Dog bites?

Preparation, Preparedness & Prevention Emergency First-Aid
1

My morning walk today included being bitten by a dog trying to attack my dog. I blocked him with my forearm and paid the price. He had current rabies tags and a very apologetic owner, but I was anxious to get my dog(and self!) out of there so I failed to get information from the owner. I considered drawing my gun…but in the end I’m happy that I did not.

One gash and two puncture wounds later, I’m left wondering what the best way to clean out a relatively deep puncture wound is. I know enough to flush it out with alcohol and hydrogen peroxide, but would a Q-tip be a good thing to scrub it out with? I’m concerned about introducing even more bacteria than his mouth already did. So I’ve only done basic Boy Scout flush and bandage.

Don’t worry, I’ve already made an appointment at noon with my doctor for a tetanus shot and I’ll presumably pick up a course of oral antibiotics.

2
  1. Prompt and thorough irrigation with normal saline (or water, if not available) for all bites.
  2. Peroxide or iodine to clean the skin around the wound, but not the wound itself.
  3. Tetanus update & a course of antibiotics (probably Augmentin, unless you’re allergic).
  4. Contact county animal control services so they can make contact with the dog owner to confirm immunization; also, the owner will be instructed to contact animal control if the dog becomes acutely ill or behaves strangely for the next 2 weeks.

Sounds like this could have ended a lot worse.:slight_smile:

Just out of curiosity, what sort of dog was this?

3

File a report with police, or your local animal control authority, to document the incident. Dogs don’t bite once, and such a paper trail will be needed when it’s time to remove or destroy a potentially dangerous animal later.

I have also seen a number of homemade rabies certificates. Vet care can be expensive, but printer ink is not.

4

keep cleaning it until your appointment. and try to get as early an appointment as possible. i got bit a couple years ago. it was her housemate’s dog, so i knew it’s med history.

i did the same, blocked with my right forearm. the puncture wound went down to the bone. i “cleaned it up” and went to bed. the next morning it was a little swollen, but it was leaking puss. i called the doc and got an afternoon apt. by the time of my appointment, my forearm was HUGE!! and the flesh was bright red. the progression of redness was distinct and it was at my bicep. he indicated that my arm was infected and that the infection was traveling up my arm and would soon be in my torso, which would be VERY bad. he gave me shots and a BIG antibiotic dose.

also he told me that he wouldn’t stitch up the wound, and that it was better to let the wound bleed/leak/eject all the puss and infected liquid.

5

For a deep puncture wound you need to go to a doctor as the chances of infection are significantly higher since it’s difficult to clean and its deep in the tissue.

Hydrogen Peroxide wouldn’t be appropriate for that because of tissue damage.

I’d ask him for some Rocephin.

6

+1 to this post.

i’ve been bitten twice in my adult life.

in one case it was puncture wounds and the doctor gave me an antibiotic as preventative medicine (some docs would prolly disagree with that, i dunno).

i the other case, it was more of a tear. i did not get preventative antibiotics for that one. the doc in that case said that, because it was a laceration rather than a puncture, it could bleed a lot (and it did) and was easier to clean, so there was a much smaller chance of infection, and i would not need antibiotics unless it started to show signs of infection.

at any rate, both docs said dog bites can easily become infected because of all the microorganisms that live in dogs mouths (kinda like human mouths), so any dog bite should be properly treated by a medical professional.

7

Thanks for the advice. Following Gunshot John’s advice I held off on the peroxide, flushed the wounds out with water and poured a ton of alcohol(probably way more than recommended) into them. I was vaguely proud of myself, as the Dr. commented that it looked like a professional had done the dressing.

It was explained to me that it was probably a good thing that they’re still bleeding because it will help push infection out…also the reason they don’t stitch them.

One tetanus shot, one course of antibiotics, and cleaned with some sort of iodine and I was out of there. Now I need to do a more thorough inspection of my pointer.

I forgot to ask about showers, but presumably I’ll try and keep the area dry and clean it afterward?

For the record it was a young(1-2yrs) mastiff mix. Kind of surprising as every English Mastiff I’ve ever known have been giant wussies.

