Bite Wounds in Dogs: A Retrospective Study of 467 Cases Presented at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital - Abstract
Epidemiological characteristics and severity of the wounds can vary depending on the environmental factor and the owner’s socioeconomic status. This study retrospectively assessed dogs with bite wounds inflicted by another dog presented at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital. A total of 467 patients were identified, 55.2% males and 44.7% females, aged from 0.3 to 264.3 months and weighing 0.3-57.5 kg. Adult male dogs (18 to 84 months of age), had the highest percentage of bite wounds. The crossbreed dogs (n = 284), were the most bitten, and pinschers (n = 43), and poodles (n = 37), were the most frequently bitten breeds of purebred dogs. Small-sized dogs (n =293), were those that most suffered bite injuries. Regarding the living environment, 81.3% of the dogs came from an urban area and 18.6% from the rural area. The season of the year that showed a lower percentage of bite wounds for both male and female dogs was autumn. The majority of the dogs had bite wounds evaluated 24-72 hours after injury. The bite wounds on the body area firstly occurred in multiple sites (28.9%), followed by the head (20.6%), and neck (22.3%). The bite wounds were treated by second intention healing in 91.9% of the cases, and primary closure was carried out in 7.1% of patients. Euthanasia was necessary for five dogs due to the severity of the injuries. In conclusion, the small-sized crossbreed adult dogs living in an urban environment were the most susceptible to suffering bite wounds located in multiple sites.