My dog just bit DS this evening

[sethsmom]

on the eyebrow. His skin is broken, but there was no bleeding. We couldn't even tell the skin was broken for about 30 minutes. He was upset immediately afterwards, but he's been in a GREAT mood since.

What do we do? Do we take him to the pediatrician? Do we just let it go? DH is worried that if we even mention this to anyone, DFCS would come and take DS or animal control will come for our dog. DH says it's nothing compared to what little boys will get into as they get older, but I don't know anymore.

By the way, though my dog is a very sweet dog, we usually keep the dog and DS apart. We did have a guest dog this weekend that we were sitting. I think that may have put our dog on edge. DS was not even near him when I jumped up to run to the restroom with my morning sickness, but I came back just in time to hear DS's scream and see him jump back from the dog. DH thinks I'm nuts because I haven't stopped crying about it for three hours now. I'm hoping that someone here has some good advice.

[sdbc]

I don't have any good advice. I know you must be very worried about the situation, though. Do you know what happened? Was the dog cornered? Are you positive he was bitten and not accidentally scratched?

The one thing I will say, is that though I love my dog, I never, ever left my daughter in a room alone with him for even a second until she was about two years old. Now, I trust them in the house together while I'm in the bathroom or something, but still only briefly. You just never know with a dog and a baby. Sometimes it's impossible to separate them, like what happened in your case. Maybe when something like that happens again you could call the dog and get him to follow you?

[kayte]

If your son needs medical attention, seek it for sure. But most states require a report to be filed if a dog broke the skin. Depending on your state the reprecussions of that vary. i am not by any means suggesting not seeing the doctor if you think he needs to be seen---redness, heat, sweling, indication of an infection (bacteria in a dog's mouth can cause nasty infections). I just want you to be aware that you may be dealing with an animal agency if you do.

Hope everything works out.

[Radosti]

I would put some triple antibiotic cream on the eyebrow and have a discussion with DS about not provoking the dog (or dogs in general). Explain that the dog is not used to rough play and just talk about being gentle and such. I'm not saying your DS provoked the dog, it's just a good opportunity to have that talk. Not sure how old he is, but you can talk about a scared dog's tail being btw their legs, and ears down means don't touch or approach.

Hugs!!! It's scary. My nephew once was swinging a stick around the room and my parents' rotti mix ended up grabbign him by the shoulder and shaking him a bit (nephew was 6 years old). We knew that Rocky wouldn't grab him for no reason, so we questioned my nephew and sure enough, he kept swinging the stick until he got Rocky in the face, Rocky took the stick away first, them grabbed him by the shoulder to drive the point home. My brother told him not to swing the stick, but not as forcefully as Rocky did. We made my nephew apologize to Rocky and give him a hug. Rocky in turn licked my nephew's tears away. All was well with those two until Rocky passed away at 12 years old last year.

[KBecks]

I agree about using the antibiotic cream. As for the wound, it depends on how severe it is whether it needs a call to the pedi or not. A surface scratch would likely be OK with the antibiotic cream, but you should keep an eye on it to see how it looks over the next day or two.

You know your dog. Your DS is still new to the household. I'd be extremely watchful of both your DS and the dog over the next several days and beyond to be aware of any behavioral issues on either of their parts.

If you realize the dog has difficulty with your child, you must protect your child. That may not mean getting rid of the dog, but it may mean things like training or separation, etc.

Good luck, and sorry to hear about the incident.

[jadamom]

Sorry DS got hurt. :( I would call your pediatrician. Dog bites can get infected.

This is from drgreene.org:
http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?id=21&action=detail&ref=706

"Prompt, thorough cleaning of the wound is the key to preventing infection. Wash the bite for 10 minutes with soapy water under pressure (I like to use a powerful squirt gun). Then, douse the wound with a gentle antiseptic such as Betadine. Contact your health care provider if the bite breaks the skin; infections can spread quickly, especially with cat bites on the hand."

[StantonHyde]

We had some probs with dog growling at DS when dog was laying down or cornered etc. So I just take dog or DC with me wherever I go--one of them is with me and the other is not. That way they are separated without being banished anywhere. So far it has worked well and DC are definitely learning how to behave around dogs. Dog is neurotic (border collie/Golden Retriever mix). Next dog will be mellow. My dad's dog has hypothyroid--I am jealous :-)

[Tondi G]

My DS got bit by our friends dog and he required stitches... well dermabond glue. It was on his hand. Initially I thought it might be ok without a stitch but after his nap I realized it needed attention. The best bet is to clean it well with hydrogen peroxide and then keep it gooey with neosporin/polysporin. If it can be covered with a bandaid then do so (if your little one will leave it alone). Chances are it will heal just fine. keep an eye on it and if it seems to be looking red or inflamed then have your ped take a look. I called my peds office first and spoke with a nurse who said I was doing everything right. If I felt it needed to be looked at to call back! There was no mention of contacting animal control.

