Sit in any veterinarian's waiting room and you'll see a steady parade of pet owners bringing in injured animals. Some are emergencies - a dog that was hit by a car or a cat that got into some sort of scrape. Others are a little less serious, such as an animal with a splinter.

"Injuries probably - and I'm going to separate injuries from illnesses - are 15 percent (of the cases that come in)," says veterinarian Jay Whittle of Mill Creek Animal Clinic in Palos Park, Ill. "Dogs fall from places they shouldn't be, cats fall in the city, high-rise syndrome. Or they're running too hard and they rip an ACL."

One thing that many of the injuries have in common is that they're preventable.

Veterinary Pet Insurance, the largest provider of pet health insurance in the U.S., has made a list of the most common pet wounds, based on claims filed in 2007.

Here's VPI's top 10.

1. Lacerations/bite wounds:

By far the most common wounds - about three times the incidence of any other injury - come mostly from cats and dogs mixing it up with other cats and dogs or wild animals.

Lacerations also occur when pets are involved in car crash­es. So drive carefully.

2. Torn nail: It's all about romping and stomping and fun until little Spanky snags a nail. Then the howling and bleeding begin.

3. Insect bites/stings: The bites can be virtually harmless - you don't even know your pet is bitten - or they can be extremely serious because of an animal's hyper­sensitivity.

"Most of the time dogs are nosing around someplace, they'll get bit and they'll look like a Shar-pei," said veteri­narian Tony Kremer, from the Hinsdale Animal Hospital.

4. Abrasions: The dog version of a skinned knee, said Kath­leen Heneghan, past president of the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association and a veterinarian practicing in River Grove.

5. Eye trauma: This is always an emergency, Kremer says. When an animal gets poked or scratched in the eye or has an eye infection, it likely will get worse without treatment.

Attention, dog owners: Don't let your animal hang his head out the car window. It makes him vulnerable to getting debris or bugs in his eyes. If your pup insists on having the breeze in his face, train him to wear a pair of specially designed pet goggles.

6. Punctures: An animal may step on a nail, brush against a tree or get caught while climbing under a fence and could get a splinter or tear his or her skin.

7. Foreign objects in skin:

It's not the most common foreign object, but, Whittle said, "If you want something really cool there are fly larvae and sometimes the fly will lay eggs and the larvae will devel­op. You watch the entire veteri­nary staff get excited when they see something like that. You see that, you don't want to mess with that at home."

8. Foreign objects in ear: Heneghan says MDs see this injury far more often than vets do.

"I would say the only cases I've seen have been either plant products from energetic digging in the bushes or Q-tips from overeager pet owners trying to clean their pet's ears."

9. Foreign object in foot: "It happens a lot because dogs aren't wearing shoes, and they'll step on a piece of glass or sharp ob­ject," Kremer said.

10. Snake bite: This isn't a huge issue around Chicago, but if you travel with your pet it's some­thing to think about. When camping, check with park rangers to see if rattlesnakes (or other biting snakes) are in the area. Check with your veterinarian to see if he or she has a vet to recommend in the area. If not, consider using the American Animal Hospital Association's Web site (healthy pet.com) to find an accredited animal hospital.

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NOT ALL INJURIES CALL FOR A TRIP TO THE VET

Veterinary Pet Insurance, the largest provider of pet health insurance in the U.S., has compiled a list of the 10 most common pet injuries. Here are tips on how to treat those injuries.

1. Lacerations/bite wounds: "Bite wounds are best avoided by choosing your pet's playmates carefully," says Kathleen Hene­ghan, past president of the Chicago Veteri­nary Medical Association and a veterinari­an practicing in River Grove. "If you're at the dog park or beach and it seems too crowded, come back another time. Not ev­ery pet is well socialized, and pet owners do not always consider that before going.

"For cats, the best way to avoid bite wounds is to keep your cat indoors."

Beyond that, Heneghan says, check around the house and watch the areas where you walk your pet.

"We once had an overzealous Labrador patient who lacerated a huge area of her trunk on the outdoor spigot as she ran toward the gate to greet a friend," Hene­ghan said. "She ran too close to the house and tore an 8-by-10-inch flap of skin loose.

Of course, she was wagging her tail when she came in."

If your pet suffers a laceration or bite wound, try to stop any fresh bleeding with cold compresses or a pressure bandage. If you need to bandage a leg wound, Heneghan advised, always start toward the toes and work your way up. If the animal will permit it, try to clean or flush the area. Small wounds may benefit from an antibacterial ointment; large wounds should be bandaged and kept clean.

2. Torn nail. Much of the time a torn nail can be a non-emergency emergency, ac­cording to veterinarian Jay Whittle of Mill Creek Animal Clinic in Palos Park.

"It becomes an emergency because it's painful and very often it's bloody, which are two combinations that make everyone run to the emergency room," he said.

Depending on the severity, some can be trimmed up and a light bandage can be applied to stop the bleeding. Others need the nail cut back to healthy tissue to ensure that the nail grows back healthy.

The immediate action, Whittle says, is to put a bandage on the injury if the animal will allow it and go to your vet. But if there is a lot of blood, a visit to the emergency room is the safest bet.

3. Insect bites/stings: An injection of cortisone or an antihistamine within an hour can bring the swelling down. If left untreated, the dog's breathing could be­come affected. This injury is less common with cats because most of them are indoors and not exposed, though it can happen.

4. Abrasions: Treatment is similar to a laceration, Heneghan said, but mild abra­sions can often be treated at home.

"Cleaning the wound and protecting the lesion with either topical antibiotics or a covering are good places to start," she said.

"But a sore spot could cause your pet to lick or scratch excessively, which may lead to infection. So always call your veterinarian to get advice. Your pet could benefit from pain relief and may even need to wear the dreaded Elizabethan collar to keep its mouth off the lesion."

5. Eye trauma: The most common injury is a corneal abrasion, which causes the animal to be light sensitive and blink fre­quently. Medication is usually all that's needed, according to veterinarian Tony Kremer, from the Hinsdale Animal Hospi­tal. Untreated, it could eventually need expensive surgery to repair.

6. Punctures: "A lot of punctures will just need to be cleaned out real well," Whittle said. "We don't suture punctures. Depend­ing on the severity, they may need antibi­otics. Of course, every injury, every wound is different, which is why it requires a vet­erinarian to assess each injury for its own merit."

7. Foreign objects in skin: Whittle sees fish hooks or pieces of a stick being the main culprits. A fish hook means an immediate trip to the ER; a splinter depends on how painful it is to the animal.

8. Foreign objects in ear: If your pet has something in the ear, he's likely to shake his head and scratch, trying to dislodge the object. If your pet will allow it, examine the ear for signs of redness, swelling or odor.

Don't try to remove the object at home un­less it is very superficial in the ear, Hene­ghan warns.

"Oftentimes, we do need to sedate the animal to fully remove the item, as pets have an L-shaped ear canal. It's very easy for something to not quite make it around the bend. Remember, ear cleaning at home is a great idea, but stick to the ear flush solution and cotton balls."

9. Foreign object in foot: If you see your dog limping, examine the foot and try to remove the object. If there's bleeding, apply a pressure wrap of some kind. From a veter­inarian's standpoint, there are two scenari­os: "They either need to be stitched, or peo­ple don't realize it's a foreign object," Krem­er said. "There's a sliver in the pad or it's between the toes and camouflaged by their hair. Sometimes we're required to sedate them, clip the hair and find the entry wound so we can retrieve the object."

Antibiotics are applied to prevent in­fection.

10. Snake bite: Keep your pet as immobi­lized as possible to prevent the rapid spread of the venom. And get to a vet.