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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Neighbours dog has just attacked me and DD.

861 replies

katkat90 · 27/01/2019 18:39

Have had issues with them in the past

They are elderly, with two large breed dogs (think Great Danes?). They cannot control them. Honestly the amount of times I have seen them nearly pull them over in the street/simply pull out of their grasp and go bouncing off and jumping all over people is untrue.

Was walking back from the shop and saw them coming from a distance so I stepped to the side into another neighbours driveway and next thing I know- one of them had pulled out of its owners grasp and came bounding over and knocked DD (who is just about getting confident with her toddling) over.

It was over in seconds- by the time I put the break on the pram (was stood on a slopes drive so it would of ran off into the road) and went to grab DD she was already on the floor the dog barking at her- so I kicked it to get it away, and it bit my leg.

I was furious. Owner very embarrassed an apologetic but I’ve said enough is enough and I would be contacting the police and the RSPCA.

Heaven forbid it bounded on the pram and just decided to bite my 2 week old. It would of taken her head off no doubt.

V shaken and waiting for DH to get home to call the police and RSPCA.

I’ve also messaged his daughter on Facebook

OP posts:
Wordthe · 27/01/2019 23:55

Almost you are wrong
No she did not deserve to be bitten
the dog attacked her
the proper reaction from a well trained dog is to defer
Never ever to retaliate
this dog was not properly trained
the owner is in the wrong and an offence has been committed

Wordthe · 27/01/2019 23:57

I think you'll find that most of the good dog owners already have an insurance policy for their pets
however mandatory insurance sounds like a good idea to me or that I don't know of hand how feasible it would be?

BlueSlipperSocks · 27/01/2019 23:57

Blue you might not consider it an attack but you can bet your sweet ass the police will

No they won't because it was not an attack. The dog was reacting to someone's boot heading for his face.

KissingInTheRain · 27/01/2019 23:59

These threads are always the same. Any frightening or threatening behaviour by dogs is excused by dog lovers.

The simple truth is that it doesn’t matter whether you want to blame the dog, the owner or anyone or anything else. The dog is the only thing that knocked over and scared a child and alarmed a parent.

If dogs do this they should be put down and the owners banned from keeping dogs.

Deadbudgie · 27/01/2019 23:59

Wordthe, what the fuck are you on? Can you share some around. So now you are saying any dog that is attacked will just run away if well trained. How do you train it to do that? Beat them up and keep going until they run away? I thought you said dogs were predators but now they should passively slink off from an attack. But also you seem to think I should have trained my puppy to attack on command!

As part of any of the numerous dog attacks you seem to have been victim of did you ever suffer a blow to the head?

NewName8674 · 28/01/2019 00:01

Insurance is usually for the dog's health, not for compensating bite victims. Usually if someone is attacked by a dog it's their tough luck. In most cases, liability can only be established if the victim can prove that the dog has previously acted aggressively. Even if you prove that, it can be hard to recover damages (which is why there should be mandatory insurance in my view).

Deadbudgie · 28/01/2019 00:01

Kissing the rain a dog knocked over a child that was unsteady on its feet and barked and you want it put to sleep - not overreacting at all there then!

Wordthe · 28/01/2019 00:02

Good point NewName!

DistanceCall · 28/01/2019 00:03

I wonder what all the people blaming the OP have been smoking.

A large dog runs out of control down the street, knocks a toddler down, starts barking at the toddler, the mother intervenes and kicks the dog to get it away from her toddler. And the guilty party is the mother.

FFS.

Yes, of course the dog bit the OP because she kicked it. But she was defending her child. The fault lies entirely with the dog's owners, who should not be allowed to have dogs if they can't control them when they go out.

Wordthe · 28/01/2019 00:06

Exactly we need to make sure that people have dogs only if they can provide for their needs and control them properly

Dog ownership should be a privilege not a right

KissingInTheRain · 28/01/2019 00:06

Deadbudgie

Yes. What’s so unbelievable about that?

Dogs shouldn’t approach anyone, let alone children, let alone knock them over.

SaturdayNext · 28/01/2019 00:06

As the OP. is very blase about phoning the police (made numerous excuses as to why she can't)

Where on earth do you get this from, @Germinijes? She's given ONE reason, namely that she had no credit on her phone. I really don't understand how so many people on MN seem to make up facts in order to attack others on the basis of pure fiction.

EyesUnderARock · 28/01/2019 00:07

In order to be sprayed, the dog would have to be within biting range. I don’t know how you went from that to the idea of me poisoning dogs.
I like polite, well-behaved, under control dogs. But one that made me feel in danger?
As for humans, the self- defence courses I’ve done involve avoiding trouble...like the OP tried to, and then if that doesn’t work, you hit and run.

SaturdayNext · 28/01/2019 00:07

You don't need phone credit to ring the Emergency Services.

