Do you always need to go to a doctor after being bit by a dog?

Did it break the skin? If it did, it might be best to see a doctor so you can get a rabies shot and an antibiotic.

Yeah, it bled for a few hours.

Bleeding does help.

Yes. I recommend having the dog tested for rabies.

Beyond rabies, a dog’s mouth is full of bacteria. You definitely should go to a doctor.

There are two reason a visit to the doctor is advisable.

1) If you have not had an anti Tetanus (Lockjaw) booster in the last 10 years I would advise you to go to your doctor to get a booster.

2) Although it is unlikely you should get checked out for Rabies.

If it was a fully vaccinated house dog, you really don’t need to worry about rabies. It was a week ago? The area doesn’t look inflamed, or particularly swollen, so it’s probably okay, but if the area around the punctures are still very tender, or get redder, definitely go get it checked out.
Been there, done that, ouch.

@SergeantQueen It doesn’t look bad, but I’d have it checked out in case you need a shot for tetanus.

@RedDeerGuy1 The only way to test a dog for rabies is by testing its brain during/after an autopsy.

I’m not sure but I have a feeling that if you go to the doctor or hospital with a dog bite, they are required to report it to the Health Department. This way, if that same dog bites someone again, it’s considered a dangerous dog and is subject to whatever the state deems necessary. I would hesitate to go to the doctor for that reason unless it’s really urgent. You could google what I’m saying because I wouldn’t swear by it. You could always call your County Health Department tomorrow to just ask a generic, anonymous question.

@smudges I did not know that.

@canidmajor has the correct answer.

@Caravanfan: it’s the name. ;-)

@canidmajor I see what you did there.

Go to the doc. But not @Caravanfan. He doesn’t know what he is doing!

@Dutchess_III Now that was snarky! But I know you two are friends.

@janbb In this case @Dutchess_III is correct. My advice is worth exactly what I was paid for giving it.

^^ It’s a joke – a reference to her other question. :-)

@janbb Mine was a joke too.

^Cool

LOL! He couldn’t even diagnose why my grand baby had white poop!

It it drew blood then I suggest yes.

This is probably way too late to have much impact, but if you go to a doc and the doc reports it to the health department, the health dept might be required to report it to the humane society who would probably want to quarantine the dog for 21 days. They usually do that for any animal that bites.

That happened when my cat bit a friend, @smudges. They said the cat had to be quarantined for 21 days. A lady I worked with had a small dog that had to be quarantined for like six months, and she had to keep the dog in a cage for that time. She said the Health Dept came around at various unplanned times and checked. When my cat bit the friend, I knew the Health Dept wouldn’t come around – they had no idea what the cat even looked like. The cat was fine, the person was fine. I think my friend put Hydrogen Peroxide on the bite and alcohol, and he was seen by the doctor (which is how the Health Dept found out).

I’m not a doctor but no, I would not if you know for a fact the dog has its shots. Accidents happen.

@jca2 Yup! While I understand why they do it, it bothers me because most of the time the animal is fine and it’s extremely hard for them to be in a cage for 21 days. No one is even allowed to touch them, poor babies. It can easily cause depression.

My 2 cats had to be in the humane society (in a cage) for 3–4 weeks because I was in a psych hospital (emergency, not pre-planned) and had no one to take care of them. They both stopped eating, completely. The head of the HS called me several times saying they would need medical intervention if I didn’t come get them – she was an ass and didn’t understand that psychiatrists don’t just let you out of the hospital willy-nilly. Anyway, the hosp finally agreed to have someone accompany me to get them, and a friend I was finally able to contact went to my apt to feed and check on them. So stressful for all involved!