My dog's dog park bite is oozing after home care. What's next?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend having this treated sooner rather than later and get in as soon as you can to have this taken care of. This appears to be an abscess and has ruptured. This needs to be drained and flushed out with an antiseptic solution as well as having him placed on oral antibiotics. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor girl! This actually look more like a scab from some mild trauma. While I do not see evidence of a bite in that picture, that is still possible and an examination would be needed to determine that for sure. Because it is small and mild, I think it would be ok to treat at home. You may apply a thin film of triple antibiotic ointment on the affected area twice daily for 5 days. If this does not improve or resolves, have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. There is a very good chance that this will improve quickly. However, if you notice any signs of worsening, like severe swelling, have her evaluated. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear and see Cheech has been injured. Unfortunately, dog bites can deteriorate very fast after the bacteria introduced into the skin and deeper multiply and cause problems. You should get him to a vet in your area for evaluation and treatment. Surface cleaning is important but bacteria have been drawn deeper into the skin and what is called the subcutaneous layers of the body. That infection can then spread and cause swelling, pain, and other problems that can rapidly deteriorate. Plus any type of bite like this, whether it from a dog/cat or some form of wildlife where the rabies status is unknown, a rabies booster should be administered to boost immunity. Your vet can evaluate the injuries and then advise treatment which sometimes will involve sedation/anesthesia due to extreme pain when treating. They can then start treatment which can include antibiotics, anti inflammatory meds, pain meds, topical wound care, E-collars to prevent self mutilation, etc. Again I would seek vet care immediately for Cheech. He will feel much better and so will you. Good Luck

Poor guy. Bite wounds often are left open in small areas to allow the infection to drain out before it then heals over by 2nd intention healing. I would only suggest covering this with a loose t-shirt for now. As long as there are no signs of infection (yellow or purulent discharge with a foul odor) and no large gaping openings (typically >2 cm), then it should be ok to wait until Monday to get him checked again by your vet. Based on the picture I don't see any majorly open wounds there. You can safely flush this area with sterile saline from your local pharmacy to help keep infection at bay since the wounds are slightly open. But again, dog bite woulds can be left often for the first few days to allow draining to occur before things heal up on their own with granulation tissue that the body will make itself. I do hope that Aussie's wounds heal up well soon! Best of luck moving forward and take care.

Poor guy. The fluid that you describe certainly sounds like infection. I would try to schedule a sooner appt with your regular vet to get Louie on another stronger type of antibiotic to help resolve this. For now you can flush the area with Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water to help reduce the bacteria load until you can get him seen by your vet. He should be able to heal well after changing antibiotics. Best wishes with Louie moving forward. Take care.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Superficial wounds around the face are usually treated with topical antibiotics (creams or ointments) or antibiotics tablets. Larger wounds need to be stitched up, but if the would you found is not fresh, most likely your vet would not want to stitch it up. Please, clean the would twice a day with 4% chlorhexidine solution (you can buy it at pharmacies) for a few days and it will hopefully heal up. However, if it starts to bother Aimee or becomes painful you will have to take her to your nearest vets possibly to get a course of antibiotics.

Quite frankly, take him to the vet. They can properly assess the damage done, treat the wound and prescribe antibiotics to treat infection. A wound may not look deep from the surface, but it can be hard to tell how much damage is beneath the surface.