What to Do When Your Dog Bites Someone

When your dog bites someone, you have two immediate responsibilities: attending to the person who was hurt and taking the steps required of you as the dog's owner. Acting on both starts at the scene and continues through a 10-day observation period the CDC recommends following any dog bite.

Your First Actions at the Scene

Secure Your Dog

If someone else is present, ask them to secure the dog right away, whether inside, in a crate, or on a leash away from the scene. If you're alone, put the dog inside, in a crate, or on a leash with a harness before turning your attention to the injured person. A dog that has just bitten someone may bite again if it remains at the scene and feels cornered or agitated.

Check the Injury and Call 911 if Needed

Once the dog is secured, check the wound and call 911 for deep punctures, heavy bleeding, wounds to the face or hands, or a bite on a child. For less severe wounds, apply firm pressure with a cloth or bandage and encourage the person to seek a medical evaluation regardless of how minor the wound appears. 

Puncture wounds can seal over bacteria and become infected within 24 to 48 hours, and a medical record from the evaluation establishes the extent of the injury and forms part of the insurance record.

Collect Information Before Anyone Leaves

Exchange contact information with the person who was bitten and offer yours in return. If there were witnesses, take down each witness's contact information as well.

Photograph the bite wound with the person's permission and take photos of the surrounding area and any conditions that may have contributed to the bite. Write down the time the bite occurred, what was happening beforehand, and a description of how it happened, since animal control and your insurance company will ask for specifics that become harder to reconstruct as time passes.

Steps to Take in the Hours After a Bite

Pull Together Vaccination Records

One of the first questions the injured person's doctor and your local animal control office will ask is whether your dog is up to date on its rabies vaccination. Locate the vaccination paperwork and have it available, and if you can't find it, contact your vet's office to get a copy.

Vaccination records affect how the required observation period is handled, and having documentation ready from the start simplifies coordination with both your vet and animal control.

Report the Bite to Animal Control

Dog bite reporting requirements vary by state and municipality, so contact your local animal control office to find out what's required in your area, as reporting windows are typically short where reporting is mandatory.

Contacting animal control regardless of whether reporting is required puts the bite on record and gives you clear guidance on what your local authority expects next.

Contact Your Homeowners or Renters Insurance

Homeowners and renters insurance policies typically cover dog bite liability. According to the Insurance Information Institute, homeowners insurance companies paid out $1.57 billion in dog bite and related injury claims in 2024, with 22,658 claims nationwide and an average payout of $69,272 per claim, and standard policies generally provide $100,000 to $300,000 in liability coverage (iii.org).

Call your insurance company and give the representative the details about the bite: what happened, the date and location, who was injured, and a description of the wound. An adjuster will be assigned to evaluate the claim, and depending on your coverage, your insurer handles both defense costs and any settlement up to your policy limits.

Your Dog's 10-Day Observation Period

After a dog bites a person, the CDC recommends a 10-day confinement and observation period to establish whether the dog was shedding rabies virus at the time of the bite, and vaccination status does not exempt a dog from this requirement. 

According to the CDC, no person in the United States has ever contracted rabies from a dog that was confined and observed to be healthy throughout a full 10-day observation period after a bite (cdc.gov).

Where the quarantine takes place depends on your local animal control policies and your dog's vaccination history. Confinement may be at home, at your vet's office, or at an animal control facility. Home quarantine carries specific requirements for the 10-day period:

• Keep your dog confined to your property and away from people outside your household.

• Maintain a daily log of your dog's behavior and physical health.

• Contact your vet without delay if your dog develops neurological symptoms: difficulty swallowing, sudden changes in behavior, disorientation, or loss of muscle control.

• Notify your local health department if any symptoms develop during the 10 days.

Your vet will examine your dog at the end of the period to confirm the dog is healthy and release the dog from quarantine.

If the Injured Person Contacts You or Your Insurance

If the person who was bitten has medical bills or other losses, they may contact your insurance company directly or reach out to you first. Having your insurer already notified and your documentation organized gives your insurance company everything it needs to handle the claim from the start.

If an attorney contacts you on behalf of the injured person, let your insurance company know immediately and follow your insurer's guidance on how to respond. Once the injured person has hired an attorney, your insurance company handles all communications directly.

Scheduling a Vet Appointment After the Quarantine

Pain, illness, thyroid dysfunction, and neurological conditions can all lower a dog's bite threshold, and a full physical exam with your vet, separate from the quarantine exam, is the only way to rule out a medical cause for the bite.

If the exam finds no medical cause, ask your vet for a referral to a certified applied animal behaviorist or a trainer credentialed through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) or the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). A behavioral evaluation can pinpoint what triggered the bite and give you a management plan to reduce the risk of another one.