Untrained neighbour dog. WWYD?

[ERest]

Hello, thought I would get some opinions on the below scenario but not enabling voting as a twofold question. I live a few doors away from a family with one of those small cutey dogs, not sure what breed. It is however very fierce and frequently gets away from its owners to harass people. It has stopped me from getting down from my car before, after appearing from no where and running round my car while barking continously till the lady eventually emerged 5 minutes later to get it. That was not the first time either. This week however, it has chased my sibling twice on their way to work (she lives with me at the moment). We were all standing by the door as she left, 3 adults and my little one, so saw the entire scene unfold. The lady was walking the dog with her two kids. The older child, probably 6 or 7 was holding the dog. As soon as my sister got to street level and the dog sighted her, it tore after her and dragged the child down till she tripped. My sister had to take refuge on a car further down the street to get away from the dog! The owner just said: "the dog is just a baby, it won't bite" in a dismissive manner. This was really annoying to hear as this is a repetitive issue! To make things worse, the car owner has just come round to check if my sister was alright, but also to say her car has a scratch and it is due to be collected on Monday as it has been sold. She is planning to come back later with her husband as she is worried the buyer would not want it now. So for my AIBU which is twofold:

1. What can be done about neighbours dog, especially if the same happens again? Can we report a dog for terrorising neighbours?
2. If the car owner presents a bill for car scratches, who should pay it, my sister or would she be unreasonable to pass it on to the dog owner?

All these people saying the sister was over-reacting.

Family friends have a six year old border terrier - so a small, cute looking dog they have had from a puppy. It is absolutely not under control and they just don't take it seriously.

I met them by chance and we went for a coffee outside a cafe. The dog barked the entire time and kept jumping up and attempting to attack any other passing dog. Luckily, his lead was trapped under the chair leg so he couldn't actually reach anyone else (or me!), but the noise was incredible and really disruptive for everyone around. Every now and then, one of the couple would say 'Shush' but otherwise nothing.

They called to see my parents, went down the side of the house to the back garden, let the dog off the lead and he ran round and round barking madly, straight through the flower beds, and knocking the top off the bird bath. When they eventually caught him, BOTH showed their hands/ forearms which were covered with bite marks from the previous week bad enough to have required medical treatment. 'Sometimes he gets a bit carried away'.

Yet they still say 'He's only playing / being friendly' and can't understand why we are so wary of him.

Untrained, out of control, small dogs are scary and can cause injury. It is reasonable to try to escape.

Yes dog bites can be nasty even from small dogs, but not so nasty I'd jump on a car to escape. Wasp stings and cat scratches can be nasty and require medical treatment, but I wouldn't jump on a car to get away from a wasp or cat either. Bull on the loose, maybe.

Assuming I was dressed for work I'd push it away with my foot, it's unlikely to bite through a shoe too badly.

I mean if the sister is on blood thinners wearing ballet flats and was in fear of her life I'll take it back.

There wasn't a car crash though DewDew. A woman jumped on it. Completely incomparable situation. Dog is a red herring.
Now you're being daft. Are you really trying to say that, even if it wasn't for the out of control dog, she would have jumped on the car regardless?

The dog was dangerously out of control, within the meaning of the Dangerous Dogs Act. Clambering onto a nearby car, to avoid being bitten, is an entirely reasonable and understandable in the circumstances.

Yes, if the dog owners were sued directly by the car owners then I would expect them to argue that the reaction of jumping onto the car was an intervening event (for the purposes of denying causation) but I don't think they'd be successful.

Your sister is totally nuts. No normal person jumps ONTO someone else's car. That's not normal behaviour! The dog wasn't attacking her, just ran towards her. What is wrong with you and your sister?!

Very odd of your sister to climb onto a car.
If a dog actually attacked me or my child I’d kick it , not climb on a car

Perhaps try carrying a dog deterrent spray in the short term (no idea if these work), but yes, the owner needs to be told to control her dog. I guess this is something the police would deal with if it is causing a nuisance generally. Speak to your neighbours to see who else has had a bad experience with the dog/owner.

