Will he get over it?

[UrsulaPandress]

DH and I were off on holiday and DD had taken the hound out for a walk. A golden retriever appeared out of nowhere and ran up to our dog (who has some aggression issues with other dogs) a fight ensued and our dog was bitten on the face. He tried to run away but the retriever had hold of his tail apparently .

Of course it was a Sunday so £500 at the emergency vets later he emerged with some really dodgy blue stitches all over the left side of his face. The wound got a bit infected so he had another trip to the vets and more antibiotics, then finally had the stitches out an hour before I arrived home from holiday (another £62 thank you very much).

He is nearly 10 years old and seems to have lost some of his joie de vivre. Also he keeps looking at me as though it is somehow my fault. I abandon him, he gets savaged, stitched, coned, and is finally released from his stitches and the cone of shame at which point I reappear as if nothing happened.

Do dogs get over trauma?

He will get over it , poor thing , probably just needs a bit of TLC for a while .

I'd better stop calling him scarface then.

Ursula - that has really really mad me laugh after a really bad day! Poor Scarface!
In all seriousness he will get over it with time and tlc

Awww poor thing. Hopefully it will be a distant memory soon.

I would actually consult a behaviourist about the dog aggression. I'm afraid an incident lie this could make that much worse. I would stick to quiet areas or hire a safe space for now.

I've put up with his aggression for 8 years. He is all bark and no bite, or has been.

I walk where I can see well ahead but of course that doesn't legislate for people sneaking up behind me.

No unfortunately there is bugger all you can do to insist other dog owners have some manners. Shame!
But a reactive dog may become more so after an incident such as this. Some desensitisation may be in order. A decent behaviourist may be able to help. Poor hound!