What Do You Do if You’re Bitten by a Dog?

Marijke Durning, RN — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:12:57 +0000

Being bitten by a dog can be very traumatic – and not just for the person who was bitten. When I was about 9 years old, my older brother and I were visiting family friends for the summer. I remember one day talking to the father as we were walking outside. As we came around the corner of the house, I saw my brother lying on the ground, face down, screaming and kicking. Although it was almost 40 years ago, I remember my thoughts were “what the heck is he doing now?”

Mr. G and I ran over to him and when he looked up, we saw that it looked like he’d lost half his face. He’d been bitten by a German Shephard that Mr. G’s sons had found in the forest earlier that day.

To this day, I still see my brother lying on the ground, screaming. I remember the mother and father putting him on the kitchen table and trying to stop the bleeding. I remember the ambulance coming and I remember the shock I was in after.

I’m not afraid of dogs. I adore them. In my adult life, I’ve lived with and loved a golden retriever and two greyhounds over the years. I also know that it wasn’t the dog’s fault that my brother was bitten. He was doing what he was trained to do – it turns out that he was guard dog for a local golf course at the time. We’d always had dogs at our house so when my brother saw him, he went up to pet him, not knowing how dangerous the dog was. And there lies the problem and that’s why thousands of children are bitten every year.

Dog bites are most often preventable. Did you know that there are 4.7 million (reported) dog bites in the United States every year, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association ? And that children are the most common victims, followed by senior citizens?

Not only are children the most common group that are bitten, but they also sustain the most severe injuries and most of the situations aren’t like that of my brother. Most bites occur during normal, every day life interaction with the dogs.

What you should do

If you or someone you know gets bitten by a dog, there are some steps you should follow to reduce the severity of the injury, if possible, and to reduce the risk of infections:

If you are bitten by a dog, here is a checklist of things you should do (from the AVMA website:

If the dog’s owner is present, request proof of rabies vaccination, and get the owner’s name and contact information.

Clean bite wound with soap and water as soon as possible.

Consult your doctor immediately or go to the emergency room if it’s after office hours.

Contact the dog’s veterinarian to check vaccination records.

Prevention

Preventing dog bites is paramount. It’s rarely the dog’s fault if he or she bites. Either that’s what they’ve been trained to do, as with the guard dog, or it’s because they are scared, hurt or startled. Even the precious family dog could bite if the situation is frightening enough for him.

Be cautious around strange dogs, and treat your own pet with respect. Because children are the most common victims of dog bites, parents and caregivers should:

NEVER leave a baby or small child alone with a dog.

Be alert for potentially dangerous situations.

Teach their children – including toddlers – to be careful around pets. Children must learn not to approach strange dogs or try to pet dogs through fences. Teach children to ask permission from the dog’s owner before petting the dog.