EMERGENCY!! PLEASE HELP

[GOATBOOTS]

My goat escaped and was attacked by our dog when we let the dog out tonight. Her front leg is mangled pretty bad. I am pretty sure it is not broken but there is a large laceration. The tendons are visible and you can see damage to them. I cleaned the wound and got the bleeding stopped. I don't really have much as far as medicine goes. I have never had to treat my animals before. There is no large animal vet that works after hours near me. I have covered her up to help with shock. Can I give pain reliever for humans (asprin, ibuprofen). I am concerned about her not being able to use that leg again. I am willing to put her down if need be but I want to give her a chance. Any advice appreciated.

 

[Hardy&Healthy]

Drugs and goats:
---Aspirin is approved for goats.
---"Bute" (given orally -powder or bolus form) is a great pain releaver and anti-inflammatory, prolonged use is hard on them, but it is something worth having around!
---"Banamine" (comes as oral paste -OR- injectable liquid) is a great pain releaver and anti-inflammatory. However, many goats do have symptoms from the Banamine you should be aware of... The injectable can sting/burn, they may cry for a few minutes, and they may fall down and lightly thrash for a minute after the shot. Also, it upsets there stomach. You may notice them loose their appetite.

Flushing with water is good. Flushing it with the hose everyday for 10-15 minutes does a couple things... It flushes any debris away, and reduces the chance of infection. Secondly, it will soften and remove the scab, but this is good... It allows it to heal from the inside out. If the outside heals first, and you still have a cavity underneath, it will just continue to fill with fluid & rupture, and/or it can trap infection and cause problems that way.

 

[elevan]

I agree with the flushing with water.

Aspirin 325 mg per 10# of body weight orally

Ibuprofen(liquid) 2x childrens dose by weight orally (Do NOT use more than 48 hours)

Hopefully by now you've contacted a vet to get this looked at.

 

[AshleyFishy]

I too have had this happen before. The goat did make it and the vet reset the leg. She always limped but made it around just fine. What we did with ours was flush with water, kept it wet, gave a CDT and a shot of banamine until we could get her to the vet the next day.

 

[sawfish99]

I just want to point out, that if you are at all interested in salvaging the meat from the goat if it is put down, don't give any meds and put it down asap before infection sets in.

Tough call either way. Good luck