
What should I do if my dog is bitten by another dog?
You should take your dog to your veterinarian or to an emergency hospital to be evaluated. Even a single small puncture wound can look innocent enough, but a puncture wound can penetrate through deep tissue or create pocketing under the skin that allows infection to seed. All wounds should be clipped, cleaned, flushed, and evaluated by a veterinarian to determine if surgical treatment and even drain placement is needed to help healing and prevent infection. Most bite wounds need to be treated with pain medication and an antibiotic as well. If possible, you should try to find out if the biting animal has an up-to-date rabies vaccine and if not, your pet should have a rabies vaccine booster administered.