My sister’s dog bit my ankle, fortunately I was wearing boots but I still felt his teeth. She thought it was funny and he was only playing. It wasn’t funny when he bit the dog-sitter on the hand the following week; she needed several stitches. The dog was put down that day. The vet said he suspected it was the onset of dementia.
I would never trust a dog, especially around children.

Contact the dog warden at the local council and tell them about it. They will know what to do.

@XelaM

Your sister is totally nuts. No normal person jumps ONTO someone else's car. That's not normal behaviour! The dog wasn't attacking her, just ran towards her. What is wrong with you and your sister?!

Yeah this.... I'd be raging if I was the car owner, especially in her situation where it's just been sold!

Very odd of your sister to climb onto a car.
If a dog actually attacked me or my child I’d kick it , not climb on a car

Climbing onto a car or other elevated service is sometimes recommended as a means of avoiding a dog attack (www.chp.edu/injury-prevention/safety/home-and-yard/dog-bites). Kicking one generally is not.

@DewDew83

There wasn't a car crash though DewDew. A woman jumped on it. Completely incomparable situation. Dog is a red herring. Now you're being daft. Are you really trying to say that, even if it wasn't for the out of control dog, she would have jumped on the car regardless?

The dog was dangerously out of control, within the meaning of the Dangerous Dogs Act. Clambering onto a nearby car, to avoid being bitten, is an entirely reasonable and understandable in the circumstances.

Yes, if the dog owners were sued directly by the car owners then I would expect them to argue that the reaction of jumping onto the car was an intervening event (for the purposes of denying causation) but I don't think they'd be successful.

Are you the sister?

I’m a dog owner and lover, but don’t necessarily think your sister was unreasonable to jump on a car. While I’d confidently take on a small dog, if you’d said ‘whacking great Alsatian/Doberman/Rottweiler’ then I’d definitely be jumping on a car to get away.
I think some people are more naturally frightened of dogs, and even a small one is scary.
Cultural sensitivity seems to be lacking in some of the comments as I’ve found people who may not be of White European heritage don’t have a culture of pet owning, and view our ‘cute little pups’ as dirty disease carrying beasts with the potential to savage one on sight.
I lived in Wembley for a while, and a crowded street would part like the Red Sea when I took my little King Charles Spaniel (who was the kindest sweetest looking little dog you could ever wish to see) down the road. A great tall youth jumped out of my way shouting ‘get that thing away from me’ when she walked past on a lead and turned as though to sniff him. I googled this and read that dogs are considered impure in Islam, and that ritual washing may be required after contact.
The dog has caused alarm and distress which is against the law. Report to police. If you receive bill for car, pass to dog owner. I would hope their pet is insured...?

Thank you all for your comments, even those who feel my sister was overreacting. She was truly frightened of the dog, small or not and this was the second time it had chased her down the street so there was precedent for her to get away from it. I have seen the harm even small dogs can inflict and this one does not appear friendly at all. I know some dog owners don't get it and feel the same way this dog owner does, but your dog is not my friend and if it breaks away from you to rush toward a stranger in a run, that stranger must either be very comfortable with dogs or is probably frozen to the spot if they remain unmoved. She is still away at work, but I will show her this tbread when she returns so she can decide next best steps. It woild also depend on the car owners decision.
I think the lack of concern by it's owner is what made me start this thread. She basically shrugged it off as though it was not her problem, which makes me concerned we have not seen the last of this behaviour. by the dog. For everyone saying it's a little dog, just kick it away; you will probably be out enmasse to say YABU if the title of this thread was: My sister kicked a dog running at her today and the dog is hurt. Now the owner is asking her to cover vet bills.
The dog is not trained and is a nuisance. One should not wait to be bitten before this becomes obvious.

