Dog bitten by another dog, all body swollen

[Shadee2034]

Dear all,

Yesterday night, around 1.15am, a dog (we couldn't see it) attacked our female, Kari. After the attack, her neck was swollen, but we couldn't find any trace of an open wound and there was no blood to be seen. We slept with her, but in the morning all her body was swollen, so we bath her with fresh water and kept her under fresh damp cloth, trying to reduce the swollen. She didn't pee that morning.

At 9am, she started to have difficulties breathing. We live deep in the country side and have no contact of a vet, whatsoever, and anyway, it was obvious that no one could come in time to save her. Very fast, her face started to get swollen as well and she died in no time. As she was dying, we found out a very, very tiny piece of red naked skin around her neck, from which air seemed to come out. So we can imagine that this was the bite, from the other dog. Of course, we tried to pressure that little hole for more air to come out, but her thong was already to swollen for her to be able to breath. We though of perforating her throat, to allow air to come in and out, but it was too late.

Now... we have 2 other dogs and since we couldn't find out which dog attacked ours, it is possible that this dog comes back sometime. We would like to know what we can do, it this happens again.

Thank you,

Shadée

[ginger899]

I am so very sorry for your loss of Kari. My prayers and thoughts are with you at this sad time.

[TwoBitsMom]

Hi Shadee..
I was an Emergency Medical Technician, and worked on an Ambulance for 12 years.
The condition you are describing...as "air between her skin and her flesh" is a condition known as Subcutaneous Emphysema...or soft tissue Crepitus.
The fact that your dog had a puncture wound to her neck, strongly suggests, that she may have also received extensive, but not visible, damage to her airway.  Traumatic neck injuries are one of the conditions that can cause subcutaneous emphysema.
These types of injuries can compromise proper air exchange....they are a true emergency.  Subcutaneous Emphysema / Soft tissue crepitus ( air bubbles in the skin tissue ) is a very serious sign/symptom that signals a true respiratory emergency.
If the visible wound you found on her neck, was not bleeding much, then it is most likely that her death was due to underlying damage of her airway.

Again, I am so very sorry for your loss.
Connie

[Shadee2034]

Dear all,

I thank you for your kind answer and advices.

My question remains though... If there would be a hole in a arterial vein, would be blood coming out immediately - and a lot - causing the death? But in this case, there was no blood at all: we couldn't even see the wound.

Another thing bothers me... It seems the air was between her skin and her flesh. Because she was looking like a bloated balloon, you know, the same shape but blown up. And when I pressured the wound, a stream of air came out. And the more I would press, the more air would come out. And there was no blood at all.

How can this be possible? It almost looks like a poison reaction to me...

Thank you for helping me solving this mystery...

Shadée

[TwoBitsMom]

Hi,
First let me say that I am so very sorry for the loss of your dog Kari.
The wound to her neck that you found, was most likely what led to her passing. It sounds like an arterial vein was punctured, allowing air to enter her bloodstream. The air in her bloodstream would create embolisms, resulting in her death.  Although her injury appeared minor, it was in fact life threatening...and required emergency treatment. Even if you would have performed a tracheotomy on her, it would not have helped.  
Please accept my deepest and heartfelt sympathy.

To address your last paragraph..."if this happens again"
If the aggressive dog returns, you need to do whatever you can to protect your own dogs.
If this type of injury happens again, cover the wound with plastic. Be sure all edges of the wound are covered with the plastic.
Keep finger pressure over the top of the plastic and get your dog to the Vet ASAP.  The idea with the plastic, is to stop any air from entering the bloodstream.

Again, I am so very sorry for the loss of your dog.
God Bless Kari's Beautiful Spirit and Soul.

[Margot49]

So sorry you lost your dog.
Old saying, " An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".
There is no way to advise you about unknown, possible injuries. You obviously realize your dog needed emergency treatment.  If there is no Vet close to you then you need to take precautions to keep your dogs safe so this won't happen again.  Bring them in at night or build a secure pen area they can be kept in.  Not sure what your climate is, but you might consider a chain link kennel with a top on it.