Dog chewing legs raw and bleeding? How to heal and prevent licking?

Question

My dog chews his numb hind legs and they bleed a little bit time to time. What can i do to help the wound heal faster, besides keeping it clean? Can I put vaseline on it to keep it moist? Pet's info: Dog | Pembroke Welsh Corgi | Male | neutered | 16 years and 9 months old | 27 lbs

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

Keeping it clean and keeping it covered are your best options for making these heal faster. These types of lesions tend to develop infections in the skin after a while, so it's possible that this is complicating the healing process. I think it will be fine to try and treat this at home for now, but would recommend a visit to the vet if it doesn't get better in 2 weeks. Here are my recommendations: 1) Clip the hair around the area and expose all of the sore skin. 2) Wash/spray the area with just cool, clean water (no soap or other antiseptics) for at least 5 minutes at a time. Do this at-least once a day. 3) Bandage the wound with gauze and apply an over-the-counter antibacterial cream (i.e Neosporin) to the wound. Keeping it covered and keeping Jackie from licking it will be the most difficult part of the treatment. You can help keep the bandage on by placing a good (really sticky) tape above and below the bandage. You can find sprays in the pet store, like bitter apple, that are meant to deter licking. This can be sprayed on the bandage (not the wound) to help keep Jackie from chewing it off. NOTE: Be careful not to bandage too tight or it can cut-off the circulation. If you notice that the toes/foot starts to swell, then remove the bandage and leave it off until the swelling goes down. Another strategy to keep the bandage on, is taping a clean sock over the bandage. You may also consider getting an elizabethan collar (aka "the cone of shame") for him to give the wound some relief for a couple of days. These types of lesions tend to take a long time to heal, so don't be surprised if its not completely healed until a month later. Once the skin looks normal and Jackie stops trying to lick, you can stop the cleaning/bandaging. I hope that helps and Jackie gets better soon.

Dog chewing legs raw and bleeding? How to heal and prevent licking?

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