Dog attack ****(Graphic Pix) NEW UPDATE

[greenacres]

Well, one of my large dogs got in the pasture and got a hold of my Babydoll wether's leg. This is the right rear. I have washed it out, sprayed with Vetricyn, applied Swat around it to keep the flies off, and he has gotten 2 doses of Pen G (the large animal vet I called was not interested in coming out, but told me to give him about 5cc of the 300, 000U/cc Pen G). Any other suggestions? I did give him a little Sheep drench this AM. He is a year old, and I just gave him his CDT booster about 2 weeks ago. Should I give him a tetanus anti-toxin as well? He has a few small scrapes/puncture on his opposite flank as well, but not as extensive or deep. Thanks for any help, I cannot seem to get the vet to care about one sheep.

 

[terrilhb]

I don't have any advice but I am so sorry this happened. Sending you

 

[BrownSheep]

I would trim the wool around the puncture marks. If it is warm enough for flies in your area I would get some Scarlet oil. It's hard to tell how big the larger wound is, but if your capable of it I would say it could use some stitches.

 

[SheepGirl]

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/1860_photo.jpg
http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/1860_dsc_0709.jpg
Well, one of my large dogs got in the pasture and got a hold of my Babydoll wether's leg. This is the right rear. I have washed it out, sprayed with Vetricyn, applied Swat around it to keep the flies off, and he has gotten 2 doses of Pen G (the large animal vet I called was not interested in coming out, but told me to give him about 5cc of the 300, 000U/cc Pen G). Any other suggestions? I did give him a little Sheep drench this AM. He is a year old, and I just gave him his CDT booster about 2 weeks ago. Should I give him a tetanus anti-toxin as well? He has a few small scrapes/puncture on his opposite flank as well, but not as extensive or deep. Thanks for any help, I cannot seem to get the vet to care about one sheep.

It looks like a piece of his skin was torn off. If I were you, I would give him a painkiller and then either cut it off completely (so the flap of skin doesn't hang down) or I would give him stitches. Most feed stores have curved needles plus suture thread (it's brownish and thick). If you go the suture route, cut a slice in an orange or in a stuffed animal and practice on it. (That's how we learned to do sutures in my pre-vet class.) Or if you don't want to stitch it up, I guess you could put gauze around it and then vetwrap the gauze to the leg (though I'm not sure how well this would work).

I would give him tetanus anti-toxin just because there is a large area where bacteria can enter. I would also clean it regularly (at least once per day...more may be necessary depending on sanitation and how dirty it gets) and make sure flies don't get in it.

Good luck, I hope he heals soon

 

[greenacres]

Thanks for the advice everyone....I was going to suture it, but the vet told me not to since it was a bite wound and he was more worried about an abscess than the exposed flesh. I am most concerned about flies, though, thankfully, the temperature has dropped to the 60's here. Hopefully that will slow down the flies. I have been flushing it out twice a day with water and then just coating it with Vetrycin. I am putting Swat around the wound, but would Scarlet oil be better? I have never used it. I may have to trim the flap off, but I was going to give it a few days until I see what heals together. I tried the vet wrap, but the wound is so high on the leg, I can't get the wrap to stay over the wound. It was actually pulling it open more, so I took it off. So far, he seems to be eating and he is definitely moving OK (usually away from me). I went ahead and re-boostered him with the CDT tonight, and I have kept him on the drench twice a day and the Pen G once a day. That wound happened in about 30 seconds, in the time it took for me to get halfway across the pasture. Luckily, my baby lambs weren't out loose. I will try to post an update in about a week. Does anyone have any advice regarding pain control / pain meds for sheep?

 

[redtailgal]

I gotta agree with your vet. Suturing a bite is really risky. Keep it really clean!

 

[RainbowFlower]

When we first got our alpaca our dog attacked it and pulled a large hole in his skin. (We no longer have the dog - I won't keep an animal that attacks). The vet came out and cut the flap of skin off, leaving exposed about an A5 sized wound. He gave me antibiotics and pain killer which I had to inject each day, and I had to keep an eye on the wound to make sure it was clean and drying, and there was no infection. It took a while for it to fully scab over, and longer for it to close over and scar up, but because it stayed clean it did shrink considerably. Eventually there was a scar about 2 inches by 4 inches.

The vet said not to cover it so that I could see that it was healing cleanly. And also said that it would heal just fine on its own, and it did.

It cost me a small fortune to have the vet out (of course, it was Sunday afternoon), but it was our first day with a large animal (other than dogs), so it made me more comfortable for him to come out.

 

[Remuda1]

I think banamine paste is a good choice. Easy to administer too, I'd refer to your vet for dosage. However, if he's eating and drinking well, I might not give him anything.

 

[marliah]

Cayenne pepper to stop bleeding or comfrey may help. Sorry that happened, yikes it looks painful

I would use the above on humans, i am unsure of they are safe on sheep so you may want to double check that.

 

[greenacres]

Here's a picture from today of the sheep's leg, after 5 days of treatment. Not healed, but better.

Here's the original image for comparison, right after injury: