New to caring handicapped pet.

[Erick A.]

Hi!

I am the proud human of a 7 year old Siberian Husky who a year ago survived distemper, he did sustain some important neurological damage, but we got 3 of his legs back in working order and just one of them is having most issues because of muscle tissue loss..

We got into a very bad situation in which people who were supposed to care of him while I was out were not really taking care of him and would leave him alone without taking him out to do his business for 8 to 12 hours. I found out about this very late to the point where my dog developed a UTI which has been hard as he lost a lot of energy and at the moment spends his days laying down, this has been going on for 4 days or so, but the main issue here is that he now has a dribble-ish bladder after drinking the smallest amount of liquid and on top of that he is not getting up to avoid urinating on himself.

This has lead to a strong urine rash which prevents me to hook up his lifting harness as it causes pain to him, the vet has given us steps on how to care for it, but at the same time I am at a loss as to how to avoid him getting wet. Regular bladder expression does not do the trick as this may help him throughout the day, but on the morning we are still greeted to a wet dog that we cannot leave as such because of the irritation and smell. Unfortunately I am also unable to give him a bath in the morning prior to work due time.

We got diapers for him, absorbing pads, doggy talcum powder, petroleum jelly, a fur dryer, a full shower dedicated to him, carrying slings, and even a dedicated peeing slope outside for us to lay him on his side and allow his urine to slide down into a drain without causing much of a mess.

Is there something I may be missing here? Perhaps the wrong diapers? Perhaps it is my technique? I live in a very hot place of Mexico so daily baths are no issue for him, but I cannot risk a cold or respiratory infection because he is already weak as it is.

Please do note he receives vet care periodically due his condition, but I am very very new to handicapped pets so you can imagine even after reading a lot of the info shown here.. I am still overwhelmed by this. What would be the best way to clean him to avoid a full bath daily once we detect an accident? I heard about trimming his hair around his groin to make it much easier to clean up if accidents happen as there would be easier contact with the skin, is this true?

Any help would be greatly appreciated to help me help my dog live a better and comfortable life as we work out this infection and the rest of his rehab.

Thanks!

[CarolC]

Do you have diapers or do you have a malewrap? I'd go with the malewrap and a pad, as you indicated.



As long as the malewrap is snug and the pad is absorbent enough, he should stay pretty dry. For a husky I would either use a full absorbency Poise pad or flatten a disposable baby diaper around his abdomen and belt it on with the malewrap.

Petroleum jelly was the right idea, however something that works even better to protect the skin is original Desitin ointment, as long as he doesn't lick it off of himself. It contains zinc oxide which is toxic if they ingest enough of it, but I used it with no issues with my dog with the vet's recommendation. He didn't lick it because it was under his wrap.

https://es.johnsonsbaby.com/diaper-crea ... rash-cream

Hope this helps.

[critters]

Shaving would help, and you could use Cavilon spray, which is a skin barrier to keep pee off the skin altogether. It will probably last for days; it was developed for humans with ostomies, so it's skin-safe. The hair needs to be trimmed or shaved before you use it. Have you tried a diaper in a male wrap? Human diapers seem to work well in a wrap, and you can use a larger size if you need a higher capacity (absorbency).

Unless he has poop or pee all over the place you might be able to use just a local bath instead of a whole-body one. I'd say a "butt bath," but that's not exactly true of a male dog with a leaking problem.

What kind of problems are you having with the limb? Does he need a splint to hold it in the position of function?