Dog Bites: A detailed way of handling your dog's injury

submitted: Sep 27th 2006 | by: itsweblife | Total views: 77 | Word Count: 505 | PDF View | Print Article

When your dog gets bitten, either by another dog or another animal, then that bite wound can be potentially very dangerous. Animal saliva is filled with bacteria that can cause infection through the wound. In addition, even small bites can severely damage your pet's underlying tissue. Any time your dog gets bitten, whether it is a big bite or a small bite, it is always a good idea to take your pet to the vet to make sure that the problem does not get any worse. However, here are 5 things that you can do to keep your dog's bite wound under control. 1. It is common for dogs to lash out when they are in pain. Therefore, the first thing that you need to do is to use a muzzle to protect yourself in case he suddenly snaps. You need to wrap your dog's mouth closed before you begin to treat the wound. If you do not have a muzzle available, you can improvise one by using gauze or pantyhose. Be careful not to cover the nostrils. If your dog is having difficulty breathing or starts to get sick, immediately remove the muzzle. 2. If your dog is too small to wear a muzzle, you can still protect yourself by wrapping his head with a towel before you begin the treatment. However, do not leave the towel too long or wrap it too tightly because it could cut off your dog's air supply. 3. Your next step is to trim the hair around the area of the bite wound. This makes the wound easier to clean and will also help the bite heal faster by airing out the area. You can use scissors, a disposable razor, or electric clippers to trim his hair. Before you start, gently smear a thin layer of water-soluble jelly such as K-Y jelly right into the wound in order to prevent stray hair from falling into the wound. When you are finished trimming the hair, clean the bite wound thoroughly to avoid infection. Clean the bite by flushing it for about five minutes with lukewarm running water. However, if the bite was left unnoticed until after 24 hours later, bacteria may already have set in. In this case, scrub the bite wound with an antibacterial soap and then flush it with warm, running water. 4. When you have finished washing and drying the wound, apply an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin. Next, bandage the area with gauze or a clean cloth. Make sure that the bandage is loose enough that you can slip a finger underneath. A tight bandage could interfere with your dog's circulation. 5. Last but not the least, it is very important to keep your dog's vaccinations current, especially his rabies vaccination. Rabies are a serious viral disease that is fatal if left untreated.

Tags: ,

About the Author

John Edwards is a long time dog lover. Visit his website for tips on dog inability in urinate at: http://www.dogcaretraining.com


Comments

No comments posted.

You do not have permission to comment. If you log in, you may be able to comment.



If you like using Dog Article Directory please consider linking to us

Dog Article Directory
A free general article submission site that is human edited, offering Rss feeds by category, printer friendly and Html versions of articles and free content.

Our Top Authors...

Authors

Categories



More articles in this Category

1: How To Select A Good Dog Trainer
Want to find a professional dog trainer? Find out how to select the right dog trainer for your dog and the types of techniques they will use to train your dog.

2: The Online Dog Training Guide
Learn why its important to train your dog and how you can train your dog even if its not a new dog. Find out simple things you can do to train your dog.

3: Why Your dog is Urinating on the Carpet
Before you can prevent anything, you must first find out why your dog is urinating on your carpets. Yes, there are many reasons for this.

4: Four Things Frustrated Dog Owners Should Know
Have you ever felt that your dog has not been listening to you?

5: How to Successfully Housebreak Your Dog
The most immediate concern of new dog owners is that of housebreaking the pet. In order to accomplish this task, the essential principle that the owner must recognize is that it is always the desire of the dog to please its master.