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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

My dog bit another dog.......

86 replies

kinnies · 07/01/2010 01:55

Dh took our dog out late the other night.

He kept our dog on a lead as we always do as our dog dislikes other male dogs.

They were on a comunal bit of grass, heading for nearby woods when our neighbour let her dog out her front door. She just opened her door and her dog ran out growling and barking at Dh and our dog. Neighbours dog ran right up to dh and he froze. Our dog reacted. He came round Dh and put himself in between Dh and neighbours dog.He snarled and and neighbours dog ran home with his tail between his legs.

We found out the next day that our dog had in fact bitten the neighbours dog. Dh did not realise this at the time as it was dark and was over in a flash. Had he known the dog had been bitten he would of corse told the owners.

The next day, my neighbour hammered on my door and conplained that our dog was out of controll and we should pay her vet bill.
I said that I was sorry for her dog and wished it a speedy recovery but I did not feel that we were responsable for the incedent as it was her dog who ran up to Dh growling and our dog acted in defence of Dh and himself. I think she is a twit to just let her dog run out of her garden and growl at people (I have had to shoo it away from Dc many times) The thing is she has said she will go and tell everyone she knows how horrid we all are. Would normaly not care as much but we have only just moved here and she works at Ds school.

I'm hormonal so want to know if I'm bu and what to do to stop this trouble before it gets out of hand.

OP posts:

ChilloHippi · 07/01/2010 10:13

Exactly Grimma!

rainbowinthesky · 07/01/2010 10:15

So how does the op know her dog doesnt like other male dogs then if it hasnt shown any aggressive tendencies before to other dogs?

ChilloHippi · 07/01/2010 10:16

It's not unusual for dogs to dislike other dogs. It doesn't make it a dangerous animal that needs to be muzzled. It means it is best to keep it on a lead, which it was.

rainbowinthesky · 07/01/2010 10:18

Yes, that's true, chillihippo.

claw3 · 07/01/2010 10:19

Ok OP didnt say that her dog was agressive, she said that her dog 'dislikes' other male dogs and that it bit another dog. Would that not make it aggressive?

Lets say a passive male dog ran up to her dog and got bitten, would the fact that her dog was on a lead and the other dog wasnt make a difference?

ChilloHippi · 07/01/2010 10:21

Yes it would make a difference.

ShinyAndNew · 07/01/2010 10:21

Claw3, yes it would make a difference. A well trained, well socialised dog, wouldn't run upto another on leash dog.

My dog is rubbish at recall and loves to try an intiate play with other dogs on or off leash. If he got bit by on leash that would be my fault for not haviong him properly under control. Which is why he is always on leash and we are getting a trainer out as soon as the ice dissapears.

ChilloHippi · 07/01/2010 10:24

Shiny is right, it is the fault of the owner whose dog is off the lead and approaching a dog on the lead.

midori1999 · 07/01/2010 10:27

chillohippi what a load of tosh! If you know your dog doesn't like other dogs, and a bite is therefore possible, it is responsible to have it muzzled in public. Whether or not other people are being irresponsible and allowing their dogs up to you is not the point, people are irresponsible so you must act accordingly with your own dog.

It is not especialy uncommon for dogs that are leashe dot be a bit 'offish' with other dogs, but that also does not make it normal. All of my dogs are very well socialised and wouldnt' think the be aggressive or defensive with another dog if it approached them whilst they were ona lead. They also wouldnt' bite even if it was aggressive towards them, they would act accordingly, which, for a well socialised dog is to passify the other dog, or for one not so passive to show itdispleasure by body language, growling and maybe a snap. For a dog that is well socialased, a bite would be and absolute, absolute last resort. Mine are all entire bitches and act the same way if approached by an over amourous dog aswell.

ChilloHippi · 07/01/2010 10:29

But it's not all dogs that a dog on the lead doesn't like, usually. (BTW my dogs have no problems with other dogs, just people ).
When I have my dog off the lead, and I see a dog that is on a lead, I put mine on the lead too and would never let mine approach the dog on a lead.

ChilloHippi · 07/01/2010 10:30

So less of the you please. I am not the OP.

midori1999 · 07/01/2010 10:32

I would also nto allow my dogs to approach other that are on alead, I don't leash them though, if I ask them to walk to heel, they do so.

However, the fact is, people do allow their dogs to approach others and you have to be prepared for every eventuality.

