I had a dog bitten on her nose leather by a rat this morning. It bled quite a bit. I've washed it with some diluted TCP and it's stopped bleeding now. She is up to date with her vaccinations including Leptospirosis. Do people usually get antibiotics for rat bites? It's not something that I've had to deal with before. What do people think?

Why not ring your vet, think Rat is a bit better than Cat but I am not sure if it would be better safe than sorry some rats have very dirty homes.

I know lots of working terrier guys whose dogs often have bites but they never give them antibiotics, but if it were my dog I would be down the vet getting a course to be on the safe side, £30 spent now could save you a fortune if infection does take hold.

> I know lots of working terrier guys whose dogs often have bites but they never give them antibiotics

That's what I was thinking but it's probably better to be safe than sorry. I'll give the surgery a ring. Thanks chaumong & Nova.

I was told some years ago that if a dog is bitten it needs a booster talk to the vet. I had a cat bitten and it killed her.

My terriers have had a few rat bites, and I have always got anti biotic cover just in case!

> I was told some years ago that if a dog is bitten it needs a booster talk to the vet. I had a cat bitten and it killed her.

Cats aren't vaccinated against leptospirosis, so a booster wouldn't have made any difference.