What's new
Mastiff Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Welcome back!

    We decided to spruce things up and fix some things under the hood. If you notice any issues, feel free to contact us as we're sure there are a few things here or there that we might have missed in our upgrade.

You do what you have to

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
It's been more than a week, how's it looking?
Well, it's kinda hard to say. It looks really good but I noticed discharge so I did a full flush cleaning last night and it seems that a new layer inside may have opened and is draining. The possibility still exists that the surface tissue may slough off as it is not normal.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
Ugh. You must be frustrated.
That's one way to put it. I did manage to panic myself one day. I came home and panicked because it didn't look like he had a sock on. I completely forgot that I used the one black sock instead of one of the grey ones. Made me realize that unfortunately the sock has become normal now.
 

Bailey's Mom

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
Poor fellow! I'm so sorry that this healing is taking so long, it is beyond frustrating for both of you, and I expect financially draining. I forget, Smokeycat, do you have dod health insurance?
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
So what's the news now? It's been over a month. Are we all good yet?
I would love to say yes but it is still back and forth. It doesn't appear to have an infection anymore but it still opens and closes. Sometimes due to the bandage change, like yesterday, other times it will be closed for a few days and then reopen. To add to it the lump on the other rear foot had drainage around new years so I wrapped it too and while the drainage has stopped, I wasn't able to find the hole it came from even, that lump has gone from solid to soft and is decreasing in size.
We might be getting close to needing to do surgery on the one that won't close but the vet's not sure that there would be enough normal skin to close it completely so we could still be dealing with an open wound.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
I would love to say yes but it is still back and forth. It doesn't appear to have an infection anymore but it still opens and closes. Sometimes due to the bandage change, like yesterday, other times it will be closed for a few days and then reopen. To add to it the lump on the other rear foot had drainage around new years so I wrapped it too and while the drainage has stopped, I wasn't able to find the hole it came from even, that lump has gone from solid to soft and is decreasing in size.
We might be getting close to needing to do surgery on the one that won't close but the vet's not sure that there would be enough normal skin to close it completely so we could still be dealing with an open wound.

I was hoping for better news. Please keep us updated. Even if there's no update. Hugs to you and your big boy.
 

Sheila Braund

Well-Known Member
Oh my goodness poor baby.... and mommy too! ... it seems to be an up hill battle!
I went threw something like this with a cat rescue.... I got so fed up .... the vet did too. He wanted to take the cats back leg... the wound was a large gash and the cat had licked it to the bone.... so I took the cat home to decide to have the leg amputated or put the cat down.
I really was at wits end.... then I remember a trick my grandmother use to use on me with slivers .... I wouldn’t tell anyone until they were infected..... she would use a bread poultice.... bread with a bit of milk and a pinch of salt.... she would warm it up on the double boiler make it into a very thick paste and put it on my wound over night.... it would pull the sliver and infection out... so I did the same for the cat.... within 3 days the wound was 1/2 the size and didn’t have such an angry redness to it.... within a week it was closed! Took the cat back to the vet.... he couldn’t believe how well the keg was doing.... he never believed me that I used an old Irish home remedy.... he said that I couldn’t have done that... because it would have made the wound fester more.... well he was wrong and my cat had all 4 legs and his life.
I’m not telling you this so that you’ll do the bread poultice... just telling you because our fur babies sometimes surprises us.
Sending healing wishes with lots of love.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
Just checking on you guys...
It looks like we 'might' be on the road to full healing. Both feet still have minor drainage but both lumps are either gone or almost gone. We had a minor set back with one foot last weekend after he got a bath and I decided not to wrap it and he started licking it but what had still been left of the lump is almost gone. I was just thinking tonight that I might finally be able to get his shots up to date as I didn't want to do them while he was fighting an infection. And look into the dental surgery he might need for a dead canine tooth.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
This is the best his feet have looked for over a year. His feet need to dry after playing in the snow with his socks on. The foot I'm touching used to have a lump over an inch high.
 

