Bite wounds are among the commonest reasons dogs need emergency care. Their defining feature is that the skin hides the damage: a dog's teeth puncture, then grip, crush and shake, so a pair of tiny holes can sit over torn muscle, a large pocket of dead skin and, over the chest or neck, injured airways, ribs and lungs. Management therefore runs in a fixed order: stabilize, find the hidden injuries, clean and debride, then decide on closure and antimicrobials.
Key facts
Bite wound at a glance- Species and system: dogs (and cats bitten by dogs); skin and soft tissue, but deep injuries can involve the thorax, neck airway and abdomen.
- Cause: penetrating, crushing and shearing trauma from teeth, with contamination by oral and skin bacteria.
- Who is at risk: small dogs (10 kg or less) are bitten most and are more likely to have multiple injuries; deaths occur almost only with thoracic or abdominal wounds.
- Classic presentation: small punctures and bruising, sometimes with subcutaneous emphysema, dyspnea or shock out of proportion to the visible wound.
- Wound status: always contaminated; closure is usually delayed or the wound is managed open.
- Zoonotic or reportable: the wound itself is not, but every bite raises the question of rabies exposure, and dog saliva can carry Capnocytophaga canimorsus, which causes severe infection in at-risk people.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 5 tables, 2 figures, 3 self-test questions and 23 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.