What IF it was achild that approached the dog and got bitten, would people see that differentl? Shoudl the dog be muzzled then, even, had the owner previously known the dog didn't like children? Despite the fact the child should not have been allowed to approach the dog in the first place?

claw3 · 07/01/2010 10:32

Shiny, im not saying it was the op's fault.

Just that personally if i knew my dog 'disliked' other male dogs i would muzzle him.

Im assuming that the op knows her dog 'dislikes' other male dogs because he acts aggressively towards them.

ChilloHippi · 07/01/2010 10:33

Midori, that's a completely different thing.

midori1999 · 07/01/2010 10:35

Why on earth is it different?

ChilloHippi · 07/01/2010 10:36

Because children aren't dogs

midori1999 · 07/01/2010 10:42

Oh, so it's ok to allow your dog to bite another dog, but not a child, purely because a dog is not a child?!

Maybe it's because I class myself as a particularly responsible owner, but I would be mortified beyond all belief if my dog bit another, whatever the circumstances. Even if the other person was in some way at fault. Dog bites od happen, btu alls ould be done to prvent them, and keeping a dog leashed clearly isn't enough.

midori1999 · 07/01/2010 10:43

Oh, so it's ok to allow your dog to bite another dog, but not a child, purely because a dog is not a child?!

Maybe it's because I class myself as a particularly responsible owner, but I would be mortified beyond all belief if my dog bit another, whatever the circumstances. Even if the other person was in some way at fault. Dog bites do happen, but all should be done to prevent them, and keeping a dog leashed clearly isn't enough.

Had the Op's dog been a large, pwoerful breed, and the neighbours dog been asmall, lap type dog that was seriously injured or killed by the bite, would that also be purely the neighbours fault? Same situation, but different outcome.

Both dog owners are at fault here.

GrimmaTheNome · 07/01/2010 10:45

One difference is that children are stupid relative to dogs when it comes to canine interactions. So they need more protection.

A non-agressive dog is pretty unlikely to get bitten by a leashed dog because dogs warn each other, give out signals.

weefriend · 07/01/2010 10:50

If there's a chance your dog is going to be aggressive then it should be muzzled. Muzzling isn't an act of cruelty. If the muzzle is properly introduced to the dog it won't have an issues with wearing it and it will just be part of the routine much like putting the lead on when you go out for a walk. A Baskerville muzzle would do the job.

So OP YABU because you obviously didn't have adequate control over your dog if it managed to bite. It should be muzzled. However YANBU to think the other dog was completely out of control and provoked the incident so I don't think the other owner has any particular claim against you.

I have to take issue with the idea that it is normal for a dog to bite another dog that approaches it. Mine hides behind me if he's threatened and that's just the way I like it. I don't want him getting into a fight. Dog fights can be brutal!

midori1999 · 07/01/2010 10:53

"A non-agressive dog is pretty unlikely to get bitten by a leashed dog because dogs warn each other, give out signals"

The whole point is, dogs that aren't socialised properly are not able to understand those signals and that is why problems occur.

It's quite unlikely that all male dogs the Op's dog has met have been aggressive, yet the blanket statement was made that he dislikes all male dogs.

ShinyAndNew · 07/01/2010 10:53

Both owners are at fault yes. The ops dog shoud be better trained and socialised. AS I said in my first reply. However I don't think it warrents being muzzled. Unless it is a dog that is difficult to control even on the lead. Surely it being on the lead means that if it did bite another off the elad it could be pulled off instantly.

The op hasn't given any indication that the dog is aggressive towards children. My fathers dog dislikes children. He is not aggressive towards them as such, but does not like being approached by them. Hence I keep him away from children when I am walking him. I shorten his leash and cross the road to avoid groups of children. If a child did happen to come running up to him, I would have enough control over the dog to be able to ask the child to leave the dog alone.

I'm presuming the op has that same control with her dog, when confroted with dogs that are not behaving aggressively?

Rubyrubyruby · 07/01/2010 11:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

dreamingofsun · 07/01/2010 11:02

my dog is a cocker spaniel who adores running around in the woods and saying hi to other dogs she meets (with me walking along the path). so are some of you saying that this isn't acceptable and i must have her on a lead/put her on one every time i meet another dog in case she goes up to them? This seems a bit unreasonable/impractical and surely the emphasis should be on the agressive dog being controlled? Not the one that has never even growled?

pranma · 07/01/2010 11:02

Your dog bit another dog when it felt that it or its owner was under attack.The other dog attacked.You have nothing to reproach yourself with,your dog did not bite a person,it bit a dog.YANBU.

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