Help! I found a stray puppy and I need some assistance

kerrilucko

My fiance and I went for a walk today, there are hundreds of stray dogs around here, but usually the little pups are pretty well cared for. We're walking along and we come upon this tiny black puppy with white paws. He lets me pet him and he's go no collar or anything. He has a pretty ouch looking cut on his front paw and he's all speckled with mud. We didn't bring him home because we thought maybe he belonged to one of the kids that was playing outside but we are going out again and if he's still in that area alone we are going to bring him home with us. Our neighbor is away for easter but she rescues a lot of dogs around here esp. the little pups- she cleans them, feeds them properly- even house trains them and then when they're ready, takes them to the animal shelter in town where they can find good homes. I know that she would take on this pup, but she's gone until tomorrow night. Anyway if we find it again- and I think we will- I'm going to bathe him before bringing him inside but I need so advice on how to cleean his cut paw? It's looks pretty sore, should I just submerge it in warm, soapy water? Should I wrap it up afterwards or just leave it?

Also what can I feed him? it's a holiday so it's not like I can just go to the store and get some food. We have friends with dogs that would lend us some food but non eof them have puppies. I have cats so we have wet and dry cat food, or I have lots of raw meat but I don't know what he's capable of eating because he's so little.

You should have seen this little guy he was the sweetest thing I've ever seen! I'm calling him "chester" if he's there when we go back I'll post a pic of him for you all later

kerrilucko

My fiance and I went for a walk today, there are hundreds of stray dogs around here, but usually the little pups are pretty well cared for. We're walking along and we come upon this tiny black puppy with white paws. He lets me pet him and he's go no collar or anything. He has a pretty ouch looking cut on his front paw and he's all speckled with mud. We didn't bring him home because we thought maybe he belonged to one of the kids that was playing outside but we are going out again and if he's still in that area alone we are going to bring him home with us. Our neighbor is away for easter but she rescues a lot of dogs around here esp. the little pups- she cleans them, feeds them properly- even house trains them and then when they're ready, takes them to the animal shelter in town where they can find good homes. I know that she would take on this pup, but she's gone until tomorrow night. Anyway if we find it again- and I think we will- I'm going to bathe him before bringing him inside but I need so advice on how to cleean his cut paw? It's looks pretty sore, should I just submerge it in warm, soapy water? Should I wrap it up afterwards or just leave it?

Also what can I feed him? it's a holiday so it's not like I can just go to the store and get some food. We have friends with dogs that would lend us some food but non eof them have puppies. I have cats so we have wet and dry cat food, or I have lots of raw meat but I don't know what he's capable of eating because he's so little.

You should have seen this little guy he was the sweetest thing I've ever seen! I'm calling him "chester" if he's there when we go back I'll post a pic of him for you all later

charliesgold

Wash his foot with warm water and use Peroxide to clean his foot, after cleaning with peroxide you can cover with liquid bandage although I suggest just leaving it after the peroxide and it should heal well, just make sure it's not too deep. You can use peroxide a couple times a day to clean it out and prevent infection, if it's a deep cut you may need to visit an emergency vet. When bathing him I recommend just using warm water, you never know what allergies dogs have and what irritation soaps can cause. When a dog is nervous as this dog is likely to be soaps can irritate skin even more and create more dander which is going to make you sneeze as well.

DO NOT feed the dog cat food, the different nutritional needs of cats and dogs are extreme and cat food will undoubtedly upset his tummy and potentially cause him to be sick. Your best bet is boiled chicken and white rice. If you have no chicken you can use baby food (chicken or a meat flavor is best). If you have neither white boiled rice is fine, just a little at a time. 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, 1 chicken breast is a good amount, split it between a couple of meals (in general a 25lb'ish - 50 lb dog will eat 2-3 cups of kibble a day). This mixture will also sooth your puppy's tummy and help with any nervous diarrhea. Avoid giving him any people food though as this will upset his tummy.

Avoid raw meat right now as it might cause tummy upset. Also make sure he's getting water and if you have any other animals keep them separated since this little guy might have worms or another parasite since he's been outside. With this in mind also make sure you pick up his poop as soon as he does it just in case!

