What to do when your dog has swollen areas…

Date: 14th September 2015

Last week we went for a family stoll on our JD Ranch. When we came back, I realised that Chance, our Huntaway, has a swollen carpus joint. (basicalyy the wrist of a dog). She wasn’t in pain, didn’t limp and showed no discomfort at all… Otherwise I would have taken her to the vet straight away… So then I started putting ice on it, and she didn’t mind, which is a perfect indicater that nothing was broken. I left the ice on for about 15minutes. Only leave ice on for about 15 minutes. Cold will slow down blood circulation, what we want if there is a swollen area. But if you keep it icy cold for too long, all the body wants to do, after taking it off, is to warrm it up as soon as possible. And therefore the body will push as much blood as possible through, and then we will have an even bigger swollen area than before! Repeat this 4-6 times a day.

After that I put on a compression bandage filled with salt/soda crystals. And here is how to do it:
Soak a handkerchief in very warm water and wring it out so it’s still good and damp. Place soda/salt crystals in middle of the handkerchief and fold it so salt/soda can’t fall out. Wrap it around swollen area and wrap the bandage around it. Please don’t wrap it too tightly, because it will stay there for a few hours or best over night… Next day take it off, and you might see white stuff in that area. Don’t worry it’s the salt! The salt will take inflammation and heat out of the area and will help in reducing swelling! Repeat ice and salt compression until swollen area is completely gone.
It also works wonders on humans!!! : )
Please note, that if you have any slight concerns about your dogs health, take them immediately to a vet!!!
And please also note that your dog should NOT lick the soda crystals! Otherwise he/she might throw up!  : ) It’s not bad for them, it has just the effect on them. Just use Epsom Salt instead, if you think you have a dog that might chew through the bandage when not supervised…

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