OT- please keep my fur baby in your thoughts, he was bit by a neighbor dog.

My little dog Oliver, japanese chin, australian terrier mix, was bit yesterday afternoon by a neighbor dog. We were in the front yard and he went around the side of the house and charged at our neighbors dog. I know I should have had him on a leash, I feel so guilty. THe neighbors dog and Oliver were wrestling around things got rough. I heard Oliver yelping as he ran into the house. I checked him and he's got a large bite hole in the side of his face and some other scrapes. We took him to the emergency vet but they wanted almost a grand to put him under to stitch it closed, clean it up, and any medications. We couldn't afford that so we cleaned it up ourselves and plan on bringing him to our vet on Monday. I just feel so guilty that he should have been in the house or on a leash, or I should have jumped in to grab him out of there, he only weighs 18 pounds, and the other dog is over 60 pounds. He's doing pretty good, his spirits are up, he's just laying around allot. We actually have him in our kids old pack n play so he isn't doing too much.

Please keep him in your thoughts.

Thank you so much

southviewgirl sorry about your little furbaby I am a mother of 4 furbabies so I know what you are talking about you know I know you thought if I had just gotten in and grabbed him but you probably would have gotten bitten yourself which I did many years ago so stop thinking that that was what you should have done because it would have done either of you any good hope everything is good when you go to the vet ldyd another furbaby momma

I will definitely include Oliver in my prayers today. I hope he is feeling better and heals quickly.

So sorry to hear about Oliver, I know how upsetting it is, all happens so quickly. I had my dog on a leash and a small dog ran out and attacked her! Now she is so jumpy and nervous when we go for walks, she only has three legs as it is so I feel for her. Just goes to show, leash or no leash, it happens.

I live in Australia, nice to hear you have a cross with a bit of Aussie in it.

Hope all goes well. I am sure some antibiotics will see Oliver back to his old self.

Southviewgirl,

I'm always disgusted by how much the emergency clinics charge for something like that. Where I work, we'd probably charge you $50 to suture the dog, plus materials & meds, for a total of $100 to $200 tops.

I do hope that your little guy is okay. The good thing about it being a dog fight, rather than cat/wild animal fight, is that dogs have much cleaner mouths than some other animals & thus infection is less of a problem (although the dog definitely SHOULD be put on a course of antibiotics).

Depending on the severity of the wounds, your doc might end up not even suturing the wounds & just letting them heal as open wounds (especially if it has already been a few days). If they are just small puncture wounds, then it is actually better to let them remain open so that they can drain. In many cases, suturing them up is more of a problem, because it literally traps the bacteria from the attacking animal's mouth deep within the wound & can lead to abscesses & even systemic bacterial infection.

Anyways, good luck at the vet tomorrow. If he is in pain in the mean time, you can give him a baby aspirin. Keep the wounds clean & dry until you see the doctor & you can also put some OTC neomysin ointment on the wounds, or even some honey (honey has amazing anti-bacterial properties & additional promotes healing).

I'm not a vet, but I am a vet tech & am well on my way to becoming an actual vet. But regardless, my advice should not be used in place of the advice of a trained veterinarian. If you have any problems or questions, please call your clinic & speak to the vet on-call. Also, if he starts acting lethargic, or has a temp > 103F, please call and speak with a vet or bring the dog back to the emergency clinic. These can be signs of a more serious injury or infection.

Hope your doggie is okay & feeling better. Dog fights are very scary things. You did the right thing not to step in though, that just would have caused more problems.

hugs,
Skeye

Post Edited (skeye) : 10/3/2010 9:10:11 PM (GMT-6)

Awww, I am so sorry to hear about Oliver. Poor little guy. I think you got some really great advise and agree that you did the right thing. Don't be so hard on yourself. Keep us posted on the little guys recovery and take care of yourself too.