My dog's bite wound is red, puffy, and leaking. Is it infected?

From the pictures, the skin appears red and inflamed. It does look like it is infected. While this may not be a true emergency, I would recommend getting in to see your veterinarian very soon. Pookie will need the area shaved and cleaned up. Your vet may prescribe an antibiotic for this as well depending. Until you can get to your vet, you can keep the area clean and dry and use a mild soap and water to clean the wound. If Pookie is licking it, you can put on ECollar on her to prevent licking.

Hello. Many bite wounds can lie quiet for a couple of days until an infection sets in. Then, things seem to get worse in a short period of time. Once your vet gets the area cleaned up & antibiotics are started, Alfie should heal very quickly. In the meantime, you can try applying warm compresses to the swollen cheek. The water should be quite warm & if you can do this for 5-10 minutes a couple of times a day until his appointment, this will be helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I am sorry to hear about your dog! I would recommend bringing him in to his vet to examine the wound if it is not improving. It probably needs to be shaved and cleaned (I cannot see the actual wound in the photo so assume it is covered in fur and the wet area on the cheek). Often bites are puncture wounds and are deep and sometimes do require antibiotics to treat infection.

If there is swelling and it feels hot to the touch and painful then these are signs that infection is present (bite wounds/punctures are unfortunately prone to infeciton) and oral antibiotics are likely needed. I would make an appointment with your vet to get the wound examined. In the meantime, applying an ice pack to the area for 10 minutes every few hours may provide some relief to the pain (be sure to wrap the ice pack in a thin cloth/towel so it isn't directly on the skin).

It definitely looks infected, bite wounds always get infected and require antibiotic treatment. it is also borderline in size and might need suturing. i strongly recommend taking Leo to the vet ASAP in order to get it treated.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear this. Dog attacks can be quite stressful. The main problem with bite wounds is that you have to let the wounds declare themselves before knowing exactly what is going to happen at the end. It sounds like Zara's wound got infected and has now formed an abscess. She can develop a fever from this and this can make her feel quite sick. Also, it would be ideal to know the true extent of her injuries. For this reason, I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Your veterinarian would be able to prescribe medications for pain control and also antibiotics to treat her infection which is the only way it can resolve. Good luck! Keeping my fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

Hi and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry to hear Rumple was bitten by another dog. Based on the photos, it looks like the wound is draining a little, which is a good thing. However, I cannot say with certainty it is not still infected. Given Rumple was just started on antibiotics, he likely needs the full two weeks for it to heal. I would monitor for any pain or swelling in that area, worsening discharge or foul smelling odor or anything else concerning like incompetence, vomiting or diarrhea. If Rumple is otherwise OK, I would say it is fine to continue to monitor him and continue his previously prescribed medication. In fact, I would send these photos to your veterinarian who looked at Rumple two days ago. They would be able to compare the photos and let you know if they think the wound has gotten worse or not. I hope this has been helpful!