Tradesman bitten by dog

[Preps]

It's my friend's son. He was doing some plumbing work in their house and the dog has sunk his teeth into plumber's leg. There is a clear bite mark with broken skin.

It's been cleaned up and his tetanus is up to date. Does he need to "do" anything about the dog?

He can report it to the police, he doesn’t have to though if that’s what you’re asking.

Report to the police. Might not be the first incident.

Was the owner even in the house at the time? What were the full circumstances?

I used to have two dogs. If there were tradespeople in the house I always kept them with me or shut them in a room in which no work was being done. They were relaxed with tradespeople if they were with me and could see that I was fine, but if there was any doubt, or if I couldn't watch them for some reason, then they either had to be shut in a room or in the garden.

Did your friend do any of that? It is called taking responsibility for the dog, who might otherwise begin to defend its territory against what it will view as an intruder.

The fault very often lies with the owner, although some visitors can do themselves and said owner no favours either if they don't listen to what is said and pay heed.

Overreaction! We don't know the full circumstances, who if anyone was supervising the dog etc. or how they handled it.

What does the man want? Sue the owners? Insurance claim? Dog confiscated? I think there’s too many questions for a third party to be posting?

@Topseyt123 i don’t think it matters. Any dog that bites under circumstances like this. Where it wasn’t someone attacking the dog is a danger and should be put down. I am a dog lover. But they get one chance with me. Dogs should not bite. Particularly not someone doing a job in the home. Yes it’s the owner to blame. But ultimately they have proven they can’t be trusted and the dog is a danger. I would fight as hard as I possibly could for the dog to be destroyed

Perhaps we should go around destroying all the people who put a toe out of line?
You are so massively unreasonable! You absolutely are not a dog lover.

Dogs bite when people put them in situations that they cannot get out of. Dogs are not an aggressive species. Left to their own devices they actively avoid conflict.

It is people who are the problem. It's the situations that people put the dogs in that's the problem. It's peoples lack of knowledge of dogs body language that's the problem.

The dog should never be the one punished.

Can “son’s friend” not decide for himself? Assuming he is an adult.

Report it to the police, they should be reminded to keep their dog locked away if it cannot behave itself.

It depends on the circumstances, what has your son said about how it happened?

Oh sorry, it’s not your son, it’s your friends son. Why are you on mumsnet about your friends sons injury? 😬

Of course it matters. Don't be so ridiculous.

It matters when owners make no effort to understand why the dog may be behaving as it is and totally fail to read its cues.

You think that doesn't matter? Bollocks!

I hate dogs and the first to pick fault with them

i work for one off the utilities in and out of houses all day long

with any job you should do a risk assessment to make sure your work area is safe
that would include dogs

common sense tells you your a stranger in there space no doubt making noise and using power tools anything like this could spook a dog
ask for it to be shut away if he didn’t do that I would say he’s at fault

if they refused I just leave

I’m the last to defend dogs but you have to respect there territory

I think he’s learnt a lesson I wouldn’t report
I learnt the hard way similar situation to him and I got bitten at work always ask now
man’s it’s also our company policy

@Topseyt123 of course it matters when the owners are useless. But once it’s gotten past the point of the dog biting someone it’s too late. The owner should have done something before that point. They didn’t.
Once a dog bites unprovoked it’s game over

@Gymmum82

You don't know the circumstances. Maybe the dog was shut away but someone opened the door to check on it/needed something out of that room and it escaped. Maybe the dog felt threatened by something the trademan unknowingly did. Maybe the tradesman was given clear instructions on what to do and what not to do but didn't listen. Maybe the dog had never bitten before. If the owners are responsible, they will take precautions to make sure it never happens again but they have to be given the chance to make sure it never happens again.

I'm a dog owner and a dog lover. That doesn't mean that I am blind to their faults but I think rationally when it comes.to suitable consequences for their behaviour. If the dog had mauled the trademan, I would expect severe consequences. As it is, I don't think this dog deserves death.

He needs to get the wound cleaned and another tetanus.

The hospital contacted the police on my behalf when I was bitten a couple of years ago.

When I was 12 I was bitten by a dog on my lower leg, completely unprovoked, walking home from school, the owners were shocked, it had never bitten anyone before, the man was very apologetic and said he would euthanise his dog if that’s what we wanted but we said no, I don’t think the dog ever bit anyone again.

For all those saying ‘but it was in my home’ or ‘my dog is reactive’ what if your house is on fire and a fire fighter has to break in or you fall down the stairs and the ambulance service have to break in. Your dog should not be out of control in any situation.

I'm pretty sure the law was changed a couple of years ago and it's an offence to have an out of control dog even on your own property.

Yes you are correct

This isn’t true any more, it is the owners responsibility to have a dog under control whether in public or on private property.
It needs to be reported to the Police as next time it might be more serious

@Flossflower

You can't control every situation. Dogs can panic and react. So can humans when they are feeling stressed.

In situations when their owner is injured or there is a dangerous situation happening, even placid dogs can become protective so those are silly examples really. Do you honestly think that paramedics and firefighters aren't used to dealing with scared/protective/unfriendly dogs?

Puppy punching 💪

So would I. I'm zero tolerance with dog bites.