How can I treat my dog's bite wounds at home?

Question

I have a 2 1/2 year old American Bulldog. He got in a fight with the dog next door today. He has several bites on the back of his neck, around his head, and on his ear. He just wants to sleep. I don't have the money to take him to the vet... Is there anything I can do for him myself from home?

Answer 1

As a pet owner you have the responsibility of getting your dog vet care. Borrow the money, work out a payment plan whatever you have to do. Dog bites are a major source of infection. Besides you don't know what shots the other dog has had. Get your dog to a vet ASAP.

Answer 2

Yes. You can clean the wounds with peroxide. Also, use hot compresses (hand towels held in hot water then wrung out) on the wounds as many times a day as you can (like 2-6). I usually do this with a big clean bucket of hot water next to me while I sit with the animal, as the compresses cool I dip and wring them again. Compress for 15-20 minutes at a time.
I'm assuming these are puncture wounds and that they are not bleeding terribly. The compresses help to keep them open and draining, you don't want to let them heal over with bacteria inside.
If you've got a shaver, you can shave around the wound. This helps keep it clean and makes it a little easier to see what's going on. Be careful to not catch the shaver on the wound.
I've also used neosporin on dogs, but not where they can lick it.
Watch the wounds carefully. If they start to get pink, swollen or angry looking, you need antibiotics from the vet. Sometimes if you have a good relationship with your vet and they've seen the dog recently they'll give you antibiotics with a phone call. My current vet does this - but I have a longstanding relationship with her.
Keep him warm and comfortable.
I'm sure more folks will post with more ideas. Best of luck!

Answer 3

I'm not going to say shame on you for not being able to afford the necessary care for your dog - that's not the issue at this point - the issue at hand is getting the proper care for your pet. Earlier this year, my Siberian Husky received a 1 1/2 laceration to her side that required 8 staples to close. Once the staples were in place, the vet told us to use peroxide and neosporin on the staples. We did this a couple of times a day, and took her back to the vet to get the staples removed. She was fine after that. If you are interested, you can check into pet insurance. The pet insurance I have is through PetSmart, and it costs about $25.00 per month per dog. But there are alot of other plans out there that you can check out and compare coverage and prices. Best of luck to you and your dog!

Answer 4

You need to report this to the authorities and have the other animal quarentined in case it hasn't had the proper shots. I wouldn't fool around with the unknown. If your dog was attacked chances are you'll recover the vetrinary costs. Take your dog to the vet, you never know what diseases the other dog may have. If your dog is acting lethargic already he may need an IV and some vitamins to help strengthen his immune system so he can heal properly.

I'm sorry you're underfinanced, but avoiding the vet may prove the end of your dog and he doesn't deserve that. Take him in and have him looked at.

Hope he feels better soon!

Answer 5

I had a dog that got hurt really bad and was in the same situation. What I did was go to the feed store and I got some stuff called blue lotion. (Be careful with this it changes the color of what ever it gets on, she was hurt bad enough that I used a diaper as a bandaid) This is for cattle, goats, and horse when they get hurt. Its kind of like an antibiotic cream. It works great. My dog was snake bit and the flesh was rotting and it brought her right out of it. This stuff is the bomb!

Blue Lotion by Farnam
A quick-drying, deep penetrating wound dressing and gall lotion to aid in the treatment of surface wounds, minor cuts and abrasions, harness galls and saddle sores.

http://www.animalworldnetwork.com/bblulotbyfar.html
*Handy dauber bottle is excellent for use on animals skittish about aerosol application. For use on horses and dogs. It is $5.99 on this site.

Answer 6

Ask you vet to let you make payments and take the dog to the vet! This dog very well may need to be put on antibiotics immediately!!!! I should ask a ??? Why do people get dogs, then say they don't have $$$$ to take care of them??? Borrow the $$$$ Take the dog to a vet!!! I feel really sorry for him.

Answer 7

Take this dog to the local humane shelter and relinquish your rights --- you don't deserve to be a pet owner. A responsible owner would have taken the dog to the vet immediately. If I were your neighbor, you would have been reported for neglecting your animal. This is a punishable act of cruelty, by the way.

Answer 8

Shame on you. If you can't afford to provide proper vet care for your dog, you shouldn't have him. It's reprehensible and probably illegal. You did not supervise your dog and allowed him to get in this fight, but now refuse to care for him. I understand that not everyone has a ton of expendable income, but this is not an discretionary expense. When you agreed to care for this dog, you agreed to give him the proper supervision and vet care that he needs.

The HSUS has some good tips to help people through difficult situations. http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/what_you_can_do_if_you_are_having_trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html is a link to help you. I wish you nothing but success, for the sake of your dog.


Edit: DO NOT USE PEROXIDE OR ALCOHOL!!! This can cause more problems. Peroxide eats healthy and unhealthy tissue. Alcohol will hurt something fierce.

Answer 9

I would strongly recommend that you seek medical attention for your dog. Dog bites are a big source for infection. I might mention that you should check on the status of the other dogs rabies vaccine as well. Hope your pup is better soon.

Answer 10

sure. get a clean rag and clean the wounds with anchol. Then bandage them up. If they are really deep, however, i wouldent suggest taking care of them youself.