What would you do-dog bite

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Where do you get unnecessarily harsh from? Just because people don't agree with OP's assessment of the situation doesn't mean they are harsh. OP asked for opinions.

" I don't care if you say that your dog is friendy...it's a freaking dog"

"Another entitled OP. Who cares if you dog is friendly. I hate when people say that and expect you to let their dog lick you all over."

I wrote that and I didn't think it was harsh. Here's an example from this weekend. I was coming out of Starbucks with my 2 year old. As usualy, there were people sitting outside of Starbucks with their dogs so when you walked out the door, you had to pass them and the dogs will often lick you (wearing shorts) - It's annoying. As I walked outside with my son, a dog barked and tried to lick him. My son was scared and tried to get away (into the parking lot). The owner said, "don't worry, he's a nice dog". STFU...to a kid, he's a strange dog. To a parent (me), he scared my kid who almost ran into the parking lot.

So here's my advice to you "nice dog owners". Keep a short leash and when people walk by, make the leash shorter. It's only fun being licked by YOUR OWN dog.

[Anonymous]

Op- for the other 300 bucks taking him to court would get you,it hardly seems worth it. And please take this as a lesson not to let your dog run up to another dog without verbal permission. I have a very friendly yellow lab, but I hate when people ask if she's friendly while they stick their hand in her face. Yes, she's never bitten anything other than a toy in 7 years, but all it would take is the wrong person or wrong smell to invade her space for their to he an incident.

It sounds like this dog was stressed out with the move and having a puppy sniffing and jumping around him might have been too much. And please, just because everyone you know in your neighborhood loves dogs and doesn't mind a puppy bounding towards them on an extended leash doesn't mean that you won't encounter someone who would be terrified by this n

[Anonymous]

You are responsible for controlling and protecting your dog. I don't think the other dog owner owes you anything.

[Anonymous]

OP here. This is all very interesting. What do all of you say to this scenario that happened this weekend when my husband and I were out walking our dog. We were on Conn Ave in Woodley. There were lots of people all around. My husband had the dog short leashed. Two kids came up from behind us to pet our dog. One of the little ones actually startled our dog. He cowered behind my husband. We stopped, made him sit and let the kids pet him. If he would have bitten the kid when startled (not after we made him sit and let the kids pet him), I'm assuming all of you would also hold us responsible, regardless of the fact we had the dog in control and on a short leash and the kids came up from behind.

I'm just asking the question. Being a big dog lover, my perspective is skewed. (obviously)

[Anonymous]

^^No, I think it would have been the kid's fault.

[Anonymous]

Dog lover here who thinks you were wrong in the first scenario. No, second scenario it would have been the child's fault -- or really their parent's fault for not controlling their child.

Would you have offered to pay 1/2 of the child's medical bills in your hypothetical?

[Anonymous]

Parent here (not a dog lover).

I would feel it was my child's fault for approaching a strange animal without asking for permission. Bite or not, my child would have been chastised, then walked through the proper way to approach a strange animal (ask our permission, then dog owner's permission, then dog's permission, ie let dog sniff hand).

If the dog was unprovoked, and bit my child who was walking by (this nearly happened to my todder recently), then I would first call the ambulance, then the cops/animal control.

If the dog owner was being irresponsible and had the dog on a long leash, or was walking their dog through the school grounds just as the kids were getting out, I would 100% consider it the dog owner's fault.

[Anonymous]

Dog lover and owner here. I was bit by a dog when I was 7. I was standing at the edge of my friend's fenced in yard waiting for her to put on her shoes. The fence was a bit higher than my waist. Before I knew what was going on, their neighbor's dog (one of those black, bear looking ones) jumped over the fence and latched onto my arm. Luckily I had a parka on and the teeth barely broke the skin. In that situation, it was unprovoked (and turned out he was a nasty dog who bit a cop 3 weeks later while on a walk)

We had a lab growing up who was extremely protective of us. One time my mom was loading my grandmothe, brother, myself and our dog in the car when she was approached by a door to door salesperson. Because my dad was not home, she tried to usher him away. He was aggressive and grabbed my mom's arm when she turned away. Our sweet and mild dog leapt out of the car and latched onto the guy's arm but didn't break the skin. Guy called the cops who asked my mom if she wanted to press charges because the guy laid his hands on her. Told the guy our dog was just protecting her and we were not at fault.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP,
I am sorry that some posters are being unnecessarily harsh. I do think the guy sounds like a dick for not acknowledging you when you addressed him saying "my dog's friendly." I also think he's a dick for not telling you to back off if his dog has a history of biting.

However, I think since you and your dog were the ones who made the approach, you will probably just have to bite the bullet and let this one go with this guy. I do think that he was totally a jerk for not moving away, or saying "don't let your dog approach mine," or something like that.

So I guess next time, definitely make sure you get some indication of agreement from the other dog owner that it's okay for the two dogs to have an interaction. Sorry, OP.

I agree with this.

