How To Deal With A Bite

[facool 0]

I hope you never have to deal with this problem like I did once... few years agoFirst of all, it is critical to avoid the dog bite. Experts recommend that you never leave a child and a dog alone together.Unfortunately, even supervised dogs will bite children under unexpected circumstances. Just because the owner is holding the dog's collar does not mean your child is safe.Second of all, ANY bite that draws blood / breaks the skin (Cat, Dog, or Human) requires anti-biotic treatment. If a visit to the emergency is not warranted based on the size of the cut, go to a doctor within a day to get a prescription to prevent infection. Infected cuts scar.Thirdly, If you don't know the vaccination history of the dog you must report the dog and the event to the authorities for rabies testing. If the dog is a stray, the bitten person will require rabies shots.Fourth of all, if this happens to your child remember that your immediate instinct is that of a mother bear with her cub. You will be ready to attack and out for revenge. Calm down before you start blaming everybody and attacking the dog. It is important to try and be a civilized human being even when something uncivilized and inhuman occurs.Fifthly, try not to make a big deal in front of the child that may make the child more afraid. Don't expect the dog to be punished after the fact if it was provoked. Obedience lessons with the dog and the child (if they are to live together) from a professional trainer are a good idea.Finally, I hope this never happens to you. Maybe if you realize that it happens quite often and that dog bites are the second most common reason for children to visit the hospital, you will realize that you******MUST WATCH YOUR CHILDREN WITH DOGS******.It doesn't matter how cute, nice, well-trained, friendly, well-known, or small the dog is... any dog can bite a child under circumstances. I hope you never have to deal with this problem yourself.

[Tetraca 0]

I've dealt with bites from a small dog on several occaisions. I put some disinfectant onto the wound, and added a band-aid. That was always the end of the story. This is great to know if I ever decide to get a bigger dog, though.

Edited March 17, 2007 by Tetraca (see edit history)

[hyriu 0]

This is a bit over rated. I work with animals everyday and most bites are simple checkmarks. That's what the dog will do to let you know that he doesn't want to be bothered at the moment. Remember dogs don't have hands so they use their teeth as hands. Most dogs will just give you a quick bite. If its a very aggresive dog he will continue the attack if he feels treathen. If you don't know the dog. Aproach to him slowly don't make quick eye contact with him. Most dogs see this as a challenge. When you aproach him to say hi don't put your hand overhead the dog can see that as an attack. Instead aproach him slowly and calmly and scratch him under the muzzle. That way the dog will be more at ease since it wont see you as a threat. If you see that the dog has his ears laid back and the tail under. BE EXTREEMLY CAREFUL he is either scared or feels threaten. When introducing children to a dog let the children know that they are in charge and don't let them play any kind of game with the dog that will make the dog think that he wins over them. That will only enforce his thinking that he is in control and he is the alpha dog or the leader of the pack. The best way is to make this kind of introductions under strick supervision.

[midnightvamp 1]

I'm always amazed at how people think that "oh, my dog is so friendly it wouldn't ever bite anyone". If a dog is spooked from something, then it's very possible that the dog may attack, regardless of just how "friendly" it happens to be any other time. They work on instincts, and if they feel threatened, then it's not safe. If you child is going to be near a dog, you really need to be with it, because if something does happen, then at least you can try to minimize what has happened, but especially for little children, I don't think they should ever be left alone with a dog.It's like a story where I'm talking to my friend a little while ago, and she's moved in with her boyfriend who owns a dog that is part pit bull... part boxer... part who knows what else. It's a mean looking dog anyway, but she insists, "oh no! this dog is soooo friendly. It just has to get to know the people it's around first."They take the dog to the park and outside and let it off the leach... and I tell her, you shouldn't be doing that, cause there are kids around... what if something were to happen? She tells me all the time how her dog gets into fights with other dogs, but what if next time it's a little kid? She even lets a little four year old play with the dog alone, and I tell her to stop doing that.I can't stand it. She's always telling me that she's afraid to take the dog outside alone, cause she doesn't think she would be able to control the dog if it tried to run after something, but then she thinks it's okay to leave it off the leach where little kids are around. I don't think she really knows what the problem is, even when I try to explain to her, and I'm afraid that one day it's going to be too late.

[sheepdog 10]

I hope you never have to deal with this problem like I did once... few years ago
First of all, it is critical to avoid the dog bite. Experts recommend that you never leave a child and a dog alone together.
Unfortunately, even supervised dogs will bite children under unexpected circumstances. Just because the owner is holding the dog's collar does not mean your child is safe.

Second of all, ANY bite that draws blood / breaks the skin (Cat, Dog, or Human) requires anti-biotic treatment. If a visit to the emergency is not warranted based on the size of the cut, go to a doctor within a day to get a prescription to prevent infection. Infected cuts scar.

Thirdly, If you don't know the vaccination history of the dog you must report the dog and the event to the authorities for rabies testing. If the dog is a stray, the bitten person will require rabies shots.

Fourth of all, if this happens to your child remember that your immediate instinct is that of a mother bear with her cub. You will be ready to attack and out for revenge. Calm down before you start blaming everybody and attacking the dog. It is important to try and be a civilized human being even when something uncivilized and inhuman occurs.

Fifthly, try not to make a big deal in front of the child that may make the child more afraid. Don't expect the dog to be punished after the fact if it was provoked. Obedience lessons with the dog and the child (if they are to live together) from a professional trainer are a good idea.

Finally, I hope this never happens to you. Maybe if you realize that it happens quite often and that dog bites are the second most common reason for children to visit the hospital, you will realize that you

******MUST WATCH YOUR CHILDREN WITH DOGS******.

It doesn't matter how cute, nice, well-trained, friendly, well-known, or small the dog is... any dog can bite a child under circumstances.
I hope you never have to deal with this problem yourself.

One thing has not been brought up in this topic thread. Depending on your local laws, if you go to the emergency room/doctor, they may be required by law to report your injuries to animal control simular to what they do when children are brought in with injuries that could possibly be from child abuse. In some cities, the amimal crontol officers may have the right to confiscate your dog. The dog in question may be quaranteened for up to 2 weeks to make sure it is free of rabies. If this happens to be your beloved pet, who is a pampered, beloved family member, the consequences of impoundment may be extremely tramatic on the entire family, not just the dog.

Please be aware of your local ordinences BEFORE you get bit. Make sure that your dog is not only up to date on it's rabies shot, but that you have PROOF that the dog has been vaccinated.

[master_bacarra 0]

my brother got bit by our neighbor's puppy out of defense. the puppy went to our house and got bit by our dog and to attempt to save the puppy, my brother came near to the puppy and got bit instead. the puppy died and was brought for rabies testing while my brother got some rabies shots.i remember my neighbor got bit by our dog (a long time ago). aside from rabies shots, she had garlic rubbed on the wound. they say it would help with the bite, i don't know if it's true though. but my neighbor's still alive and healthy thank goodness or else we'll be sued by her family.