# dog bit goat! help!



## rainbowmoon (Apr 8, 2007)

my dog bit my goat this morning. she bled a little. what should I do? will antibiotic ointment be ok for her wound? leave her alone?


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## Patty0315 (Feb 1, 2004)

Is she utd on shots ? If not get tetnaus for her. Clean the wound , wash it out well with an antibacterial soap. Keep ointment on it watch for infection and maggots. Puncture wounds need to heal from the inside out.

Patty


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## Sweet Goats (Nov 30, 2005)

First of all, how bad it is? Long story, but I took a goat that almost lost a leg because of a D*** dog. Long story. What the vet said to do was wash it with beatdine (sp), soap and water. Like dish soap. That is all, other then the fact you could put three fists in his hind leg area, I was alos told to ues scarolet oil spray in it twice a day. Good luck


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## Cheribelle (Jul 23, 2007)

I hate to say this, but I had to have two dogs put down because of this. Be very watchful of the situation. A goat is fun to chase because it runs around erratically, and makes crazy noises, hard to resist for some dogs. The goat will heal, this time....


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## DKWunlimited (Sep 11, 2006)

Absolutely watch for maggots.. in the summer with all the flies, it can get gross fast!


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## rainbowmoon (Apr 8, 2007)

I just got her last week. :Bawling: I am so upset with my dog.

she hasn't had a tetnus shot yet (by me anyway) I was also was under the impression, if a wound bleeds the oxygen kills tetnus? is that not correct?

she seems a bit in shock right now. she lost a little blood. not alot. maybe a tbsp or so. I am going to leave her be for a bit to rest. I cleaned the wounds with peroxide and put neosporin on them as best I could. do you think I should try to cover them so she doesn't get maggots in there? (we have tons of flies right now)

there are 2 wounds. one on her outer hind leg and one by her butt/udder. one is about 1/2" the other about 1". the large one is kind of under the fold of her leg, so I guess that might help in warding off dirt/flies? it had clotted but she got up and ripped open again.  poor baby. I feel horrible!

she is 1 year old btw.


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## rainbowmoon (Apr 8, 2007)

btw should I wash it off every couple of hours to ward off maggots?


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

No, do not cover it. The air and sunshine is the best thing for it right now. Flies will still get under a bandage and wreak unseen havock which will be much worse than if you leave it uncovered so you can see it. Get a wound spray of some sort, and keep the area liberally sprayed to ward off flies. Do not wash it down, you need it to dry out which it cannot do if you keep getting it wet. Moisture is your enemy in situations like this which is why a spray is better than a salve. Keep a very, very close watch on the cut that is under her leg near her udder. That one will be very attractive to flies because it will be more moist under there.
Does she have any company?? A shocky animal should not be left alone to brood. They need something to occupy them so that they do not focus on their pain. She should have another goat near.


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## Patty0315 (Feb 1, 2004)

You do not want to let it scab over. there is a product called swat . Get it from the pet/feed store. It kills flys and wards them off. Flush the wound 2x a day the cover with swat or antibiotic ointment.

I would get a tetnaus antitox shot then follow up wit cdt. I would also put her on antibiotics.

Patty


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## DQ (Aug 4, 2006)

my first goat was attacked by a neighbors large german shepard :flame: and had bite wounds all over her. I shaved the areas around the punctures cleaned them wiht peroxide and kept neosporin on them. I also kept her in the house till she was basically healed because of the flys (and because I couldn't figure out how she was getting out). she recovered fine. I think the worst part for her was just the fear. her buddy was dead but didn't have that many wounds on him, I think he basically died of fright. :Bawling:


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## rainbowmoon (Apr 8, 2007)

thank you!

she seems to have come out of the shock somewhat and is resting. the bleeding stopped from what I can tell. she dripped a couple blobs of blood but I think it's when she moves about she is reopening it. it was/is/has definitly been clotting in any case.

I don't have another goat but we have 4 ducks and my cat was laying with her for awhile. (they have become buddies) she was hiding, but came back to her usual spot now next to the back door.

Please keep your fingers crossed she will be ok!  I am going to call the vet in a bit and see what he advises..

as for my dog (6yo rottweiler)..I don't know what to do with her. she was simply viscious and now I don't trust her a bit outside! my dad thinks I should put her to sleep.


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## Emilea (May 16, 2007)

I am so sorry you are having to think about putting your dog down... I have a rot too... she is my baby... she is almost 5. I would give some antibotics for your goat and watch her... how bad was it??


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## rainbowmoon (Apr 8, 2007)

doesn't seem too bad..I am just a new goat owner and freaking out!

also,the thing is my dog wouldn't listen. even when I got a broom and hit her with it. (and I would never under normal circumstances hit a dog ever!) she is huge too. like 100 pounds or so..I don't know what to do..I suspect she's killed animals before (rabbits, deer) as she comes home with random things at times.. (antlers,bones,etc) but I can't be sure..she doesn't go after the chickens who free range all over..

