Gunshot Injury in Dogs

A gunshot injury can all look very different depending on the type of gun used to injury your dog. You may notice anything from slight bleeding to a full wound with entrance and exit obvious.  Your dog can present with pain, discomfort, disorientation, and crying or may not present with any symptoms at all depending on the severity of his injury. Most likely the gunshot injury will not resemble any other injury or concerns.

A gunshot injury would be defined as any injury your dog receives from a gun. This could be an injury to any of his body parts and can result in mild to severe damage.

Symptoms can vary greatly for a gunshot injury based on what type of gun was used, bullets, and distance. However, some symptoms to look for are:

• Minimal noticeable damage – Most of the damage due to the gunshot will not be seen by you, this is due to the bullet pulling debris, hair, skin, dirt and more into the wound with it
• Bleeding – You may notice very little to a large amount of bleeding from your dog at the site of the wound
• Bullet wound – At times the actual wound is visible and you may even be able to see the bullet
• Lacerations – You may only notice cuts or scrapes along your dog’s skin and fur

The cause of your dog being injured by gunshot can vary. Some of the ways your dog can be shot are:

• Self-defense – Someone may believe your dog is a threat to them if he got loose or chased them and they may use a gun to protect themselves
• Accident – Your dog may unfortunately be in the wrong place, wrong time and have been caught up in gunfire; if your dog goes out hunting with you or was loose while others are hunting, he may have been injured by accident
• Random acts – There are times when there is no reason or cause for your dog’s injury

While you may be able to identify that your dog was in fact shot at, you will not necessarily be able to determine the extent of the damage done when he was shot. If you suspect your dog was injured by gunfire it will be very important to bring him to the veterinarian immediately.

Some information that will best help your veterinarian diagnose and treat him correctly will be if you know what type of gun he was shot with, if you have a sample of the type of bullet, and the distance your dog was from the gun. It will also be important to share with your veterinarian if you know for a fact that your dog was injured via gunfire or if you suspect it.

Your veterinarian will want to perform a few tests to ensure he is completely aware of the entire situation. A full physical examination will be done on your dog to see any concerns that your veterinarian may notice without further testing. Once our dog has been put under anesthesia your veterinarian may want to explore the wound to see any further damage that he was unable to determine by physical exam. 

A culture may be taken from the wound as well to identify what, if any infections may be a concern.  X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans and more imaging techniques may be used to see underlying and deep tissues damage, these imaging tools may also be used to see any broken bones or other injuries. These tests will be performed under anesthesia typically to ensure the safety of your dog and the veterinarian.

Treatment will be broken up into stabilization, cleaning of the wounds, and deeper wound treatment. Initially the veterinarian’s main concern will be stabilizing your dog and ensuring he is safe to move forward with treatment. Once he is stable the team will move on to cleaning his wound and finally to determining how to treat his deeper injuries. 

Stabilization

The goal here is to ensure your dog’s immediate safety. This may be stopping blood loss, lowering high heart rate, and getting him comfortable. This may be achieved via medications for pain management or putting him under anesthesia to be able to move on to the next steps in treatment. 

Wound treatment

Once your dog is stabilized, the next step will be to treat the wound superficially. This will be done by cleaning the area surrounding the wound and treating any injuries there. Once this is done the hair around the gun wound may be trimmed to ensure full access to the site. The wound itself will then be cleaned and any debris removed including hair, dirt, skin, bullet or bullet fragments. 

The wound to outside of your dog’s body will most likely be left open as it will heal better this way and allows for unhealthy tissue to be removed. Drains may be used if needed to allow the wound to continue healing. Because bullets drag outside contamination into your dog’s body, it is very important to get it cleaned as soon as possible and continue applying any dressings to the area as recommended by your veterinarian. 

Deeper treatment

Just because an entrance would appear small or the bullet completely exited your dog’s body does not mean there wasn’t any internal damage. Your dog’s internal organs can be injured, there may be bullet fragments or pellets deeper in his body that can become infected, and there may even be broken bones.

In the event these things happen your veterinarian will treat each issue as needed, some of which include surgery to remove any dead or severely damaged tissues or bullets. Setting bones may be necessary as well. 

Lastly, your dog will be given a course of antibiotics as gunshot wounds are considered contaminated no matter how “clean” they are. Euthanizing is rarely necessary and if the wound did not cause a fracture, treatment is kept conservative. Less aggressive measures are used if your veterinarian can access the bullets to remove them easily.

Your dog’s recovery time will vary depending on the severity of his injuries. If no surgery was required, he will have a much quicker recovery versus invasive surgery. Gunshot wounds have a good prognosis if treatment is done in a timely manner. Depending on where your dog’s injuries are will also play a role in his recovery. If he is injured in his stomach or back, recovery may take longer or be more difficult. However, if his injuries are in his limbs or chest area the recovery will most likely be easier for him.

Your veterinarian will direct you on any necessary changes to his immediate needs such as dressing changes, medication management, restrictions and more. Follow up with the veterinarian will largely depend on treatment administered to him and will be discussed with you at the time of services.