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?

@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.

The sister ran and the dog ran after her, obviously the dog was going to chase.

I sympathise, but if people are that scared of dogs they could also help themselves by learning what behaviours are likely to get the reaction they don't want.

Thanks and we will wait to see what the car owner comes back with. They are yet to turn up, so may be getting quotes and all. Seems like the greater consensus is to pay for the scratches then pursue the dog owner for the cost as well as get the to train their dog either through the warden or a police report. I have no idea if we have a dog warden, but my council is not small so fairly sure we should.
I really don’t want to hit a dog as I love animals and so does my sister. We grew up with several, and I have seen many, many well behaved dogs on my walks which I even stroke where the owner is happy for me to, as I don’t stroke strange dogs even if they come up to me for one without permission.
This one does look really crazed, and walking about with an umbrella every time we leave the house for a walk is not practical to be honest as we are more likely to forget than not. They have only be here since the spring too, so too many incidences already which seem to be escalating. We will report this, so at least have some evidence if this continues or it escalates to a bite. It has chased my 8 year old previously and he had to run back home. I don’t want a Situation where we are now too scared to get exercise because a dog is only ‘yappy’ as some responses have indicated. I have also seen this dog fly out of their kitchen window to chase someone, as their house design has their kitchen facing the street and the large window is easily to climb out of if a table or chair is close to it.

Report to your local dog warden. Out of control dogm

Yes to reporting. I’ve suffered from a chihuahua type dog chasing me and being aggressive and it’s very unpleasant, it’s known for being a nasty little sod and it’s owner indulges it.
TBH if i found myself in the situation where it did it again I’d kick it off me.

The dog owner needs to be reported to the police as it was out of control and could have caused a more serious incident. When walking it's advisable to use a harness, and to be careful not to use an extendable lead in crowded areas.

I've had five dogs of my own that I was able to physically hold when lead walking. You have to accept that there are people who are nervous around dogs and be considerate.

Your sister will probably have to pay for any damage she did to the car at least initially but I think she should seek to reclaim it from the dog owner.

She jumped on a car? That's not a normal reaction to being 'attacked' by a small yappy dog

Yes it is. Maybe unusual, but perfectly normal. I know two people who've had to do it.

but I wouldn't jump on a car to get away from a wasp or cat either
But a cat or a wasp could follow you. There'd be no point.

It does not matter if it was a large dog, small dog or puppy. It is aggressive and not under control of it’s owner. Your sister was frightened and did what she could to remove herself from any potential injury.

Most definitely report to police or dog warden. In fact, perhaps police to get a police report in regards to the damage to the car.

I think getting a dog repellent or dog horn to have in hand until this person sorts out the dog (if they ever do) as clearly they’re bad dog owners. Use the repellent or dog horn as needed. They’ll soon walk another route at least.

She jumped on a car to get away from a tiny dog? Seriously? Of course she has to pay for the damage, it doesn't matter how it happened.

Why on earth didn't she just kick it away from her? It's not exactly a Dobermann is it?

I love dogs but if an aggressive little one attacked me, I wouldn't be running from it or hiding in my car, just kick it, it'll think twice before doing it again.

Thank you all for your thoughts, advice and views. They have been truly helpful including those that think it was an over reaction. We have now reported this to the council and they have confirmed they will pass it on to the dog warden as they agree this is a nuisance dog situation. They have also advised that we report it to the police as the owner does not seem to be able to control their dog.
We will deal with the car situation when/if they turn up.
I am unlikely to post any more updates except something unexpected happens. Have a lovely weekend, you lovely mumsnetters!

I'd just equip myself with some firm boots for next time I was out...

But perhaps more sensibly, report your neighbour for having a dangerous dog.

@igelkott2021

Do be warned if it is a small fluffy breed, theres a good chance you won't be taken very seriously if the owner IS already taking action

Really? I find it's usually the smaller dogs that are yappy and snappy and the larger dogs just walk past you and show no interest whatsoever.

Yes it is often small dogs that are yappy.. thats not what I said.

I said IF it is reported, and they are already taking things seriously its likely further action won't be taken, because its a little dog.

If it were a big dog, even IF action is already being taken by the owners, theres a good chance dog warden would take things further, simply because bigger dogs are much more likely to do more damage, whether friendly or not, due to their size.

The law states that a dog must cause someone 'reasonable apprehension of injury'... a court may deem it NOT reasonable to be scared of a tiny fluffy dog in some situations.. (and they may think it totally reasonable in others), no matter how dog phobic the person making the complaint happens to be.

@XelaM Thanks for the clarification-I would've prolly yelled to dog owner "Control him or they're going to get kicked" and followed through and I love dogs