My dog was attacked. Why does he growl when I give him his medicine?

I would take him to your veterinarian asap as pain relief medication are required and make sure there are no penetrating wounds (sometimes they can be quite subtle). Other injuries a part from muscles and soft tissue ones need to be diagnosed or ruled out. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.

Poor Brody! How scary for both of you. Dogs can certainly be anxious and upset for a while after a traumatic event like this, just like people. This should improve with time, but there are a few things you can try in the meantime that may help. If he seems nervous all the time, you can try using a DAP pheromone collar along with a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure to help him relax - these products are all very safe, and can be purchased over the counter without a prescription. On walks, he may be very nervous about other dogs approaching for quite a while - so I would make sure to give him plenty of space, and don't walk in areas where other dogs are likely to be until he seems more relaxed and comfortable again. You can also carry treats with you on your walks, and praise and reward him every time you see another dog - this can be a very effective way of helping with fear.

Poor thing. My two top would be that he was really sore before and/or after the surgery and remembers that being traumatic. Fear-based aggression is very common in dogs. Your comment that he seems worse than before the surgery makes me think perhaps he never loved having his feet touched, and if that's the cause, having an injury could have caused him to think "see, I was right! awful things happen when people touch my feet!" even though I'm assuming the injury itself was unrelated to a person. Since he's gotten to the point of biting, I would recommend talking with his vet about some medications (such a prozac and/or trazodone and gabapentin) to help him calm and then working with a very qualified trainer on desensitizing him to having people touch him. I would also recommend never letting kids interact with him until he's more comfortable, so that no one is in danger. Good luck with this very difficult problem.

The area doesn't look too red or swollen. Infection would probably manifest as drainage, swelling, and/or more redness. Try working with her with some kind of treat she loves. Start by petting her and letting her relax, give treats occasionally as long as she remains calm. If she becomes tense, back off until she calms again. Don't start by trying to medicate her, the wound doesn't look like it needs much care to heal right now. As she is calm, try to get her into position to medicate the area, have the medicine nearby so she can see it, but don't use it if she becomes tense. Offer tiny bits of treat as long as she stays quiet. Only move forward as long as she remains calm. Keep these training sessions short, only five or ten minutes at most, and always end on a positive note, even if all she does is 'sit' to get her treat. This will help her looks forward to her training. Also, if she likes to go for walks, play fetch, go for runs, whatever physical activity she enjoys, do that with her. A tired dog is a happy dog and physical activity can do wonders for fear and anxiety in dogs.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Tiger. I recommend that he sees a veterinarian today. If he is crying out and trying to bite, I suspect that he is very painful. He may require pain medication or even antibiotics depending on the extent of his wounds. In the meantime, try to encourage him to eat and drink as close to normal as possible. I hope you are able to get him care today. Good luck!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Nate! I think an important first step is to have your Vet examine Nate. He could be painful at the site of the bite, despite no outward wounds. He could have neck (muscle) pain like whip lash or be generally sore. That could explain the lack of energy and slowly coming down the stairs. I strongly feel that you need to be sure he is actually healthy before considering this a new behavioral problem from being attacked. Most dogs aren't overly traumatized mentally after getting in to fights but it is possible. If your vet finds nothing wrong with Nate they can discuss anti-anxiety medications and behavioral modifications to help him get back to normal. Good luck!

Dog's don't bite on accident. He bit because he was uncomfortable with the situation and sounds like he's still on high alert after the incident. I'd recommend giving him lots of space and lots of love from afar by way of tossing him special treats. Rocky may need to be separated from your other dog for a while if he can't stand you being around him. It's possible he's in some pain if one of the nails was cut too close, or that he's still upset from the fear of the nail cutting. If he doesn't calm down in a few days, I'd recommend another vet visit to discuss medications to help him calm. Wishing you the best of luck in this tricky situation.