How long must I rest from dog bite on leg

This morning a dog went for me as I ran past and left a couple puncture wounds in my leg, one of them a bit deep & gaping, on muscle next to shin. They've been cleaned out now and a couple steri strips added as they won't stitch up dog bites.

My query is, has anyone had this sort of injury, and must I really go a whole week without a run, given the wound I can't even swim instead, any ideas how I can make sure my fitness doesn't drop terribly? I normally run around 5 hours a week and fear I might go a bit crazy without my weekend 'long' run - Thanks loads for any advice!

carterusm wrote (see)

There is a chap on here called marshallini who is a massive dog lover and he may be able to give you some good advice.

LMAO Carter!

Kate: If it was me, I'd just try to run as normal but maybe a bit slower. If the muscles around the bite are painful, take it easy. If it's just the skin itself that's sore, you should be okay to run if you really want to. Just be prepared to stop and walk if need be. And if you want to swim, stick on a waterproof plaster and you should be fine. But the others are right. Your fitness won't drop in a week and a rest may actually be beneficial...

i think its like any injury............every person is different as their bodies heal differently

mr f wrote (see)

Kate, sorry to hear about your bite..... .....Have you been to the police about it?

Maybe Mr Unstoppable could tell us what the Police would do if we reported such an incident?

Thanks everyone, I've not reported it as I think I spooked the little fella by running from behind, and there was a loud river next to us. I will take dogs a bit more seriously when I'm running, but haven't got the fear. .. Thanks for reassurance about the fitness, I'll give it a couple days and then start gently. It's looking fairly clean so shouldn't take too long. Happy running everyone!!

I got a serious bite to my thigh from a dog, though not while running. Keep wound clean and if the bite's punctured the quite deep I'd get some localised massaging done when it's healed to break up scar tissue. Massaging with bio-oil to reduce surface scarring.

Hi Kate - I got bitten in the summer also and had antibiotics for a week - I still ran though.  The antibiotics gave me a really dodgy tummy after a few days and then I was a bit dehydrated so I just took it easy when that happened.  But I ran a 10k PB the following weekend so maybe it was good for me in the end!

It's definitely worth reporting - what if it was a child or someone more vulnerable who it attacked?  The police went round the same evening when I reported it and had a chat with the owner about making sure the dog was restrained if it was unpredictable.  I'd made it clear I didn't want to take any action against the dog or owner and the police respected that but it's still worth trying to make sure it doesn't happen again.

KJ, Hope the bite is healing ok? Only just seen this thread, so apologies this reply is late & doesnt really help your question. Gentle running should be ok after a couple of days, once the wound is starting to heal. You should also be ok with cross training.

I got bitten in June & took 3 days off running but continued with light gym work (upper body weights & gentle cycling). It's amazing how a small bite can cause so much pain. Still got a scar too

all the best. Hope you still get to do your long run!