Made a mistake. Got bit.

[Reader]

A client called today and wanted to know if I could do a bath and brush on a husky / lab mix. I said sure. The client said the dog bites. I said, "Well, if I can't get a muzzle on it, I can't do it."

The dog was growling at me when I went to get it out of the kennel. It had a leash on it. I thought maybe it was just cage scared so I let it out. I tried to sweet talk it to get the muzzle on but no deal. Then I tried to scruff it and she bit me. It's a pretty bad bite, three puncture wounds in one forearm and five puncture wounds in the other hand. I'm thankful to luck and God that it didn't get any tendons or nerves. The doctor just put bandaids on it and gave me antibiotics.

Well, hindsight is 20/20, but if I can't get a muzzle on a dog, I'm sending it home. And I'm never going to try to scruff a biter. I could have tried to get the manager to help me or something instead of doing it by myself.

The owner was in denial when she picked up. She said, "You mean, I can't bring her back for daycare?" She said maybe she'll look into training. That woman has a time bomb on her hands. How many people need to get bit before she realizes? At least she did give me some warning.

[diamienono]

I know in Pa you have to report dog bites that break the skin. That is one that I would definately report. The owner knows there is a problem and does nothing about it. I don't think I would report a tiny bite, but one that requires a doctor, you bet.

[SpikeyTheYorkie]

Before I'd muzzled the dog, I would have tried to get a lead around his neck (lasso? ) and then walk it outside for a minute or two then brought it in and asked for help to muzzle it. Definitely don't scruff a naughty big dog, you're lucky that's all you got. Sorry to hear you got bitten.

Tammy in Utah

[allick06]

re:made a mistake

People just kill me when they act surprised that thier dog has bitten someone. these people have got to be aware their dog has behavior problems. it's not a surprise or a one-time thing. I don't understand why they think we can accomplish something on a dog that neither knows or trusts us, when they as owners can't or won't. I groomed a poodle today that mom actually admitted was banned from almost every other salon in the vicinity. That dog was sooo bad. I finally got it done and I was pretty smug and thought the groom was pretty good, all mom said was "no bows?" I told her that after the ear plucking and nail trimming, the little angel was a bit aggravated. She had a lot of nerve. the only thing worse is the pet parent that thinks it's funny that their dog is a biter and i've honestly had them laugh when I told them the dog bit someone. Those are the dogs that I refuse to even consider grooming. I'm glad to hear you are okay and I hope that lady gets some training for that dog before it does anything worse.

[Helly]

Yeah, you may as well report it, because the doctor who treated you is probably going to. I don't know of any state that doesn't require doctors to report dog bites. Hope the dog had a current rabies vaccination and license.

Keep an eye on those bites. Even with antibiotics they can still get infected. If they start to swell and turn red, get thee back to the doc or ER.

[sheilabgroomer]

I know in Pa you have to report dog bites that break the skin. That is one that I would definately report. The owner knows there is a problem and does nothing about it. I don't think I would report a tiny bite, but one that requires a doctor, you bet.

Diamie, it sounds to me like the owner did try to do something about it, she warned the groomer that the dog bites. What she (the owner) needs to do if she wants the dog groomed is to bring her in muzzled and hang around till the dog is in the tub and bathed. Then she can leave while the dog is drying in a cage w/fans on it....JMO.
I think the owner needs to forget about daycare though till the dog is better socialized and more trustworthy.

[sheilabgroomer]

Ooooh Reader, with that size of a dog that could have been REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD. I am glad the punctures were deemed not too serious and hope they don't get infected. If you have rings, I hope you took them off before you went to bed, swollen fingers can cause a whole nother ouch if you left them on.

Note to yourself: Do NOT try to scruff big mean dogs, it is a good way to get bit.....trying for a little levity to ease your pain...lol... I give you an "A" for bravery though!

[DAPER DAWG]

I'm sorry that you got bit that bad

I don't know about anyone else but I would never scruff a large dog. Especially a growling large dog.

Maybe he saw it as a sign of agression on your part. Especially when it is already growling he probably saw you bending down over him and grabbing him as very threatening.

I would've done like spikey suggested tried walking him and talking to him calmly and if he calmed try the muzzle again.

Then again some dogs can't be calmes and need to be sent away.

[Jadenlea]

Awww I'm sorry you got bit. I hope you will be ok and definitely keep and eye on that bite for infections.

About reporting the dog.... I know drs have to report it and this might be and unpopular thing to say but.... well... Im not sure its really fair to report that dog. I mean. It was provoked. You don't "Scruff" a big fear aggressive dog. You just don't. In his mind at that point he had no choice. he couldn't flight so he had to bite. Now I know the whole argument that no dog should be biting humans but I feel we as professionals are in a different catagory. Sometimes we make mistakes and get hurt but they are OUR mistakes. That dog running around with the ability to run probably would not bite someone on his own.

