Bitten by my pug

[pugs4life]

 
Ok, not sure that this is the correct topic page, but nothing really addresses this on the forum.  Kirby-my rescue pug, and my other pug Bosley were scrapping over a bone and I stupidly tried to separate them.  Kirby bit my hand quite hard.  2 lacerations on my fingers and a puncture wound on the upper palm of my hand just under my right hand ring finger.  It's not too big-less than 1 cm long, but has some fatty tissue(?) sticking out. 

I rinsed with warm water and washed with anti-bacterial soap for a few minutes, clean with anti microbial wipe, and slathered with Triple formula Polysporin and tried to tuck the protrusion back into wound. Now icing because it hurts a lot!

Most websites say that if you have a hand puncture you should for sure see your doctor.  Anybody ever been bitten by their pug?
Please advise, I am at my cottage and not sure if I should rush home to see my doctor.

Any help is appreciated.

PS. Other than this, Kirby has been great, completely stopped marking and separation anxiety has improved greatly.  He's still like Velcro, but quite happy.

[blanche]

Oh yeah--the "bitten while busting up a dog fight".  Probably the most common time adults get bitten by dogs.

Now, let me put my bias out there--I've been bitten many times by many dogs given my volunteer work with rescue and shelter dogs.  Unless I have a gash that needs stitching, I don't go to see a doctor for a dog bite--especially if it's one of my own who I know are vaccinated and not likely to give me anything worrisome.  So you'd need to figure out if the bite looks like it needs a stitch or not.  And you need to be prepared for the fact that doctors are LEGALLY required to report dog bites.  That shouldn't stop you seeking medical help if you need it, but you need to be prepared for the fact that the doctor may very well report the bite.

Cat bites are different story.  I will see a doctor for a cat bite/scratch--as they can get ugly very fast.  Generally dog mouths are cleaner than ours and the only time I've had a serious health issue from a bite (that wasn't a cat bite) was when a human bit me.  Major infection.

[pugs4life]

Thanks Blanche, spoke to the nurse at my doctor to confirm my last tetanus. All's good there. She said no need to go in unless it starts to get angry or I get a fever.

Still sore as there is bruising, and I may have needed a stitch, but it's too late now.  Hopefully, it will heal over the 'thing' that should be inside my hand!

[Jane aka 71337]

Kirby-my rescue pug, and my other pug Bosley were scrapping over a bone and I stupidly tried to separate them.

Been there, done that...more than once in fact 
Here's a couple things I've learned the hard way...try using a spray bottle with water and spritzing the scrappers gently in the face to get them to break it up...if that doesn't work and you have to grab one to break it up, grab the back end instead of the end with teeth  
Also, lifting one of the scrappers up during a fight or as one is about to start usually escalates things so be ready to move fast and keep a good grip on the one you've picked up because they will be struggling and the one on the ground will probably be lunging at the one above 

Sending your hand lots of healing vibes 

[pugs4life]

Hi Jane,

Thanks, I did grab one by the scruff and the wriggly guy got away. Of course they were both on top of me on the sofa at the time. I'll try the spray bottle, they hate that.

[lmcpug]

Good advice Jane,
cause as soon as you do grab one, they seem to go balistic!

I have been there done that on many "spit and slobber" fight occasions.
Got chomped good the one time and it hurt for weeks but I would never
hesitate to break up a fight.

Good advice too Blanche, cause yepper if you have to tell you got bit to
medical svcs they do have to report the animal. No getting round that either
So I would rather wear my "chomp" and whine about it unless it is an unknown
animal.

As for the "thing" that should be inside your hand       OY!
that kinda sent me willies!

Hope you heal fast and that the pain goes down soon!

[SpeedyPug]

been bitten here, too.  That water idea is great- but i never have the bottle around when Jem and Geeg go at it.  Its a rarity and normally food or wicked-cool toy motivated.  I try to stick my body in between- if i pick one up, the other grabs face and dangles- not pretty!

[lizzthrasher]

Grab the hind legs and lift!

And the pain is more from the bruising than the laceration, in my experience.

And I can't tell you all how good it feels to hear that everybody else has dog fights too!

[Jane aka 71337]

And I can't tell you all how good it feels to hear that everybody else has dog fights too!

I couldn't agree more   

That water idea is great- but i never have the bottle around when Jem and Geeg go at it.  Its a rarity and normally food or wicked-cool toy motivated.  I try to stick my body in between- if i pick one up, the other grabs face and dangles- not pretty!

I keep a water bottle beside my end of the couch because most of our tiffs seem to be happening there lately.  If I don't have the water bottle and a fight breaks out on top of me, I blow gently in the dogs' faces.  You want to be careful with this one until you see how your dog reacts.  With my pugs and french bulldog it seems to remind them that I'm there and redirects their attention to me and calms them down.  With my boston terrier I usually end up getting a head butt so not a good idea with him     

[Sammers]

I've been there too, bitten breaking up dog scraps. Nothing a little polysporin didn't fix. My guys in a scrap will cling to anything so I am careful not to get my hands involved. Blanche, had suggest that I drop a book or something of the like that makes a really loud noise. That has been working for us.

Hope you heal up quickly.

[Anna]

We've had a few scraps here but I've been lucky and haven't gotten bitten by one of them yet.  It's usually pretty easy to break up our fights - Ada is tiny and always the aggressor so I just pick her up and the fight is over.

[Jug and Pug]

Good advice about the bite and breaking up fighters!  Thankfully we haven't had bites but some major scratches......I usually pull one out by the back end and pick them up quickly. I taught my 12yr old how to do it as well so that if I am not right there she knows what to do. 

Of course Dave is just an angel so would never start a fight.......

[LouiseJ]

This is all great advice! I've had several scraps since we've had Lizzie, she's very aggressive with her treats (and everyone elses!)and gets upset if the other dogs are excited about something. I do just what was mentioned above, I usually grab her from behind and pick her up as fast as I can. They'll still be bickering with each other vocally while I'm holding her, but the fight is normally over as soon as I pick her up. It's a whole lot better than when she first came though!!

I like the spray bottle idea, must try that!

[RockysMom]

When I was a teenager I used to dog sit for my aunt who bred Bouvier des Flandres and often had up to 5 or 6 adult dogs at any given time (all in the house).  The females were sometimes very agressive with each other and two of them in particular used to get in wicked fights (I was a happy girl with the really agressive one was gone).

You wouldn't dare try to grab one of those big dogs in the middle of a fight as they would tear your hand off I suspect.  My aunt taught me to bang pots together loudly and if that didn't work, throw cold water on them. With dogs that size the spray bottle didnt' work. I would literally fill a pot with ice cold water and throw it on their heads.  Worked like a charm. The loud banging worked pretty well too.

I never did get bitten thankfully, but I had some hair raising experiences with those darn dogs!

[Candace]

Yep, I've been bitten a few times, too. If they are scrapping over food, it is usually Salvador and Mookie. Mookie will not bite me, so I always go for him. Now that I've said that, he will probably nail me. Salvador may be old, but his teeth still work and I don't try to get anything away from him, without extreme caution!
For future reference, I always try to keep them separate with bones or bully sticks and their dinner too. They each have a spot that is far enough away from each other, that I can monitor the situation. It is crazy how they can go at each other and 5 minutes later be all cuddled up together. Just something that dogs can do.