I brought the goat inside though (good thing she's a mini!) as the flies are awful outside. she seems relieved and is resting now undisturbed.


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## MamaDee (May 10, 2006)

There is also a product called Catron that kills fly eggs and maggots. I used it when a lady gave me her doeling who was attacked by a dog. She was going to put her down--that's how bad it was. Grace is now doing wonderful--she is a playful, happy little girl. She's still healing, but doing great.

If you see any crusty looking stuff on the wounds it could be fly eggs. Yuck. I used that spray and cleaned it out with an antibacterial soap. Then I put on bedadine and a wound ointment three times a day. Went down to twice and now I'm at once a day. She is healing great. Others are right...if it's a deep wound it's a different ball game from most wounds. Don't let it scab--it has to heal from inside out. Don't cover it but keep it cleaned. Take her temp. to make sure there is no infection. We did tetnus and penicillin. My doeling has one little hole left which still oozes a tiny bit of cream colored stuff. It's still healing but looks great. It started out an inch and a half across and you could see into her insides. She also had other less life threatening wounds. 

If you're interested in the thread from my doeling there is a ton of great advice on there--there is also a thread about Cupcake who was attacked by a dog during the same time period. Unfortunately Cupcake didn't make it.....poor thing. I'll try to find the name of those threads.

I'll also try to post pics of Grace--from when it first happened and one from now. I've been meaning to do that to show how a deep wound heals. I learned so much from others when this happened to us.....maybe her pics can help someone else.

Dee


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## MamaDee (May 10, 2006)

Here is the link to the main thread:


[/URL]http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=190484&referrerid=22090[/URL] 


Here is the link to the one with pics:

[/URL]http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=191933&referrerid=22090[/URL]

Dee


<<<<O.k., clearly those are the URL's of the two threads...but I can't make them come out as links. Does anyone know how to do that? Sorry.

Dee>>>>


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## Patty0315 (Feb 1, 2004)

I am sorry to say but it is not the dogs fault. the goat has just come to the home. The dog has never been with livestock before and should have never been off leash with it. You cannot expect an animal to not go with its natural instinct unless it has been trained to do otherwise.

Patty


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## rainbowmoon (Apr 8, 2007)

patty, I fully agree! I was trying to introduce the dog to the goat and I should have never done that! I feel horrible! :Bawling: 
I just will have to keep them seperated for now I suppose. I don;t even know if I can handle the dog on a leash, she's one big muscle. I do have a harness somewhere so we will see. she is out front now and didn;t even go to the fence where the goat was. but I just don't think the dog will ever be able to be around her and now I distrust her (dog) too.


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## rainbowmoon (Apr 8, 2007)

mamadee- the wounds are nothing like that those pics! (not as bad at all!) they are more like slices. the one under her leg by her udder is maybe 1/4"- 1/2" deep though. that's the one I'm worried about...


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

I don't get the worry about maggots. Maggots only eat dead flesh and you DO NOT want dead flesh in a wound. AAMOF, not that long ago the FDA certified some company to produce 'medical maggots' to be used on human wounds. My grandma told me stories of putting maggots into wounds to save critters.


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## Vanne (May 10, 2007)

> I am sorry to say but it is not the dogs fault. the goat has just come to the home. The dog has never been with livestock before and should have never been off leash with it. You cannot expect an animal to not go with its natural instinct unless it has been trained to do otherwise.


I agree.


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## Patty0315 (Feb 1, 2004)

Sorry but maggots do eat live flesh .

I would get a pinch collar or a shock collar to start training her . She needs to learn "leave it or out " the shock works well because they think the goat has one heck of a punch ! But I would start with the pinch get it to were she will behave on lead then move to the shock.

Even when you are done never leave her alone with livestock.


Patty


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I would get a shock collar for the dog and use it until she doesn't even look at the goat.

Dog bites are puncture wounds and that is what grows tetanus.


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## Sweet Goats (Nov 30, 2005)

I am very sorry to say, but IF that dog ever gets lose again, she will KILL that goat next time. Once they taste blood, they will always go to do it again.
Also. That goat needs a buddy besides a cat. Goats are herd animals and they NEED other goats. I do believe you are either going to have to decide on the goat or the dog, :grump:


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## rainbowmoon (Apr 8, 2007)

we are (supposed to be) getting another goat in 2 weeks..need to get the dog situation figured out first though.


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## Patty0315 (Feb 1, 2004)

Just because a dog gets blood once does not mean it will do it again. I feed my dogs lots of raw meat they are not blood thirsty killers. I have had them bite animals and never do it again. the last bite I would have done it to that darrn goat also !


