• Puppy teeth, been there and seen that. Could be irritation from fleas but you'd see fleas on him. And if he's not itching then my bet is on the puppy teeth, they are tiny razors that penetrate quickly!


  • Sigh. Heavy sigh. My poor Rottie.. he had at least one and often 2 basenjis literally hanging off his neck part of the time when he was outside playing. Yeah, he weighed 120 pounds, but even at that, having 50 pounds of basenjis to drag around wasn't fun. He often had scabs and scrapes. I used to tell them it was one thing to hold on, another to try to pull like he was Yak meat. 😞


  • I think you are all right… Irritation from teeth!! I think I was just so worried when I saw it was all ***** and gross. But once I cleaned his wounds, it dried up and now they are just scabs!! And I did make sure to double check for fleas and I am pretty sure he doesn't have any. Anyway he isn't even scratching himself!

    Debra, I know what you mean. She was pulling at him like he was food. I was funny at first, but he looked annoyed after a while!! I was surprised she could actually pull him to the ground while holding him there! (She is so tiny compared to him!)
    I just hope he heals well and doesn't get infected in any way!


  • A wash and some peroxide should do him well. If you cleaned the woods then he should heal nicely. Word to to the wise though- basenjis are slow to heal…with Oakley, any scab takes months for hair to grow back..I always notice!


  • 😞 I know y'all hate me… but if you have peroxide in your cabinets, throw it out. They have been telling people for many years that the damage it can do does not justify use.

    https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/magazine/bookclub/pastfeatures/dontcrossyoureyes/excerpt

    Washing them out is an excellent way to prevent infection. Washing them out with hydrogen peroxide, however, isn't such a good idea. We know you've heard that it is an excellent antiseptic for wounds, but that, unfortunately, is a myth.

    We know you are shocked. After all, many of you have used hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide has been put on many a skinned knee or cut finger. You've seen it bubble and froth on the cut, which you've been told, is how you know its working. It's killing the germs, right there before your eyes. If only it were so.

    There have been a number of well-designed studies that have examined how hydrogen peroxide works as an antiseptic. In 1987, in the Journal of Family Practice, a randomized controlled trial was conducted comparing topical antibiotics, antiseptics, and wound protectants on their ability to heal wounds. Forty-eight (daring) people volunteered to have six blisters inflicted on them, three on each arm, in such a way that they were infected with a bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus. Five different substances were placed on five different blisters, and the sixth was left alone. All the wounds were covered with occlusive dressings. Wounds treated with antibiotic ointments healed significantly faster than any other preparation, and were the only ones that had the infection cleared after two applications. Hydrogen peroxide didn't do that. It did not help to clear the staph infection.

    Another study, published in 2009 in the Journal of Trauma, exposed cultures of cells to a number of antiseptic solutions to see how they affected cell migration. They found that hydrogen peroxide actually hurt the healing process, by reducing both the migration and proliferation of fibroblasts, which are essential to wound healing. Remember that bubbling? It's the hydrogen peroxide attacking your own cells as much as it is attacking anything infectious. The good cells are not able to come in and do the healing work that they are supposed to.

    Adding insult to injury, a paper in the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery in 2010 reported on a woman who suffered from a heart attack that seemed to be brought on by an oxygen embolism that was caused by irrigation of a wound on her breast with hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide killed her! We're not suggesting this is common or likely to happen, but as the authors of that report note, it should be factored into decision that debate the pros and cons of using hydrogen peroxide. Let's recap. Hydrogen peroxide does not appear to help prevent or treat infection in wounds. Hydrogen peroxide does appear to slow healing, and perhaps to cause cell damage. Other antiseptic solutions do appear to promote healing and fight infection. Continuing to believe that hydrogen peroxide is a good thing to use in a wound means continuing to believe in a myth.<<<<<<<<<

    http://students.case.edu/health/firstaid/wounds.html
    Rinse out the wound with clear water. Try to keep soap out of the actual wound because it can irritate the wound. If dirt or debris remains in the wound after washing, use tweezers cleaned with alcohol to remove the particles. If debris remains embedded in the wound after cleaning, see your health care provider. Thorough wound cleaning reduces the risk of tetanus. To clean the area around the wound, use soap and a washcloth. There's no need to use hydrogen peroxide, iodine or an iodine-containing cleanser - these substances irritate living cells. If you choose to use them, don't apply them directly on the wound

    http://medicine.yale.edu/dermatology/Images/Chapter%2018%20Time%20and%20Care%20Heals%20All%20Wounds_tcm101-36907.pdf
    page 3: don't use hydrogen peroxide, injure or kills cells.


  • From personal experience…..O.K., anecdotal evidence......hydrogen peroxide works really well for getting crud out of puncture wounds. I have used it on horses with abscesses as well, and had really good results. But in those cases you absolutely do not want the wound healing on the surface and trapping bacteria underneath. Good way to end up with infection. Antibiotics are great when used appropriately. Unfortunately, they are often used willy nilly without any lab work done to ascertain you have picked the right one for the infection you are treating. I have seen things go terribly wrong with antibiotics. OTOH, sugar and iodine is an old horseman's trick to heal while preventing proud flesh setting up. 🙂


  • I agree 100% with Debra. I bit a hangnail on my finger and soaked it in peroxide. Well by the next day major infection.
    Went to a emergency clinic. They told me peroxide actually can and did make it way worse. Soaking it in Soapy water and an antiseptic cream
    Bactarin is way better she said. (talking about my finger, not putting Bactarin on a dog) lol.


  • Thanks clokatys, except it isn't me saying it is bad, it is study after major study, from Mayo Clinic to Harvard.


  • One other use for hydrogen peroxide is to induce vomiting. If you don't have anything else available, and your dog has ingested something it shouldn't have, it works well.

    Personally I don't use peroxide on wounds unless they are punctures or abscesses. Most surface wounds heal well if you just wash the dirt out of them. My dogs have seldom had wounds, but horses are always getting scrapes and scratches…....and bites! Most of the time they heal just fine without any assistance from me. 🙂


  • @Chealsie508:

    A wash and some peroxide should do him well. If you cleaned the woods then he should heal nicely. Word to to the wise though- basenjis are slow to heal…with Oakley, any scab takes months for hair to grow back..I always notice!

    Zorro's scabs have been falling off… And he is missing patches of hair!! So now all I can see on his neck are pinkish bald spots amongst his hair! It's quite funny actually!! But I may not enjoy the long process of hair growing back... I would probably always notice too!!

    As for cleaning the wound, I don't actually have any peroxide in the house. I usually clean his (or my cat's) wounds with soapy water. But it hasn't happened a lot. This is the first time I have had to deal with something with puss.

  • First Basenji's

    Uzie had some bite marks on his neck , though not puncture marks as your baby did. The hair did grow back but it took a about 8weeks. That Boston mix sure has to learn bite inhibition! Zorro was too nice not to teach him a lesson!


  • @Buddys:

    Uzie had some bite marks on his neck , though not puncture marks as your baby did. The hair did grow back but it took a about 8weeks. That Boston mix sure has to learn bite inhibition! Zorro was too nice not to teach him a lesson!

    I am actually quite surprised he didn't teach her a lesson!! She tried eating in his food bowl and eating his bone, Zorro went nuts. He growled at her and tried biting her! But when she bugged him he just let her do it!

    But I am glad to say he has healed nicely! The whole scabbing process was quite disgusting as he would scratch them and eat what would fall off. He does have little bald spots on his neck (haha) but it is growing back nicely!
    Thank you all for your help!! I would have rushed to the vet for nothing! I cleaned his bite marks well and he did all the rest on his own!

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