How to Ice a Dog’s Injury

Injuries happen, especially with younger energetic dogs. Sometimes, ice therapy is recommended after your dog’s surgery. Ice therapy can drastically reduce inflammation, swelling and pain within minutes. Regardless of the reason for ice therapy, choosing an ice pack as well as keeping your dog still and engaged during ice therapy can be challenging. Try these tips the next time you need to ice your dog’s injury.

Choose an Ice Pack

When using cold therapy for dogs, choosing an appropriate sized ice pack is essential. Refrain from using a frozen bag of peas as a cold compress because it’s impossible to keep a dog still when food is attached to her body. 🙂 While it’s tempting to fill a plastic bag with ice cubes and use that as a cold compress, this type of compress is extremely cold and can cause more harm than good.

Instead, choose a flexible, reusable and gel-filled wrap that’s large enough to cover your dog’s injury area. Ace Reusable Cold Compress wraps work really well for dogs, and are easily found at most drugstores. Gel-filled cold wraps are moldable and much more comfortable on your dog’s skin. Keep the gel-filled cold compress wrap in the freezer for immediate use.

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Exactly, Where is the Injury?

To maximize the benefits of cold therapy for your dog, find the exact location of inflammation and pain. If you’re unsure, ask your veterinarian to show you exactly where to place a cold compress on your dog. For larger areas, choose a larger cold wrap that completely covers the injured area.

Keep Your Dog Still

Keeping your dog still is the main issue during ice therapy for most pet owners. Find a comfortable place and settle in with pillows and blankets to ensure both you and your dog are comfortable. Ask a friend to give your dog treats while you’re holding the cold wrap in place.

If you’re icing your dog’s injury by yourself, use a peanut butter plate to keep her still and happy. For the most part, once a cold compress is placed properly on a painful injury, dogs will sit still and doze off.

Ice for 10 Minutes

Keep the cold wrap in place for 10 minutes, then remove and place it back in the freezer. Set a timer on your smartphone, sit back and relax while ice therapy works its magic on your dog. Sometimes, after a few minutes of ice therapy, a dog will stand up and walk away and that’s OK. Next time you’re icing your dog’s injury, try placing a thin towel between the cold compress and your dog’s skin; she may have been a bit uncomfortable last time.

Ice therapy for dogs has proven to have anti-inflammatory and pain relieving benefits. Give ice therapy a try!