Home remedies for pets
As a veterinary emergency specialist, I’m lucky that I have a concoction of supplies, equipment, and tools at home in the event that my pets need some TLC without requiring a 2 A.M. visit to the emergency clinic. Here are some tricks of the trade about what home remedies are laying around your house that may help you avoid an expensive trip to the vet.
Hot spots
Have one of those extra hairy beasts that constantly gets hot spots during the summer? Most Golden retrievers, Labradors, or Newfoundlands succumb to these hot spots (aka “moist dermatitis” or “superficial pyoderma”). Hot spots are usually triggered by allergies, fleas, insect bites, or excessively wet skin folds that can’t air out normally and end up accumulating moisture, resulting in an overgrowth of the normal skin bacteria. Once your dog starts to itch, it becomes a vicious cycle and he ends up excoriating half his skin and fur off, much to your dismay! They should call them “quick spots,” as these can spread fast – within a few hours, your dog may have scratched the area so badly that it’s now four times larger.
Keep in mind the vet dermatological trick of the trade: if it’s wet, keep it dry; if it’s dry, keep it wet. If your dog will tolerate it (it’s really itchy and uncomfortable!), use grooming clippers (not your husband’s razor) to gently clip away a large amount of hair on and around the hot spot. You don’t want to clip too close to the hot spot as you’ll cause more irritation, but you want to remove enough hair that it lets the area “breath” to allow it to dry. Make sure to clip 1-3” around the periphery of the hot spot, which will allow the wound to dry quickly without that extra hair in the way. Next, use a cool, damp, clean terry cloth or 4X4s to gently blot away the area after you clip. Whatever you do, don’t put any ointment on that site. While your instinct is to coat it with cortisone or triple antibiotic ointment, that’s the worst thing that you can do. Instead, consider applying one of these home remedies to the hot spot, two to three times a day: a dilute (1:1) solution of water and apple cider vinegar, Domboro’s solution (an aluminum acetate astringent that dries out the wound, found OTC at any pharmacy), or even wet black tea bags. You can either soak a terry cloth in the solution or put it in a clean, new water sprayer and spray it on. For the tea bags, gently apply them to the site and cover them with a terry cloth, holding them for 10 minutes. Avoid putting anything on the hot spot that will irritate it more (like salt, cayenne, oils, etc. – would you like lemon juice in your wound?). Again, keep the moist dermatitis dry and non-irritated – which means not letting your dog itch at it – that’ll require an Elizabethan collar (aka funnel hat) for a few days too. The biggest thing about hot spots is the sooner you catch them, the easier they are to treat. If you catch it early, voila – this may fix it! If it’s really bad, check with your vet if things don’t improve in a day or two - some dogs require oral antibiotics and steroids.
Minor wounds
Have an accident prone dog who likes to scrape himself up? When it comes to wounds, remember that a small puncture could be a tip of the iceberg. If your dog just got attacked by another dog, it’s always best to have a vet check it out, as a small wound can have severe tissue injury underneath. But, if it’s a small scrap from running through your rose bushes, you may be able to check it out at home. While some pets won’t let you touch them once they are injured at home (which is why we vets resort to drugs to sedate them to alleviate their pain), you can try carefully inspecting the site to see how bad the wound is and to make sure no foreign material (i.e., thorns, dirt, splinters, etc.) are inside. If it’s superficial and minor, you can try the following: first, apply some sterile KY jelly to the affected area. This doesn’t act as a barrier to germs or anything, but is designed to help prevent the fur that you’re about to shave from entering into the wound, allowing it to be gently wiped away after you clip it. Use grooming clippers to remove as much hair around the wound as you can. This will allow you to visualize the wound better and let it heal with less infection. Next, use warm, wet 4X4s diluted with povidone iodine to wipe away the KY, blood, fur, and debris on the wound.
Once the wound is more “clean,” take a closer look to see how deep it is. If the wound is bigger than the tip of your pinky nail, appears to be deep, or if continues to ooze or be painful, go to vet to double check. If it’s small and minor, you may be able to manage with conservative nursing at home. First, apply a warm compress to the area three to four times a day, for 10-15 minutes each time; this will increase draining from the area, allowing it to heal more quickly. Next, gently blot away any discharge with a damp terry cloth. Once it’s dry, apply some aloe vera gel (by just breaking the plant open) to the area; simply break the plant open for the clear gel, but make sure to avoid the white saponins that are released on the edge of the plant – these can cause minor irritation. You can apply this two to three times a day for 3-4 days. While you may notice a small amount of pus and blood for the first day or two, the wound will slowly granulate in – in other words, scar over slowly. While it may not be the prettiest (you can start calling your dog “Scarface” instead), it may heal just fine.
