HELP Charlie's been bitten

[Traceyred]

Charlie has just been bitten on the park by another dog. He has a puncture wound under his chin and one on the side of his nose. It has stopped bleeding now, but does he need a tetanus jab like we have? I have no idea. Does he need to go to the vets? It's 9.00pm on a Saturday night here - shall I wait til the morning to go to the vets?  The owners say their dog has depression and is on medication for addison's disease - whatever that is....... I hope it's not contagious. Charlie is my first dog and I don't know what to do!

[mandy15]

Oh that's horrible! Its gives shivers reading this. Addison's disease is not contagious. It's a disease where the addrenal glands don't produce enough steriods for the body. It can cause depression. Did this other dog have its's rabies shot" That's really important. If he did than your furbabie can't get rabies. Are the bites deep enough to have stiches put in. If they are then I would take him. Do you have an animal hosiptal anywhere around you? You live in Canada right?  He's going to be alright. But if the cuts are deep I would take him to the hospital. Good luck! I'll be praying for you.

[mandy15]

As for the tetinous shot I wouldn't think he could get it from a bite. That would be a rabies shot. I don't even know if dogs can get tetinous.

[mandy15]

Hey its me again. I was just reading up on the internet a dog can get tetanus but it is very rare. Let me know how he's doing!

[Traceyred]

Thanks so much for your responses - I've been sitting here pressing refresh waiting for someone!! I'm in England so luckily there's no rabies here. I spoke to my mum - she's had more experience with dogs - and she said to bathe him in salt water and just to keep an eye on it to check it doesn't get infected. She said if it doesn't look like he's heeling right, I should take him to the vets - but I'm just too broke for the fees if it's not really necessary. My big hope is that he's not too affected by it - I don't want him to be scared to play on the park any more and just before it happened he was frolicking really happily with a little spaniel that was out walking with "bad dog". I know, not "bad dog" really, he's just got problems that need addressing - like being kept on a leash, or having a muzzle!! I'm just thinking he's bad because he hurt my baby and I'm upset...

[raleysmom]

Poor Charlie!  I am so sorry that happened.  How is he doing now?  I hope it is not bad.  I'll say a prayer for you both!

[ellietoo]

There are other diseases besides rabies that you need to be concerned about. Do dogs over there get shots for things like distemper and parvo? Has your dog had his shots? If he has his shots and they are up to date he should be protected from many of the deadly diseases. Infection is what you would need to be concerned about at this point if all shots are up to date. I would call your vet in the AM and ask what they suggest. We use Epsom Salts for puncture wounds as it draws out things that are in the wound.

[mandy15]

I'm glad I was here to help. Thats why we're here to help each other. Hows Charlie doing? My mom always tells me to rinse sores out with salt water also. It cleans them and helps them from getting infected. Keep us updated how he's doing.

[ellietoo]

I'm glad I was here to help. Thats why we're here to help each other. Hows Charlie doing? My mom always tells me to rinse sores out with salt water also. It cleans them and helps them from getting infected. Keep us updated how he's doing.

Salt is good for cleaning but it is very painful in a wound. Epsom Salts will draw out things that have gotten into the wound and sterilize but is not painful. I do hope they call the vet, however, as they would know the best course of action at this point.

[Traceyred]

Yes - we have parvo and distemper here, but Charlie is up to date with his shots. I will have to get some epsom salts as I was struggling with the salt water,I hadn't read about it being more painful - Charlie didn't like it at all and I could hardly clean it as he was wriggling so much and snapping at the cotton wool. The wound seems to be quite weepy. He keeps licking his front paws - I suppose that's in frustration that he can't actually lick his wounds on his face. I spoke to the emergency vet as it's a Sunday. They said to try and keep the wound open by continual bathing until the discharge all comes out. They said the problem is when the wound heals over with bacteria still inside, then an abcess will form. I feel so sorry for him, he seems  down and won't leave my side. My poor baby.

[ellietoo]

Hopefully you can get him to the vet on Monday and get some antibiotics for the poor guy. You sure don't want an abcess getting started.
Our oldest boy was attacked by a dog when he was 5 years old. They wouldn't take him to surgery to stitch up the wound because they were afraid of infection if they closed it up. He was on antibiotics for 2 weeks after that. They ended up using tape to close up the wound on the side of his head. It left a bigger scar but I guess that was better than a raging infection.

[Mai Tai]

I was bitten by a dog as a child and the bite went to the bone (in my arm).  They would not stitch it closed because they did not want infection to fester inside my arm.  They had to give me butterfly stitches to hold it partially closed and partially open so it could drain.  I have a nice scar now though.  Dog's mouths carry some nasty bacteria (as do humans too).  I hope the poor dog heals up with no problems.  Let us know how you do.

[mandy15]

My brother was attacked by two pittbull dogs while he was jogging. The dogs bit his legs several times. He had to do the same thing as you said. It took forever for his legs to heal up and he had several bad scars. I had an abcess in my tooth before and they had to put a shot in it. Talk about painfull! I about jumped out of the seat.

[ellietoo]

My brother was attacked by two pittbull dogs while he was jogging. The dogs bit his legs several times. He had to do the same thing as you said. It took forever for his legs to heal up and he had several bad scars. I had an abcess in my tooth before and they had to put a shot in it. Talk about painfull! I about jumped out of the seat.

Abcesses are nasty things. It basically is infection (puss) trapped under the skin that keeps building up and getting larger and larger. If it is not cut open or if it does not break open on it's own it will create blood poisoning and then there is real trouble. When I worked in a family practice office we frequently would have to lance abcesses and boils. Not a nice procedure.

[Auburn9]

How is Charlie doing?