Confining your pet to an area where there is plentiful clean, soft bedding is crucial for your pet’s recovery. If given a choice, your pet will choose a hard cool surface on which to rest instead of a soft padded area and Decubital (pressure) sores will develop.

WE RECOMMEND:

1. Confining your pet to an enclosed area depending on your pet and your home’s size. I have a Dachshund and when he is not in his cart I keep him in a play pen with his bed wrapped in plastic and then covered with towels. This way all I need do is take out the towels each morning and wash them. With his PROTECT-A-PET it makes clean-up very easy. Of course since urine and feces were contained in his Protect-a-pet I then have to give him a quick bath before putting him in his cart.

2. If you have a large dog, we strongly recommend the Canine Cooler Water Bed. It is a bed containing soft cushioned foam encased in a strong plastic cover. It need only be filled once is warranted against any defects or tears for 2 years other than chewing and best of all it maintains a cool temperature. This is ideal for pets that get hot easily and seek out a cool surface on which to lie. Cool surfaces are often hard surfaces and when you have a pet that is mobility-impaired they are very susceptible to pressure sores and hygromas (elbow sores).

3. For the pet that needs a warm bed, the addition of a heater under the water bed maintains a safe heated bed. My Dachshund lives on his when he is not in his regular bed. He just rests his front end on it and goes to sleep!

4. Do not allow your pet to lie on one side continually. Turn it over regularly. For pets with fore limb weakness or rear limb problems sometimes it is better to prop them up in sternal recumbency using rolled up blankets on either side of their body and their head resting on a rolled up towel.

5. Remember-allowing your pet to drag around over any hard surface will cause pressure sores and once established, these sores are difficult to heal. Be particularly watchful with long-haired pets as the sores may be hidden in the coat.