@Blueuggboots*@Hankunamatata @gardeninggirl68* views noted about the damage and the car owner is more than justified to be upset in this scenario. The aibu though is who about who is responsible for the scratches, as one action caused the reaction that led to the scratches.
I agree @DinkyDiggies. dogs frighten some people and most people who grew up comfortably around dogs do not understand this or see things beyond their context at times.
Thanks. @DewDew83
@XelaM actually, we don't know that wasn't its intention as she didn't wait around to be bitten.
@lyntheyresexpeople yes, I imagine the car owner will be upset, but my sister did not see the car and think:' ooh, that would make a lovely trampoline.'
Thanks @aerosocks @tac@TacoSunday. Good advice
@Waspsarearseholes*@Scarby9@Pottedpalm @Nobranothanks* thanks for understanding this!
@frumpety I am not sure. Looks like a pomeranian but I am not 100% certain. I can't know if it has bitten anyone yet as that would mean knocking on doors to ask as I doubt the owner would volunteer suchh information.
Sorry. If I have missed anyone's questions.

I'd have called the police the second after your sister climbed down from her perch! My sister years ago got chased by a pit bull who broke out of his fenced in yard as she walked from a bus stop she ran into an intersection and a lady in her car let her jump inside to escape from being attacked. Until the authorities take control I'd carry a Louisville slugger with me

By the way (for next time) running away from a dog just makes it want to chase. That's not a good reaction if you want the dog to leave.

@EKGEMS That's quite a different situation. A Pit Bull can kill you. A small Pomeranian can't maul an adult woman

We have a dog so aren't anti dog.

But DH got badly bitten by a toy dog, he needed a lot of stitches.

Small dogs also have nasty bite capability.

Presumably the car is insured. In this situation the car owner should claim from their insurers who will make a decision about whether to pursue the OP's sister to recover their costs.

The OP's sister could, at that point decide whether to claim the money back from the dog's owner, who should, as a minimum have insurance covering her for third party claims.

In the meantime the OP's sister should report the incident to the dog warden or the police. The dog was clearly out of control and I say that as a dog owner.

I mean if the sister is on blood thinners wearing ballet flats and was in fear of her life I'll take it back.

This annoys me so much. People seem to think that having a small dog absolves them of the responsibility of training it. I have a large GSD type dog - if she did this, I’m sure she’d be reported. Please report OP, as others have said, small dogs can still give a nasty bite - especially to children

She fled from a ....Pomeranian puppy? This must be a wind up. Just because it barks doesn't mean it will bite. It's likely trying to play. The owner should be in control of it and it's not ok to let it bark at people but this seems like a massive over reaction. Just stand still and it will give you sniff and bugger off.

@Yahtze

She fled from a ....Pomeranian puppy? This must be a wind up. Just because it barks doesn't mean it will bite. It's likely trying to play. The owner should be in control of it and it's not ok to let it bark at people but this seems like a massive over reaction. Just stand still and it will give you sniff and bugger off.

Pomeranians can have nasty bites - as can all small/toy dogs.

Just because the dog is small doesn't mean it can't be vicious. The most aggressive dogs I know are Jack Russells and Dachshunds!

I would report the whole incident, all of the dog incidents, to the police. It is illegal to have a dog dangerously out of control and that is what is happening. The car decision makes sense to me. Who has liability to pay for damage I do not know - it was not vandalism due to the reason for doing it.

If that dog was chasing a child there could be a road accident, it needs sorting out. All they need is a lead FFS.

Sister should pay for the car. Jumping onto a car is a crazy thing to do, she should have just kicked the dog.

Tell the neighbours they need to keep control of the dog when it is outside their house. If it attacks you or any of your family again you are going to kick it as hard as you can in self defence, and you have zero intention of covering any vet bills. In addition, you will report it as a dangerous dog to the council so if it bites anyone it will be destroyed.

You need to show them you mean business. I couldn't cope living next to a dog like this and would have belted it the first time it attacked me.

Why wait for another incident? Report what has happened so far.