Dog bite- I'm an idiot **warning - images of wounds**

[eejitgothurt]

Name changed and posting for traffic. This morning I prevented a dog from darting into a busy main road, found the owners house and returned her. I got a nasty bite got my efforts. I realise now I was stupid to pick the little thing up but it was instinct to prevent the dog being hit by a car.
The owner had left the house door open and the dog had wandered off. Both dog and owner are elderly.
I've been to A and E as directed by my GP and been patched up but boy it hurts. I've got two nasty puncture wounds to my hand and two lots of antibiotics.
I have some questions now the shock has worn off (I'm not good with blood and it was pouring and I was already feeling ropey due to something else).

Has anyone got experience of this and if so how long did it take to heal?

When did it stop hurting like a bastard?

Do I need to report this to the police or dog warden? The dog was obviously scared and bit me for a reason. I was stupid and I accept that. I just never considered it would bite me like that. I'm not a dog person but overcame my fear years ago now. I'm glad the dog is safe and the owner was very nice when I returned her home. I declined her offer of going inside to wash the round as was not far from home, and covid of course.

Ouch.

In all likelyhood, a shocked dog grabbed by anyone may turn and bite, including their owner.

You've done a kind thing - I would speak to the dog warden to have a chat with the owner to ensure this doesn't happen again.

There is no legal obligation to report a bite, its up to you whether you report to the police really, if you think that a visit from the police is a shock the owner needs then yes.

Reporting to police and dog warden does not mean the dog will be put down, it means they'll be spoken to, advised on how to keep their dog safe, warned that allowing their dog to be out of control in public is an offence etc etc.

If they don't take note and put into action precautions to prevent it happening again then there are further measures that can be taken.

Should stop hurting in a few hours when pain meds kick in, bruising will take days or weeks, healing again, a few weeks.

Fwiw I would have done the same even if it ended in a bite.

My dad got bitten in an almost similar situation, had stitches and antibiotics. The pain will subside. I wouldn't report it now, the poor dog was probably terrified.

I've never been bitten by a large dog but I have been bitten by a vicious little Lhasa apso who had cat mentality; loved being petted right up until the point it bit, I wasn't it's only victim and yes it hurt like buggery for several days, might have taken a couple of weeks to heal completely. Little dogs seem to have very sharp teeth, I was surprised by how painful the two puncture wounds were.

You are right that the dog bit you because it was frightened. You did a very good thing, the situation required a quick response but under normal circumstances I would not pick up any dog I didn't know well.

What would you hope to achieve by informing the police or dog warden? I'm not sure there is anything they can or will do because the dog clearly wouldn't have bitten you if you hadn't picked it up. Its not much of a thank you for saving it from being run over so hopefully you've banked some good karma and your hand will heal quickly. I'd take some paracetamol for the pain.

I did this once. A Yorkie had got out of its elderly owners home and I dived on it in the middle of the road. There were about 5 people chasing the poor thing. It turned and bit me hard. Thankfully the dog was old as well so had no teeth. It still bruised badly though.

I have been bitten by a friends husky once. On my hand completely unprovoked. I had to have stitches and antibiotics. It took a week for the pain to properly stop and the bruising to go down.

Hope you feel better soon op! And well done!

I was so nearly in this situation, dog had got loose and on our land so went to try and catch it. Very close to being bitten and I was very taken back. Lesson learnt for me not to approach someone else dog ever.

Sorry you got bitten for doing a good deed. My assumption would be a good few days till it calms down.

Ouch! You poor thing. I've sustained a few bites over the years - I work with dogs - and it never gets any less painful! I think you absolutely did the right thing, though - well done. I'm sure the owner is incredibly grateful for you saving her dogs life.

In my experience it takes a good 2-3 days to calm down, and it will take a while for the shock to wear off too, so be gentle with yourself. Dog bites are nasty things.

Personally, I wouldn't report it. It sounds like the dog acted out of fear and many dogs will bite if a strange person picked them up - most don't like being picked up at the best of times. All reporting would do is cause more stress for the owner who is probably already pretty panicky - I don't think it's fair to report the dog for being dangerous on top of that.

I wouldn’t report it. The dog got a fright and reacted - I often wish I could explain to my dog that I’m trying to help him when he’s wriggling away from me

I’m sorry though, it hurts. My dog snapped at my hand when I picked him up unexpectedly a few years ago and even though it didn’t break the skin, it was sore for days and the bruise was impressive. He still growls if anyone tries to lift him, although as soon as he wants something he goes into ‘baby mode’ and pitifully paws at my leg until I carry him

Oh OP, you did a very nice thing by stopping the dog from getting hit by a car and I'm so sorry you got bitten for your troubles!

I would recommend speaking to your local dog warden (if there is such a thing) or maybe an organisation like Dogs Trust and see if they will speak to the owners and educate them as otherwise this could happen time and time again, especially given they are elderly.

I would have done the exact same as you, regardless of the breed or the consequences.

Our puppy darted out the front door last week (she was super excited to meet the takeaway driver man) and thank god he'd just shut the gate, otherwise she'd have been straight into the road! We're training her not to go through doors unless instructed to do so. The poor delivery driver shit himself though, even though she's only 4 months old (her breed has a bad rep unfortunately) and had no intention of stopping her escape..... I still go cold thinking about what could have happened

I hope your hand heals quickly, keep an eye out for infection, if it gets red and/or hot make sure you go back to A&E

There are too many dogs biting people at the moment it seems!

