# Puppy bitten at park today



## meredian (Nov 5, 2012)

FYI: Think we are going to just take him over to the vet tomorrow. Even though it's not a big wound it is still a puncture, and from what I've just been reading online it seems like that could warrant an antibiotic.


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## Oreo's Mommy (Dec 18, 2012)

Poor Wade! I hope he still loves the dog park and can make some nice friends!


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Oh, I am so sorry that happened. My whippet was attacked at the dog park when he was a puppy. We were never going to go back, but we eventually did. I haven't been going much at all lately because sometimes it is a great time, and sometimes it isn't. I am not sure the bad times are worth the good times. 

Hope Wade is okay!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Poor Wade - I would bathe it, and wait and see what the vet says. As there are no stitches etc to be damaged I doubt it will do any harm if he licks it - it has been nature's way of keeping a wound clean for millions of years, and I beieve saliva has mildly antiseptic qualities.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Poor Wade. As long as he does not excessively go after it I would not cone him. Did you talk to the owner of the terrier?


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## Brenda-A (Jan 7, 2013)

This happened to teddy when he was a puppy my neighbors dog bit his leg. It was horrible, not the bite necessarily, but the whole experience. I was in shock. :afraid:

He bit his back leg and he had like little wholes . What I did, meanwhile
I took him to the vet, which was the next day, was clean it with hydrogen peroxide and warm water and then put the cone so he wouldn't bother it. Don't cover it since it needs to air dry so it could heal. The next day we went to the vet he got a shot and some antibiotics. 

He's fine now. I thought he was going to be scared of dogs. Fortunately, he's not. He loves playing with them even big dogs. Lol

We hope you puppy gets better


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## Erin (Dec 11, 2012)

I would put some neosporin on it are another antiseptic. Personally, I'd watch it and forego the vet visit unless it seemed to be unhealing or getting worse.


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## Brenda-A (Jan 7, 2013)

Erin said:


> I would put some neosporin on it are another antiseptic. Personally, I'd watch it and forego the vet visit unless it seemed to be unhealing or getting worse.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I forgot to mention that lol 
The vet told me to put neosporin. Also, trim the hair around it so it doesn't get infected.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Hope he is ok. That's why I do not let my poodles off leash in dog parks. Many do, but I want to know who they are playing with.


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## meredian (Nov 5, 2012)

Thanks all!

Wade is happy as can be today. We let him sleep with us last night so we could keep an eye on it and he didn't mess with it at all. He's eating breakfast from his Kongs now 

We did not really talk to the man who had the terrier because we actually didn't realize Wade had been bitten at the time. The man was very apologetic and left, and then we left with Wade. 

Right now we are mostly feeling paranoid about rabies, because Wade has not yet had his rabies shot (he is supposed to get it this upcoming Saturday!). However we are reading that there are less than 1000 cases a year of rabies in domesticated animals, and this was a leashed terrier. I think right now we are just a little shocked still, so we are getting paranoid, in general... does anyone know anything about the rabies threat?

Thanks!


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## Abbe gails Mom (Nov 8, 2012)

Please, take your poodle baby to his vet, you never know what the other dog Might have.Hope poor Wade is ok, keep us all posted , as to how things are going. Poodle huggs to Wade.


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## meredian (Nov 5, 2012)

Oh and by the way, this was NOT at a dog park. Just a regular park and there were a few dogs hanging around. 

Not a very important point but thought I'd mention it


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I would think the risk of rabies is vanishingly small - the terrier was leashed, and the owner sounds responsible, so it's not as if it was a stray dog that might have been roaming for who knows how long. It is a tough thing to get over though - remember Wade will take his lead from you, so you need to squash your inevitable fears, and be cheerful and calm as he meets dogs over the coming weeks.


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

Stella got bit and I did take her to the vet. He stitched it up, she tore them out... He wanted to give her antibotic's, but I declined. I was much more afraid of the meds than the bite. She healed up fine. I agree with Erin.


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## meredian (Nov 5, 2012)

OK, here's the update.

They shaved the area (gasp! puppy hair!) then cleaned the wound thoroughly and stapled it. We were given Cephalexin (antibiotic) and Tramadol (pain killer). We are supposed to go back in 10 days. The vet says that hopefully there is no hair in the wound that would cause it to not heal properly - he said this would result in the need to open up the wound and then seal it again - a "major surgery," he said. Ugh. Hopefully just being dramatic.

