Think Outside The Box!

When you live on a farm, raise animals, grow flowers and vegetables, and especially have children you learn ingenuity. This means you learn to improvise and seek out resources that are close at hand. There isn’t always time to seek professional help or run to the closest store which is 7 miles away. Often, it isn’t an emergency situation that causes your creative juices to flow, you just need to quickly find a remedy.

The Internet is a very helpful resource that we haven’t always had at our disposal but sometimes you don’t have the time to find your exact questions or you simply can’t find anyone who has posted it.

Several years ago my dear friend  (my chocolate lab) developed a lump in her ear. I watched it closely and I knew it was fluid and not hard. I suspected it was a hematoma and required the attention of a veterinarian. An ear hematoma is when a blood vessel leaks or ruptures in the ear and the blood starts to pool at the bottom of the ear flap. It is caused from the dog vigorously  shaking it’s head. My dog is a constant swimmer and therefore shakes her head frequently.

We went to the vet and sure enough he confirmed my diagnosis. He gave me two options; I could do nothing and the ear would shrivel up eventually, or I could have surgery done where the vessel would be stitched together preventing further bleeding. Of course I chose the surgery. I was very concerned for my dog as I left her that day at the vet. She had been hit by a car at 4 months old and still remembers the trauma of the vet’s office. She starts trembling when I pull into the parking lot!

I picked her up later that afternoon. When they brought her to me she was having a panic attack. They had placed a huge plastic cone around her neck so she couldn’t scratch her new stitches in her ear. They told me the cone would have to remain on for 3 weeks! I knew that wasn’t going to happen.so I started thinking about a way I could help her without the cone and without her ripping out the stitches.

By the time I arrived home, I had a plan. I went to the laundry room where all of the unmatched socks live and retrieved two long tube socks. I put a sock on both  her front and back legs on the side of her body where the sutured ear was. I duct taped the socks to her legs. It was a very effective remedy. She never minded the socks and it was impossible to scratch. The socks lasted for a few days then I would tape new ones on. The vet was very impressed when we returned for a check up!

I know the plastic collars are effective for a lot of dogs but I know my dog and I knew it would never work for her. Duct tape is essential for every household and those endless mismatched socks came in handy too!