Purpose or Case Report: In recent years increased dog attacks to both adults and children have been reported, including fatal ones. This has received appropriate legislative response with some breeds being banned. As these attacks can result in a variety of injuries, deciding on the best imaging approach can be challenging.
Methods & Materials: We present two cases of paediatric dog attacks at our institution for which imaging was requested and discuss the imaging strategies that can be employed in such scenarios.
Results: Case one is an infant attacked by several dogs resulting in multiple puncture wounds to the lower torso and thigh. Due to the depth of the puncture wounds and degree of bruising, the clinical team were concerned that an intra-abdominal injury could have been sustained and required further evaluation with CT. The CT did not reveal any visceral injury but revealed a thigh subcutaneous haematoma and other areas of superficial bruising related to the puncture wounds.

Case two is a school aged child who was admitted following a dog bite with significant tissue loss in the upper arm. Focal imaging of the humerus was performed to evaluate for the presence of a foreign body and possible fracture. However, only the laceration injury was again appreciated.
Conclusions: Case one demonstrates how it can be easy to over image the patient and unnecessarily expose them to radiation. This case highlights the need for guidance from respective royal colleges for the investigation of such injuries. Whereas with case two we demonstrate a better approach using the ALARA principles.