Dogs attacking hedgehogs

Many hedgehogs are injured by dog bites in private gardens and in parks and countryside when dogs are off-lead when out on walks. I’ve treated many wild hedgehogs with dog bite wounds and abscesses – particularly from gardens on the edge of city parks where people love to walk their dogs. Hedgehogs often nest in piles of leaves that dogs love sniffing through when out on dog walks.

The problem is that the dog’s canine teeth bite deep into the hedgehog. The wound then quickly seals over and can be hard to spot. Many people let the hedgehog go again thinking that it will be okay or they don’t want to admit what has happened to someone who could treat the hedgehog. Then, up to several weeks later, abscesses appear when the deep wounds get infected with bacteria.

A hedgehog with a bite wound abscess will struggle due to the bacterial infection. A weakened immune system can then lead to other problems, such as an increased parasite burden and it starts a downward spiral, ending up with the hedgehog struggling and then being seen in daylight (always a bad sign for a nocturnal creature).

Dogs biting hedgehogs frequently cause more than one infected wound – all four canines will normally puncture and injure the hedgehog.

Treating abscesses requires a lot of TLC. The abscesses will have to be cleaned daily. Deep abscesses may also have to be drained by a vet. The hedgehog will also require strong antibiotics to treat the infection.

Although dogs are a major cause of bite wounds, there are also other predators that can attack them, including foxes and rats, although rat attacks are rare. Cats don’t tend to cause problems for hedgehogs, except perhaps orphaned hoglets.

Preventing dogs attacking hedgehogs

The best way to prevent hedgehog dog attacks and dog bite wounds in your garden is to ideally keep the dog out of the garden at night. If you do need to let it out, then keep it on a lead. Always check for hedgehogs first. Turn an outside light on before you go out, which will also help to encourage any hedgehogs to move away.

You need to be particularly vigilant if your dog has attacked a hedgehog before. It will likely do so again. Dogs with a strong prey drive are a particular concern.

If your dog does pick up a hedgehog , it is always best to get the hedgehog checked over by a rescue, particularly if you see any blood on the dog or hedgehog.

As well as attacking adult hedgehogs, dogs can also disturb hedgehog nests so it is particularly important to be vigilant around the hedgehog breeding season from (usually May to September). You may have a hedgehog nest in the garden or your favourite dog walking park that may be disturbed by a dog even during the daytime….

Treating hedgehogs with bite wounds/abscesses

If you are a hedgehog rescue, please read my basic advice for treating abscesses in hedgehogs. Often abscesses do not show up until they burst. Over the years I’ve admitted several cases of large male hedgehogs out in the day where I could not identify any issues until, a couple of weeks later, an abscess erupted from deep under the skin. Always look for more wounds where you find one and remember that the bite could have caused damage to tissue and nerves that might not become apparent until after the abscess clears.

Learning more about helping hedgehogs

If you’d like to learn more about first aid for wild hedgehogs, I run online hedgehog courses for all levels of knowledge and experience. This includes basic first aid courses for the general public and specialist courses for wildlife rescues.

About me

I’m busy transforming an acre of land in the Yorkshire Wolds into a wildlife haven and have many years experience of running a hedgehog hospital. If you’ve found the information on my website useful, I’d be so grateful if you would consider making a donation to help me continue my awareness work.

You might also like my handmade wildlife jewellery. It comes with a rescue hedgehog postcard and information about helping hedgehogs and I also make many other wildlife and nature designs.