What to do if a pet dog has bitten a child?

Usually, it cannot occur to anyone that a beloved pet, often living in a family for many years, can offend a baby, but sometimes children become victims of domestic dogs, and only their parents are to blame for this.

How to prevent a bite?

The dog, despite its size, emotionality and attachment to the owners, remains an animal, and it is a pack animal, in which, despite centuries of selection, instincts remain strong. Owners need to understand that dogs often perceive a baby as the bottom rung in the hierarchical ladder, tritely because he appeared later than the dog. Also, a dog that has lived in a family for many years, a former spoiled pet, may be jealous because little attention is now being paid to it. And the task of the owners is to convey to their pet as quickly and correctly as possible that a small person is also the owner, and no one began to love the dog less.

However, do not assume that your dog is a toy for a child. It must be remembered that the dog is not at all obliged to constantly endure the pain and inconvenience that the baby unknowingly causes her. It is necessary to protect the pet from the close attention of a small child and explain to older children that a pet has the right to privacy, unwillingness to share food and toys. Children should not be allowed to drive a dog into a corner from which he will have no other way out than aggression. Remember: you are responsible for the one you tamed!

How to deal with a bite?

If the dog nevertheless bit the child, the most important thing is to provide first aid correctly. It is necessary to promptly wash the wound inflicted by the dog’s teeth – best of all with an antiseptic. If the trouble happened on the street, then even hand sanitizer, which many people carry in their purse, will do.

If the bleeding does not stop and the wound is deep, a tight bandage should be applied to the injury. Then you should immediately consult a doctor, who will decide on further treatment.

If a child has been bitten by a stray dog ​​or a neighbor’s dog, about which there is no certainty that he has been vaccinated against rabies, then the baby must begin a course of vaccination against this deadly disease. If possible, the dog itself should be caught and quarantined. If after 10 days she remains alive and well, then the vaccination course is stopped. Also, the child will need to be vaccinated against tetanus, if it has not been given to the baby before.