Poll of the Day > How the fuck do wild dogs survive?

(+) Yeah! (+)

So when a pet dog gets like a cut or scratch on their body, they lick it, and licking it stops it from healing so you put a cone around its neck.
Do wild dogs just not lick their wounds? Or are they completely fucked if they get hurt?

A certain amount of would licking is beneficial, but it seems like domesticated animals can do it too much? Perhaps wild animals are busier than domesticated animals so they end up spending less time doing it? Just speculating.

Yeah, licking a wound actually has a function in the wild. It cleans the wound and surrounding area.

However, for domesticated pets, licking is obviously inferior to modern antiseptics, therefore licking the wound is discouraged.

Idk how the street meat around here survives on 150 degree concrete

Jen0125 posted...

Idk how the street meat around here survives on 150 degree concrete

awww... that made me sad

Zareth posted...

So when a pet dog gets like a cut or scratch on their body, they lick it, and licking it stops it from healing so you put a cone around its neck.
Do wild dogs just not lick their wounds? Or are they completely fucked if they get hurt?

Licking messes with healing in the case of large, medical-induced wounds.

In the wild world, wounds that large would just... Kill an animal, typically.

But in the case of smaller wounds, licking can provide healing qualities.

There is the difference. Most wild animals aren't dealing with large medical wounds. And if they receive wounds that large, they typically just... Die.

You don't put a cone on an animal if they have a small wound. You usually only do so for larger/deeper medically caused wounds.

That seems like a good explanation!

StealThisSheen posted...

You don't put a cone on an animal if they have a small wound.

This is false. Vets put cones on animals to stop them from opening up ANY wounds again. Licking wounds is a problem if the dog won't stop licking it, because then it can't heal properly.

Zareth posted...

This is false. Vets put cones on animals to stop them from opening up ANY wounds again. Licking wounds is a problem if the dog won't stop licking it, because then it can't heal properly.

No, and common logic should tell you this is incorrect. You put a cone on an animal to stop them from reopening a surgical wound, not just any small wound. Otherwise, wild animals would die the second they got any wound whatsoever. Your typical wound isn't as deep as a surgical wound, hence the need for a cone with surgical wounds.

Well I'm going to trust what my vet told me to do instead of someone on GameFAQs, sorry

Zareth posted...

Well I'm going to trust what my vet told me to do instead of someone on GameFAQs, sorry

You clearly misunderstood your vet, which is clearly why you made this topic asking how wild animals survive, in the first place. You wouldn't have needed to make this topic if you had any common sense whatsoever.

No need to act like a shitter, Sheen

Sarcasthma posted...

No need to act like a shitter, Sheen

I gave the TC an honest answer, and he got angry and defensive about it. How else am I supposed to react?

According to TC's logic, wild dogs/other animals just have death sentences whenever they get any wounds whatsoever. This obviously isn't true. Yet, when I pointed that out, they got angry. What am I supposed to do?

Zareth posted...

This is false. Vets put cones on animals to stop them from opening up ANY wounds again. Licking wounds is a problem if the dog won't stop licking it, because then it can't heal properly.

I feel like it would at least depend on the dog. Some can lick compulsively while others don't.

*everyone furiously proceeds to google animal behaviour*

Vets do put cones on animals to stop them from opening any wound, but generally speaking if it's a minor wound they'll only do so if the animal in question isn't leaving it alone (or caused it in the first place, which usually means there's some other sort of irritation prompting them to over-groom it). In those cases, the problem isn't that they're licking at all, it's that they're licking it more than they should (for whatever reason). Cones are generally only used as a proactive measure for surgical or other major wounds, which are cases where the innate instinct to lick wounds is going to do more harm than good.

As for how this relates to wild animals, they generally aren't going to be licking minor wounds too much, so they don't interfere with them healing. If they do have a minor wound that they over-groom to the point of keeping it open, there is indeed a good chance that they'll just end up dying due to it becoming infected, or else just being permanently injured. If they have a wound that's major enough that a vet would pre-emptively put a cone on to protect it, they probably will end up dying if left untreated.

They fuck more than domesticated dogs

They canknot be wiped out

adjl posted...

Vets do put cones on animals to stop them from opening any wound, but generally speaking if it's a minor wound they'll only do so if the animal in question isn't leaving it alone (or caused it in the first place, which usually means there's some other sort of irritation prompting them to over-groom it). In those cases, the problem isn't that they're licking at all, it's that they're licking it more than they should (for whatever reason). Cones are generally only used as a proactive measure for surgical or other major wounds, which are cases where the innate instinct to lick wounds is going to do more harm than good.

As for how this relates to wild animals, they generally aren't going to be licking minor wounds too much, so they don't interfere with them healing. If they do have a minor wound that they over-groom to the point of keeping it open, there is indeed a good chance that they'll just end up dying due to it becoming infected, or else just being permanently injured. If they have a wound that's major enough that a vet would pre-emptively put a cone on to protect it, they probably will end up dying if left untreated.

Thank you. This is what I was trying to say, but you did so more clearly.

It's also worth noting that when cones are used for major/surgical wounds, it's usually less a matter of trying to keep the animal from licking the wound itself and more a matter of trying to protect any stitches/staples that may have been used in treating it. Those are inherently irritating, which means animals will often try to remove them and/or will over-groom the area in an effort to stop the irritation, both of which are obviously very bad for the wound.

Most of them dont lol. Not for long at least

They usually get die by getting hit by a car unless theyre a small dog in which case they either die by getting hit by a car or killed by a bigger animal.

PK_Spam posted...

They usually get die by

Youre better than this. And Im hoping its because its a Saturday night.

StealThisSheen posted...

I gave the TC an honest answer, and he got angry and defensive about it. How else am I supposed to react?

You could try not going for personal insults.

He didn't say anything insulting in his explanation lol. I like Zareth a lot but I think he kind of just refuted it based on one vet/circumstance. I get it though, dogs are fam.

ReturnOfFa posted...

He didn't say anything insulting in his explanation lol.

You mean Sheen? That part about Zareth not having any common sense seemed kind of insulting, imo.

Cacciato posted...

Youre better than this. And Im hoping its because its a Saturday night.

I wasnt like drunk or anything, sometimes my autocorrect takes over and I dont spellcheck or anything or sometimes I think about starting a sentence a certain way and then change it midway through

Blightzkrieg posted...

They fuck more than domesticated dogs

They canknot be wiped out

Hate u

They're very successful hunters

In the wild predators don't pick stupid fights. Serious injuries result in an inability to hunt properly so they tend to avoid situations that don't have a high chance of success.

Sarcasthma posted...

You mean Sheen? That part about Zareth not having any common sense seemed kind of insulting, imo.

This kind of question is honestly something I would expect from a child still learning how the world works. It's difficult for me to comprehend the grounds for it otherwise, animals just don't go around getting random deep cuts for fun.

Sarcasthma posted...

You mean Sheen? That part about Zareth not having any common sense seemed kind of insulting, imo.

That was only after Zareth responded with "False" without any consideration of the details of Sheen's initial response, which contained no insults. I also don't find it exceptionally insulting for someone to point out that my common sense might be blinded in a situation.

doggy style

Sarcasthma posted...

You mean Sheen? That part about Zareth not having any common sense seemed kind of insulting, imo.

I gave a legitimate explanation, and he dismissed it entirely with "False," and then telling me he'd rather listen to his vet than somebody on GameFAQs. At that point, why did he even post the topic, then, unless he just wanted to argue with people? If he thinks he already knows the answer, what's the point of asking? I merely pointed out that his understanding of what his vet told him must have been flawed, logically.