My Dog Was Bitten, What Should I Do?

The first response and action to this kind of incident should be to contact the vet, after sorting out the situation with the owner of the dog that bit ours.

This is a very common emergency at vet clinics, and it always requires specialist attention, since depending on how severe the attack was, one treatment or another will be needed. Here at SoyUnPerro, we go over in detail what to do if our dog gets bitten.

Bites and severity

Every bite is a different case, depending on how severe it is (depth and extent) and where the bite occurred. However, they all share one thing in common: a dog's mouth (and specifically their saliva), just like a human's, is full of bacteria.

The bacteria most commonly found in canine saliva include the species Actinomyces, Streptococcus, and Granulicatella, among others. What's more, dogs' teeth usually have some degree of bacterial plaque. Plaque develops from saliva, bacteria, cells from the mouth, and food residue.

All of this builds up firmly on the enamel or outer surface of the teeth, making it more likely that, in the event of a bite from another dog, the affected area gets infected.

Symptoms

Given the information above, a bite will, in most cases (depending on how severe it is), tend to become infected if we don't seek veterinary care.

That said, depending on how severe each bite is, treatment and prognosis will differ, being worse or more guarded in severe bites or serious fights between dogs.

Based on my clinical and emergency veterinary experience, there's a wide range of possible bite cases. Below, I'll go over the different possible scenarios, from the mildest to the most serious.

1. The mildest bites are small puncture marks that barely break the skin, or have simply grazed it, causing a small, shallow, minor wound.
2. Next come puncture wounds that go through the skin and the layer beneath it without reaching the muscle.
3. The next scenario could be bites that go through the muscle, so they'll be a few centimeters deep and wide. Recovery from these will take longer than the previous cases.
4. Lastly, we could include bites that have torn through and gone past the muscle. These are usually several centimeters wide and can affect large areas, sometimes requiring surgical tissue reconstruction. Most times, several areas will be affected, and the prognosis will be more guarded than the previous cases.

In this last group, we can include not just bites from a serious fight between dogs, but also encounters with wild animals such as wild boars, which will need hospitalization. Recovery will obviously be much slower, and special care needs to be taken, closely following the treatment.

So, in the first case, we'll see superficial wounds, either still bleeding or already clotted, with possible small puncture marks, usually rounded in shape. We'll notice the wound edges are swollen and congested (red).

If the bite has gone through the skin but not the muscle, what we'll see about a centimeter deep in the wound will be the muscle. This looks like a thick layer of deep red color. If it's gone through the muscle, we'll see a tear or split in the muscle itself.

Fights with wild animals, which are quite rare in urban areas, tend to have fatal outcomes. Wounds can range from deep gores or bites to tears through skin, muscle, and possibly internal organs, greatly worsening the prognosis. These animals' lives are in serious danger.

So, symptoms will vary depending on severity, the most common being pain (possible whimpering) in the affected area, swelling, warmth, and edema. If it seriously affects the limbs, we'll see limping. We may also notice listlessness, apathy, and weakness.

If a fairly severe wound is left untreated and becomes chronic, it will very likely get infected due to the bacteria mentioned earlier. We may find pus in the form of abscesses and granulomas.

Treatment

Getting prompt treatment started is important. This means as soon as the incident happens and we've exchanged information with the other owner, if applicable, we should see a vet. This is because the longer we wait, the higher the chance of infection or tissue death (depending on severity).

The vet will need to assess the appropriate treatment for each case based on severity, affected areas, and the animal's size and weight. Similar wounds won't be treated the same in a Chihuahua as in a Labrador, for example.

That said, all the bite cases described above will share some common daily steps: cleaning with an antiseptic like cristalmina, anti-inflammatories such as meloxicam, omeprazole to protect the stomach from the anti-inflammatory, and an Elizabethan collar to keep our pet from licking the wounds and potentially infecting them.

For the first scenario, where the wound is superficial and doesn't go through the skin, treatment beyond what's described above won't need antibiotics, and the animal will be recovered within a few days. The remaining cases will need systemic antibiotics for several days, and possibly weeks, since the risk of infection is high.

If another animal's teeth have gone through the skin anywhere from a few millimeters to a few centimeters, the tissue will need to be brought together with medical tools such as surgical staples or stitches. There's some debate among veterinary surgeons about using these on bite wounds, since, depending on the size of the bite, fully closing it could lead to an abscess forming due to lack of drainage.

That's why the vet will need to evaluate each case individually. If staples are used, depending on the wound's size, some space may need to be left open so it can drain daily during cleaning, removing any dirt that's built up.

With wounds affecting the muscle, part of them will also need to be stitched; however, depending on how large the affected area is, some type of drain may be needed. Most times, a passive drain (a rubber tube with micro-perforations) is used to help clear the wound of bacteria that could otherwise multiply.

In cases of very severe wounds, or ones caused by wild animals, hospitalization will be needed to give IV fluids and medication. The prognosis for these patients will be very guarded.

Bibliography Journal of Clinical Microbiology, and personal emergency clinical experience.