[Anonymous]

well, your dog approached his dog, you could have kept a short leash, and should have until getting permission from the other owner. i'm not sure why you would even expect for half of the bill to be paid. you made an assumption, wrongly, about the safety of the situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should have more control over your dog when on a leash.. Just be glad he paid half and consider it a wash. Since your dog did the approach I doubt any judge would find in your favor.

This.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I have to admit to being a bit surprised at the consensus around this issue. Like I said, in my neighborhood dogs go up to dogs all the time on the street. If the dog isn't friendly, the owner of the unfriendly dog knows this and keeps his dog away.

We had an incided a few weeks after we adopted our pup where another dog in the neighborhood attacked my dog and his paw bled a bit. He could walk on it and the bleeding stopped quicky so we didn't take him to the vet. The owner of the other dog was very apologetic and offered to pay for the entire vet bill, had we taken him. I see him all the time and he has taken a real interest since then in my dog. Lots of people on my block know him, they saw him with the bandages and the cone and make an effort to come talk and see how he is doing.

Like I said, had the situation been reversed, it never would have occurred to my husband and I not to pay the entire vet bill including all the bills subsequent to the initial bill. Our dog caused the injury and we are responsible for everything that flowed from that initial injury. That is our thinking and still is our thinking. Dogs approach each other on the street and greet each other by sniffing. Normal dogs continue to sniff, start to play with each other or walk away from each other. Agressive dogs attack.

I find it really interesting that all of you said I was at fault when the people I know IRL said that I probably would win a lawsuit but that it might not be worth the time and energy.

Honestly, I feel that if your dog causes harm, you are at fault. Obviously, I am in the minority here. My husband and I will continue to operate under those guidelines should our dog ever cause harm to anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I have to admit to being a bit surprised at the consensus around this issue. Like I said, in my neighborhood dogs go up to dogs all the time on the street. If the dog isn't friendly, the owner of the unfriendly dog knows this and keeps his dog away.

We had an incided a few weeks after we adopted our pup where another dog in the neighborhood attacked my dog and his paw bled a bit. He could walk on it and the bleeding stopped quicky so we didn't take him to the vet. The owner of the other dog was very apologetic and offered to pay for the entire vet bill, had we taken him. I see him all the time and he has taken a real interest since then in my dog. Lots of people on my block know him, they saw him with the bandages and the cone and make an effort to come talk and see how he is doing.

Like I said, had the situation been reversed, it never would have occurred to my husband and I not to pay the entire vet bill including all the bills subsequent to the initial bill. Our dog caused the injury and we are responsible for everything that flowed from that initial injury. That is our thinking and still is our thinking. Dogs approach each other on the street and greet each other by sniffing. Normal dogs continue to sniff, start to play with each other or walk away from each other. Agressive dogs attack.

I find it really interesting that all of you said I was at fault when the people I know IRL said that I probably would win a lawsuit but that it might not be worth the time and energy.

Honestly, I feel that if your dog causes harm, you are at fault. Obviously, I am in the minority here. My husband and I will continue to operate under those guidelines should our dog ever cause harm to anyone.

OP, I understand your line of thinking. I agree that this guy sounds like a jerk, and I personally think that he should have said something, done something, etc. if he didn't want your dog to approach his dog.

Regarding what you said above (bolded): I agree with you most of the time, but not all of the time. For example, if an unleashed dog ran into my yard and onto my porch where my dog was sitting, and my dog bit him, I would not feel responsible. What happened to you and the man with the dog is similar. Not exactly, but similar. Your dog entered the other dog's personal space uninvited; the other dog, it seems, felt threatened and reacted by biting. It's true that, while dog-walking, most people do the neighborly thing and their two dogs approach, greet each other by sniffing, etc. This man, apparently, doesn't do that kind of thing. In this case, you have what sounds like a dick of a dog owner (the other guy) and possibly a not-so-nice dog. I do agree that he should have warned you, said something, made some indication that he didn't want an interaction with you and your dog. He also did not invite you or your dog to interact with him, and for that reason, I think it needs to be a "lesson learned" type of situation for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. This is all very interesting. What do all of you say to this scenario that happened this weekend when my husband and I were out walking our dog. We were on Conn Ave in Woodley. There were lots of people all around. My husband had the dog short leashed. Two kids came up from behind us to pet our dog. One of the little ones actually startled our dog. He cowered behind my husband. We stopped, made him sit and let the kids pet him. If he would have bitten the kid when startled (not after we made him sit and let the kids pet him), I'm assuming all of you would also hold us responsible, regardless of the fact we had the dog in control and on a short leash and the kids came up from behind.

I'm just asking the question. Being a big dog lover, my perspective is skewed. (obviously)

While I think you were responsible in your first scenario, I don't in this. If you had control of your dog and some little kid startled him, the little kid's parents are responsible.

[Anonymous]

OP, let it go. You can keep polling everyone and changing the scenarios if you want. The fact is that you are responsible for causing harm to your own dog by not controlling it. That's the real crime.