I have a habit of being friendly with dogs I don’t know. Mrs. L.A. warns me every time that one of these days I’m going to be bitten. Well… After not having being bitten by a dog since I was in the single digits, she was finally right.
I came out of the corner market, and there was a dachshund hanging out of a parked car’s window. I said hello to it, and presented the back of my hand. Seemed friendly enough. But he must have hated cats, because after sniffing my hand he took a nip. No real punctures, but three spots that were oozing by the time I got home.
Bad combination here - mini-dog that probably saw itself as Protector Of Its Realm And The Master’s Vehicle.
I can’t see going up to an unknown small dog and attempting to make friends unless it’s accompanied by its owner and seems ultra-friendly (only time I was bitten by a dog was decades ago and it was a nasty-minded small beast that gave no clue of its malevolent intentions).
I get bit pretty often and I’ve learned that Ice water/ dawn soap submersion is the best way to ease the soreness of a dog bite.
Fill sink half way with water
add dish soap to water and agitate water till soap bubbles form
add ice
Submerge bitten area for 20 minutes or as tolerable, remove
10 minutes out then submerge for another 20 minutes…repeat until pain is gone
seek medical attention of course for severe punctures or tears
Head bites regardless of the one on your shoulders or between your legs are another story
Animals usually like me. Given that the window was open very well enough for it to jump out if it wanted to, I thought it was well-behaved. And it appeared to be. I’m guessing it smelled Tonka, who got face scritches before I left the house.
I made friendly-talk as I approached, and brought the back of my hand up slowly from below for it to smell.
I’ve been doing critter rescue for longer than I want to remember. I’ve only gotten bit once. By a little old fat dog with bad teeth. It got infected and I still have the scar.
I’m really careful about small dogs, they are sneaky and unpredictable. I’m glad the dog didn’t break the skin on your hand, that’s the worse place to get bit.
We only got a couple of giant house spiders last Autumn, and they were kind of puny. I suppose it’s possible the cat(s) got them, but I really don’t know why.
When I was a kid, I got bit more times than I could ever remember. I’m simply not afraid of dogs. I love them, and I want to hold them, and pet them and call them George… well, maybe not George. But as a child, I would approach any dog, any size, any temperament :eek:, and proceed to do those very things. The folks at the emergency ward new me by sight. I got chomped by an impressive german shepherd who was on the loose once, and my mom lured it into our garage with a big steak to sort things out. Belonged to a very well-to-do family. This was before people had lawyers on speed dial. She was glad* THEY* didn’t get mad. Should of cashed in.
I am glad that you love dogs but you are doing it wrong if you get bitten that much. I grew up with a rotating stable of large dogs including German Shepherds, German Shepherd mixes, Alaskan Malamutes, a Shih Tzu and even a Chow. We usually had at least six at a time with free run of both the house and 100 acres of land. The German Shepherds and mixes were free range and were much more likely to die for me even as a kid than they were to bite anyone in the family. They weren’t vicious in the least but they kept everything so well protected that we didn’t ever lock our doors.
They weren’t aggressive to anyone as long as they didn’t see them as a threat but we did have a few complaints from the utility companies over the years about meter readers that were afraid to do their job because of them. One even claimed that he was bitten by our German Shepherd/Norwegian Elkhound cross but that was complete bullshit because he didn’t have any injuries and she was the smartest and sweetest dog that I have ever known. Sorry Lassie, Katie was smarter and better than you could ever be.
The only incident we ever had was with our adopted Chow named Black Bart because he had a beautiful mane that would suck light out of the room because he was so dark. Chows are gorgeous but they aren’t especially intelligent and they can be quite aggressive. One of my mother’s friends gave him to us because he was too aggressive with other dogs. We had good luck with him for over a year until my aunt and cousin came to pick me up for a pool party. Bart and one of our German Shepherd mixes got into a really bad dog fight right next to the car, Bart fell inside and bit the shit out of my cousin’s inner thigh in the confusion. It was a really nasty injury that required an immediate rush to the emergency room. I went with them and it took hours and something like 17 stitches to sew up what looked like a serrated pork loin to me.
I still didn’t hold it against Bart though. He just made a mistake in a fight. When my mother told me that we had to get rid of him because he was a danger to my cousin, I asked why we couldn’t just get rid of my cousin instead.
QFT - I also love dogs, and have rescued dozens of strays. I have been bitted exactly once, by a neighbour’s dog (mastiff/bull terrier cross) that was after my little dog on his leash. I normally wouldn’t have stepped in, but my 7 year old was also with me, and I knew, without a doubt, she would grab Opie to try and protect him. I got a decent chunk out of my right fore-arm - which meant she would have gotten bit at neck or face level.
