Hi,

While it is very unlikely that anyone in this forum would be silly enough to make the same mistakes I did, I thought I would share what happened to me just in case.

My younger dog (CBR) needed surgery to remove a split toenail. He was anaesthetised for it. He semi woke up at the vet premises, and I drove him home.

When we got home, he was able to walk inside, and once inside the door, just stood there quietly. I let him be and started taking off my coat etc. The other dog (LR) was near by, about a meter away from the chessie and without any warning that I noticed, he violently attacked the lab and would not let go of his face. The lab just wanted to get away.

Instincts took over, I was so afraid for my lab, and I tried to split them apart. I think what happened was that the lab was in panic mode and saw my hand as a threat, so he bit it twice. I got deep puncture wounds in the back of my hand with the first bite and the second bite broke the bone in my middle finger and the top of the finger was sort of hanging off sideways.

It felt surprisingly painless at the time. When I saw the blood dripping I first was afraid it belonged to the lab. With one hand out of action, I kept hold of the chessie's collar with the other until he let go of the lab. I put him in his crate, then I quickly checked the lab - amazingly there was very little damage, a couple of scratches to the face. Then I also put him in his crate and went to the hospital.

It is amazing how it is possible to do so many stupid things when I really should have known better. I was almost too embarrassed to put this story here, but it is a good example of what not to do. The lab should not have been anywhere near the chessie so soon after an operation, and that was no way to break up a dog fight. Luckily both dogs seem to have come out of this ok, both physically and mentally. At least so far.

Sari

Wow! What a story. Thanks for posting, it may save someone else.

Did the dog attack because the other dog was in a weakened state?

I do not know why he attacked. Perhaps because he was disoriented, dizzy, in some discomfort. There have not been problems between the two dogs before. Even so, he should have had space and privacy to recover.

Sorry, I must have mis-read your post.

I thought you meant the sick dog was the one attacked.?

No, the chessie had the surgery/was weakened, and the chessie attacked the lab. But it was the lab who bit me while I was trying to separate them.

It's quite possible that the chessie was disoriented and in some pain. May have just lashed out because of that.

Ok - what could have been done differently here folks? This is a good one to pursue a little.

JM2C - Rather than taking off your coat you could have taken the chessie directly to the crate for rehab FIRST. This is NOT meant to point blame - just show a different set of events that may have altered the unfortunate outcome.

Who's next ?

Dont feel bad, your not alone lol.

One of my old Dobies was VERY aggressive to anything or anyone when he was coming out of anesthetic. I always kept him strictly crated until he was totally recovered. I think they just feel a little disoriented and vulnerable.

Animals coming out of anesthesia are extremely disoriented (sometimes violently so) at first, and can remain fuzzy and out of it for a good long while after. They howl, they stagger, they will bite, and they will smash their heads against walls and floors if not supervised. The duration of disorientation is somewhat less with the fast-acting anesthesias, but it's still present. That's why vets want to (and should) keep them for a while following procedures.

My .02 is never bring your dog home if he's semi-awake, disoriented, and/or unable to walk normally under his own power. Any vet that allows a dog to go home in this kind of state is not practicing good medicine, IMHO.

I am so very sorry this happened, and really do appreciate you posting it. It WILL help someone else in the future. Fortunately neither your dogs nor yourself were injured too seriously (you certainly got the brunt of the situation).

Hind sight is always 20-20, so don't beat yourself up. It is not like we have a dog in surgery every day; the experience base is pretty "shallow".

I hope your hand does not bother you too much - take it easy on yourself!