by Wynn Eisman

Created on: September 27, 2009

It is important to assess the dangers before approaching an injured dog, and respond safely to those dangers. Some of these risks will be unique to one situation, but other potential hazards will be found when approaching any injured dog; even your own pet.

Before your approach.

The last thing you want is to be injured yourself. Although your first instinct may be to rush into the scene to help, your first action should be to look at the whole situation. If it's a traffic accident, is the dog clear of traffic? You may need to enlist a helper to keep traffic away from the dog and, more importantly, you. Also, a dog with injuries may well be frightened enough to bolt and won't think to look for cars. Another accident could easily result.

If the dog has been in a fight, check that the other animal has left the area. If there is still a dangerous animal around, you will need deal with that first. Most animals will slink away from people, but if not, you may need to call the relevant authority to deal with the other animal. The types of accidents and their players are endless; suffice to say, you must assess the dangers before you face them.

Take notice of the dog's body language. Most of us know how dogs show aggression, and it usually looks just the same when it's a symptom of fear and pain; flattened ears, raised hackles, bared teeth, stiff stance and even growling. Keep in mind, though, that the dog may not be capable of showing all these signs, due to injury. In general, just as when reading people, glancing (not staring) at their eyes and noting the level of muscle tension throughout, will serve as a guide

Over-ride the dog's instinct.

See that look of panic in the injured dog's eye? Stop! You are close enough, for now. Instinctively, what an injured dog wants is to remove itself from the scene as quickly as possible. Dogs with quite serious injuries can still run away. They're not running from you, in particular. It's just the undeniable drive to hide from predators when in a weakened state. This is why people mistakenly say injured or sick dogs take themselves away to die. Actually, they go away to get better. But, as that doesn't always work, it's better to avoid the whole 'bolting' thing if you can.

Keep your voice low and your body language small. Talk to the dog before approaching it, using a low, calm voice. It doesn't matter what you say, tell it the five times tables if you like, so long as you include that special phrase that all English speaking

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