Eazy43055

Peroxide and neosporin on the cut! If you don't have neosporin a little Vaseline will do the trick. You can feed him cat food the dry kind but not a lot of first because it will hurt his stomach if he hasn't had a meal lately. Dogs LOVE cat food. He sounds like a little brute! I am either going to be A. A vet, B. some type of biologist and I absolutely LOVE dogs and cats, as well as all animals. Not a lot of water at first either.. Tell us if you got em or not!

sonjavon

I foster and rescue dogs. Charliesgold gave you some great advice. You can put neosporin on the cut as well - just keep an eye on him to make sure that he's not licking the wound - if he is, then loosely wrap some gauze or an ace bandage on it.

Thank you for taking the time to rescue this little guy. As someone who works with strays and rescues - it's nice to know that there are others out there helping too!

LuckyLeprechaun

I agree on the food, but I want to say a word on peroxide: there are antiseptics out there which do not use oxidation (bubbling) that will damage the tissues less and promote more scar-free healing-

If you dissolve a cup of honey in a cup of warm water, it kills all the germs that peroxide does, but it doesn't bubble. that bubbling action is damaging to the tissues inside a wound. honey won't damage the tissues, but will kill the germs that have entered the open wound.

rinse well after soaking, so the taste will not encourage licking.

what a kind thing for you to do- I'm glad this little pup found a person who will extend the hand of love and friendship!

Best wishes-

kerrilucko

Wash his foot with warm water and use Peroxide to clean his foot, after cleaning with peroxide you can cover with liquid bandage although I suggest just leaving it after the peroxide and it should heal well, just make sure it's not too deep. You can use peroxide a couple times a day to clean it out and prevent infection, if it's a deep cut you may need to visit an emergency vet. When bathing him I recommend just using warm water, you never know what allergies dogs have and what irritation soaps can cause. When a dog is nervous as this dog is likely to be soaps can irritate skin even more and create more dander which is going to make you sneeze as well.

DO NOT feed the dog cat food, the different nutritional needs of cats and dogs are extreme and cat food will undoubtedly upset his tummy and potentially cause him to be sick. Your best bet is boiled chicken and white rice. If you have no chicken you can use baby food (chicken or a meat flavor is best). If you have neither white boiled rice is fine, just a little at a time. 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, 1 chicken breast is a good amount, split it between a couple of meals (in general a 25lb'ish - 50 lb dog will eat 2-3 cups of kibble a day). This mixture will also sooth your puppy's tummy and help with any nervous diarrhea. Avoid giving him any people food though as this will upset his tummy.

Avoid raw meat right now as it might cause tummy upset. Also make sure he's getting water and if you have any other animals keep them separated since this little guy might have worms or another parasite since he's been outside. With this in mind also make sure you pick up his poop as soon as he does it just in case!

Sounds good! We have lots of chicken I can boil, but we don't have white rice, only brown? can I try that or is that too hard to digest? lol, obviously we're not set up to take in a dog, but I can't leave a tiny thing out there to starve either! I've got peroxide so I'm good there. The cut- It looks painful but it wan't bleeding at all.. it looked like a piece of skin was almost missing from the area just above and between 2 of his toenails. I probably make it would worse than it is but ya, that's about what it looked like. But he was walking find and everything, no limp.

Vanessa1969

Peroxide can be very harsh and damage the skin, I would suggest the use of a saline solution that you can make up at home with salt and filtered/boiled water.
I think you could probably get away with feeding him regular dog food for a couple of days until your neighbour can take over. Cat food is not a good choice, way too high in meat protein and it could make him very sick. I would suggest home cooked meals, but he probably hasn't had that great a diet so far and the adult dog food will have nutrients added to it that will be ok for him.
You can make up saline solution as follows...

Normal saline (0.9%) is a solution commonly used for medical purposes such as intravenous therapy for severe dehydration. It is also used as a rinse for contact lenses, and is used in wound care for irrigating, cleansing and hydrating wounds.

In simple wound care, normal saline can be used to cleanse a wound. It can be used in place of soap and water or other wound cleansers. It will not burn or otherwise irritate a wound. It is often used to cleanse deep wounds by irrigating or flushing out debris and dried blood.

Wounds need moisture in order to heal properly. If a wound is too dry it simply will not heal. In some instances, the normal saline is used in a wet-to-dry or damp-to-dry dressing to moisturize the wound. This is not a simple dressing change procedure and should only be used under the direction of a health care professional.

