A question for people knowledgeable about dog injuries???

[Bob O]

While walking my "Westie" today my dog was attacked and bitten by a dog that looked like a chow chow. I will take him to the vet tomorrow as the injuries/bite marks dont appear to be serious. But is there anything i should do at home to help the dog before i take him to a vet. I gave the dog a bath to clean the wounds but is there anything else i should do that would help the dog. He is in pain if the hurt areas are touched and still shakes every know and then. Any info would be appreciated.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Sorry to hear about your dog, Bob. Doc Rafiki is on at night and she will be able to give you some ideas, I am sure. Maybe send her a pm. My best for your Westie, and you and your family.

 

[Bob O]

Thanks for the heads up Dan Murphy!!

 

[BethR]

DocRafiki mentioned something last week about "boycotting the PM system." I think that we are better off keeping this near the top so that she sees it.

Hope that your pup is ok, Bob.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yep, her pm box is full, I just sent her this link in an email.

 

[PandyPaws]

Poor pup

I would gently clean the wounds with peroxide and maybe dab on a little Neosporine or other first aid cream, just until you can get him to the doc in the morning. I hope he's ok, bob

 

[Bob O]

The dog seems ok, he seems scared and still shakes and is protective of his injured areas but seems to be settling down.

 

[jfulcer]

Bob, don't we have leash laws here in good ole Milwaukee? Did the chow dog get out???

 

[Deb in IA]

Sorry about your Westie, Bob . . .

Did you find out if the other dog was up to date on vaccines, especially rabies? If not, you probably should.

Being an officer of the law, did you cite the dog's owner for keeping a malicious animal, or something like that?

 

[dianeschlicht]

Peroxide and neosporin are good advice as well as warm compresses soaked in epson salts or Dreft laundry detergent.

Definately take him to the vet tomorrow for a possible antibiotic.

 

[Serena]

I'm sorry about you dog Bob. Let us know how he is today, would you?
I am glad to hear he's doing okay so far.

 

[ripleysmom]

Your poor pup Bob

No disrespect to Chow owners out there but Chows can be very nasty dogs. DB had 2 dogs that were part Chow and they attacked my DSIL and DN about a month ago. They also killed a couple of kittens during their rampage. Needless to say the dogs are gone (DSIL put her foot down on that one).

 

[Disney Doll]

The area is probably a little swollen from the trauma...perhaps a little ice, if you can get your pup to lie down and keep still for a bit.

 

[Bumbles]

My vet has told me to never use peroxide on injuries....the important thing is to get the wound clean but peroxide can do more harm than good. I was a huge fan of using peroxide until I mentioned it to him and he was like, uh uh--don't use that. Saline yes...peroxide..no. We only keep it around to induce vomiting.

 

[becka]

I am sorry to hear about your dog.

When our dog was a puppy he was attacked by a momma cat when he got too close to her kittens. We just cleaned the wounds with water and watched him carefully until we could get him to the vet the next day.

 

[Lisa L from MI]

My dog was "attacked" by my DH's aunts dog just this past August. My vet said no peroxide also, just antibiotic ointment. The bites didn't look bad to me until a few days after. They got really swollen and actually ended up getting a couple stitches.

She was put on antibiotics for 10 days. They say a dog bite on a dog is really dangerous....alot of bacteria etc.....

 

[Bumbles]

I think my vet said something about the peroxide could actually drive the bacteria deeper.

My guys have a wicked habit of accidentally tearing each other's skin (greyhounds have disgustingly thin skin!) so we have a supply of antibiotics on hand just in case

 

[Aprille]

How's the pooch today, Bob? I'm sure the poor little guy is traumatized. I hope he recovers from his wounds quickly.

I had a cat who was attacked by a chow many years ago in my own yard. It was completely unprovoked. The cat was curled up asleep at the time of the attack. I chased the dog off but unfortunately my cat had a back claw stuck in the dog at the time and was dragged down the street until it shook loose. The cat survived but had nerve damage in his back among other injuries and we had to have him put to sleep about a week later.

Re: the peroxide warning - is this just for deep wounds? I have a dog who just got over a skin infection caused by a scrape and my vet had me use peroxide on it twice daily before treating with antibiotic cream. It was just superficial wounds though. Looked kind of like road rash.

 

[Bumbles]

My vet's not fond of it at all..but he's adamant about not using it for deep and/or puncture wounds.

Personally, I've used it for minior boo boos and my guys are fine