Swollen Leg

[blake]

My wife says my dogs leg is a lot bigger than the other with cuts and scrapes visable. Not sure what this could be or treatment. Any help would be very appreciated

[No Quarter Kennel]

If it's from cuts and scrapes - antibiotics and keep an eye on it.
A little dex wouldn't be bad either.

[Officially Retired]

The dog might have suffered a bite of some kind.

NQK is right that dex will relieve swelling, but if there is an infection, dex will also weaken the immune response.

Because of this, the prophylactic use of cephalexin wouldn't hurt ...

Jack

[blake]

Thanks jack. Cephalexin is a must have in my cabinet started him on it as soon as my wife told me

[Officially Retired]

If you see no improvement within 3 days, then it's not working. When an antibiotic works, you should see improvement within 1-3 days. If not, then you need to switch to something else.

Hot compresses (http://www.thepitbullbible.com/forum/content.php?165) are also highly recommended for infected/swollen legs.

Jack

[blake]

If it doesnt work, would you suggest the stronger antibiotics mentioned in your book or the double antibiotics mentioned

[Officially Retired]

Always remember that just "using antibiotics" is a gamble. Generally, if you have decent knowledge of which antibiotics do what, you can make the right choices and be okay. That said, 99% chance cephalexin will just work on a flesh infection. It is the vet's #1 choice for most flesh wounds. Notice I said "most" ... but cephalexin will not handle all flesh-bacteria. If cephalexin doesn't work, then I would get a culture on the dog's leg and identify the problem exactly before doing anything else and taking another guess.

I had a case once I handled, where (unbeknownst to me) a dog had 2 different, extremely tough bacteria to deal with (Enterococcus faecium and Pseudomonas fluorescens). I tried everything, up to and including Baytril, and nothing worked. I even took her to a vet, put her in IV therapy, and she lost both her paws and I put her down.

The dog she got into a wreck with, Super Red, also had damage on her muzzle that just wouldn't go away. I did a culture on her, and it turned out that she had TWO tough bacteria: Enterococcus faecium and Pseudomonas fluorescens. No "one" antibiotic would possibly work for both of these pathogens, and because I had kept "switching antibiotics" she too had developed a super-infection that it took a year to resolve. I finally just let nature take its course, and she finally beat it on her own, but the other dog lost her life to the infection. Had I got a culture originally, and properly-identified the problem, I could have used Orbax and Clavamox together.

I realize this was a 1-in-1000 chance of happening, but that said, if your initial use of antibiotics doesn't work, then BEST PRACTICE is to get a culture on the problem and identify it exactly, so you know exactly which antibiotics you should use.

Jack

[blake]

Thanks jack. Tried sending you a picture of it but it asks for a url and the picture is on my cellphone

[No Quarter Kennel]

Always remember that just "using antibiotics" is a gamble. Generally, if you have decent knowledge of which antibiotics do what, you can make the right choices and be okay. That said, 99% chance cephalexin will just work on a flesh infection. It is the vet's #1 choice for most flesh wounds. Notice I said "most" ... but cephalexin will not handle all flesh-bacteria. If cephalexin doesn't work, then I would get a culture on the dog's leg and identify the problem exactly before doing anything else and taking another guess.

I had a case once I handled, where (unbeknownst to me) a dog had 2 different, extremely tough bacteria to deal with (Enterococcus faecium and Pseudomonas fluorescens). I tried everything, up to and including Baytril, and nothing worked. I even took her to a vet, put her in IV therapy, and she lost both her paws and I put her down.

The dog she got into a wreck with, Super Red, also had damage on her muzzle that just wouldn't go away. I did a culture on her, and it turned out that she had TWO tough bacteria: Enterococcus faecium and Pseudomonas fluorescens. No "one" antibiotic would possibly work for both of these pathogens, and because I had kept "switching antibiotics" she too had developed a super-infection that it took a year to resolve. I finally just let nature take its course, and she finally beat it on her own, but the other dog lost her life to the infection. Had I got a culture originally, and properly-identified the problem, I could have used Orbax and Clavamox together.

I realize this was a 1-in-1000 chance of happening, but that said, if your initial use of antibiotics doesn't work, then BEST PRACTICE is to get a culture on the problem and identify it exactly, so you know exactly which antibiotics you should use.

Jack

Wow! Some kind of experience man!