My dog got attacked. Any veterinarians here?

[jilln]

He got puncture wounds around his eye and neck. I took him to the vet last night and she cleaned the wounds and gave me antibiotics and pain pills.

This morning he looked much worse. It's like one side of his face is hanging off his skull. I took him back to the vet and she told me that apparently one of the bites hit a nerve and he has some paralysis. At first she said it might get better and it might not, only time will tell. By the end of the visit she was saying she thought it would get better. I felt like she was just saying that so I'd have some hope. I thought nerve damage was pretty irreversible.

[Shell Beau]

1. That sucks. I hope your dog is ok.

Was it a dog fight? I don't know anything about nerve damage really. Does your dog seem to be in pain or acting weird?

[cwydro]

2. Check with flvegan

He knows about dogs.

[Richardo]

12. Is he a vet?

I think this is the same as asking human medical advice here - ill-advised. Stick with your vet, or get a second opinion from someone who can examine your pup.

[jilln]

15. I am sticking with vets here...

I just wanted to know if anyone had heard something like this before or if vets had seen it before and could confirm that temporary paralysis such as this is a possibility or if she was just trying to give me false hope.

[datasuspect]

16. someone with credentials maybe?

who studied at a school for several years after obtaining a 4 year degree?

um, yeah, i'd stick with those most qualified in this instance, especially with something like nerve damage.

[BarenakedLady]

3. Poor thing

I hope he gets better. :hug:

[cwydro]

4. Gove him some treats

and lots and lots of love.

[SPKrazy]

5. Nerve Damage Can Vary

pressed vs. torn, or damaged

if it is going to heal it will, if not, it won't

they may not know.

I have a numb area on my mouth and jaw from surgery to biopsy a tumor that was growing in my jawbone. It turned out okay, but I got nerve damage from it and hence the numbness. They told me if it got better in a few weeks it would be better, but it wasn't possible to tell.

[flvegan]

6. 2 things...

1. Attacked how and by what/when? What was the situation?

2. Find a new vet.

[cwydro]

7. Cool.

I am so glad you saw this thread.

[LeftyMom]

9. I was hoping so too.

BTW, if you ever see an animal-related thread you need one of us to chime in on please feel free to PM one or both of us.

[cwydro]

13. Thank you.

I really appreciate that and I'll keep it in mind for sure.:hi:

[jilln]

8. Can you be more specific?

Are you saying this vet doesn't know what she's talking about? I'm trying to research on the net but not finding much about facial paralysis in dogs, as relates to injuries instead of diseases.

[flvegan]

11. Sorry I'm so late in responding (I went to bed)

Here's the original post, in two parts:

"He got puncture wounds around his eye and neck. I took him to the vet last night and she cleaned the wounds and gave me antibiotics and pain pills."

Okay, so I'll assume the dog wasn't very painful. Must not have been a lot of bleeding or swelling, yet.

"This morning he looked much worse. It's like one side of his face is hanging off his skull. I took him back to the vet and she told me that apparently one of the bites hit a nerve and he has some paralysis. At first she said it might get better and it might not, only time will tell. By the end of the visit she was saying she thought it would get better. I felt like she was just saying that so I'd have some hope. I thought nerve damage was pretty irreversible."

This bugs me. The vet didn't notice partial paralysis in her first evaluation? If the condition is only now appearing due to swelling and pressure, then okay, but she should've mentioned that.

Did she offer a recommendation to a specialist? Did she offer to assist with a police report?

A vet, in an emergency/trauma situation, should act like an ER doctor with a child. That's the sign of a good vet.

[jilln]

14. This is not my real vet...

My real vet took a sabattical and this is another one from his office.

She didn't notic the partial paralysis the first time but either did I. I mean his face wasn't drooping then. I don't know if she should have been able to tell anyway or if it wasn't paralysed then. She did say it could be because of the swelling but I still haven't found much on the net about that so it doesn't seem very common. And no, no recommendation to a specialist. Today I think I'm going to try to talk to my real vet and get a second opinion.

[AllegroRondo]

17. Im not a doctor, so take this with a grain of salt

but drooping and paralysis due to swelling sounds very similar to Bell's Palsey in humans. If that is the case, you would expect the face to return to normal after the swelling goes down, which may take a while.

(I had Bell's Palsey a couple years ago. frightening, but I got back to 99% of normal within a month.)

[Maine-ah]

18. me too. had it about 14 years ago. very scary indeed.

I did end up with a little damage though, but nothing anyone notices other than me.

[jilln]

19. Thanks to both you and AllegroRondo...

I looked up Bell's Palsy and found out more about nerve regeneration and temporary paralysis. It was about humans but I bet that applies to dogs too, in general.

[philosophie_en_rose]

10. Did she test him for anything?

I'm not a vet, but it seems that a lot of things can be spread through bites.

[idgiehkt]

20. the vet would not tell you there was hope for it if there isn't.

She or he said they didn't know because they honestly do not know. When the swelling goes down there may be changes. I honestly believe the vet is asking you to give the wound time to heal and the tissue time to return to normal before you draw a conclusion.

[jilln]

21. Sure...

I just don't want to wait and see and then find out there WAS something that could have been done.

A lot of what I'm reading about temporary paralysis says physical therapy is very important during this time, but of course that applies mainly to paws and legs, not faces. I don't want to leave any possibility unexplored.

[ChickMagic]

22. I'm not a vet but can tell you what happened to me

I tore the radial nerve in my arm, paralyzing my wrist and hand. After an EMG, the doc said I had 5% of the nerve left and that was enough for it to regenerate. It did - my wrist is fine now.

[noonwitch]

23. My dog got attacked a couple of years ago

The other dog's owner reimbursed me for the vet bill, in exchange for me not calling the police and her promise never to bring that dog over to my neighbor's house again.

My neighbors were having a huge drunken party on a warm night in the fall. One of their guests brought their dog, who jumped my fence twice. The first time, they got her before she came near my dog. The second time, they were all drunker and were unable to catch the dog. I had to pull the dog off of my dog, by the collar. My dog ended up okay, with just a few bites and scratches, but was traumatized for a couple of days. To my Katie's crdit, she bit that dog in the eye, and her eyes swelled shut. Plus, Katie ensured that the dog landed in my rose bushes, so the other dog was covered in scratches.

But Katie acted really timid for a few days afterwards. Once we went to the vet, she was okay. She played with a labrador in the lobby, and was back to liking other dogs again.