A dog bite can have far-reaching consequences. For starters, there is a chance of serious injury when you are bit by a dog. Some dog bites are a bit of a warning and hurt but aren’t serious. Others are attacks and can have some pretty bad wounds. Then there is what happens to the dog after it bites somebody. The dog can end up being euthanized.
It isn’t a simple thing to know what to do when you are bitten by a dog, especially if the dog is not known to you. There are a lot of reasons that a dog may decide to bite you. No matter the reason for it, it is a good idea to know what to do in case it ever happens to you before you have to call Marc Lamber’s law firm for a personal injury case.
In this article, we will go over several tulips to keep in mind in case you ever get bitten by a dog.
1 – Assess the wounds
Take a minute as soon as you are bitten to see what kind of wound is present. Assuming the dog bit you quickly and didn’t continue to attack, that is. In that case, you need to neutralize the dog or hope the owner is able to subdue the dog.
If you have a superficial wound, then you should just give it a rinse to wash it until you are able to get to a first aid kit where you would want to give it a clean with some hydrogen peroxide to make sure it doesn’t get infected.
If you have a puncture wound, in other words when the teeth sink into your skin and puncture the muscle, you should try to stop the bleeding first. Let the blood flow for a second or two so it cleans itself out then apply pressure with a clean cloth.
If it continues to bleed a lot after a couple of minutes then seek medical attention. If you can’t drive yourself to the emergency room then call an ambulance.
2 – Get the owner’s information
Hopefully, the dog’s owner was present and it wasn’t a dog that bit and then ran off. You’ll need their information to check the dog’s medical history and if it has had its rabies shots.
The owner’s information is also going to be relevant for when you call the police or animal control. You may even need to sue them depending on the circumstances. There are times when a dog bite is the result of a misunderstanding or maybe it was trying to bite your dog but got you instead. Dog bites are most common in dog parks when there are a lot of dogs present.
Think about what led to the bite before you do anything because there may be a chance that the dog is put down. If it is an aggressive dog then measures definitely need to be taken. If it was an innocent accident then the other owner will likely be willing to pay for your medical care costs.
3 – When it’s your dog
If your own dog is the one that bit you then this is a very difficult situation. The first thing is to attend to your wounds and not to try to discipline the dog. Then think about what could have caused the bite. Was it aggressive on the dog’s part? Were you trying to take food away from him?
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The circumstances are going to determine how to handle what to do next. If it seemed completely random and unwarranted then you may want to check the dog for rabies. You should also make sure to get a shot if you are unsure of his rabies vaccine status.
Your dog may also have an injury that is really bothering him and it caused him to lash out at you. If the situation is calm and you think you can handle bringing the dog to the vet then do so once you are able to. They can check him out and also test for rabies.
4 – Rabies risk
When the dog is unknown to you there is a risk of rabies. Make sure to get a good description of the dog and call animal control right away. Don’t try to restrain the dog as it could provoke further bites and wounds.
As soon as you are able to get medical treatment make sure to ask for a rabies shot.