A gunshot wound on a dog or cat can look small. The skin may show only a pinpoint hole while the real damage sits deeper, in muscle, bone or organs [1]. In one large review of dogs with a bullet or pellet seen on X-rays, more than half of the owners had not known their dog had ever been shot [2]. This guide explains why these injuries are often worse than they look and why your vet must check your pet.
A gunshot wound is an emergency. Take your pet to a vet now, even if the wound looks small.
Why the damage is hidden
A projectile crushes and tears the tissue along its path. Fast bullets do more: they send a pressure wave ahead of them that can harm structures some distance from the track, and they briefly open a cavity in the tissue behind them [1]. That cavity can pull dirt, hair and bits of skin into the wound [1].
So the injury can reach well past the hole you can see. In one reported case, a dog with about 30 small puncture wounds and little sign of pain turned out to have serious injuries to the chest, heart sac, lungs and gut [1].
What your vet does first
Your pet’s overall condition comes first. A pet that has been shot may be in shock, so the vet treats the most dangerous problems before anything else [1]. X-rays and, where available, a CT scan help show where the pellets or bullet fragments are and which organs may be hurt [1].
Surgery is often needed to find and repair the damage. When a projectile has gone into the chest or belly, surgical exploration is commonly recommended, although some vets reserve it for cases where vital organs are hurt or other care is not enough [1].
Why vets may not close these wounds right away
Vets treat every gunshot wound as dirty, because the projectile and the cavity it makes drag hair and bits of skin inside [1]. That raises the risk of infection, so your vet decides whether to close the wound or leave it open for a while to drain and heal. For how vets make this choice, see stitched or left open wounds in dogs and cats.
At home, as directed by a vet
- keep your pet from licking, chewing or scratching the wound;
- care for any bandage only in the way your vet shows you (see bandages on dogs and cats);
- go back for every recheck your vet books.
Outlook
Many pets survive a gunshot injury, but some injuries are life-threatening. In the review of dogs, the risk of death was much higher when the chest was hit [2]. In a study of shot pets with injuries to the skull or spine, the outlook depended on where the injury was and how severe it was [3].
These are statements about groups of animals. They cannot predict how one pet will do. Your vet can explain what this means for your pet.
When to see your vet
Go to a vet now if your dog or cat:
- has been shot, or you think it may have been, even if you see only a small wound.
The bottom line
A gunshot wound can look small while most of the damage is hidden. Only a vet can find out how far the injury goes, so take your pet to a vet now.
This article is for general information only and does not replace advice from your veterinarian. If your pet may have been shot, go to a vet now.
Sources
- Gremillet BCH, Troussier G, Serlenga L. Case Report: Multisystemic life-threatening gunshot injuries in an adult Vizsla dog. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2026 (CC BY 4.0). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12824419/
- Capak H, Brkljaca Bottegaro N, Manojlovic A, Smolec O, Vnuk D. Review of 166 Gunshot Injury Cases in Dogs. Topics in Companion Animal Medicine, 2016 (abstract, PubMed). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28317616/
- Linder J, Daniel J, Vadurro F, et al. Ballistic trauma to the axial skeleton in 13 animals. Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, 2023 (abstract, PubMed). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36943187/