If soap and water is too painful or harsh to a simple wound, normal saline can be prepared at home and used to cleanse a wound. You can purchase a saline solution in the drug store, but to buy normal saline you will need a prescription. You may substitute a saline contact lens rinsing solution, but look for one that is thimerisol free. (Read the label it must be saline solution.) There are a few aerosol type saline wound cleansers available as well.

NOTE: It is important to use care to ensure that the solution is not contaminated. It contains no preservatives and must be discarded every week.
There are alternate ways to make your own normal saline.

First, wash your hands. (See handwashing.)

Using a clean jar with a screw type lid, add 1/4 tsp. of non-iodized table salt to one cup of water. Loosely screw on the lid and place the jar into a sauce pan. Fill the sauce pan with enough water to cover 3/4 of the jar. Cover and boil for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the jar to cool. Tighten the lid. Refrigerate and keep it refrigerated.

Alternately you can boil a cup of water with 1/4 tsp. non-iodized table salt in a clean covered pan.. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Allow to cool (still covered.) Then pour into a clean jar. Refrigerate and keep refrigerated.

How to use your homemade solution

Always wash your hands before you begin your wound care. (See handwashing.)

Pour the amount of saline you will need for your wound care each time into a clean small glass bowl. You can warm it slightly in the microwave if needed, but not above luke warm. Then pour onto gauze pads as you use them or place a few pads into the bowl to soak. Wring out excess into a separate container.
Tips:
* Discard the solution if contaminated, becomes cloudy, or after one week.
* If your tap water is particularly hard, you should use bottled or distilled water.
* A clean jar is one that has been recently washed in a dishwasher with very hot soapy water. Alternately, you can ensure a jar is clean by immersing it and the lid (not screwed on) in a pan of water and boiling it for 20 minutes in a covered pan. Allow to cool in the covered pan. Remove from the cooled water. Don't touch the inside of the jar or lid. Fill with the saline solution.
* Don't use homemade saline solution with contact lenses.
* Don't drink or otherwise consume this solution.

Notify your healthcare practitioner:

* Notify your health care practitioner of any changes in the wound such as redness, hot spots, streaking, odor, increased pain, fever.
* Always see your healthcare provider if a wound is deep; or caused by an animal bite or scratch, a rusty or exceptionally dirty or otherwise contaminated surface.


Read more: Normal Saline for Wound Care: Normal saline is used for many medical purposes - http://healthfieldmedicare.suite101.com/article.cfm/normal_saline_for_wound_care#ixzz0CUcbfTS5

LuckyLeprechaun

I'd say Vanessa is right on... saline will be easy to use and also will not damage the wound.

Vanessa1969

If there is any new skin growth in the area, the peroxide will destroy it. I have been rescuing for a long time, and my vet always prescribed saline as opposed to peroxide or rubbing alcohol. She has even given me a container of medical saline for giving subq fluids and for wounds. It has always done the trick.

charliesgold

Brown rice can be used in a pinch.

Also to reiterate, cat food is a DEFINITE no no.

Salt water is a great substitute for peroxide to keep wounds clean.

kerrilucko

We went back to find him but he wasn't there :frown: I don't know if that's a good thing or not. We're going to go out again today and look for him. Hopefully we find him!

fiddlechic

I'm a vet tech here's what I agree with from above..

1)do not feed cat food, even though it may be a one time thing, dont do it. very bad for dogs. i'd go with the chicken and rice(white or brown), even lean white lunch meats are fine.
2)dont use peroxide, it inhibits healing. use a mild hand soap. neosporin is fine, leave unwrapped.
3)keep him away from any other pets you have, you dont know what he's carrying

thanks for caring about him. I wish more people would care about their pets bc then we wouldnt have these situations where great dogs are homeless and injured.

Eazy43055

We went back to find him but he wasn't there :frown: I don't know if that's a good thing or not. We're going to go out again today and look for him. Hopefully we find him!

I can almost bet that he was hurt or abused and the family, instead of taking him to the vet, dropped him off somewhere..

GTOgirl1969

I hope that little baby is OK...people that abandon or mistreat animals really piss me off.:explode: Thank you for caring so much:flowerforyou:

Phoenix_Rising

I am so not an animal lover
But I truly appreciate people who are.
Thanks for looking out for the little guy. :flowerforyou: