To be worried about neighbours dogs now? Should I speak to them?

[Elmo311]

Hi all,

So I was leaving my house with my daughter in her pram and our neighbour who has 5 dogs, was outside her house with her front door open.
Whenever I've seen her dogs they have always been on a lead and I have only seen them from
afar.

All 5 dogs saw me and ran out towards me barking, I turned my back to them so that I was facing my daughter, and one of them nipped me on the back of my upper thigh and it really hurt!
(It's the smallest thing ever and only taken off a little bit of skin, but still stung!)

I said "ow that hurt!" (Or something pathetic to that effect!)
The owner called all dogs back and they went back to her pretty quick.
She did apologise. But I was headed out so told her it was ok; and left.

Now, this is something I'm used to as a vet nurse, I get bitten all the time but I'm now worried about my two kids in the future as it all happened so fast, it could have been my son/daughters face if they had been walking next to me. (Son was in nursery today)

Would I BU to voice my worries to the owner about a future incident? Or should I just leave it and make sure I carry my kids past her house in future ?! I know I can't guarantee it won't happen again, and I'd only be speaking to her because I feel anxious now....

I'm now sitting her worrying about my kids, but also not wanting to upset neighbour as the dogs probably were just protecting her!

Help!

Vet nurse here too!
You should absolutely say something, how do you know something won't happen next week and be more serious (instead of your leg, it's your child).

If something were to happen and you hadn't taken action, how awful would you feel then?

Have a good think about your approach. Are you on friendly terms? Do you think you could ask her about how things could be handled in the future?
Legally as her dog was out of control (not on a lead) she could be prosecuted.

@meroyah Thanks for your reply fellow VN! :)

She moved in about 3 months ago and we haven't said more than pleasantries to each other!
I agree, if something happened to the kids I'd be devastated. I will have to speak to her, I'm just not very good at wording things!

YANBU to say something

YANBU - for once this isn't the usual MN dog hysteria - the dog has actually bitten you.

I'd go in on the basis that you're a forgiving sort, but you'd hate for there to be an incident with someone less forgiving who called the police and had her dogs seized. And then strongly suggest the use of baby gates indoors and a garden gate that shuts automatically.

@AvocadosBeforeMortgages Thank you.
That's a good idea. I'm definitely going to speak to her. I hope she listens to me. I'm so worried about the kids now. Ugh!

So she lets her dogs out into the street and isn't in control of them ... she needs to be told that's unacceptable and the consequences may have been far worse than a bite to an adult leg - dies she have a fence and gate?

was she definitely aware that the dog had actually bitten you?? How was she not utterly mortified??

That is awful, I would be terrified of 5 dogs running towards me barking, and I’m a dog owner. I like Avocados idea.

I did say that it hurt, so I'll make sure she knows what happened when I speak to her.
It's kinda a gated community so I was going to the gate to leave and her house is the closest to the big gates if you get what I mean?

I would speak to her and let her know what happened. If you see the dogs off lead again, I would report her to the local authorities.

Honestly, I’d report it to the police and local dog warden. If you’ve been bitten by a dog that is dangerously out of control (which clearly they were), then those dogs present a risk to other people. As a vet nurse you’ll know that dogs can behave very differently when they’re acting together as a pack and potentially present a huge risk to a child. I’m a dog owner, and I would take this incredibly seriously. Five dogs together could seriously injure or even kill a child very quickly.