Attachments

  • 20200209_093849.jpg
    20200209_093849.jpg
    3.6 MB · Views: 6

Sheila Braund

Well-Known Member
This is the best his feet have looked for over a year. His feet need to dry after playing in the snow with his socks on. The foot I'm touching used to have a lump over an inch high.

Wow I didn’t realize it had been that long!
Bella is fighting a boil that is almost between her toes. I’ve had her on a round of antibiotics that really didn’t seem to do much. I’ve lanced it.... today will be the 3rd time I’ve lanced it. So today with the lance I put a poultice on it. She was so amazing. She will allow me to do anything to her. So after the lance that wasn’t easy because it was as hard as rock..... I gave it a good cleaning then slapped the poultice on it. Bandages and socked her. Now keeping a close eye on her so she doesn’t pull it off.
F586AD50-228A-4406-8B3F-71FEE982D14B.jpeg
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
This dog is going to drive me mad. He has had a couple of incidents where he is dripping blood from his prepuce. Bright red crimson blood. The first 2 occurred over a week ago but both times it was over quickly and didn't seem to warrant an emergency vet visit. There was nothing for 10 days and then there was blood on the floor and the outside of his sock indicating it had happened again. He got a full physical check up yesterday afternoon. Let me tell you he did not appreciate his penis being extruded or getting a rectal to try and check his prostate, turns out he is too big to check like a dog but too small to check like a horse. There was nothing that could be found physically although it is still possible that there could be some sort of injury to the inside of the sheath that couldn't be seen and the only thing she could say about his prostate is that it isn't so big that it is intruding into his rectum. So we did a free catch urine sample to see if there was anything that could give an indication of a possible cause. Turns out his urine sample was almost perfect for a healthy dog. The only thing not in the ideal range was the concentration but given that is generally measured from a first morning sample she felt that it was so close in the late afternoon that it would be above the minimum in a morning sample. So we still have no idea what may be causing it. Given what results we have and the lack of any visible/physical signs we are now on a monitoring basis and try to capture a urine sample if we notice bleeding again. She didn't think it was worth going into more invasive testing at this point. At times I want to strangle that boy, only to remember his necks too big to squeeze. ‍♀️
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Ah, I'm so sorry. I adopted Leo when he had testicular cancer in a retained testicle. After recovery from surgery he just dripped pus and had to wear a belly band almost 24/7. He had frequent UTIs with blood dripping, but it wasn't the bright red blood you're describing. We never did resolve the pus or frequent UTI issue. My guess was a prostate infection that had never been cleared up, but he passed before we were able to check that. I'm glad they checked as best they could for you.

I can't remember. Is Kryten intact?
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
Ah, I'm so sorry. I adopted Leo when he had testicular cancer in a retained testicle. After recovery from surgery he just dripped pus and had to wear a belly band almost 24/7. He had frequent UTIs with blood dripping, but it wasn't the bright red blood you're describing. We never did resolve the pus or frequent UTI issue. My guess was a prostate infection that had never been cleared up, but he passed before we were able to check that. I'm glad they checked as best they could for you.

I can't remember. Is Kryten intact?
He is.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
Just a quick update. There have been no more incidents where he has dripped blood. So the vet thinks it most likely was an injury to the inside of the sheath that couldn't be seen by an external exam. Needless to say it is something that we will be on the watch for in the future.
As for his feet there is also good news there. Yesterday he went without any bandages or socks for over 12 hours. The skin didn't seem to have any ill effects from being exposed, in that it held up to being rubbed against the carpet ect. without tearing open or weeping. He also wasn't caught trying to lick them although part of that could be he was worn out from friday and slept most of the day. The biggest impediment to him being sockless now i think is my trusting him to leave his feet alone and not cause damage again by licking them. We will get to that point it's just going to take a bit more time to figure out how to test him without too much of a risk of setback.