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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dog attacked my husband! Feeling very cross about irresponsible owner

237 replies

BaitandSwitch · 27/05/2019 18:45

My husband takes a regular walk around the local park and fields and today he came home with some face bleeding.
What had transpired was that a regular dog walker had let her dog off the lead - which bounded up to my H and jumped up at him. In the process drew blood from 4 places - 1 claw clipped the inside of his nostril, and three sites around the nose and cheek. He naturally was in a state of mild shock. I asked what the owner's reaction had been. He responded he sees her and that dog regularly and the dog always makes a beeline for him and jumps at him. The owner laughed it off apparently saying, " oh he always goes for you".
I feel so angry and upset - how dare she have such a cavalier attitude and not keep her out of control mutt on a lead? I feel inclined to accompany my H on his next walk and give her a piece of my mind if I see her. I have just had to get this off my chest.

OP posts:
Dippypippy1980 · 27/05/2019 22:22

Can I ask this gently- is your husband a vulnerable adult? I only ask this because the dog has jumped on him before, therefore the jumping part wasn’t as shock, it was the scratches.

Perhaps I assume these weren’t deep lacerations, but if your husband was in shock the cuts must have been more serious than I had assumed - does he need stitches or a tetanus shot?

I had scoffed at your idea of accompanying him on his next walk to tell off the dog owner. But now that I think this through, my uncle has a degenerative illness that impacts his speech and thought process. I can see him being friendly with a dog and enjoying the jumping up - but not being able to cope if it went wrong.

So I take back my earlier comments, maybe go along with him on the next walk and explain to this lady that her dog hurt your husband, and while he isn’t able to communicate it himself, you feel it would be safer for him if the dog was kept on a lead.

I hope your husband recovers and this doesn’t impact on his enjoyment of the park, or his independence.

ballsdeep · 27/05/2019 22:24

I would think I'd been attacked. A dog jumped up and scratched his face.
She let him off the lead and he bounded up. It's disgusting . I wouldn't want to be pawed and leapt on by a dog. If people can't control dogs, and I mean stop them jumping, then they shouldn't have them.

aweedropofsancerre · 27/05/2019 22:24

Thats worrying as if the dog did that to a child they could be badly injured. I am surprised your DH didnt have a go at the owner. I am a dog but he has never jumped on people and I hate dogs that jump up with their dirty paws with owners chuckling...obviously thinking that I am a dog owner and understand....eh nope its a badly trained dog

purpleboy · 27/05/2019 22:25

Dog owner here, this kind of irresponsible behavior is unacceptable but unfortunately not at all uncommon. I encounter at least 1 dog every day on our forest walks who "is just excited and friendly"
I don't give a crap if your dog is excited, train it properly. I have no interested in being jumped on by your stupid dog because you haven't taught it basic manners.
My DD was knocked over by an excited dog. Luckily no damage done but the owner was given a few choice words. She now puts said dog on a lead whenever we see her!

Glad to hear your husband is ok op. I think you need to encourage him to talk to the lady next time he sees her. Might help her to see she is being an entitled fuckwit

Fucksandflowers · 27/05/2019 22:25

i’m a dog owner. I wouldn’t be mortified. My dog would never get the opportunity to jump up a stranger

I was the poster who said that.

You never really know for sure, animals can sometimes behave in unexpected ways.

My dog is rarely on lead, but, that is because she ignores strangers and has really good recall.

I can’t ever imagine my dog running and jumping up at somebody, it would be very out of character but if she did, I would indeed be absolutely mortified and extremely apologetic.

The dogs owner behaved appallingly, no doubt about that.

Roussette · 27/05/2019 22:26

This is weird. I spoke about my untrained NDNs dog. It would always jump up at me if I stood anywhere near my neighbour when chatting in our road. I don't. I stand 6 feet or more away as I chat to my NDN. The dog is on a lead but will always lunge at me if I get any closer because it hasn't been trained properly.

Original poster
BaitandSwitch · 27/05/2019 22:31

I'm off to bed. I cannot believe what some posters have come out with on this thread though delighted that there are plenty of people who talk sense and have been supportive. I guess that's mumsnet for you.

OP posts:
Roussette · 27/05/2019 22:33

I'm glad I don't know your DB UncleJamie. For his dog to have drawn blood a few times, is feckin awful. Why should we have to learn techniques to cope with this? I don't want to learn techniques to cope with unruly dogs. I want their owners to control them enough that they don't draw blood whenever they're excited.

AmeriAnn · 27/05/2019 22:33

No wonder the British police haven't got time to investigate crimes when they have people reporting friendly dogs who get carried away with their greetings.

And no wonder the UK has become a nanny state.

Lizzie48 · 27/05/2019 22:33

One point for those posters pushing the OP about how it was that the dog could reach her DH’s face, and poking fun about it. The OP wasn’t there, so she won’t know the answer to that question!

YANBU to be cross about this, OP, I would be. Especially as my DH is actually allergic to dogs. It wasn’t an attack but it was very irresponsible behaviour on the part of the dog owner.

