# Chest Pressure Sore



## Amanda Jones (Mar 6, 2013)

I need some creative suggestions for this guy. He has a pressure sore on his chest that won't go away. I've been battling it for months and nothing I try is working. 
He is a very deep chested lab with very, very little body fat and since he is a working dog, he is kenneled when he isn't working. He is in a regular wire crate with the plastic tray. When he is in the car, he has a foam pad to lay on but he chews the pads everywhere except the car.
I've tried using the foam puzzle piece floor tiles, a dog bed, moving/packing quilt and most recently a neoprene dock diving shirt. The shirt worked well for padding but I think it retained too much heat and didn't wick the sweat away which made it worse.... None of the prior have worked because he chews EVERYTHING that I put in his crate except the shirt. 
I'm not sure what to do. And before anyone says it, yes it looks awful and yes, he has seen a vet. The vet's solution was to find a way to pad the bottom of his crate


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

get a blower and use it often til it dries out and heals completely ?
(i'm not talking about a small hair dryer)

neopreme is like giving him a sauna to wear around and will never allow it to dry. not a vet but i think it needs to be open to the air to dry faster and never covered

if he's also licking, which you can't know if he's out of sight in a kennel a lot, keep him IN sight until it's healed ?

does he have callouses on joints ? can u encourage/condition him to sleep on his side ?
- had a dog that only liked to sleep on one side and during hi heat/humidity periods would start getting raw spots on elbows. got him to sleep on both sides in a different area and it went away, no more probs for last two summers


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

Get honey based salve. Here its called Dermiel. Had same with my dog Casper. Looked nasty and nothing we did bedding wise and kennel wise helped. Dermiel was a godsend tho. 10 days and it was healed perfectly. Ot will however develop into a hard patch of skin but it doesn't open up anymore.


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

when it's healed have you thought of using deep straw bedding or will he eat that too?


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## Amanda Jones (Mar 6, 2013)

Rick: What do you mean by a blower? He is only unattended at night, during the day his kennel is in my office. As far as I see, he doesn't lick at the spot. It's in a hard to reach area. The neoprene definitely caused him to be hot but the cut off for the shirt is right at the edge of the sore and it has a gap due to the way it fits. So as long as he isn't over heating, do you think it's ok? He doesn't have callouses built up anywhere yet. He usually sleeps on his side or curled into a doggy donut. 

Alice: Do you have a link you can send me? I wonder if I can order if from here in the states.... I'm all about using natural remedies to fix things. I'm ok with a hard patch of skin, that's what I thought would eventually happen but it's just getting worse instead. 

Matt: I've thought of using the straw but he also has issues with crate training/house training so I'm worried about him peeing in it and us not realizing that he's gone. Have you had that issue before? I've used straw for my barn cats but I've never had to worry about them peeing in their beds 

Thank you all for the suggestions!


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## leslie cassian (Jun 3, 2007)

What about something like this? 

http://www.cabelas.ca/product/4809/remington-dog-chest-protector

I would line it over the sore with fleecy sheepskin to wick away moisture and for padding and maybe also add some gel padding for extra pressure relief in that area.

What about letting him put on a few extra pounds? I know working dogs are supposed to be lean, but a little bit of body fat (not waddling roly poly lab) may help him get over this and then you can lean him back down again.


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## Amanda Jones (Mar 6, 2013)

Leslie: I was actually looking for something like that but didn't have a clue what to search it under! Thank you! I'm thinking maybe this in conjunction with the MediHoney dressings may do the trick. As far as him putting on weight, I'm not against it. I actually have been trying to pack pounds on him for a year now but his metabolism is through the roof! He may have gained 3 pounds in the past year. He is super tall for a lab with legs a mile long and weighs 65 lbs at 2 years old.