Gastrointestinal upset
One of the most common presenting complaints that I see in the ER is vomiting. Most owners are upset to see their pet vomit once or twice, but have no hesitation in promptly feeding him again – only to have him vomit up that meal. Duh. If you were sick from last night’s Mexican food, would you want someone to offer you a burrito again? In cases of gastroenteritis (acute inflammation of the intestines or stomach, resulting in vomiting and diarrhea), it’s always best to rest the gut – in other words, to not feed your pet any food for at least 12 hours (provided he’s healthy and not a diabetic with other problems!). Most people don’t want to torture their pet by skipping a meal, when that’s what he may need. If, after a 12 hour fast, there’s no vomiting, start back with a tiny amount of a bland diet (like boiled chicken with boiled rice with no fat, skin or bones or canned tuna). And when in doubt, start slowly. As long as your pet is holding down tiny amounts, you can gradually increase the frequency and amount over the next few days, only to gradually wean in his normal food once he’s better. If he’s still vomiting despite this, rush him to a vet, as he’ll likely need x-rays done to make sure nothing is stuck in him. Don’t make the classic mistake though – don’t feed through illness and let that stomach rest!
When in doubt, you can try some more benign OTC medications like H-2 blockers (anti-ulcer medications) like Pepcid AC. It’s a relatively safe medication and will help decrease the stomach acid and hopefully minimize the vomiting. Typically these are 10 mg tablets, and are relatively inexpensive (0.5 mgs per pound every 24 hours). Lastly, while it won’t be fun to coat the walls in pink Pepto, you can give your dog some Pepto-Bismol to help settle the stomach for a few days. The dose is typically 5 mls per 10 lbs of dog, every 6 hours. Keep in mind there are small amounts of aspirin in Pepto, so you shouldn’t use this concurrently when your pet is already on an NSAID. And since cats are particularly sensitive to the aspirin component, I’d only give one day’s worth for our feline friends. When in doubt, always check with a vet!
Allergic reactions
Isn’t it cute when you let your dog out and ahhh! He comes back in all puffy-faced and swollen? Dogs show allergic reactions differently from cats and humans, and usually develop severe hives or swelling of their face, muzzle, and ears rather than the classic anaphylactic reaction that requires an epi-pen (please don’t use your epi-pen on Fido). If you’re not sure what caused the reaction (you didn’t see your dog get stung or didn’t apply a new carpet cleaner), first try bathing your dog with a mild dish detergent like Dove – it may be a contact irritant that triggered this reaction, and until you get it off, his hives will keep on coming. Next, consider OTC Benadryl – the plain kind, without the extra decongestants. Typically, the dose is 0.5 to 1 mg per pound, so your typical Labrador would get 50 mgs worth orally every 8 hours until those hives go away. Word to the wise – most dogs get very sedate from Benadryl, but the rare dog gets hyperactive and flies off the handle. Good luck. If the hives don’t improve within a few hours, or if your dog starts getting worse or having difficulty breathing, he’ll need that 2 A.M. visit to get IV injections instead.
When in doubt, always contact your veterinarian for assistance, as not all drugs, wounds, etc., can be managed without a vet!
Signing off,
Dr. Justine Lee
Hot spots
Have one of those extra hairy beasts that constantly gets hot spots during the summer? Most Golden retrievers, Labradors, or Newfoundlands succumb to these hot spots (aka “moist dermatitis” or “superficial pyoderma”). Hot spots are usually triggered by allergies, fleas, insect bites, or excessively wet skin folds that can’t air out normally and end up accumulating moisture, resulting in an overgrowth of the normal skin bacteria. Once your dog starts to itch, it becomes a vicious cycle and he ends up excoriating half his skin and fur off, much to your dismay! They should call them “quick spots,” as these can spread fast – within a few hours, your dog may have scratched the area so badly that it’s now four times larger.
Keep in mind the vet dermatological trick of the trade: if it’s wet, keep it dry; if it’s dry, keep it wet. If your dog will tolerate it (it’s really itchy and uncomfortable!), use grooming clippers (not your husband’s razor) to gently clip away a large amount of hair on and around the hot spot. You don’t want to clip too close to the hot spot as you’ll cause more irritation, but you want to remove enough hair that it lets the area “breath” to allow it to dry. Make sure to clip 1-3” around the periphery of the hot spot, which will allow the wound to dry quickly without that extra hair in the way. Next, use a cool, damp, clean terry cloth or 4X4s to gently blot away the area after you clip. Whatever you do, don’t put any ointment on that site. While your instinct is to coat it with cortisone or triple antibiotic ointment, that’s the worst thing that you can do. Instead, consider applying one of these home remedies to the hot spot, two to three times a day: a dilute (1:1) solution of water and apple cider vinegar, Domboro’s solution (an aluminum acetate astringent that dries out the wound, found OTC at any pharmacy), or even wet black tea bags. You can either soak a terry cloth in the solution or put it in a clean, new water sprayer and spray it on. For the tea bags, gently apply them to the site and cover them with a terry cloth, holding them for 10 minutes. Avoid putting anything on the hot spot that will irritate it more (like salt, cayenne, oils, etc. – would you like lemon juice in your wound?). Again, keep the moist dermatitis dry and non-irritated – which means not letting your dog itch at it – that’ll require an Elizabethan collar (aka funnel hat) for a few days too. The biggest thing about hot spots is the sooner you catch them, the easier they are to treat. If you catch it early, voila – this may fix it! If it’s really bad, check with your vet if things don’t improve in a day or two - some dogs require oral antibiotics and steroids.
