Report Dog Bite?

[Anonymous]

Ten year old child and I were out for a walk. We approached a couple with two dogs (both on leashes) and my kid asked if she could pet them. The couple said yes. She approached slowly, gently, letting the dog sniff her hand. Then the dog suddenly leaped up and bit her in the arm. The couple said “surely it’s just a nip” but when we pulled her sleeve back the bite was already bruising badly and bleeding. They were horrified. We were all horrified. Shared their dog’s rabies docs. We took our kid to urgent care. They cleaned her up and put her on antibiotics.

Dog is a one year old Australian shepherd. I’m not inclined to report. I don’t know these people at all but they’re very apologetic and I have to assume will not let others pet this dog in the future. They offered to pay for doctors visit but I’m not gonna have them venmo me a $25 copay. We are watching to make sure the bite doesn’t become infected. We’d follow up if there were further complications.

My kid is healing. It was a weird freak thing over as soon as it started. The dog never growled or barked. I don’t want to make enemies.

Would you report in this scenario?

[Anonymous]

I would not report. These seem to be very conscientious dog owners. The dog didn't seem to be attacking but playing. Did it growl first? It didn't feel threatened. It's young and needs training. I'm sorry this happened to your child and I hope she is not afraid of dogs now!

[Anonymous]

Tough call.

When out in public, such a dog should be muzzled.

Reporting may not do any good as the dog was restrained properly and your child initiated the contact with parental approval.

My question is whether the parent involved should be reported for possible child abuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tough call.

When out in public, such a dog should be muzzled.

Reporting may not do any good as the dog was restrained properly and your child initiated the contact with parental approval.

My question is whether the parent involved should be reported for possible child abuse.

Me? I should be reported for child abuse? That’s a new one. Really didn’t see that one coming. Oh DCUM, never change.

[Anonymous]

Australian Shepherds are herding dogs that are bred to nip & bite. The owners should have understood that. Also, Australian Shepherds are fiercely loyal to one person, therefore, others should remain at a distance. Some, maybe most, Australian Shepherd do not like to be touched or cuddled,so the owners should not have permitted a stranger to touch the dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Australian Shepherds are herding dogs that are bred to nip & bite. The owners should have understood that. Also, Australian Shepherds are fiercely loyal to one person, therefore, others should remain at a distance. Some, maybe most, Australian Shepherd do not like to be touched or cuddled,so the owners should not have permitted a stranger to touch the dog.

This is useful information. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tough call.

When out in public, such a dog should be muzzled.

Reporting may not do any good as the dog was restrained properly and your child initiated the contact with parental approval.

My question is whether the parent involved should be reported for possible child abuse.

Me? I should be reported for child abuse? That’s a new one. Really didn’t see that one coming. Oh DCUM, never change.

If you allow a child to approach & pet strange dogs, then--as a lifelong dog owner, I suggest that you be much more careful in the future as dog breeds have very different tendencies.

But sure, what the heck, let your kid pet & touch strange dogs and handle other potentially dangerous items in the possession of strangers whom you encounter on a random basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tough call.

When out in public, such a dog should be muzzled.

Reporting may not do any good as the dog was restrained properly and your child initiated the contact with parental approval.

My question is whether the parent involved should be reported for possible child abuse.

Me? I should be reported for child abuse? That’s a new one. Really didn’t see that one coming. Oh DCUM, never change.

If you allow a child to approach & pet strange dogs, then--as a lifelong dog owner, I suggest that you be much more careful in the future as dog breeds have very different tendencies.

But sure, what the heck, let your kid pet & touch strange dogs and handle other potentially dangerous items in the possession of strangers whom you encounter on a random basis.

We are not dog people. We were operating on our best judgment and knowledge up to that date. Obviously we are painfully the wiser now. It hardly constitutes child abuse. Your internet flame war skills are top notch, btw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ten year old child and I were out for a walk. We approached a couple with two dogs (both on leashes) and my kid asked if she could pet them. The couple said yes. She approached slowly, gently, letting the dog sniff her hand. Then the dog suddenly leaped up and bit her in the arm. The couple said “surely it’s just a nip” but when we pulled her sleeve back the bite was already bruising badly and bleeding. They were horrified. We were all horrified. Shared their dog’s rabies docs. We took our kid to urgent care. They cleaned her up and put her on antibiotics.

Dog is a one year old Australian shepherd. I’m not inclined to report. I don’t know these people at all but they’re very apologetic and I have to assume will not let others pet this dog in the future. They offered to pay for doctors visit but I’m not gonna have them venmo me a $25 copay. We are watching to make sure the bite doesn’t become infected. We’d follow up if there were further complications.

My kid is healing. It was a weird freak thing over as soon as it started. The dog never growled or barked. I don’t want to make enemies.

Would you report in this scenario?

I personally would not. What do you think reporting will do? Are you trying to get the dog put down?

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised the urgent care did not have you fill out a dog bite form from the county. Your insurance company will usually ask as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised the urgent care did not have you fill out a dog bite form from the county. Your insurance company will usually ask as well.

Yes. They is part of why we went there - to make sure we followed proper protocol. They did not ask us to fill anything out. This is in Moco, fwiw.

[Anonymous]

Herding dogs tend to nip and be more cautious around strangers. Just something to keep in mind in the future.

[Anonymous]

you may not want to report it because the owners were nice but what if that dog bites a toddler's face next time? its not all about you and your experience, but the safety of people at large.

also if the wound is cleaned and your kid is on antibiotics, there won't be an infection. It's been dealt with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you may not want to report it because the owners were nice but what if that dog bites a toddler's face next time? its not all about you and your experience, but the safety of people at large.

also if the wound is cleaned and your kid is on antibiotics, there won't be an infection. It's been dealt with.

Oh please. People have already explained the herding dog tendencies. It was trying to herd and not trying to attack. You'd KNOW an attack. I have a herding dog and when we rough play he can get too rough nipping at my upper arms. I calm her down and follow our trainer's instructions at that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised the urgent care did not have you fill out a dog bite form from the county. Your insurance company will usually ask as well.

Yes. They is part of why we went there - to make sure we followed proper protocol. They did not ask us to fill anything out. This is in Moco, fwiw.

In general, the urgent care should triage whether a report should be filed. In this case, it doesn't sound like a reporting case. Your child initiated contact. Both you and the dog owners used normal precaution, but the dog was still defensive and bit. This is not dog aggression, but an accident.

This is not the type of dog bite that animal control is trying to control. So, I think that they treated your child and the urgent care did not consider it the type of incident to report. I think you let it go.