Good Luck

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/8/01 and Aidan 5/4/05

[sadie427]

I would absolutely call the pediatrician, because it's an animal bite and it's on the face, even though it looks small. Both cases are cause for some concern. If they think it's nothing to worry about, they'll say so.

[AngelaS]

I think I would wash the wound, put on some Neosporin and keep an eye on it.

I think the more important thing to consider here is what is going to happen the next time your dog decides to bite your child. The dog should know his place in your family pack and today he showed that he's taking on one of the pack members that's above him in rank. The first bite is the hardest for the dog, the next time he won't stop to think about it so much.

When our dog bit our dd, I knew I didn't want to have to live in constant fear of 'the next time'. My dog went to live in a home without children, because I couldn't trust her. I didn't want to have to live with the guilt if something should happen to dd.

[wilelm]

I know I'm going to make myself unpopular here, but I'm going to say it anyway.

Dogs are animals. Even if they're domesticated, they're still animals, and they're unpredictable. Just about every story you read in the news about a baby being mauled and/or killed by a dog includes the family saying how sweet the dog was and how he'd never done it before.

I would never hesitate to get my child treatment for fear of losing a pet. To me, that's mind-boggling. And if my dog ever did ANYTHING aggressive to my child, I would not hesitate to get that animal out of my house immediately. There would not be a second chance for the dog to hurt my child. To say the dog did it by accident (not saying that's what you're saying, but I've heard many people say that), is ridiculous. Unless you're a pet psychic, you have no way of knowing if the animal did it by accident or not.

You can't predict an animal's future behavior based on previous behavior, just like you can't do it for human behavior.

I hope your son is okay, I know you must be scared.

Sheila

[JBaxter]

ITA! I am a big animal lover and have a dog but if he showed agression to my child the dog would be gone. No second chances where my children are concerned. It wouldnt happen the second time. Yes I would at least call the ped to ask how to treat the wound. You cant watch a child & dog 24/7 how can you trust the dog now?

[Moneypenny]

Ditto, ditto, ditto! Dogs never bite just once and as your son gets older and another baby comes into the house, there will more and more opportunity for this to happen again and it will be more difficult for you to keep everyone separated. I would not keep the dog. I would also call the pediatrician immediately to seek advice on care of the wound.

Susan
mama to my cutie pie, Avery
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[mamicka]

Ditto! Especially this part:
"I would never hesitate to get my child treatment for fear of losing a pet. To me, that's mind-boggling."

Allison

[Radosti]

Nobody said not to get treatment. From the way the issue was described, it didn't need any treatment further than some triple antibiotic cream.

[wilelm]

This is the comment I was responding to:

"What do we do? Do we take him to the pediatrician? Do we just let it go? DH is worried that if we even mention this to anyone, DFCS would come and take DS or animal control will come for our dog."

It does, in fact, show hesitation to get treatment (call the pediatrician) over a fear of losing their dog.

Sheila

[amp]

My nephew got bit by their dog and it ended up infected and causing many more problems. I'd probably get it looked at to see if there's anything you need to do. Or at least call to check on it.

[Puddy73]

Hugs! This is a tough situation, and I'm sure that pregnancy hormones are making it worse. I would call your ped just to be on the safe side and to give yourself some peace of mind.

Our dog bit someone earlier this year (a delivery man) and it was awful. State law required us to report it to the health department and we had to keep our dog in isolation for 10 days (this is required in GA even if a dog has a current rabies vaccine). The local animal control agent came out to make sure that our dog was isolated, but did not take him away. Our dog was 12 years old and had various health problems and we decided to have him put to sleep at the end of the 10 day period. It was a gut-wrenching decision, but he was starting to display aggressive behavior and I couldn't bear the the thought of him hurting my DC or anyone else. It didn't seem fair to keep him locked in his pen all the time and I couldn't watch him 24/7 with 2 DC.

Jennifer
Mommy to Annabelle 9/08/03 & Finn 10/31/05

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