Minor wounds
Have an accident prone dog who likes to scrape himself up? When it comes to wounds, remember that a small puncture could be a tip of the iceberg. If your dog just got attacked by another dog, it’s always best to have a vet check it out, as a small wound can have severe tissue injury underneath. But, if it’s a small scrap from running through your rose bushes, you may be able to check it out at home. While some pets won’t let you touch them once they are injured at home (which is why we vets resort to drugs to sedate them to alleviate their pain), you can try carefully inspecting the site to see how bad the wound is and to make sure no foreign material (i.e., thorns, dirt, splinters, etc.) are inside. If it’s superficial and minor, you can try the following: first, apply some sterile KY jelly to the affected area. This doesn’t act as a barrier to germs or anything, but is designed to help prevent the fur that you’re about to shave from entering into the wound, allowing it to be gently wiped away after you clip it. Use grooming clippers to remove as much hair around the wound as you can. This will allow you to visualize the wound better and let it heal with less infection. Next, use warm, wet 4X4s diluted with povidone iodine to wipe away the KY, blood, fur, and debris on the wound.
Once the wound is more “clean,” take a closer look to see how deep it is. If the wound is bigger than the tip of your pinky nail, appears to be deep, or if continues to ooze or be painful, go to vet to double check. If it’s small and minor, you may be able to manage with conservative nursing at home. First, apply a warm compress to the area three to four times a day, for 10-15 minutes each time; this will increase draining from the area, allowing it to heal more quickly. Next, gently blot away any discharge with a damp terry cloth. Once it’s dry, apply some aloe vera gel (by just breaking the plant open) to the area; simply break the plant open for the clear gel, but make sure to avoid the white saponins that are released on the edge of the plant – these can cause minor irritation. You can apply this two to three times a day for 3-4 days. While you may notice a small amount of pus and blood for the first day or two, the wound will slowly granulate in – in other words, scar over slowly. While it may not be the prettiest (you can start calling your dog “Scarface” instead), it may heal just fine.
Gastrointestinal upset
One of the most common presenting complaints that I see in the ER is vomiting. Most owners are upset to see their pet vomit once or twice, but have no hesitation in promptly feeding him again – only to have him vomit up that meal. Duh. If you were sick from last night’s Mexican food, would you want someone to offer you a burrito again? In cases of gastroenteritis (acute inflammation of the intestines or stomach, resulting in vomiting and diarrhea), it’s always best to rest the gut – in other words, to not feed your pet any food for at least 12 hours (provided he’s healthy and not a diabetic with other problems!). Most people don’t want to torture their pet by skipping a meal, when that’s what he may need. If, after a 12 hour fast, there’s no vomiting, start back with a tiny amount of a bland diet (like boiled chicken with boiled rice with no fat, skin or bones or canned tuna). And when in doubt, start slowly. As long as your pet is holding down tiny amounts, you can gradually increase the frequency and amount over the next few days, only to gradually wean in his normal food once he’s better. If he’s still vomiting despite this, rush him to a vet, as he’ll likely need x-rays done to make sure nothing is stuck in him. Don’t make the classic mistake though – don’t feed through illness and let that stomach rest!
When in doubt, you can try some more benign OTC medications like H-2 blockers (anti-ulcer medications) like Pepcid AC. It’s a relatively safe medication and will help decrease the stomach acid and hopefully minimize the vomiting. Typically these are 10 mg tablets, and are relatively inexpensive (0.5 mgs per pound every 24 hours). Lastly, while it won’t be fun to coat the walls in pink Pepto, you can give your dog some Pepto-Bismol to help settle the stomach for a few days. The dose is typically 5 mls per 10 lbs of dog, every 6 hours. Keep in mind there are small amounts of aspirin in Pepto, so you shouldn’t use this concurrently when your pet is already on an NSAID. And since cats are particularly sensitive to the aspirin component, I’d only give one day’s worth for our feline friends. When in doubt, always check with a vet!
Allergic reactions
Isn’t it cute when you let your dog out and ahhh! He comes back in all puffy-faced and swollen? Dogs show allergic reactions differently from cats and humans, and usually develop severe hives or swelling of their face, muzzle, and ears rather than the classic anaphylactic reaction that requires an epi-pen (please don’t use your epi-pen on Fido). If you’re not sure what caused the reaction (you didn’t see your dog get stung or didn’t apply a new carpet cleaner), first try bathing your dog with a mild dish detergent like Dove – it may be a contact irritant that triggered this reaction, and until you get it off, his hives will keep on coming. Next, consider OTC Benadryl – the plain kind, without the extra decongestants. Typically, the dose is 0.5 to 1 mg per pound, so your typical Labrador would get 50 mgs worth orally every 8 hours until those hives go away. Word to the wise – most dogs get very sedate from Benadryl, but the rare dog gets hyperactive and flies off the handle. Good luck. If the hives don’t improve within a few hours, or if your dog starts getting worse or having difficulty breathing, he’ll need that 2 A.M. visit to get IV injections instead.
When in doubt, always contact your veterinarian for assistance, as not all drugs, wounds, etc., can be managed without a vet!
Signing off,
Dr. Justine Lee
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