If your dog bit someone...

[LittleSkeletonSailor]

What would your immediate reaction and then course of action afterwards be?

If it was someone known to you, not close but you know their address and phone number etc..

Dog bit because it was startled.

If your dog is in ANY WAY going to bite at any time it needs to be put to sleep. Full stop. Owners need to take full responsibility for their animal's behaviour. I had a dog that turned it's lip at my child (15 months old) running past. Dog was taken straight to the vet never to return. This was over 50 years ago. The law was very clear in those days: Any bite and the dog was put down.

What if it was a child or a vulnerable person who didn't understand?

No one knows if a dog is going to bite. No one. My dog never did. He was 13. But under the right circumstances? Of course he could.

My dog bit a child at our home. Dog was supposed to be outside but she snuck in. Visiting child crawled under the table and dog bit her on the cheek. She needed surgery. Child had very small scar and dog since died from medical reasons. I contacted dog warden the following day who was anything but helpful and a bit of a jobsworth. I kept my dog and was sued for circa £70k and prosecuted in court.

My MIL’s small dog bit pretty much everyone except her. Poorly trained and socialised, MIL always had an excuse, and I was too much of a wimp to report it.

Honestly, I love dogs, but that little horror was out of control, deeply unpleasant. Had he been a larger dog, she would have not had a choice I am sure.

She finally got it when he bit her, quite badly. So Op, I would report it on 101. I don’t think the dog will improve.

EmmaD11 isn't doing any such thing. She's pointing out that dogs shouldn't be approached in a way that can startle them. This is especially true of elderly dogs, most of which have poor sight due to cataracts and poor hearing. Would you allow children to run up to the rear of horse and risk being kicked by an iron horseshoe; or approach any unfamiliar cat which may scratch and/or bite? Presumably not.

Dog bit twice. Both family. Once in the cheek, had a behaviourist come out, two weeks later another bite, this time could have been horrendous had the person not been wearing glasses.

Dog was PTS 3days later.

Heartbreaking, vet said she couldn’t believe the dog had done it (we were cold shouldered when we waltzed in with a happy dog wagging her tail at everyone).

Showed her the pictures, and she completely changed her attitude and said that it was more dangerous than a “dangerous dog” (both times she had bitten, she had approached the person begging for attention and then switched). Vet theorised potential brain tumour (as a total switch in behaviour!) but we didn’t investigate, I was too heartbroken.

Lived in a little Cal-de-sac with 5-6kids under 4 regularly playing in the street (supervised, obviously!). All we could think was that if she got out one of them could be dead.

ETA: in your situation, I would probably be bordering on obsessively keeping in contact and making sure you were ok, and apologising repeatedly!

I attend a club and someone’s dog has bitten 5 people, the owner has been cautioned by the police and the dog is now meant to wear a muzzle but the owner doesn’t stick to it. It’s such a shame and so awkward to handle. Thankfully a sausage dog so the bites aren’t huge but have drawn blood.

You seem to be placing blame on child and dog warden. You should have prevented the dog from ‘sneaking’ in

A man in a lurcher group I am in had a deaf dog. One time, it was fast asleep and the neighbour's child (the family were visiting) went and sat on it. It woke up startled and bit the child. A perfectly understandable reaction. Instinct. The parents caused merry hell for the man, and he had his dog PTS. He was absolutely devastated. His dog was his world and had done no wrong up to that point.

I have also been out with my dog, and a child went to whack her over the head with a toy. She was fast asleep. Luckily the mum saw and grabbed the kid just before the toy hit my dog.

If you are dozing off on the bus, and a man grabs you, and you wake up and instinctively punch him - does that mean you are dangerous and need to be arrested etc?

Why would you go close enough to a dog you don't know that it could bite you or your child?

This. Parent better.
Teach your kids to not approach any dog who is eating or sleeping, even if they are known to them. Teach them not to approach strange dogs, and if they want to pet them then always ask the owner.

It depends on the circumstances. If a child does something to the dog when they should be staying away from strange dogs, it's not necessarily the dog's fault. Like the example above of the child who sat on a deaf dog. That's a parenting fail and not the dog's fault.

One time my son was bitten by a dog that was roaming and rushed up to him. That's a dog owner fail. I reported that one to animal control and they got fined and cautioned.

In your case, OP, the neighbour's dog shouldn't be allowed to run out freely like that. It sounds like a fear response rather than actual aggression, but it couldn't have happened if not allowed to run out like that.

Where's the parent/carer?

I'd expect adults who do understand (including me) to prevent children/vulnerable people from waking her by touching.

My dog is a rescue greyhound. She is quite aloof and shy with strangers. She does not seek people out to sleep close to them. She loves to lie on her bed, which is in an open crate or on a spare settee in a quiet room, away from the main living area. There is no reason whatsoever for anyone to approach her, even accidentally when asleep.

We wake her by going near her and calling her name if she needs to wake up.

I do not accept that if someone went and touched her when asleep,if she snapped, that this would be her fault.

This is an overreaction. Any dog can bite and all dogs and all bites are not equal. Some dogs that bite (you could say ‘nip’) are not dangerous - they are not going to cause any serious damage. My cat used to bite - he was evil - and his scratches were painful and obviously drew blood. Some nippy dogs are on about the same level as this in terms of the harm they inflict - would you demand the cat is put down?

I didn't say it would be the dog's fault.

I said any dog who bits someone should be put down and I stand by that.

No they're not. People like you are a problem.

Exactly.

people need to take responsibility for themselves & their children!

@LittleSkeletonSailor I'd report her to the dog warden/police. Letting her dog out uncontrolled isn't acceptable. It's clearly untrained & she needs to be told firmly to have it on a lead & muzzled whenever it's out of the house. It's not the dogs fault.

If a dog just ran up to me and bit, I’d expect and push for the dog to be destroyed.

If the dog was being wound up, well that’s the person’s fault they’ve been bitten.

This is what must be done- you mustn't apologise or admit liability, you must call your insurer immediately.

I would tell the person I was calling my insurer and tell them it would be handled by my insurer, that way they would know I wasn't hiding from my responsibility but following the insurance rules (most policy's say this clearly)

Just out of curiosity, what does it mean "will be handled by insurer"?
What will the insurer do for the bitten person?

I guess if you woudn't even apologize and confirm the dog's vaccinations and so on, and would just talk about the insurer, I'd feel I have to call a police, just to have the event logged properly (how do I know what version are you going to tell to the insurer).

Insurance probably has some sort of liability payment, in case you'd want to claim medical or other expenses.

I’d start taking the dog out muzzled and write to the person who was bitten apologising and explaining this.