To think you shouldn't give someone's dog 'a thrashing' if it bites you?

[GuestCat]

Went for country walk with my uncle, public footpath across farmland. Uncle is in his late 60s, lived and worked on farms when he was young. He always carries a wooden stick that he calls his 'snake-stick' in case he needs to move cattle away from a gate. As we were crossing a bridge (clearly signposted as a public right of way) a large dog ran up to us and sank its teeth into my uncle's leg, completely unprovoked and with no warning, no growling or anything. Uncle grabbed it by collar, half-choked it until it let go, then started hitting it (hard) with his stick. Dog was yelping and trying to get away, I told Uncle to let it go as i was worried he'd hurt it or worse. He said dog needed a 'good thrashing' to teach it a lesson. Woman then appeared, said dog was hers and shouted at us, turns out she lives next to bridge. They had a massive argument, dog ran back to its house, woman said she'd report my uncle to RSPCA for being cruel to dog, uncle said he'll report her for letting aggressive dog on the footpath.

I don't know what to think... my uncle insists he was in the right and says dog needed to be taught a lesson or it might hurt someone or bite a child, said people nowadays are too soft on dogs. I felt a bit sorry for dog, he said I'm too soft and would think differently if i'd been raised on a farm like he was. AIBU for thinking he shouldn't have given it a thrashing?
BTW the bite wasn't deep as he had cords on, but it left bruise and little blue puncture marks where teeth went in.

This will be interesting.

I'd have thrashed the dog too, and phoned the non emergency number to report a vicious dog not under control.

Well that's what I've had done in my head.

In actual fact, I'd probably have screamed blue murder, and hoped to be rescued

Dog needs reporting.

I adore dogs and I am dead against animal abuse. I can see it both ways, a dog dangerous enough to bite strangers should not be left to roam free. But your uncle should not be beating a dog after it is no longer an immediate risk to himself or others. I'm no dog trainer, but beating a dog for biting seems to me would make it more prone to attacking people.

Not sure what lesson he was teaching the dog? He sounds horrid, but dog should not have bitten him

PUBLIC footpath is the give-away.

Good on your uncle ... !

Well he was obviously shocked and reacted on impulse.
YY to the owner being reported though. Imagine if it had been a child the dog bit

So a lone dog ran up to him and bit him? What should your uncle have done? Not minded?

A dog viciously bit my dog a few weeks ago for no reason at all - I gave it a hard kick for it's trouble and had a row with it's owner and reported him to the dog warden.

Dogs that bite should be under control.

I'm with the uncle.

What bellybutton said.
As soon as the dog had backed off he should have stopped.
And the dog should be reported. V dangerous situation.

And what is your opinion on :

• the dog attacking unprovoked
• the dog's owner taking no responsibility for the bite
• the likelihood of the dog attacking someone not wearing cords
• the damage this large dog would inflict on a small child

Personally, after getting the dog off me, I'd have thrashed this owner.

I'm against hitting animals, but this dog attacked out of nowhere. If your uncle let go of his collar, how do you know it wouldn't have turned around on you and bit you? I suppose you could have hit it once to scare it and make sure it ran away from both of you...

Honestly, the dog's owner is an idiot and I would report her. Her dog attacked a person and she wants to call RSPCA, does she? I'd love to hear that conversation.

I think hitting the dog was ok so long as you stop once the dog has submitted/given up. To carry on hitting is not right. Mind you, I could understand if your Uncle was shocked or afraid.

He's taught it a lesson alright - unfortunately it will probably teach the dog to be more aggressive.

Dog should not have bitten and tbh, even as someone who prefers dogs to most people, I can understand him hitting out to get the dog off. To carry on hitting a dog like that is downright nasty.

how's your uncle's leg? did he clean it thoroughly, dog bites can easily get infected

Beating the dog wont teach him a lesson but I would report the dog in a heartbeat. He should not be allowed out without a muzzle and offlead at a minimum. I would probably want him PTS.

Whilst I own a dog, and have never ever hir him, I really don't know what I would do in shock if a dog bit me

The fog should be put down. Maybe not tenderized before that, but either she chains it and fences it, or let it be put to sleep.

TBH, I think I would have hit it with my stick too, and I am a dog owner and lover. I'm not sure I would give it a "good thrashing" though.

However, if it had been my dog, I would have been apologising profusely to your uncle, not threatening to report him.

Op please report this dog as if he attacks your uncle he will attack someone else and if a child this could end very badly. Dog either needs destroying or properly fenced. Op you a have a duty to report this!

I can't say how I would have reacted as I've never been bitten by a dog. I would say though, that just as we can't be certain that a pet dog will never bite your uncle couldn't have known that his actions wouldn't make the dog fight back.

Agree that the dog and owner should be reported and she should have taken steps to prevent the dog from getting access to people using the path.

Hope your uncle's leg isn't badly injured.

WhereYouLeftIt, I agree the dog should have been chained up and it could have really hurt a small child. Owner said it got out of her garden and said it had never bitten anyone before, she didn't believe us until uncle showed her his leg.
I agree with hitting it once but he kept on hitting it really hard (until owner yelled at him) and it was yelping. I was worried he might accidentally kill it but he said he knew what he was doing.
I've never had a dog so don't know how people normally discipline them.

Why would it just attack like that? Its made me really nervous about walking on farmland now!

I love dogs, very against animal cruelty but your uncles initial reaction is correct (not the continued beating though). You don't state what breed the dog was, but given it is a large breed this suggests it may be one that has the "lock-jaw" capability. In those circumstances it is acceptable to hit the dog in order for it to release. The owner of the dog is very naive to think the RSPCA will be on her side. She's broken the law by allowing her dog to be in public off its lead and displaying dangerous/aggressive behaviour. She could quite possibly face a very large fine or a jail sentence. As pp have said, what if the dog had bitten a child? She should take responsibility for what her dog has done, not defend its behaviour

He should only have hit it until it backed off. However it is a frightening situation and he may have overreacted out of fear which a man of his age and type isn't likely to admit.

But the owner needs reporting as the dog should be put down. It is aggressive and not adequately controlled.

It sounds like it was very fortunate that this incident happened to an adult with a stick wearing cords. Because a child, no stick or no cords it could have been a lot worse. It sounds like he knew how to defend himself but a lot of people wouldn't.

You need to report the dog as your primary concern.