Dog bit vet… what does life look like from here?

[misschildfree1970]

Our nearly 2yo reactive dog bit a vet tech today, prompting a trip to urgent care and a report with the city (so we’ve been told). Our worst fears have come true but in the one place we didn’t expect it. These vets know him well and have a typical protocol they use to care for him. He’s been injured recently and needed his wrapping looked at, and they were trying to put a cone on him and it went badly. Sounds like there was a good amount of blood. Assuming level 3/4.

Obviously, muzzle training is our number one priority. Priority 2 is an appt. with our vet behaviorist (we have already spent $1000s on his behavioral trainer). He’s already on 20mg of prozac.

What does our future look like from here? He’s a small ish dog (25lb). This is his first on record bite, though he has nipped before and will nip anyone including us when he is afraid. We’ve been training for a year+ and still can’t complete most basic care (cannot bathe him, cannot trim nails, cannot put a coat on him). Dog walker/sitter/house guests (which were a distant goal before) now feel out of the question.

Emotions are running high and I’m dreading worst case scenario, but can anyone tell me what life will actually look like from here?

EDIT: any info on what to expect in terms of liability, police reports, etc. Are welcome. We live in nys.

EDIT as of 9/25: just want to make clear we don’t blame the vet at ALL. They knew he wasn’t muzzle trained and we would not have let them handle him without making very clear the risk and concerns. They knowingly took him on. HOWEVER we don’t blame them at ALL and don’t feel they are overreacting. Blood was drawn and their response is more than appropriate. Sedation and muzzle will be the move from now on, our bigger concern is what this means for life as a whole. We live in a very population dense area.

Also want to thank everyone for their answers and tips. This community has been a huge source of comfort and knowledge and I’m grateful for everyone’s support and feedback.

 

[stephcooper46]

@misschildfree1970 So the thing about vet offices is they are specifically insured for injuries like that on property. It’s mostly because the dog is under the vets care while they are there so the injury is legally on them. There are exceptions but that’s generally the norm so unless the insurance company decides otherwise you will probably be financially clear.

Your dog is probably under a quarantine now for rabies. Depending on where you live your dog may need to be registered. You know your dog is dangerous so in most areas your dog needs to be in control at all times off property. That includes a muzzle.

Look up your locations and local dog laws to learn the extent of how you need to proceed. If you are in the US; check state laws, county laws and city laws if applicable. Each can add on to the other. Like you maybe in a city that requires registration but the others don’t. Don’t just look at summary on a small claims lawyers website (there will be several and they dramatize it), look at the actual recorded law.

 

[tinshield]

@misschildfree1970 If the dog was reactive in the first place but then he was at the vet (stressful) and in pain with a physical injury (more stressful) and total stranger was coming at him with a weird object while holding him down and putting it on his neck (hysterical levels of stress) then his behavior isn’t that surprising and it isn’t something you necessarily need to worry about as being the norm. The vet knew your dog was reactive and they should’ve put a muzzle on him BEFORE they started handling him.

Start doing some positive introduction to the basket muzzle. That’s the best and most comfortable type for a dog to wear.

 

[roberthill1964]

@tinshield Having a muzzle on while putting an ecollar/cone on is a risk either way. If you have the muzzle on, and it isn't the owners, then you have to get it off after the ecollar is on and your hand is trapped in an ecollar with the face that wants to bite you. You can ask the owner to remove it, if you know for certain the dog won't bite the owner, but the vet would be liable if their own pet bites them and they could sue so most don't let owners even handle their pets. You could tie gauze to the muzzle beforehand, but they may not have known he was going to need an ecollar so it isn't something you would typically do. It can also cause discomfort if the muzzle is on for a period of time. You also can't leave most muzzles on for an extended period, unless it is a basket muzzle. Then you are folding the ecollar over the dog, which can cause them to react more and make the situation worse. This is where an owner owning as basket muzzle is great and they could have communicated this previously.