Irrelevant, as this wasn't an emergency, @Ddssdd

IAmNotAWitch · 28/01/2019 00:09

Call the police as soon as you are able.

Perhaps take photos of the damage to your trousers and if there are any marks/bruises that come up on your leg take photos of those as well.

Tell the police exactly what happened and let them deal with it.

I am glad your kids were OK. Your neighbours need to take responsibility for their dogs, their lack of control is unacceptable.

Wordthe · 28/01/2019 00:16

In my experience the police take this kind of thing extremely seriously
I was even offered counselling
It is a extremely upsetting and really really shakes you up
I just don't think we should have to encounter out of control predators out on the streets
and then to have people come on here and say that the OP deserves to have been bitten
this actually makes me feel quite scared knowing that lots of dog owners are angry with me just because I am nervous of dogs and find them hard to deal with
Seems like some of them would enjoy seeing their dog bite me
just awful

starshollow1 · 28/01/2019 00:16

That must have been terrifying for you OP. Sorry your thread has descended into a bun fight Confused

You bear absolutely no responsibility for what happened. That lies entirely with the owners, the dogs were dangerously out of control and by calling the police you'll be preventing someone else being terribly hurt and getting the dogs out of an unsuitable situation.

Hope you've had time for someGintonight!

Klopptimist · 28/01/2019 00:17

Interesting thread. Tell me, how do you manage with the four dogs you have at home? I take it they never bump into your DD? Also, wrt calling the police, couldn't you simply have used the landline you have? If you run your own successful business, it might be worth looking into a contract phone rather than sticking with PAYG, especially if you can only ever buy credit at the shop.

jasjas1973 · 28/01/2019 00:22

Deadbudgie

Yep, out of control dog knocks over small child, behaves aggressively toward parent, who kicks dog away, dog then bites parent.

Put the dog down before it does more damage, it clearly thinks it is pack leader.

BelindasRedPlasticHandcuffs · 28/01/2019 00:34

The downside is that you are causing potentially massive damage to an animal's eyes for daring to come near you. It's entirely disproportionate to harm an animal that is not being aggressive.

If you're talking about an actual attack I can understand. But clearly people can't establish what is an attack and what is not and have no interest in doing so because it's more important to demonise an animal they dislike. A dog being near you isn't an attack. A dog accidentally knocking you over isn't an attack. A dog barking, although uncomfortable, isn't attack. Incidentally a dog grabbing your leg and not biting down in response to being kicked isn't an attack either but I'd understand using force or spray in that instance.

Given that plenty of people here clearly aren't bothered about that aspect though, the other downside is that animals lash out when they're in pain. Dogs can generally handle a lot more pain that humans and will keep going despite being injured. A dog that is in severe pain isn't going to listen to anyone, but they also aren't just going to drop to the ground and leave you alone. It might run away, potentially into a road causing an accident which would be a lot more damaging to other people, or it might cause it to lash out with the real intention of hurting you or others around you. It will also set the dog's training back monumentally and if it wasn't aggressive beforehand it sure as hell will be afterwards and who could blame it but that's ok as long as you aren't scared of a nonaggressive dog anymore.

I don't think hurting an animal because I'm uncomfortable that it's within 12-15ft of me (pepper spray distance) would be any more acceptable than me pepper spraying a man for walking a bit to close to me and making me feel nervous. Condoning attacking an animal just because it's within touching distance of you is ridiculous and if you think people wouldn't do that just because they dislike dogs then you're incredibly naïve.

I completely agree that there should be tighter laws and insurances with mandatory training and checks in place, because responsible dog owners would be happy to comply and all of the idiots that get a dog would either not bother or be relieved of their animal very sharpish. I also agree the Op should report, but because the dog was out of control and could cause damage not because it is aggressive and deserves to be put down.

Again, no one is blaming the Op. They are explaining that kicking a dog may result in it lashing out which is why it went from barking to grabbing. I haven't seen any posts absolving the feckless owners of blame.

IAmNotAWitch · 28/01/2019 00:59

The OP (or anyone for that matter) should have no need to know how to deal with an out of control pet dog.

If you can't control your dog you should not be permitted to own it. If the dog is destroyed as a result of this, it will be the owner's fault.

It is that simple.

Wordthe · 28/01/2019 01:00

@Belinda you should have a rest and put your feet up after all that typing!

BelindasRedPlasticHandcuffs · 28/01/2019 01:08

Sweet of you to worry @Wordthe but I'll be just fine thanks.

Klopptimist · 28/01/2019 01:15

The OP (or anyone for that matter) should have no need to know how to deal with an out of control pet dog

Considering that she claimed to have four dogs at home on Saturday, I would have thought it was essential...

brizzledrizzle · 28/01/2019 01:18

Ignore Beaverhausen Angry
I hope you are OK, calling the RSPCA and the police is the right thing to do.