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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dog attacked me and I want to address it with the owner who lives next door…

46 replies

Flappypants · 26/08/2023 22:44

I would like some advice please….I live in a terraced house with gardens that back on to an open parking area. We all have gates and can keep our gardens enclosed. I moved in in January and from day one I have noticed that the neighbour to one side has the yappiest little dog (a Mini Pin) in the world. It attacks the fence whenever we are in the garden and goes completely berserk. As a dog person, I understand that it hasn’t had adequate training or attention or boundaries and that it is protecting its territory. I have heard it yelp in pain when it has had a particularly frantic barking “sesh”….I think they hit it.

I should add that I have two children, 7 and 11 who are pretty dog savvy and are used to being around large animals.

This afternoon I popped into the garden and out through my gate. In a flash the dog had rushed to me barking madly and it went for my leg. It was a frantic and mental moment, I kicked out at it and yelled to the man to keep it under control, and shouted that it could have been my children it attacked. The man apologised saying he had forgotten to shut the gate and he sent it in throwing some garden waste at it as it ran away.

AIBU to write a letter saying unless he gets it under control immediately I will call the police and get them to rehome it or they must keep it locked away (totally unreasonable obviously)? Just want the damn thing under close control before it hurts someone (and for us to be able to get outside and enjoy our own space without the fence bowing with the force of even such a small animal throwing itself at it with all its might…such as it is)! I know it’s not exactly a huge animal but still….

Where do I stand legally? Where does the owner stand? The children don’t want to go in the garden any more.

Help most gratefully received. Photo is not of the dog in question, just to keep the post visible!

Dog attacked me and I want to address it with the owner who lives next door…
OP posts:
YellowReadingLamp · 26/08/2023 22:51

I would report the incident to the local dog warden.

The dog needs an intervention - reporting the incident will set the wheels in motion.

Otherwise - next time it could be a child and they could potentially suffer awful injuries/trauma.

Yetanothernewname101 · 26/08/2023 22:51

Speak to the council dog warden about it. I'm not sure if the police could seize the dog as a dangerous animal unless it actually caused you harm, it's unclear from your post if it did.
The thing is, you've potentially got to live next door to them for a long time. Did they apologize to you, see if you were okay? Or do they just seem like they don't really care?

ItJustFellOutLikeWordVomit · 26/08/2023 22:54

YANBU the very least I would say is when the dog isn’t indoors it needs to have a mussel on….and I’m very much a dog person who does the ultimate MN sin of walking her dog off the lead. Mine would/does take her ball to my neighbours if I’m not paying her attention/looking but would immediately lose interest if they weren’t up for a game of fetch (she’s great with all people and children they could do anything to her: and before I get jumped on she’s been around many toddlers who can’t quite grasp how to “clap” a dog and if she doesn’t like the attention just walks away) and even at that I try to discourage her from taking her ball to people so your neighbours dog is in a different league which is 1000% unacceptable xx

Original poster
Flappypants · 26/08/2023 23:01

It bit my leg I think (it definitely had a go) but it all happened so fast….I was wearing jeans and I reacted quickly so it didn’t get any purchase. But it could have got my skin for sure and my kids saw it all happen from the back door.

He did say sorry (I even apologised for shouting at him and the dog - so British🙄🙄🙄) but I pointed out that it could well have been one of my children….he said he’d forgotten to shut the back door and he went on to throw things at it until it scarpered back into the house. It’s a horrible dog at the best of times but it is absolutely a product of its training and environment (such as it is). It’s a very aggressive animal, I think on constant high alert and defence mode. I get it, it’s not the dog’s fault at all….so surely the owner needs brining into line?

I hate asking this question but I wonder if it’s cultural….they don’t speak much English? I’d welcome guidance.

OP posts:
WifeofJamieFraser · 26/08/2023 23:05

It bit my leg I think

Did the dog bite you or not? If it bit you’d have felt pain.

Original poster
Flappypants · 26/08/2023 23:08

It tried to bite my leg which I felt but it didn’t make any kind of mark and didn’t particularly hurt as I was wearing jeans.

OP posts:
Original poster
Flappypants · 26/08/2023 23:11

The point is it ran at full tilt at me and went for my leg with my children watching. I had to kick it to get it away from me. It has a history of aggressive behaviour and it has now tried to bite my leg….what is my position and what is his? Imagine if it had been a much bigger dog? And/or had been one of the children?

OP posts:
WifeofJamieFraser · 26/08/2023 23:18

You said in an earlier post “It bit my leg I think”. It either sunk its teeth into you or didn’t. In a later post you said “it tried to bite my leg”. So which one was it OP?

Stop being dramatic and if you’re worried report it to the Dog Warden as others have advised.