Anyway I really hope your hand heals up and that you feel better about what happened. we all make mistakes and learn from them and are better professionals for it. I just had to speak up for the doggy too.

[k9stylist1968]

Yeah, you may as well report it, because the doctor who treated you is probably going to. I don't know of any state that doesn't require doctors to report dog bites. Hope the dog had a current rabies vaccination and license.

Keep an eye on those bites. Even with antibiotics they can still get infected. If they start to swell and turn red, get thee back to the doc or ER.

I know they do have to report them in Kansas. Even so-called "provoked" bites, as happens in our situation.

I had a little Schnauzer bite me on the upper lip once. Now, this was NOT a mean pup; he was actually a sweetheart. And it was a total freak accident that scared him into biting me. This was Christmas Eve morning, and he was one of 5 favorite pets I'd taken that day. I'd finished his groom and was putting him back in his kennel. Just as I boosted him into the kennel, he kicked back and caught his toe in the fan (turned off) attached to the cage below. Instead of just staying in place and letting him relax, I took a step back which hurt; my face happened to be close to his mouth....

Being a facial bite, of course it bled like crazy, so Dr M had the office manager drive me to the ER. The bite turned out to be very minor--just a small triangular tear that they closed with steri-strips. And even though it was a provoked bite from a dog current on his rabies, the doctor still had to (by law) report it to the police/animal control. Fortunately we were also the local animal shelter, so the police trusted my (and Dr M's) judgement that this was NOT a dog needing rabies observation.

The pup's owner felt horrible about the bite and tipped me the price of the groom (around $30 at the time). She was even worried I wouldn't groom Max again.... Every time she called for an appointment after that, she'd say "Jaws" needs a haircut....

[Chicken]

That's scary - I'm glad the bites weren't even worse!

We have one client, a 95lb. pit mix, who comes in pre-muzzled. The dog is actually sweet as pie and we take the muzzle off, but the owners are used to vets/groomers being afraid of pits. I would not be shy about asking people to pre-muzzle their dog if they outright tell you the dog is a biter.

[rapuzzled]

I thought that I would offer a few muzzling suggestions if that's ok. Believe me, I have the learned the hard way as well about muzzling dogs that don't want to be muzzled! My boss is great with it, and can get almost any dog muzzled! I don't know how she does it! Thankfully I have been able to pick up a few tips from her.
Do you have a pair of tongs, or really large hemostats. We have a pair of tongs that we use to muzzle aggressive dogs that are resisting. We will use them to grasp the edge, and then try to put it on the dog that way the dog can't get you as easily. It doesn't always work of course, but it has worked sometimes.
I've also found that a lead works. You know a kennel lead, with the metal ring on the end? If you can get it around the mouth then you can use it kind of like a muzzle, and you can even then get an actual muzzle around the mouth. I did this the other day with a biter (ok, ok, so my boss did it while I watched, THEN I groomed it, lol). It worked great. Of course, I stayed with the dog the whole time, and groomed it straight through which we don't usuallly do, but I didn't want to take any chances with him not being able to breathe.
Anyways...take good care of yourself! Like Helly mentioned, infection can set in!

[blue]

You don't "Scruff" a big fear aggressive dog. You just don't.

Amen to that. As I heard a trainer say, "don't ever start an issue with a dog that you're not positive you can see through to the end."

But hey, we make mistakes and that's how we learn. Glad it wasn't more serious, Reader.

[Chihuahuafan]

I'm glad that you are going to be okay that could of been even worse it sounds. I too have learned to just say "NO" to dogs that we can't even safely get out of the cage after getting in. I even work at a Vet Hospital where we can try a sedative but our vets and techs have learned the hard way as well that it's just not worth getting severly injured over. Just yesterday I turned down a Shar pei that was trying to rip our faces off when we just walked up to the cage. I'm glad I got a few others opinion on that dog first ( a VET and a few techs came to check it out) before I tryed to even open the cage door. The owners said on the phone when I called to let them know of their dogs behavior that the lady and her son have been bit by the dog recently and they think maybe they are gonna have to have the dog put down. Well DUH!!! why the heck didn't they fore warn me first, I was ticked off big time by now. The **** we have to deal with sometimes huh!

[baddog]

As a rule I rarely take aggressive dogs, on the rare occasion I do, I have the owner muzzle the dog and walk it into the tub, never put an aggressive dog in a cage. I instruct the owner to wait in their car and we'll get them as soon as the dog is done. We bathe or groom the dog straight through, and charge accordingly!