Dog in trouble...

[MaggieSwanson]

There is a dog on an island with a thorn in his paw. It is getting infected and is very sore; he needs to be sedated in order for it to be extracted. There are no health food stores anywhere within 200 miles for valerian. Anyone with any experience able to give advice? No veterinary practice available, and the GP is inept even for people.

This is Zion:

[lukasahero]

1. It looks like you can use benadryl to calm him

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dogs-701/dogs-benadryl.htm

You can also call the ASPCA for recommendations and help. [phone]

[MaggieSwanson]

3. Thanks

and thanks for the pm. I have sent the message along, will post tomorrow about sweet Zion. It's 3am now, and I am so worried about him, even though he is not mine.

[livetohike]

2. A second vote for the benadryl

I've had vets recommend using it. Also, if the dog is friendly and you can get him to come to you, you can soak the paw in some warm epsom salts. It will help with the infection and maybe even draw the thorn out.

Good luck and please post the outcome. Zion is a cutie :-).

[MaggieSwanson]

4. I will, livetohike.

Here, papaya leaves can be soaked and used as an antiseptic. We'll try that.

[cate94]

5. benadryl dosage

My dog had an allergic reaction recently and the vet told me to dose the dog at about 1 mg per pound. My dog is between 50 and 70 pounds so I was told to give her 2 and a half tabs, and a little over wouldn't hurt her.

You can put the tabs in peanut butter and most dogs will eat it and can't just take the treat without the pill. (It is pretty hard to give a dog a pill w/o a treat if it isn't one that you have owned for a while.)

Also, if the paw is infected you can soak it in hydrogen peroxide. The only draw back is if they drink too much hydrogen peroxide they throw up. Pretty unlikely that the dog would want to drink it, but it is safe for them if it happens.

[MaggieSwanson]

6. Perfect.

Thank you so much!
:hug:

[BrklynLiberal]

7. You can also use the Children's Liquid Benedryl....

[Eurobabe]

8. Aw, poor pup, hope he gets the thorn

removed and feels better soon. :hug:

[MaggieSwanson]

9. Update:

I posted a few days ago about Zion (the lab with a thorn in his paw) asking for advice in sedation so it could be removed. Many of you sent words of advice, consulted with veterinarians on Zion's behalf, and gave words of encouragement. Due to huge storms, I've not been able to get online to update you all until now.

After all the recommendations failed, I was able to locate a farm vet on the island who sedated Zion and removed the offending item (which turned out to be a spine from a sea urchin - no wonder he was in such pain!). After a day or so on antibiotics, he is back to his carefree beach labrador self, smiling as only he can and acting as if nothing happened.

I want to thank you all for your compassion, research, and good vibes. You are the best, and you may very well have saved his life.

Love and a monsoon from SE Asia,

Maggie

[livetohike]

10. Thanks for the update!

Are sea urchin spines poisonous, too? Hope you made it through the storms without damage.

Is this Zion swimming with a starfish on his head? Cute :-)

[lukasahero]

11. Thanks so much for the update - I was worried about the little guy

Sorry none of the suggestions worked and thank you for being so tenacious about getting him help. Sea urchins can be poisonous so this is one lucky little guy.

Glad to hear you made it through the storms safely.

[alstephenson]

12. Thanks for the update and for caring about Zion.

I'm glad things worked out for the both of you.