Reaction?!

[baylee]

My dog had a couple red scabs that looked like she poked her nose on a thorn or two. That night she rubbed her nose all over a pair of shorts on my floor and made a raw spot about the size of a dime on top of her snout, it was wet looking and had pink fleash showing.

The next day it had doubled in size and had swollen up so her nose looked bowed out like a "roman" nose ( i know horse terms i am normally on the horse forum as arabchic) it looked so nasty! She keeps scratching it and i dont know why because it looks like it really hurts and she keeps making it bleed and making it even bigger its now covering her whole snout. So i decided that i had enough so i took her to my vet, he said that it was like a reaction to something, gave her a shot of cortizone and some anti biotics and some anti itch spray, and said if it dosent clear up in two weeks that i have to bring her in for a biopsy because it might be cancer.

My problem is, she will not stop scratching it up and making it worse, i dont know what to do to make her stop. I want it to heal up so she dosent have to get a biopsy but it wont heal cause she wont let it even dry up to scab over. Does anybody know how to keep a dog from rubbing and scratching their nose? I am using a collar thats like a cone. Or has anyone ever had something like this happen? She is only 9 months old and i just cant emagine her having cancer already. Any help would be apprieciated!

Thanks!!!

[Dax]

Firstly – don’t panic. Just because the vet said the C word doesn’t mean that is what it is.

Right now you need to concentrate on getting her to leave it alone. At Petsmart they sell cones (Your vet will have them too -maybe your's isn't large enough) that will help keep the dog away from it. You should also phone up your vet & ask them what they can suggest to help you keep her away from it.

It sounds like the scratching is making the situation worse – so fight that battle & maybe the war will win itself.

Also limit direct exposure to the sun as that can also make the situation worse.

Hope it works out for both of you. Poor baby - it must be driving her nuts.

[baylee]

It is, she keeps getting pushed away because its oozing and nobody wants it on their pants, she has no idea why nobody wants to look at her, I still play with her and love on her but its hard to act normal when her nose looks like raw hamburger. She is so miserable and i work so much, but i have her in the house out of the sun and dirt and with her fav toys. It makes me want to cry for her.

[Dax]

I thought of something you could try but before you do ---- double check with your vet via phone. It's called liquid skin. It is readily available in either spray on or paint on. It might not be suitable because of the drainage of the area that is why you need to check with vet before attempting. I used it on Ariel's spay to protect it from all the water while it was infected. They say it breaths so might be suitable. You would have to apply with a brush & probably several coats but would give the pup almost immediate protection. Also check with your vet for creams that can be applied with anti-itch medication in them. We have several versions on polysporin and one of them is anti-itch.

But before you put anything on that nose besides a kiss - phone your vet. The last thing you need is to apply something that might complicate or worsen the results.

Again POOR BABY.

[baylee]

Oh thats an idea, i am gonna call my vet in the morning and ask him about that.

Thank you very much for the advice! here is a pic of her before the owie... my camera is messed up but i will try to post a pic of the wound.

[Lessica Jake]

you can also put socks on her feet to keep her from actually scratching it. my vet said to tape the socks tightly and directly to the fur so the dog cant get them off.

[ChandraRae]

http://www.merckvetmanual.com

This is a great link.. I'm not sure if it will be of any help to you in this particular situtation but the search feature is GRAND! I know Dax likes it too!

Good luck and keep us posted!

[baylee]

ok so today i was all happy, it finally scabed over, and then she scratched it on something outside when i let her out. Its getting really frusturating, no matter what i do she rubs it on something. I tried vet wrapping her feet so she cant scratch, but because its so wet, the scab just falls off easy i guess. Here is a picture of it the first day, its much worse now it covers her whole snout.
Its too big, let me see if i can resize it... i cant do it, grrr...

[sgour]

I would recommend putting bag balm or vasoline on it. That will help keep it clean and keep it from bleeding. It should also keep her from reopening (sort of). I would recommend a cone so she can't reach her face at all and will give it time to heal.

Charlie got a cut on his ear, and was always breaking the scab off, so I put vasoline on it to stop the bleeding. That gave it time to scab, and then after it scabbed I kept putting more on for a couple of days to keep him from busting it open again. Then it healed fine.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Shannon

[baylee]

i will try that, good idea...