Roussette · 27/05/2019 22:34

Nobody has reported this to the Police AmeriAnn. I don't call a dog who scratches someone's face in 4 places 'friendly'.

holdingonbyathread · 27/05/2019 22:37

Interactions with dogs are so relative to each individuals experiences and tolerance. Even if a 'friendly' dog bounded up to me, clambered up on my chest and 'accidentally' scratched my face 4 times - I'd feel I was attacked and I'd want the dog (and owner) dealt with. I despise dogs. I despise owners more because every dog owner I come across things it's funny or cute or friendly when their dog runs at you, paws you, slobbers on you, because 'they won't hurt you' or 'they're just being friendly'...I don't f**king care. If I let my child run at you, clamber into your personal space, put chocolate sticky fingers all over your clothes, run through your picnic food, lick you and said 'ha ha, isn't he just being friendly'.....well.

OP yanbu.

AnyFarrahFowler · 27/05/2019 22:40

OP you need to report this to the local dog warden. The owner clearly had no control over the dog and then to laugh and minimise what happened is appalling. I have found my local dog warden to be very helpful - at my local park, dogs must be on a lead between 1pm-5pm and they really crack down on people ignoring this rule. It makes the park a much more pleasant place to be to know dogs are under control and children can play/people can walk without being bothered by dogs who are “only saying hello”.

mabelsgarden · 27/05/2019 22:40

@AmeriAnn

No wonder the British police haven't got time to investigate crimes when they have people reporting friendly dogs who get carried away with their greetings.

Just when I thought this thread had reached peak batshittiness! WTF have I just read? Confused

'just because friendly dogs get carried away with their greetings!'

Please tell me this is not a serious post! Confused

And as for THIS comment by @Dippypippy1980

Can I ask this gently- is your husband a vulnerable adult?

Words fail me. Holy. Fucking. Shit. Confused

No wonder the OP has bailed on the thread.

I agree with a pp upthread, the entitled dog owners who think they and their mutts can do no wrong are standing out a mile! Hmm

Dippypippy1980 · 27/05/2019 22:41

I mainly reacted to her husband not being able to handle the situation himself, and her stepping in. I haven’t been able to clarify if he is a vulnerable adult adult which might explain her desire to have a confrontation with the dog owner on his behalf.

While the dog owner should none able to control the dog, it sounds like the hubby hasn’t objected to the jumping up before - he needs to assertively ask for this to stop. If he can’t verbalise his wishes, Then his wife should do this for him.

I still don’t think it was an attack. I dislike the use of inflammatory language. The dog jumped up in a greeting. It shouldn’t have. But I have been attached by a dog - they bite and don’t let go.

Terriere · 27/05/2019 22:43

I had a shouting match last year with a similar type of dog-owner who allowed his spaniel to jump all over our picnic and clearly expected us to laugh it off indulgently.

This woman was highly irresponsible and selfish and yanbu to feel upset about it.

Dippypippy1980 · 27/05/2019 22:45

But why could an adult not handle this situation? I have experinice with vulnerable adults (for a wide variety off reasons) and it would explain the shock, the inability to confront the owner and the wife’s insistence that she manage it herself on his behalf.

If I was scratched in a park by a dog, my boyfriend would not want to go and shout at the dog owner. He would tell me to ask her to put it on a lead next time.

Dippypippy1980 · 27/05/2019 22:48

Mabelsgarden there is also no need to be so rude. If someone posts their story in AIBU we can all ask questions and give opinions.

Roussette · 27/05/2019 22:49

I mainly reacted to her husband not being able to handle the situation himself, and her stepping in

It sounds very normal to me. Her DH was in mild shock and probably wanted to come home. I can imagine my DH being exactly the same and he is not a vulnerable adult! He'd say to me it was 'whatshername' down the road and I'd be wanting to give her a piece of my mind if she laughed it off. My DH would say, just leave it, don't make a fuss. I would leave it but in the heat of the moment and seeing his face bleeding that is what I would want to do.

Dippypippy1980 · 27/05/2019 22:50

Okay, I was only asking😀

2toddlers · 27/05/2019 22:54

That needs reporting, its done that to an adult male, imagine if it was a toddler or a baby in a pram. It sounds out of control. Your husband might not want a fuss making but that owner is irresponsible and needs telling.

Hope he's ok.

Roussette · 27/05/2019 22:55

It's just about having someone's back isn't it Dippy

FuckMNDoubleStandards · 27/05/2019 22:56

Perhaps just stick to chat if you want to get things off of your chest as AIBU will create further dialogue and challenges. If you're not willing to accept different opinions or being asked further questions or for more information, AIBU is not the place to post. Go to chat, it's really that simple.

LilQueenie · 27/05/2019 22:56

Get on the phone to the police regardless of what he wants. If the dog can do this to a grown man imagine what it could do to a child.

BenWillbondsPants · 27/05/2019 22:59

@Dippypippy1980, If it's any consolation, Mabelsgarden was also rude to me upthread when I asked politely about one of her posts. It really should be possible to have a conversation on here without being snarky or rude.