have had different experiences at the vets. My regular vet is what some people might call The Good Old Fashioned Vet. He bases everything on a physical exam with his hands and a few instruments. He has never ordered a blood test, administered an injection, or given a pill, the most being that he recommended a particular ear cleaner (with salicylic acid as a key ingredient, interestingly) and a few nutritional supplements (I think this was his way of generating income, and I did not deny him the opportunity because he takes his time and he is not an alarmist). On the two occasions that he has been out of town and I needed a vet, I went to a recommended vet up the road who ordered full blood tests, x-rays, and urine analysis, of which nothing was found -- my dog was in perfect health. But for a cut on his testicle that bled a little (no idea how he got cut, perhaps a rose bush when he lifted his leg), she gave him an antibiotic injection and a dose of antibiotics, and a week later he had kennel cough (probably caught when we went to the vet) and so he was given another antibiotic and anti-vomit medication (from vomiting from coughing so much -- he would have none of it, I could get none down his throat). All cost a pretty penny and I don't like that he was given antibiotics for a tiny cut or an x-ray for kennel cough to make sure that nothing was stuck in his throat. And really, I don't believe he needed any of it. The next time he bled (he got nipped on the ear), I simply cleaned the wound regularly and it healed within a week. I like both vets we saw -- my older good old fashioned vet and the younger vet who wanted to test everything possible. Both give me confidence in their ability and the "test all" vet is closer to home and more convenient for me. But do I really need either for minor scrapes and grazes? Probably not. Common sense should prevail as it does if I cut myself or have a cold -- I hardly go to the doctors. But it's like the dentist: if the dentist says we have a hole and need a filling, who are we to know any different? Very difficult knowing when to go to the vet, and once there, if the vet is simply running a successful income-generating business.
Re: Cut paw Is it really reasonable to argue that questioning the wisdom of treating a dog that sounds like it has really quite serious allergies with home remedies, and whether gluing up cuts with superglue is sensible, is "running to the vet with every cut and graze"?
Re: Cut paw I have not seen anything on Puzzle having serious allergies , When Jake managed to partially pull one one of his claws out we were given an antibacterial solution by our vet . Which kept the wound moist and with wearing a boot so Jake could not lick his foot the wound after 3 weeks looked no better , After virtually sleepless nights of watching over him and taking days off work over the course of 3 weeks or so in the hope that we were getting somewhere when a scab formed Jake had an uncanny knack of knocking the scab off every time . So i fully sympathise with what Puzzle and his/her owner are going through , the worry ,frustration and anxiety that is caused as cut or similar to a paw, Is really under estimated until you and your dog have gone through it . Surely in this day and age the Vets must been able to source surgical super glue , This would make for a speedy recovery of days not weeks for our dogs and far less stress for us owners , Although slightly thinner wallets for the Vets . I just find it ridiculous that Vets are willing to have peoples pets go through weeks of turmoil for such a simple injury when they are supposed to do the very best for our dogs . Best Regards Mike
Re: Cut paw Whatever people do, don't use commercial superglue designed for home handy-person work. It contains compounds that are known irritants to eyes, lungs etc. It is not something I would put near my dog. Veterinary glues don't contain these compounds but I'd still want to know what I was doing with it. Not all wounds should be closed up and I would want a vet's advice on that.