Hopefully he does OK on the antibiotic. He's got a cone on now and we are going to get him one of the inflatable ones so he's more comfortable. What an ordeal.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

Good to hear that your pup is doing fine now.

My boy was bitten at the daycare about a year ago. My vet shaved his hair and looked at the puncture wound and it didn't look too bad. She prescribed us some antibiotics and painkillers. For reference purpose, this is what she told us about handling puncture wound: 

1. Do NOT cover it up. Do NOT put bandaid or anything on it. The key is to keep it dry. Moisture encourages bacterial growth.

2. Hot press for a few minutes every few hours. This is to encourage any discharge from beneath to surface and to discourage the wound from closing up too quickly. Yes, you read it right. I was surprised but this is what she told us: Bring up any discharge by applying hot press (clean towel, of course) before the wound closes up. If the wound closes up and there is discharge in there, the wound will be infected and the vet will end up opening it up to drain the discharge. So before you get to see the vet, apply hot press on puncture wound that doesn't look too alarming to bring up any discharge in the wound. 

If there's discharge, clean it up with a clean paper towel (not cotton ball. you don't want the lint to stick to the wound). Make a record of the color of the discharge and tell your vet.

When I applied the hot towel on Nickel's wound, he actually liked it a lot. He gave up a sigh of relief and came running to me when he saw the hot towel. It's like a spa experience to him.


OUCH! Nickel got bitten at the daycare by josietam, on Flickr


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## meredian (Nov 5, 2012)

Ouch! Wade's wasn't quite that deep, but certainly a puncture.

Thank you for the advice. His wound is already stapled so we can't really do the hot press (I don't think?) Hopefully our vet did the right thing.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Glad you took him into the vet. My Jake, who I lost a little over a year ago at 15 years young, was attacked by an off leash doberman and we weren't in a "dog park" per se, just an area where a few dogs were offleash and Jake was not even with them. We were at the other end of the yard are and he had just turned 1 and I was going to take a few pictures of him. Before I could even put my things down and get the camera, the doberman came charging over, had him in his mouth and Jake was screaming. He ended up being ok physically (no stitches), but he had fear aggression his entire life. He was great with dogs he knew, and he had been very sociable, so it was not as if he couldn't be with other dogs. We tried behavior modification, etc., and honestly, the behaviorist said it must have been so traumatic for him, he never really got over it. That's why no dog parks for me ---- or even offleash with other dogs unless I know them. I have been called over-protective; that's ok. I have been there and know what COULD happen. Glad you little guy will be ok.


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## meredian (Nov 5, 2012)

Oh gosh liljaker I'm very sorry to hear that - that sounds terrifying. We are hoping that Wade bounces back from this, behaviorally. He was already a little sheepish around dogs - there is a pit bull pup in our puppy class who likes to wrestle, and Wade cowers in the corner - so we are worried that this incident has just added fuel to the fire.

However, when we were at the vet today there was a LARGE pit bull sitting on the other end of the waiting room, and Wade wanted so badly to go over and play with him! Wade's tail was wagging, So maybe he'll bounce back from this. Our trainer says that anytime he approaches a dog happily we should treat and reward. Fingers crossed that he can get over it.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

meredian said:


> Ouch! Wade's wasn't quite that deep, but certainly a puncture.
> 
> Thank you for the advice. His wound is already stapled so we can't really do the hot press (I don't think?) Hopefully our vet did the right thing.


I'm sure your vet knows what's best for your boy  Just monitor it. If you see abnormal redness/swallowing, then take him back. He will be fine. My boy didn't even notice it, except for the hot towel that he fell in love with


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## meredian (Nov 5, 2012)

Thanks for all of your kind replies.

Poor little Wade has been sleeping on and off all day since returning from the vet (probably the pain killers). He has urinated only once and hasn't pooped since this morning. I know that pain killers can sometimes slow down the bowels, but when I've tried to take him outside he just doesn't want to go and will lie down and not budge. He must be miserable! Hopefully he'll go after I feed him dinner.

What a sad thing to happen. We feel so terrible and wish we could turn back time and stop it before it happened. Sigh.


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