8

Mastiffs are often listed in breed-specific ordinancing, subjected to either regulation or prohibiton. The former more than the latter.

Mastiffs are a popular alternative to pitbull-types, which draw more attention.

Can be very nice dogs, though.

9

My wife was attacked by a pit bull about seven years ago. The ER sent her to radiology to shoot a pic of her arm, because they said that pits and other large dogs often break teeth off in the wound when the tooth hits bone. Fortunately no tooth fragments were found, but I wouldn’t have thought of that. They Dermabonded the holes closed and left small holes open at the edges of each puncture to allow fluids to drain.

(side note: Fuck pit bulls. I blew that cocksucker’s brains all over the ground with a .45, and my only regret is that he’s not still alive so I can do it again.)

10

+1. My neighbors 7 year old little girl was playing in her own backyard when a pit bull came around the house and grabbed her, pulling her off the steps she screamed and I heard her and saw what was happening and grabbed my .45 also and beat the dog off when the owner ran up and was begging me not to kill the dog. I said you or it! He had no leash or even a collar I shot him right between the eyes. The dog that is, the police were called and we found out in court later that the dog had bitten 4 other people and the owner had bought their silence. The owner got two years probation and 1000.00 dollar fine and 200 hours community service. Oh yea my neighbors little girl got 47 stitches and 5 plastic surgery operations that witch this a@# ho#% paid for.

11

Pits get a bad rap that’s really not deserved. I used to feel the same way, but then I got to know a few. Like any other dog, primarily it’s in how they’re raised, secondarily it’s how people react to them.

Pits are assertive, but if you maintain the dominant position and are comfortable/calm you shouldn’t have any trouble assuming the dog hasn’t been conditioned to be aggressive.

Lastly any dog will scent on fear and in that a pit is no different. If you demonstrate fear, most dogs will think you have a reason to be scared in that you’re up to no good.

I understand why one would react violently if any dog attacked a loved one, but it’s not just pit bulls.

12

i almost started a thread on pits the other day after my 2 1/2 year old was “attacked” by my neighbor’s pit.

Pitbulls deserve the bad rep they have. I don’t know how much more likely a pit is to attack, but that’s totally beside the point- the point is that when a pitbull does attack, someone is going to fucking die or require years of reconstructive surgury. When a golden retriever “attacks,” you might end up with some stitches, but you’ll still have a throat and won’t have a broken neck or be missing your face.

In contrast to gutshot’s experience- I never had a fear of ANY dog until the last several years. I grew up with dogs, lots of dogs… never had a pit, but never knew they were any different than any other dog. Then, in my adult years, I had a number of encounters with them that turned me cold- THREE seperate times I’ve been chased by growling/snarling pitbulls that got lose from their yards while their owners were at work- one of those times it was a pack of 3 pits that pretty much put the entire neighborhood on lockdown with a trail of dead cats, police roadblocks, CERT officers running through the neighborhood with MP5s, and somebody’s old grandmother going to the ER with what injuries I never found out (probably fucking killed her). The first time, I was still ignorant to the danger and tried to go GET the dog to find out who it belonged to. He was standing there wagging his tail and panting, till i got about 3 feet from him- then he bared his teeth and got low on me, and probably the only thing that kept him from biting my dick off was me grabbing my hammer-tacker (because i’d left my hatchet on the roof, much to my dismay) and holding it up while shouting to get away. All happened while I was on job-sites, and armed only with the tools in my tool belt. I almost had time to get into my truck and grab my .45 in one instance- and would have shot the shit out of that dog, but he started at me so fast all I could do was turn tail and boogie back up my ladder and call the cops from my cell.

I’ve had friends with pits, and while I’ve never SEEN one attack, each of these dogs were the most absent-minded, hyper-active, undisciplined dogs I’ve ever seen- a berzerk attack waiting to happen. One of my friend’s 4 year old daughter was attacked by their family pit- last I heard they expect she’ll be getting reconstructive surgery periodically throughout her youth- scar tissue doesn’t stretch well as a child grows.

