Providing the Proper Care for Your Dog After an Injury
October 28, 2009
So your dog has an injury. All dogs hurt themselves, and aging dogs are obviously more frail and therefore may be hurt easier. It could be serious or it could be minor, but no matter how big or small it is, you need to make sure you are providing the proper care so that your dog can heal correctly and get back to being a dog. Nobody likes to see their pet moping in the corner, trying to hide their injury from the world..
Step One: Immediate Attention
Injuries, no matter how trivial they may seem at the time, can get worse if ignored, especially with a dog, who doesn’t know how to take a “sick day” from life. The best course of action is to look into the matter and determine how serious the injury is.
Pay attention to any signs of pain from your dog. Take note of unusual behavior (even abnormal acts of aggression can be caused by physical stress or suffering). And once you are aware of the injury or at least know that something is bothering your dog, it’s time for step two.
Pay a Visit to the Vet
Unless you are a vet yourself, the only way to know for sure if you are giving your injured dog the proper care he or she needs after an injury is to get a professional’s opinion and advice.
Your vet will not only be able to determine exactly what your dog is suffering from, but they will also be able to give you the instructions you need to properly take care of your them. You need to strictly follow those instructions to enable your dog’s body to heal completely.
Keep a Close Eye on the Injury as Time Goes By
As already mentioned, an injury can get worse over time due to infection, aggravation, stress, or any other complications you are unaware of. But you still have the ability to control the situation.
Check out your dog’s condition on a daily basis to see how healing is progressing. By keeping constant vigil, you can react at the first sign of new problems.
If it is a serious injury (i.e. broken bones or fractures), make sure to schedule future x-ray appointments with your vet to make sure the bones are healing correctly.
And stay alert even after injuries have gone. If a common problem keeps arising, it may be due to something more long-term, and as obvious as this sounds, it is often easy to miss.
Take Extra Measures to Aid Healing
Injuries can cause gait problems, muscle spasms, decreased mobility, the inability to do simple tasks like sitting or walking, and other skeletal problems. In other words, your dog’s injury negatively affects the rest of his or her body–not just the injured area. However, you have the power to combat these other problems as well.
Holistic health care is medically caring for one’s body as a whole unit. If one part isn’t working properly, the whole suffers. Thus, holistic medical practices are needed to “re-align” the body as a whole so that it functions properly again.
In this case, an injury is best treated by chiropractic care, which is used to physically manipulate the joints and vertebrae in order to relieve your dog from muscle spasms, pain, and lack of mobility. Other forms of holistic health care to consider are acupuncture and reiki healing.
After an injury, you are ensuring your dog’s full recovery by assessing and taking control of the situation as soon as possible. By following your vet’s advice, making regular observations about the condition of your dog’s injury over time, and perhaps looking into holistic health care such as chiropractic care, you are doing everything within your power to allow your dog’s body to fully recover.
Proper care of your dog after an injury is absolutely vital if you want to see your dog running and playing again like they should.
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