Thank you everyone. I'll be passing the house on the way to pick up ds soon and will knock on as they asked me to let them know how it was. Im pretty sure they won't be leaving the door open again and I walk past 4 times a day and have never seen the dog out before so I think it was purely a chance escape.
The bite is in such an awkward place and is making things most tricky.
I'm sticking to cats!

Well done for saving the dog!!
Personally I wouldn't report as I genuinely dont think it makes the dog aggressive, they were probably just genuinely scared. I'm sorry it happened though I know it's damn sore! Whatever you decide to do, I hope you're feeling proud for your good deed, albeit sore!

I wouldn't report. Well done for saving the dog. They make such a difference to anyone but especially an elderly person.

I wouldn't report it either. I don't think this is a case of dangerous dog, but scared dog in a life or death situation.

If the dog is elderly it's unlikely to be a repeat incident as it's made it to a ripe old age, and if the owner was genuinely compassionate then it's not something that's happened often and lost novelty.

The owner sounds surprised at the incident and will probably put steps in place to protect the dog and the general public.

Ouch! I've been bitten before on a couple of occasions (puncture wounds, through jeans on both occasions). In my experience, it'll be sore for a couple of days and then it'll be alright. The one on the back of my knee was more painful due to the position, but one on the side of my knee didn't hurt at all even though it bled more. I just rinsed mine, popped a plaster to protect it from being rubbed by clothing, and they healed up with no medical attention required.

I'd have done the same as you in catching it, and I wouldn't report it to anyone. From what you've said, the dog isn't dangerous, it was terrified and had lost its mind as a consequence.

If you think in the context of a fight / flight instinct, the dog was in full flight mode. All of a sudden, the flight mode was taken away by a total stranger and the dog went into fight mode to protect itself.

It sounds like a one-off cock-up by the owner, and a normally nice dog that was utterly terrified. If the dog was habitually being let out to roam, or the dog had approached you and bitten, I'd take a different view, but it doesn't sound as if a repeat is likely. If the dog does start getting out repeatedly, I'd be more inclined to try and speak to relatives / social services as it's indicative of a cognitive decline that's probably compromising the owner's ability to live independently safely.

Report it definitely. It was a scared dog and it (probably) acted out of character, but then you wouldn't necessarily know if this was the first time or the tenth. That's why the authorities need to know.

Put another way, how would you feel if next week it got loose again and mauled a child, and you said nothing? Don't chance it.

I hope it hurts less by the morning. It's swollen now too and needs a new dressing as it's bled through. It's made me feel rubbish. Roll on bedtime!

It would have been my instinct to grab it too. If you know where they live, probably best to drop in and ask whether the dog is up to date on shots because if not then you may need a rabies vaccine and tetanus vaccine.

I'd keep bathing it in salt water every time you change the dressing, to ward off infection. Well done for saving it, although no good deed goes unpunished.

You definitely did the right thing- if that brings you any peace! You can take ibuprofen and paracetamol together which will help any pain and inflammation (obviously check this is ok if you take any other meds).

Clean it with salt water when you change the dressings and keep it dry. When it stops bleeding try to air it out for a bit with the dressing off.

Raising it a little may help with pain, swelling and bleeding too.

Sing along to a song or the radio while you change it to distract you, I often do a little dance while I change plasters so I don't faint!

They do hurt because they not only break the skin but the clamping down bruises underlying tissue, so the whole thing is painful. Take pain killers and elevate the hand if possible. The hand also has lots of nerve endings and is sensitive so doubly painful.

I think that grabbing a dog without warning is fairly likely to end in a bite, unless it's a dog that knows you, and even then it still might. Therefore no point in reporting for that reason as no action would be taken. It was kind of you to stop it getting run over but it's not something I would dream of doing!
Letting a dog run loose in the road is an offence, so you could report them for that, although if it's a one off no action would be taken, so again there's not much point.
Just an unfortunate end to a good deed really!
You should be ok if antibiotics started promptly, but look out for red lines tracking up your arm or generalised fever, extreme pain etc as bites can be extremely serious and require IV antibiotics.

I think it might be tracking. I'm just waiting for a friend to help me with the dressings so that I can assess properly. My thumb is very sore and swollen so I can't use it and if I put my arm down it really throbs so I'm holding it across my body. Its amazing how important a thumb is! I feel ok in myself and hope that remains the case as just taken the antibiotics and the morning dose is two types together.

GP thinks it's ok and that the antibiotics I'm
already on will do the job 🤷🏼‍♀️ I'm keeping a close eye on it as it's started tracking despite the antibiotics. Those who have had bites, were yours swollen like this?

Has the GP seen that in person? That looks incredibly swollen and inflamed to me - mine have never been like that.

The area around the bite has been red/sore and a bit inflamed, but nothing like that. I would honestly be asking for a second opinion.

Can you bathe it in some Epsom salts and dettol x

Just wanted to say well done - although it ended badly for you, there's a not inconsiderable chance the dog on the road could have caused a crash, hurting or worse other people as well as the dog. You were really brave, well done.