Ven Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Hi All, Monday afternoon my wife took our dog (red cattle dog) on an afternoon walk when they were rushed and attacked by 4 dog's. They got stuck into my dog pretty badly and as a result she has a few deep puncture wounds on her neck, side and chest. my wife is still very shaken up and we are both devastated! we rushed her to the vet who checked her over and gave us anti-biotic and anti inflamitories etc and said to pay close attention to her breathing due to the location and depth of the bite wound on her side. She will make a full recovery thank god. I'm just wanting to ask 1) is there anything else I should be looking out for over the next week or 2 ? (I know to look out for things like infection and breathing etc) 2) our dog has always loved playing with other dogs, but I am a little concerned how she will react now that this has happened to her, any tips on re-introducing her back to her doggy friends once she's recovered ? she may be fine and I'm just a worry wart, but can't hurt to be prepared. Cheers all. Ven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Sorry this happened Ven. When my dog was attacked I had him meet a dog of the same breed straight away as I was concerned about his nature being ruined, he was a very sweet dog. So I would get your dog out and about ASAP. Your wife may take longer to recover than your dog! I am still a bit jittery about the breed that attacked us and dislike dogs rushing up to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 sorry to hear - I guess all what you can do at this stage is watching him closely whether there is a change in his behavior; if so, depending on the change (aggression, anxiety...) you have to take the right measures... out of interest: can you tell us a little bit more about the 4 dogs and the area where it happend?...breeds? ...homeless dogs?...on the street? ...rural area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ven Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) sorry to hear - I guess all what you can do at this stage is watching him closely whether there is a change in his behavior; if so, depending on the change (aggression, anxiety...) you have to take the right measures... out of interest: can you tell us a little bit more about the 4 dogs and the area where it happend?...breeds? ...homeless dogs?...on the street? ...rural area? Happened near port Macquarie in nsw. Walking in town and they come running out of the owners property onto the street to attack. The dogs owner told us they were bull Arabs he used for pig hunting. It is the negligence of the owner that annoys me the most! Please note I don't want this to turn into a breed debate. We have nothing against this breed at all, it just happened that these particular ones were bull Arabs. Thanks for the replies guys! Edited October 28, 2015 by Ven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 I'm sorry this has happened Ven When my two muzzled greyhounds were attacked 18 months ago by two dogs in the same situation as you, my boy escaped with bite marks to his legs but my girl had her shoulder ripped open and ended up at the emergency vet. One wound was stitched but another was unable to be stitched so she had quite a large open wound. She had two lots of AB's and a few weeks rest. Unfortunately she never liked other dogs much to start with but now she is even worse, my boy on the other hand was completely unaffected by the experience. Myself...well I'll never get over it. Off lead dogs in my home town of Terrigal on the Central Coast of NSW are out of control and the council simply don't care, so I moved. I hope your girl returns to her normal doggy loving self, unaffected like my boy was. My girl already had issues so I guess her behaviour becoming worse is not unusual. I reported the offending dogs in my case and the owner was forced to pay my vet bills, although she did try to get out of it. I can sympathize with your wife, the stupidity of others has taken away from me the simple pleasure of walking my greys forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diva Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 From my own experience, the way you and your wife react to other dogs in the future will be important in how your dog reacts. I was deeply frightened by an attack by 2 loose GSDs, and lost confidence in dealing with rushing loose dogs when mine were on lead. It made one of mine a bit leash reactive when she was with me for a while, until I got a better handle on my own fear. You will need to try and act around other dogs as you did before this happened and that isn't easy. Dog attacks are very traumatic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Highly recommend calendula cream to help heal the wounds once they seal over. Very sorry to read of the attack. It is terrifying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Happened near port Macquarie in nsw. Walking in town and they come running out of the owners property onto the street to attack. The dogs owner told us they were bull Arabs he used for pig hunting. It is the negligence of the owner that annoys me the most! Please note I don't want this to turn into a breed debate. We have nothing against this breed at all, it just happened that these particular ones were bull Arabs. Thanks for the replies guys! ...I guess it has nothing to do with the breed, just grossly negligent from the irresponsible owner... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Best Dogs! Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) From our experience, keeping that eye on the punctures (a couple of them took a month to close over and about 4 months for fur to grow back. Kept on antibiotics while still open and daily checking not filled with puss and cleaning out). Get your dog out and about with dogs again ASAP! I had mine out and about from the second day after the attack and although she is now very worried and scared of dogs it is generally only if they're up in her face for an extended period of time. She was a bit growly but I think just being around the dogs was better than hiding at home. It was low key with dogs of varying sizes and genders. Also, you should be the one to do this as your wife may transmit her anxiety. Also your wife may also be worried and wary around some dogs now which is normal! It's been 8 months and I think I'm finally learning to trust that not all dogs are going to start shit with us. It's a frightening experience. I hope your dog is more resilient than mine she was ok with dogs and I hope to be again Edited October 28, 2015 by Thistle the dog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal House Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 How frightening for everyone, I really hope your dog (and wife) will be okay, theres' been some great advice given already, just wanted to wish you all well in your recovery. And I hope you reported the attack to the council/relevant authorities, the owner is at fault here, I'm not sure of the local laws there (regarding rushing/attacking dogs) but hopefully he will be held responsible and made to secure the dogs properly so it doesn't happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ven Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 thanks for the advice everyone. Much appreciated! I'll be taking her out for a play date over the weekend so fingers crossed it goes well! Just need to be careful she doesn't re-open the wounds that are still closing up as she loves to run around and play like a mad thing sometimes! Wife is still pretty shaken but she's ok. Will be a fair while before she walks the dog on her own though I think. once again, thanks heaps for the great advice guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellejaytee Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 So sorry this happened. I hope your dog makes a speedy recovery. I have a friend who adopted a dog, and she and the owner had been attacked by a ridgeback, which meant that from then on, the dog had major leash aggression. Of course the previous owner wasn't totally honest about this, my friend figured it out pretty quick when walking her, and she was snapping and snarling at dogs who were in their own yards. Thing is, take the lead off and her dog is a really friendly, sociable dog, she just feels vulnerable on a lead and tries to get the upper hand before anything's even happened! She's been working with a trainer on this issue. It's a tough issue to break because the previous owner didn't do anything to try and sort the issue out, just stopped walking her It's great that you're trying to find ways to ensure her emotional scars are lessened. I think play dates with other friendly dogs is a good idea, try to build up her confidence a bit. I hope you've reported the attacked and seek full compensation for the vet bills. My partner was walking our malamute in a park when someone let their hunting dogs out to run around. Partner freaked out and got away as quickly as possible. It's frustrating that as a responsible dog owner, you keep your dog on your property, keep them under leash control when you're outside of your property, and others just think that anywhere is their off leash dog park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 I would recommend avoiding the dog park like the plague and starting your dog off with NONREACTIVE (i.e. neither friendly, nor aggressive) dogs UNLESS you know the dog and owner well. I'm not one for tossing a dog in the deep end with unknown dogs - it may be profoundly stressful for your dog AND that reaction may provoke others to be aggressive. Personally, I'd be letting dog and your wife heal and talking to a professional trainer about how to manage the aftermath of the attack. But don't put your dog at risk by tossing her into the deep end at the dog park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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