Patty


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## Idahoe (Feb 4, 2006)

fishhead said:


> I would get a shock collar for the dog and use it until she doesn't even look at the goat.
> 
> Dog bites are puncture wounds and that is what grows tetanus.


My basenji mix sliced a couple of udders nipping and chasing. I used BluKote, after washing all the debris and hopefully bacteria out. The BluKote kept the area extremely dry, and this was in summer last year, no maggots or other critters made their home there . . . 

You want a dog that completely ignores the goats. My basenji mix has a high prey drive, and I also had to "learn him" to not hunt and eat my chickens last year. If you can't get a shock collar, you will have to stay on that dog every day and cause pain to him if he even thinks about going after a goat. 

It is possible to retrain a dog that has "tasted blood", because I have. But I was a little bit lucky. I busted him right in the act and then beat the snot out of him. I did spank him but I also rolled him around on his back, which is dog language. He must learn to "submit" to the livestock in your yard. If he does not predate on your free range chooks, he is "submitting" to them. So hopefully he will learn these are YOUR goats and he is not to bother them.

I have to stay on my basenji on a daily basis. It's more on my mind than his, as he is very good at ignoring my livestock now  . But now and then he gets excited and I have to remind him of who's boss and who's animals they are. He was a pet long before I got the farm, and so it was worth it to me to retrain him. Good luck, I hope you can turn his doggie head around.


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## RedneckPete (Aug 23, 2004)

Hey! Listen to Patty!

I lost a goat to dog attack (ultimately tetanus) a couple months ago. EVERYTHING she said turned out to be true, and the fact that I didn't listen about the tetanus shot (believing my vet knew what he was doing) ultimately killed my goat.

Get the SWAT, you really do need it, and get the tetanus shot, you really need that too. And do it NOW.

Pete


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## GSFarm (Aug 7, 2007)

Get the tetanus shot from a vet. Then get that dog out of the goat pen if he bites her once he'll bite again. Next do a 5 day round of Penicillian, LA200 or Biomycin. It'll fight infection.


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## goatkid (Nov 20, 2005)

I would seriously consider getting rid of that dog. If she's so large and strong you can't control her and she won't leave the goat alone when commanded to do so, she's a real danger to livestock and possibly children. Prior to becoming a goat owner, I had a German Shepherd mix dog. He would go after the neighbor's horses and inspite of being obedience trained, would not leave the horses alone when told to. He also chased cars and my cats feared him. I got a shock collar to use on him. He started getting better with the horses, but I still could not allow him outdoors off a leash. One winter day, he went after a pickup truck inspite of being called off it and was killed. Had this not happened, I would have had to get rid of him when I got my first goats. I'm certain he would have attacked them. I have different dogs now and their energy around the cats and goats is really different. The cats like them and they respect the goats and obey commands around livestock.
As for treating your goat, get her a tetanus shot from the vet, keep the wound clean and spray it with a disinfectant. I would also give antibiotic shots. either pennicillin or Biomycin. They also make spray for livestock to keep the flies off.


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## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

To weigh in with my opinion...

You shouldn't have a dog you can't control. Please don't think I'm being nasty, but if you can't control her and she is vicious (nto sure if you meant she was this once, or this is a regular thing) she doesn't need to be there. You also mention you distrust her... if you fear her, she should have been gone yesterday. She's an animal, she'll pick up on that, and if she's already unmanageable... I just don't want you or another human to get hurt. 

Chaining her will only make her aggression worse, too... I'm just so sorry, such a rotten decision to have to make, but please keep yourself and other people safe, even if does hurt.


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## chris30523 (Jun 11, 2005)

It is some dogs instinct to attack goats. I have 2 blue heelers that I adore.The will kill a goat if it gets loose. Goats that cry out in fear or pain set them off. I have a buck that ignores them and they leave him alone. I have just made sure I have the best fence possible to keep my goats in. My advice is if the dog is not an adored pet I would find him another home.

Clean the wounds and shave the hair around them, I used honey and sulfur mixed to a paste for one of my girls. It helps the wound heal slowly and isn't dangerous if they ingest it.


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## celadon (Aug 23, 2006)

I have seven dogs. 4 of them would love to kill my goats. So it is up to me to keep the goats safe. The 4 dogs are in a fenced in area of there very own. And the goats are in a fence in area of there own. I went to a auction and bought tall dog kennels and used t post and put about 6 kennels together and made fencing for the goats. I dont think my dogs could scale the tall kennel fencing. And the goats can not get out either. Even the 3 dogs that i keep in the house could not be trusted with the goats. They completely ignor them when i let the goats in the back yard but if one was to start running I know they would chase her and catch her. Your dog was only doing what come natural. Just keep them seperated.


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