What Should You Do If Your Dog Bites Someone?

The simple truth is that no matter how good your dog is, your dog could be provoked to bite. Your dog may also react by biting. In fact, there are hundreds of thousands of dog bites that take place every year. Some can be serious. Last year, thirty-nine Americans were killed by dogs.

Because of this, you should be prepared. Here is what you need to do if your dog does the unthinkable.

Stay calm. The worst thing that you could do is panic in this situation. You need to be able to think clearly (and not react the wrong way). In fact, if you are wound up, your dog and everyone else in the situation will do the same. This could make everything worse.

Get your dog out of there. You need to remove your dog from the situation, even if you are just able to put him or her in your car. If you are home, put him or he in another room.

Help the person wash the wound up as soon as possible. The first thing that should be done is to wash the wound. Get soap and water and clean the area as good as you can.

Then, make sure that the person gets the medical attention needed. You should suggest the person gets to their doctor or at least urgent care to make sure that the wound gets treated appropriately.

No matter how upset you are about the situation, you need to work with the other person. Make sure that you give them your contact information so that they can reach you if needed. You also need to give them your dog's vaccine history. If you can't find it, you should contact your veterinarian immediately. If your dog is not up-to-date on his or her rabies, the person who got bit needs to be notified.

If rabies is a concern, follow the correct quarantine procedure. Though you can't imagine that your dog has rabies, you still need to follow the right procedure. You don't want to get in trouble for not following the rules. So, make sure that your dog is quarantined as needed and get him or her back up to date on vaccines as soon as you are allowed.

Even if you don't have to keep your dog quarantined, you may want to keep him or her home for a while. You don't want to have anything else happen if your dog overreacts again.

You should also get your dog checked out by your veterinarian. He or she will be able to see if any health concerns caused your dog to act out. Your veterinarian may also be able to talk to you about behavior modifications that may help the situation. You may need to try medications in order to prevent any further bites.

Talk to a lawyer. There is a good chance that the person who was bitten might sue you. Because of that, you should talk to a lawyer before you get served with papers. This gives you time to discuss what happened, if they have a case, and what you should be doing.

It can be shocking to see your dog bite someone. However, you need to stay calm and act rationally, or you could cause a whole lot of problems. First, you need to get your dog away from the situation. Then, you need to help the person who got bit. Make sure that they clean the wound and seek medical treatment. Work with them by giving them your phone number and your pet's vaccination record. It wouldn't hurt to talk to a lawyer, just in case.