dog attack

Question
So my 7 year old Brittany spaniel was attacked on Sunday by another dog. The dog was grabbing onto her neck but we stopped the dog before it got worse. There was no blood or teeth marks or anything. We took her home and noticed that when we pressed this one area on her neck/shoulder she squealed and snapped at us. Other then that she was acting normal and eating and drinking and pooping/peeing. I took her to the vet on Tuesday but she absolutely HATES going there, I have to carry her in there and freaks out and shakes and so when the vet was examining her, she never squealed or let her know if it hurt. I'm assuming because she was so tense and scared because right when I took her out to the car and touched the area it bothered her and she squealed and snapped at me. The vet gave me some pain meds for her and I've been giving them to her every 12 hours. So it's Thursday now and she still squeals when I touch that spot. I might be overreacting but I just want to be safe! Is the area just sore because the dog was biting her? I just think since it's been so many days that it's weird that she's still squealing when we touch it, I feel like it should be getting better and it shouldn't bother her as much, especially because she's on meds. Could something of happened to her? I'm not sure of the injuries they can get in that area or what I should do in this situation so any advice would be great!

Answer
Hi Kylie,

Her behavior indicates that she is still sore, or just nervous about being touched in that area, or both. Dog teeth can cause some pretty deep bruising even without breaking the skin. The bruising can feel pretty tender and painful and may last longer than a week in some cases, and pain meds like Vetprofen typically do not seem to help too much. The other possibility is that your dog may squeal and snap because she became fearful of being touched there after the attack, however, I think it is more likely that she is just still sore. Since you've already seen the vet, I would recommend leaving that area alone for another few days or so. This will give it more time to heal. If she is still sore, you don't want to check her all the time by pressing the area because she will start to associate your touch with pain. Wait about 3-4 more days before you test the area again, and if she is still acting as if she is in pain then consider taking her back to the vet to be rechecked. I'm happy to help if you have any further questions.

Sincerely, Teri Abshier