ItJustFellOutLikeWordVomit · 26/08/2023 23:25

It really doesn’t matter if the dog managed to get a hold of her leg, dogs can’t be aggressively running up on anyone it’s as if it’s different to have be in the scenario when you ask yourself if a dog is aggressive while running or is just an undertrained and trying to play. This annoys to so many levels basically owners with a dog under 5kg thinking people need to prove their dog was a dick and that they were almost ok to act in whatever manner because they are small….while the same people claim owners like me: a 25kg collie from working stock (she’s in good shape but is quite big/ ta and muscly for a bitch) who would never run up on anyone shapely always be walked on a lead

Womencanlift · 26/08/2023 23:29

Forget that you had jeans on so it may/may not have pierced your skin. It obviously had an intent to bite you

No idea why you are even contemplating this, especially with kids around. I would have been straight on the phone to report it. Apology or not from your neighbour

LivStanshall · 26/08/2023 23:37

My council calls its service Animal Welfare, presumably to cover all animals rather than just dogs, and I would definitely contact them. It’s irrelevant that the dog didn’t injure your leg because you were wearing jeans. It still rushed at you and tried to attack you. Good luck, I hope you can get some help with this.

junebirthdaygirl · 26/08/2023 23:47

Could you get one of those zappers that every time he barks you can hit it until he learns to stop.

EmilyBrontesGhost · 26/08/2023 23:50

junebirthdaygirl · 26/08/2023 23:47

Could you get one of those zappers that every time he barks you can hit it until he learns to stop.

OMG.

Which dungeons of hell have you risen up from . . .

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr · 26/08/2023 23:52

Magic steak over the fence.

Deathbyfluffy · 26/08/2023 23:54

Womencanlift · 26/08/2023 23:29

Forget that you had jeans on so it may/may not have pierced your skin. It obviously had an intent to bite you

No idea why you are even contemplating this, especially with kids around. I would have been straight on the phone to report it. Apology or not from your neighbour

This. Report it now, and if you feel unsafe in your own property / garden they buy a baseball bat to carry about with you outside.

The little shit won’t get far if you have that with you next time

HeatherMoores · 26/08/2023 23:54

I would contact your council animal warden, and also the RSPCA to tell them you suspect a dog is being mistreated.

Deathbyfluffy · 26/08/2023 23:54

EmilyBrontesGhost · 26/08/2023 23:50

OMG.

Which dungeons of hell have you risen up from . . .

Show quote history

Out of control dogs need to be dealt with, sorry if this upsets you for some bizarre reason.

EmilyBrontesGhost · 26/08/2023 23:55

It has a history of aggressive behaviour

You don't know if it bit you or not, and when challenged on that, now it has a history of aggressive behaviour.

It's tiny, and the poor thing has crap owners who are horrible to it, it's run at you yapping, and what do you want exactly?

What do you want to happen?

EmilyBrontesGhost · 26/08/2023 23:58

Deathbyfluffy · 26/08/2023 23:54

Out of control dogs need to be dealt with, sorry if this upsets you for some bizarre reason.

Show quote history

It's a Min Pin, not a fucking Rottweiler.

Get a grip.

MidnightOnceMore · 26/08/2023 23:58

HeatherMoores · 26/08/2023 23:54

I would contact your council animal warden, and also the RSPCA to tell them you suspect a dog is being mistreated.

This. You need to get something on record about this happening.

Nat6999 · 27/08/2023 00:04

My mum's old neighbour's dog did the same to me, like you I booted it as hard as I could, while yelling at the owner to get her f#%@ing dog in the house & under control. I also told her I would be contacting the dog warden to get both dogs taken off her. I was so angry I could have burst. Funnily enough, she put the house on the market the week after & never let the dogs out again.

Original poster
Flappypants · 27/08/2023 00:06

No one challenged me…it has always been aggressive and today it ran at me and tried to bite my leg and didn’t get any purchase because it got my jeans rather than my skin. Of course it is tiny and has crap owners…I’m not disputing that, but it could hurt my kids and has scared them - they saw it go for me. I want to know what can be done about it before it lashes out and bites someone properly rather than get fabric.

The aggressive behaviour has been there since day one (and clearly well before we came)…every time we go outside and it is also out there in the next garden it goes mental and throws itself at the fence. Doesn’t matter who it is or what the circumstance. The barking is constant. It’s clearly a sad animal and it isn’t its fault but it has gone for someone. I’m trying to understand what can be done about it.

OP posts:
SD1978 · 27/08/2023 06:50

You can report for neglect although that notoriously hard for them to probe and they rarely do anything but reporting as dangerous in the basis that it may have not my leg but didn't, probably isn't going to go very far. I understand you're concerned about your kids- how often do they go unsupervised through the shared gate? This is the first time this has every happened- does he rent or own? Is there someone else you can take your concerns to.

Checkcurtains · 27/08/2023 07:00

The dangerous dog laws so specify an offence is caused if the dog causes injury or causes someone to fear it'll cause injury. So doesn't really matter if it made contact or not.

You wouldn't be able to specify what the police determine the consequence to be though.

I think you probably made your point clear to the owner at the time and now if you don't see improvement dog warden would be the way to go

pickledandpuzzled · 27/08/2023 07:26

I love dogs, but even a minpin that failed to bite through jeans could make a mess of a small child's leg.

I'd ask the neighbour what they are intending to do about the dog, so you can be sure your dc are safe.

That puts the onus on them to assure you it will be adequately controlled, and you can go to the council/police if it's not done.

I'd also consider putting the kids in jeans or wellies while they are playing out the back. Lots of protection in a welly.

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