Dogs Info
Information and Advice to Help You Care for Your Dog

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Dealing with Bites

Dogs are most commonly bitten by another dog, a cat or a rat.

Dog Bites

There is invariably some degree of penetration with this injury, and it is important that a close watch be kept on such injuries until they have completely healed, as abscess formation is a constant danger if healing of the skin wound is too rapid. Immediately the bite is found the hair should be clipped away from the wound. This is very necessary with the longhaired breeds. A thorough search should be made for other wounds; these often have only small skin openings and may be easily overlooked. The wounds should then be thoroughly cleansed with cotton wool soaked in warm water containing a suitable antiseptic.

Any injury near the eyes should be swabbed with warm water only. This should be done twice daily for at least 5 days, and in the event of any heat or hardness developing in the injured region a veterinary surgeon should be informed.

If larger than about half an inch, any tear in the skin alone, or skin and muscle, should be seen at once by a veterinary surgeon in order that any stitching that may be necessary can be carried out promptly. It is important that such wounds are not left many hours as once secondary infection occurs and granulation tissue form, a wound cannot be stitched satisfactorily.

Bites on the head, limbs or genitalia should be regarded with especial caution, and veterinary advice sought if in doubt. Bites by dogs with powerful jaws may result in fracture, or puncture, of a bone or a joint, and such wounds can only be satisfactorily treated systemically, as well as locally, by a veterinary surgeon. Small centres of infection are left embedded deeply in the tissue, and these centres may, and usually do, form abscesses at a later stage.

Cat Bites

Cat bites, fortunately, are not very common in dogs as cats generally prefer to scratch and run. However, when they do occur they should be thoroughly cleansed, hair being clipped away from the points of entry, and then swabbed. Usually it is advisable to have the animal injected with penicillin or some other anti-infective agent. Gat bites are notoriously dirty, and the wound is of the puncture variety, i.e., deep, with a small point of entry, and therefore provides inadequate drainage. This is true also of:

Rat Bites

Here again local treatment should be carried out, but systemic treatment is more or less essential to avoid complications. Rats carry an infection called leptospiral jaundice, which can easily be fatal to dogs who have no protection against the disease.

It is wise, therefore, following a local dressing and cleansing of the wound (which the owner can usually do quite satisfactorily) to have the animal given a dose of antiserum, and/or suitable antibiotic. This will prevent the much more dangerous complication of leptospiral infection. All dogs should be immunised against this disease if they are employed as ratters, or are likely to be in contact in any way with these vermin.

Details of Vaccination:

Vaccination against leptospira icterrohaemorrhagia infection is a simple process, which is carried out in the healthy dog and which will protect him for the rest of his life. The vaccination consists of two small injections, each of 1 ex. only, given subcutaneously at an interval of one week. There are no ill effects after these injections and the dog will be immune to the disease within a few days of the second injection.

Dislocations and Medicine

Dislocations occur occasionally in dogs, usually as a result of a car accident. The commonest joint to become dislocated is the hip joint, although in the sporting breeds, especially greyhounds, dislocation of a toe joint is not unusual. ...read more >>

Looking after Your Dog's Eyes

Eyes are extraordinarily delicate and tender organs. Any injury or mishap to them should be examined promptly by a veterinary surgeon. Until this can be done, several measures to increase the chances of full recovery without impairment of vision can be taken. ...read more >>

Haemorrhage and Heart Attacks

Bleeding, when it is from the skin, is a natural process to wash bacteria and dirt from a damaged area. However, it can be dangerous if it is coming from a cut artery or vein, if it comes from the lungs or an internal organ, or from a highly vascular area (i.e., one well supplied with blood vessels). Examples of the latter are the tongue and, in the male dog, the penis. ...read more >>

Inflamation of the Brain

Under this general heading can be grouped encephalitis, meningitis, the involvement of the brain during uraemia and advanced kidney diseases, acute toxaemia, and so on. ...read more >>

Dealing with Abdominal Pain

The causes of pain in the abdomen are many and varied. They may be serious or due only to a dietary indiscretion, and are often transitory in nature. ...read more >>

Accidents and Artificial Respiration

Street accidents can be divided into two main groups: ...read more >>

Fever, Fighting and Enemas

"Feeding" is a misnomer in this connection as one of the most important points to remember when considering the diet of a sick dog is that an animal with a temperature of over 103°F. should not be fed with normal solid food. The less work the digestive organs have to do, the better, and the lack of appetite usually present is nature's way of pointing out that food is not required as long as fever is present. In fact, excessive feeding can prolong the illness and increase its severity. ...read more >>

Dealing With Acute Canine Mastitis

Canine mastitis, or inflammation of a milk gland, is usually seen in bitches in milk. Therefore this condition arises in bitches which have recently whelped or, less commonly, in those which have had a false or "phantom" pregnancy (i.e., all the changes of pregnancy have occurred but no puppies have been produced). In cases of mastitis the milk gland or glands affected are hot, hard and tense, being painful to the touch, and the milk secretion is discoloured. The condition may mature quite rapidly - in 12 or 24 hours - so it is important that expert attention be given as soon as possible. The temperature of the animal usually reaches 103 - 105°F, and the bitch shows signs of pain, refuses food and develops an excessive thirst. There may or may not be vomiting, and pain sometimes causes the bitch to snap at her young if they attempt to feed from the affected gland. ...read more >>

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