My dog was attacked and the other owner blames me

[sunflowersandbuttercups]

I can't sleep

My dog was attacked two days ago by another dog and ended up in the vets with a bite wound on his ear and another on his neck.

I informed the other owner of what happened following an emergency trip to the vets.

The owner of the other dog was there when the bite happened but has sent me a very upsetting email telling me it's all my fault and that my dog was attacked and pinned to the floor because of me.

I feel sick and really shaken up. I don't know why he chose to send me such an unpleasant message but it's really gotten to me and I just keep replaying it all over in my mind

Police wont do anything about a dog on dog attack but he needs reported for having an out of control dog and told to keep it on lead.

It depends on the police but they do sometimes order people to keep their dog on a lead and/or muzzle if they attack another dog.

I don't understand why people with agressive dogs don't just muzzle train them ?

Happened to me the other day. Dog is ok now she had her ear bitten as well.
Not seen the other dog since.
Not enquiries on how mine is.
She was flat in mood for a day but is now back to her bouncy happy self.
You did nothing wrong.
The other owner was at fault.
Hope you are both ok

The other owner is on the defensive because he was in the wrong and he is nervous that he will have to pay the vet's bills. He absolutely should be apologising and paying them by the way. Your poor dog. My heart goes out to you both. I've had dogs most of my life but am dogless now. Quite frankly the increase in incidents like this puts me off ever owning again. There are so many idiots out there.

Why does the other owner say it's your fault? What's his reasoning?

Did he offer to pay for the vet's bill ?

I would love to know how he imagined it was your fault , what did he say you did wrong that caused his off lead dog to attack your on lead dog ? It will all be a load of diversionary bollocks to try and detract from the fact that he is a shit dog owner !

Two things to think about-

the other owner should be paying your vet bills- up to you if you want to insist. You could offer to pay yourself if he keeps his dog on a lead and muzzled in future.

When you report, if you were scared by the incident, afraid of the dog as it attacked, hesitant to intervene, make sure you say so. Dog attacking and injuring another dog is seen by police as less concerning than dog scaring a person. A dog near me was issued with a warning order of some kind because it playfully ran up to a child, who ran away from it and fell over. It was taken seriously. So be sure not to underplay your fear in the situation.

My dog was almost killed by another. He only survived because several neighbours heard the ruckus and came out to help. They drove me to the vets, helped corral the aggressive dog away etc. Nothing was ever done. My dog was never the same again, it aged him terribly.

You have my sympathy OP. There are far too many dog owners out there who seem to think their dog has a right to run off lead and approach every person/dog- even if it's badly socialised and aggressive.

I have a badly socialised, reactive rescue dog. If we are in public he is on a lead and muzzled. It's not difficult and not a detriment to the dog- he has been trained to associate the muzzle with treats and fun and has plenty of off-lead time at home and hired secure fields. He has not been hurt by another dog thankfully, but on quite a few occasions other dogs have run up to him barking etc. Several owners have told me it's my dog's fault for giving off the wrong body language and/or my fault for keeping my dog restricted!

Other owner had allowed dog off lead. Your dog was on a lead. Totally the other owners fault. I suspect they're aware of this and are attempting to shift blame with that ludicrous email they sent you.

Your poor dog. Glad you are reporting it. When it happened to me the police suggested very strongly to the owner that they paid the vet bill, they wanted to know the history of the other dog and if it had done this before
Sounds horrible for you but don't get emotionally involved with what happens, if the dog is dangerous, it's dangerous
It's not a dog on dog attack as your dog was under control on a leash, so don't be fobbed off on that

I think you should report. I don’t think there’s much the police can do but they should at least hopefully have a word with the owner, put the shits up him a bit.

My dad was walking my parents’ yorky a few years ago and a husky came out of a house with a small child on he end of its lead. The husky didn’t growl or give any warning, it just walked up to the yorky, picked it up and shook it. My dad tackled the husky to release his dog immediately but the little yorky was already dead. My poor dad had to carry their dead blood soaked dog wrapped up in his jumper back home to my mother.

They called the police and gave the address where the dog came out of. The police went round and had a word, but because it was dog on dog there was nothing they could do other than have a word. The owners of the husky offered to pay for the cremation but they never answered their phone or answered their door again, so my parents didn’t even get so much as their costs covered as compensation for a dead pet.

How on earth can he suggest that it’s your dog’s fault I presume you saw all of their interaction with your dog being on the lead?
Report him he is clearly an idiot and the dog could be dangerous

Thanks to everyone who has responded! I have now reported the dog via our local council.

Luckily I know our vets' well and there are no vet bills to claim for - my dog was checked over and given the "all clear" though he still seems fairly subdued out on walks - whether that's due to pain or fear I'm not sure, but luckily he's been fine with every dog we've met since.

I'm also so sorry to everyone who's experienced similar, it was terrifying and I don't think I'll ever forget the noise that came out of my dogs' mouth.

Glad you reported it @sunflowersandbuttercups I hope your dog is feeling better soon. This is one of my worst fears when out walking, their is a guy who lives near me who has a completely out of control pair of dogs, they've attacked several others and as a result I choose routes and times around reducing the risk of meeting him (not in the UK the police here won't do anything). People can be so selfish and think their dogs can do no wrong and trump all other dogs.

Your pup is likely bruised hence sore from the bites.

Glad you reported it's clearly his fault as his dog was off lead. You don't let off lead dogs approach on lead ones.

Your pup is likely bruised hence sore from the bites.

Yes, I think you're right. He was slammed onto the floor with quite some force and pinned there.

My dog got nipped on her side, the day after she barely moved for 48'hours because she was so sore & is a complete drama Queen but as she is white with little fur you could see the bruising!

My dog was on lead, theirs wasn't

Legally theirs is to blame then.

@EspressoExpresso

My dog was on lead, theirs wasn't

Legally theirs is to blame then.

Thank you - yes, this is what the dog warden said when I reported the incident. I suspect nothing will come of it, though.

100% the other owner’s fault, how the hell can he claim it’s your fault? Because you had your dog on lead and under control? He’s deluded.

Keep an eye out for infection. My dog was bitten by another and the resultant infection required a major operation to remove cysts of pus. Yours should be ok if you caught it quick, I didn’t even realise mine had been bitten til it all swelled up and started oozing. 😡

You may have started to build a case against it though op.. Owners like that never change their ways. They accept no blame and carry on as usual. Meaning ddog will still be a danger...
Hopefully your poor ddog will recover well.
Poor thing.