A dog bite can be more or less serious depending on the size of the dog and its intentions: a dog can bite because it feels threatened, because of he alth problems or because it redirects the bite in a situation of stress It will depend on the dog and the circumstance.
Whatever the reason a dog has bitten you, you must treat your wound, otherwise you could suffer a serious infection. Read on to find out what to do in case of a dog bite, first aid.
Why do dogs bite?
Although it is a very small dog, the truth is that all dogs can bite us at some point. The education and socialization that we offer him during his life will make our pet predisposed or not to show this behavior.
We can be bitten by a dog on countless occasions and especially if we work with animals whose behavior we do not know. Many shelter volunteers will feel identified reading this article, all of them will have suffered a bite at some time.
That a dog bites does not mean that it is bad at all, it can happen for various reasons that we have to analyze:
- It can bite us when it feels cornered or threatened
- For receiving a physical assault
- For trying to use inappropriate education techniques
- He can redirect his aggressiveness towards us at the time he fights with another dog (serious consequences of stress)
- For fear of losing their possessions (food, toys, etc.)
- Because of fear (if you have never de alt with people)
- Dogs victims of sparring
- Dogs used in fights
- Dogs played with inappropriately
- And a long etcetera
We must be clear that, if we have treated the animal with respect, we are not guilty of biting it. It may be due to your genetics or past trauma.
How to deal with a dog that wants to bite us?
We must act serenely and calmly, even if the dog has bitten us or intends to do so Under no circumstances should we shout or get excessively upset, that it would further upset the dog. Nor should we try to scare him with our body or with objects.
Ideally, adopt a neutral body posture, without moving your arms or legs, and look away from the animal. Of course, we should never turn our backs on him. We will try to leave the place little by little, preferably from the side, without losing sight of it but without staring at it In the most serious cases it may be interesting to throw some food towards another side to distract him, while we leave, but it is not advisable to offer food to a strange dog that growls, barks and tries to attack us.
I was bitten by a dog, what should I do now?
If you have definitely been bitten by a dog despite your best efforts to avoid it, you should follow the advice on our site:
- To begin with, if the bite is superficial or shallow Wash the wound well with soap and water You must remove all traces of dirt that they may have remained in it. If the wound is very large or cumbersome, once it is cleaned with water, you should cover it with a sterile gauze to avoid spilling blood.
- Now is the time to see a doctor. Dogs have a large number of bacteria in their mouths that can cause an infection, the doctor will prescribe a treatment with antibiotics.
- Finally and if you have not received it before, the doctor should give you the anti-rabies vaccine, it is very important that you do so if it is a homeless dog and you do not know its he alth status. All the more reason if you think he might have rabies.
If, on the contrary, it is a very deep wound or a tear, we will immediately go to a he alth center, covering the wound with a cloth, towel or clean cloth while applying pressure.
After the bite, the consequences
The consequences of a dog biting you can be diverse and will depend on the situation and obviously on you:
- If you have been bitten by a person's dog on the same street, you have the right to file a complaint and receive compensation for it. You must be responsible and honest, you will not be able to demand anything if the dog in question was walking properly (on a leash and muzzle if it was a PPP) and you have decided to approach it.
- If the dog that has bitten you is stray or does not seem to belong to anyone, it is best to call the services in your country in charge of it: urban guard, national police, shelters… You should not allow that it happens again because it puts other people or the life of the animal at risk.
- As a last example we will add the dogs of an animal shelter, in this case, by being a volunteer it is assumed that you have accepted (in writing) the conditions of the center and without a doubt you will not be able to formalize a report, but ask for insurance compensation.
