You know, Terra (my old greyhound) got hit by a car. It tore her skin from one "armpit" over her back at the base of her neck to the other armpit and pealed it back to nearly her tail. She didn't have any broken bones or torn muscles amazingly, but it almost skinned her alive. She had drains and stitches like you wouldn't believe and I treated her like she was in intensive care (she was...had an IV and everything at home) and stayed at her side till it healed up all but a huge hole in her skin, 2" across that wouldn't heal. I say, you could see her muscles. I tried everything. Finally, I tried some burn medicine we had and would just rub it right into that gapping hole. Then I put a tie-dyed t-shirt on her so she couldn't lick and it worked. It healed right up.
Just a few weeks later she bit Matthew.
...I never even met the lady. It all happened pretty fast. He's just shattered.
I've seen dogs hit like you say... a friend's dog lost all the hide in a strip along the back that way, and the hair never grew back - just a big patch of bare skin.
Homer seems to be tolerating the T-shirt OK. He's not trying to get under it. If he can just let this thing heal...
How do I end up always ending up with neurotic dogs?
Yikes! Was Terra still in a trauma state from the accident and recovery?