It just gets tricky and it isn't as simple as it sounds. I would have opted to give the ecollar to the owner to put on later if I thought it was a bite risk. This would upset some vets and owners so they may have been pressured to get it on. The vet industry is in a horrific state right now with some staff having little to no experience. Some corportations/practice owners/managers/vets are horrible to their employees so many people are leaving the field so they are losing their well trained/experienced staff. That doesn't mean the dog should have a bite record because they made poor choices though. I would only ever report a bite if it was a high level bite. I have been bitten! I made owners aware, explained the situation and apologized myself for us letting it happen (it has always been weird accidents like my hand getting trapped in a flailing dogs ecollar that was too large and he chomped on my thumb).

 

[mustardseed7]

@roberthill1964 I muzzle my dog before going into the vet, every time. He rarely reacts to them but I always want to be prepared. I brought my friend's dog in while dog sitting because she had been throwing up uncontrollably, and they needed to put a muzzle on her and had me do it since I was her person for the appointment.

 

[josh0302]

@roberthill1964 This sounds intolerable! Why do people keep serious biters???

 

[roberthill1964]

@josh0302 This is just dogs in general. Every dog has its breaking point. Sometimes when you are performing a medical exam and diagnostics on them they lose it and we aren't done. We still need to take care of them so out comes a muzzle or sedation or something. It doesn't mean they are bad dogs, it just means they are stressed and can't handle what we are forcing on them to make them medically better. Ideally, every dog would be well socialize and trained to undergo basic diagnostic tests. I do this with my own dogs (and cats), but it isn't realistic for every single dog. Mistakes and bites will always happen in a clinic. People and dogs both make mistakes.

 

[josh0302]

@roberthill1964 Absolutely. In this case, OP said they cannot do even the most basic care themselves on their dog, at home, in comfort and familiar surroundings.

 

[roberthill1964]

@josh0302 Super common since COVID. Vet techs or groomers end up doing the basic care, if people can afford it.

 

[tinshield]

@roberthill1964 Why do you mention an e collar? He’s just talking about a cone. There is no science to support the use of e collars for reactive dogs. They usually make reactivity much worse.

 

[roberthill1964]

@tinshield My first sentence: ecollar/cone. In vet med, a cone, which is called an elizabethan collar, is called an ecollar. Not an electric collar for stimulation.

 

[mickyd1961]

@roberthill1964 Omg THANK YOU! I keep seeing ‘ecollar’ on this sub and thinking man these reactive-dog people are hardasses, this makes so much more sense. I appreciate the explanation.

 

[roberthill1964]

@mickyd1961 slang words can mean different things to different people.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@roberthill1964 I was about to ask the same thing.. I kept envisioning
an electric collar and couldn’t figure out how that would help.

 

[marantha]

@tinshield hey! cones are actually formally called ‘elizabethan collars’ which are shortened to ‘e-collars’ (since
it’s a mouthful lol)

no one is suggesting OP to shock their dog into submission!

 

[tinshield]

@marantha Not sure why I’ve upset everybody. I already stated that I simply misunderstood what was being referred to. Even the mid thought it was a reference to electric collars. I’ve already said I just misunderstood.

 

[marantha]

@tinshield you’re totally fine dude! no hard feelings here i just replied without reading the other responses

 

[misschildfree1970]

@tinshield Yes for sure, we have a muzzle already and are amping up the conditioning. Thank you for posting!

 

[tinshield]

@misschildfree1970 I taught my dog to accept the basket muzzle with no stress by putting dog cookies in it and holding it out for her to stick her face in and eat the cookies. I did this for a while until she was diving into it head first then I started to drape the head strap loosely over her head and then immediately take it back off so she wouldn’t panic. After she got comfortable with all that I start leaving the head strap on for longer and longer periods often while continuing to feed her treats through the basket. She started actually getting excited about it after a while
Good luck to you and your pup!

 

[chrislovesjesus]

@tinshield I thinly spread peanut butter on the inside of the muzzle. my dog got used to keeping his face in it for longer periods of time because it took a while to lick all of the peanut butter off