Dog Bite/Nip

GunnersParents · 10-21-2008, 10:26 PM

Hello. Tonight my dog (puppy) who's about 6 months old got either a dog bite or nip that went through his ear. I wasn't there to witness it because my husband was the one who brought him outside but he said it was a nip of some sort. Either way, our puppy ended up getting injured. We brought him to the vet right away where they sedated him and stitched it up because it kept bleeding and bleeding. They also wrapped his ear to his head for pressure to stop the bleeding. Okay..so all of that is done now. I would like to know if anyone has any advice on how to get the dog through this. He seems really traumatized right now. He normally goes to daycare on Fridays only for some interaction and to not be cooped up. We have to skip it this Friday for sure, but I'm worried if he's going to be scared of all dogs now because of what happened with this one. I would really appreciate any advice on how to help my dog through this so he doesn't walk away traumatized and scared of dogs now.

spotted nikes · 10-22-2008, 12:29 AM

I'd take him for walks with dogs that you know aren't aggressive. Make sure you watch your attitude/emotions so he doesn't feed off of your fear that he will be traumatized. If he seems fearful, ignore it, keep a little ways away from other dogs and make him focus on you. Whatever you do, if he acts fearful, do not baby him, coddle him, try to reassure him. That will only reinforce that there is something to be afraid of.