My own “attack” i spoke of turned out to be a lick/slobber attack only. I’d sent two of our boys outside so I could get some work done, and I hear Hiram, our 2 1/2 year old, start to scream bloody murder. This is not unusual, nor does it necessarily mean anything bad has happened, so I didn’t react immediately- until I heard my neighbors screaming bloody murder- “SAMPSOOOON! NOOOOO!” I broke the sound-barrier getting there, .38 in hand. Soon as the dog saw me bust through the door, he tore ass back over to the neighbor’s yard. Hiram was totally fine- but the ONLY difference between a lick attack and a teeth attack is what you get after the fact- in the mean time, all you know is that a dog with the ability to whip your child around like a RAG FUCKING DOLL is attacking your child.

Pitbulls belond in the pit they were bred for. They are not fuckin pets.

13

The above statement answers the question…once again bad humans make bad dogs… irrespective of breed. Anyone is going to be colored by their experiences with a particular breed, but in general pits are no worse than a German Shepherd who are just as assertive and I’ve seen more attacks by the latter than a Pit.

Discipline is a function of ownership. There is nothing inherently dangerous about Pit Bulls. Any dog can be dangerous if its owner is a waste of O2.

14

but again, an undisciplined golden retriever isn’t going to kill someone. an undisciplined pit just might. pits go on berzerk frenzies, and you’re gonna require medical attention. they’re just like wolves or coyotes… you can train the shit out of wild dogs, and they might make great pets- but they can turn, and there’s no way to predict it.

15

Golden Retrievers are perfectly capable of attacking and killing, google it. That said people make the same argument about “Assault Weapons” v. Sporting Arms.

pits go on berzerk frenzies

Clarify please, this type of claim is invariably media-fueled hype. When a dog attacks…he attacks. Pit, Rottie, Shepherds even Chihuahuas …any is capable of “bezerk frenzies”.

and you’re gonna require medical attention.

Any significant dog attack is going to require medical attention.

they’re just like wolves or coyotes… you can train the shit out of wild dogs, and they might make great pets- but they can turn, and there’s no way to predict it.

I’m afraid that’s another media-fueled myth. No well-behaved, well-adjusted disciplined pet dog just “turns” and goes crazy one day out of the blue. Any dog attack is predictable if you know what to look for. Again it is the owner that bears responsibility.

There is an oft-repeated myth that Pits (or Dobies) brains grow too big for their skulls…this is hogwash.

I’m not arguing that you or anyone should go out and get a Pit if you’re not comfortable with one, but that doesn’t mean everyone should avoid them. They’re wonderful dogs given half-a-chance.

16

well you can think what you want, and i’ll think what i want. based on my experiences, i don’t want shit to do with them.

17

Take a gander through here and you’ll see how wrong you are. It has news articles listed by the month and year and I think you’ll be surprised at the number of maulings committed by undisciplined golden retrievers, cocker spaniels, beagles, labs, greyhounds etc.

http://www.understand-a-bull.com/Articles/OtherBreedBites/AllDogsBite.htm

18

that’s about as rational as going to bradybill.org to find out where you stand on gun control.

just because any dog can bite doesn’t change anything about bitbulls. they bite harder, inflict more damage, and attack for a longer duration. and are more likely to attack to begin with.

what i don’t understand is why pitbull lovers deny this. that’s like saying “my guns cant hurt anyone.” of course they can, and of course pitbulls are more dangerous.
If i owned a pitbull, my argument would be more along the lines of gutshots- that if you train the motherfuckers, you don’t have problems. it’s probably quite possible that a well trained pitbull is no more likely to cause problems than any other well trained dog- but if they do, they’re still going to do more damage.

19

i dont want this to get hostile, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the OP’s issue, which is an important one. so lets all just agree to disagree, or PM for any further debate.

enjoy your pitbulls, just dont let them lick-attack my kids.

20

You missed the point, it was simply a bunch of news articles showing that undisciplined dogs come in all breeds.
Funny thing is I don’t own a pit bull and I’m not particularly fond of them. I even shot one in the front yard last year, but I don’t blame a dumb animal for his owner not having a lick of sense. He just happened to pay for his owners stupidity.
I do have a mongrel that could quite possibly have some pit in him, but he’s got discipline in his life.
Agreed to disagree.:slight_smile: