Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is not okay for a dog to bite an unthreatening old lady. Barking at her, yes... biting, no. I say this as the owner of German Shepherds. I'm feeling very judgy towards these obnoxious high-strung doodle dogs.

I hear where you are coming from, and I am not a fan of the breeds, but reaching across a fence is dangerous. Dogs are super territorial. It's not a defect; it's their instinct.

So it's okay for dogs to bite the Amazon delivery driver when he comes onto someone's property to deliver a package? Because it is their instinct?

I will reiterate my opinion -- dogs should not bite a non-threatening person who comes onto their property. Period. Barking is fine, biting is not.

np here,

No it's not ok for a dog to bite an Amazon driver delivering packages, but at least the Amazon driver has a reason to be on your property. If you know you're going to get a delivery, then secure your dog. But there's no way to secure your dog if someone is going out of their way to pet your dog when they have no business doing so. Let's say that OP had put their dog inside their house but the neighbor opened the door to pet it and got bitten. Would you still blame the dog or OP and say that the dog should not bite a non threatening person?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is not okay for a dog to bite an unthreatening old lady. Barking at her, yes... biting, no. I say this as the owner of German Shepherds. I'm feeling very judgy towards these obnoxious high-strung doodle dogs.

I hear where you are coming from, and I am not a fan of the breeds, but reaching across a fence is dangerous. Dogs are super territorial. It's not a defect; it's their instinct.

So it's okay for dogs to bite the Amazon delivery driver when he comes onto someone's property to deliver a package? Because it is their instinct?

I will reiterate my opinion -- dogs should not bite a non-threatening person who comes onto their property. Period. Barking is fine, biting is not.

Anonymous wrote:Next time pick up the dog or keep the dog away when they are aggressive. Don't leave it to others to decide.

What do you mean? She did keep the dog away. It was fenced in. The neighbor reached over the fence.

The neighbor made a mistake and it really sucks for her and the dog owner. However, the dog was behind a fence, the dog made clear indications it would bite, and the woman stuck her hand in anyway. There's really no way for a dog owner to assume a neighbor would make an irrational decision like that.

Anonymous wrote:It is not okay for a dog to bite an unthreatening old lady. Barking at her, yes... biting, no. I say this as the owner of German Shepherds. I'm feeling very judgy towards these obnoxious high-strung doodle dogs.

The dog doesn't know how old the lady is, or whether she is threatening or not. Stop thinking that dogs are as smart as humans, they are not.

Anonymous wrote:Also OP, perhaps you need a taller fence?

Zoning doesn't allow that.

OP: When you take your elderly neighbor to a medical clinic, you will need to take proof of current rabies vaccine / up to date on rabies shot; otherwise, you might be required to quarantine your dog until you produce a current rabies certificate.

Also OP, perhaps you need a taller fence?

Anonymous wrote:OP’s dog may not be at fault, but OP should obviously take steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Put a warning on the fence for people not to approach/pet your dog, if you see someone approaching, tell them he bites and not to pet him, teach him place, off, and down commands so you can keep him from approaching the fence.

OP may be off the hook for this bite, but she’s not off the hook for future bites.

A standard: Beware of Dog sign should suffice as legal warning in most jurisdictions if the dog is on its owner's property and properly restrained or confined (such as by a fence).

OP’s dog may not be at fault, but OP should obviously take steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Put a warning on the fence for people not to approach/pet your dog, if you see someone approaching, tell them he bites and not to pet him, teach him place, off, and down commands so you can keep him from approaching the fence.

OP may be off the hook for this bite, but she’s not off the hook for future bites.

Anonymous wrote:Next time pick up the dog or keep the dog away when they are aggressive. Don't leave it to others to decide.

The neighbor decided when she reached over / through a fence onto private property.

You’ll need to put her down, I’m afraid.

But at least she lived a long life if she’s in her 80s…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is not okay for a dog to bite an unthreatening old lady. Barking at her, yes... biting, no. I say this as the owner of German Shepherds. I'm feeling very judgy towards these obnoxious high-strung doodle dogs.

I hear where you are coming from, and I am not a fan of the breeds, but reaching across a fence is dangerous. Dogs are super territorial. It's not a defect; it's their instinct.

Agree.

I am a longtime dog owner--several decades. Currently, I have several dogs that I have adopted when they were young puppies.

Never approach a dog from above such as petting on head as dogs perceive this as a threatening gesture. If dog is known to be friendly & non-aggressive, one who wishes to approach should place their hand below dog's mouth & allow the dog to sniff the hand.

OP: Please take the elderly neighbor to a medical clinic for an examination & treatment.

Neither the dog nor the neighbor is at fault. The neighbor was trying to be kind, accepting, and friendly; the dog owner was responsible as the dog was in its fenced yard. The dog owner & the dog were taken by surprise by the elderly neighbor's act of reaching to pet the dog on its head (which is a threatening action to a dog).

The neighbor was not very smart and is going to be fine. Having said that, you now know that you have a dog that bites. It doesn’t matter that it only bites in your property and that your neighbor was stupid. Neither will exonerate you in future lawsuits, because now you know you have a dog who bites.

Anonymous wrote:Why do people expect dogs not to bite?That's what they do.

It would be different if the dog climbed the fence and ran after the neighbor in her backyard, but this is not what happened. The neighbor foolishly/naively reached over the fence to pet the dog and got bitten.

Because many owners say oh don't worry they don't bite.

I don't think the bite is the dog's fault. I do think the neighbor should get it checked out. Peroxide is not the best for a dog bite.

If she gets an infection from the bite it can kill her sepsis and infection kill more elderly than anything else even simple UTI's can kill them, she needs to see a doctor.