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

Here is a link to an english language site : http://www.dochorse.com/dermiel-wound-ointment.html

another favorite for working dogs over here is Acederm : http://www.jordenshippo.com/gb/dogs-care/wound-care/ointments-lotions-etc/acederm-ointment-30-gram/art_c339_a1029

I always have a spray can of Acederm in the car for our dogs for any wounds they may get during training. Its quite brilliant in use and works amazingly well on every wound you can think of. I prefered Dermiel in this case because its a sore and Dermiel isnt as colourfull as Acederm is. Acederm can leave stains as to where with Dermiel there is no problem with that! I hope you can find a way to get it over there. 





Amanda Jones said:


> Rick: What do you mean by a blower? He is only unattended at night, during the day his kennel is in my office. As far as I see, he doesn't lick at the spot. It's in a hard to reach area. The neoprene definitely caused him to be hot but the cut off for the shirt is right at the edge of the sore and it has a gap due to the way it fits. So as long as he isn't over heating, do you think it's ok? He doesn't have callouses built up anywhere yet. He usually sleeps on his side or curled into a doggy donut.
> 
> Alice: Do you have a link you can send me? I wonder if I can order if from here in the states.... I'm all about using natural remedies to fix things. I'm ok with a hard patch of skin, that's what I thought would eventually happen but it's just getting worse instead.
> 
> ...


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

i use a metro air force blower ... keep it outside and still cranking 10 years later
best piece of dog care equip i have ever bought

i'm sure u can find pics on ebay

how fast anything heals depends mostly on how strong the particular dog is which i think is mostly genetic and can only be marginally improved by ay combo of meds

i'm also a fan of honey based products; just make sure they are not made to promote skin moisturizing ... you DON'T want that effect ... duh


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## David Winners (Apr 4, 2012)

For a crate mat you can use a piece of livestock mat cut to fit perfectly in the crate. It is stiff enough that they can't get to the edges to chew it up. Check at your local farm store as shipping it can be fairly expensive.


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## Noel Long (Mar 13, 2013)

A poster on Belg-L described making a DIY Primo Pad. The trick was securing the padding to plywood so the dog can't work an edge up. I like the chest protector linked, too.

Dogs don't sweat through the skin of their torso; a bit via their paws, not their bodies. I'm not saying the neoprene vest doesn't add heat: most are intentionally designed to keep hunting dogs warmer in cold duck hunts. I'm just saying their is no sweat to worry about. I laugh at the dog clothing and froofroo harnesses that advertise breathability.


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

Noel Long said:


> I laugh at the dog clothing and froofroo harnesses that advertise breathability.


They may not sweat there but they do generate heat. You want and need that "breathability" to help keep the 'sauna' effect down.


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## Alice Bezemer (Aug 4, 2010)

I sorta forgot to add something with my original post. If your dog is very deepchested like mine was then you might want to keep an eye on his pee regiment :lol:

Mine was an olympic gold medalist on long distance peeing at a 127 degree angle. He would at times reach a distance of 5 feet or more but always with an upward slant to it which meant he would pee his own chest wet. This agravated the chest wound severely and I always suspected it was the reason for the sore that developed there. Something for you to look at to see if it is the reason for the sore.


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## Amanda Jones (Mar 6, 2013)

Thank you everyone! I will look into the different products and suggestions you guys have. It's such a difficult thing when you have a dumb dog like he is who chews (or pees on) everything that is put in his kennel


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## Zakia Days (Mar 13, 2009)

Alice Bezemer said:


> I sorta forgot to add something with my original post. If your dog is very deepchested like mine was then you might want to keep an eye on his pee regiment :lol:
> 
> Mine was an olympic gold medalist on long distance peeing at a 127 degree angle. He would at times reach a distance of 5 feet or more but always with an upward slant to it which meant he would pee his own chest wet. This agravated the chest wound severely and I always suspected it was the reason for the sore that developed there. Something for you to look at to see if it is the reason for the sore.



I was going to suggest the same as Alice here. My dog had a similar irritation on his chest, but I already knew he was hitting himself with his urine stream. I just made sure I washed and dried the area every day, and I applied Nu-Stock every two or three days and it cleared up without a problem. I guess as he matured he learned to extend or change the angle or something. Idk. No more issues with it though. Good luck.


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