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Will a dog be put to sleep if it bites a child unprovoked?

53 replies

PinkBump2022 · 14/07/2022 17:52

My child was on her way to school when a dog ran across the road and grabbed the back of her leg. The owner had the dog on an extending leash and managed to pull the dog off. I took my child to hospital for treatment of cleaning the wound stitches and antibiotics. They said we must report this to police so we did. They are coming to take a statement soon. The woman who’s dog it was has contacted me to say she’s bought a muzzle for her dog so this can’t happen again but he’s never been like this before ever he’s an 8 year old dog she’s had him 5 years from a rescue.
will her dog be put to sleep?

OP posts:
worriedatthistime · 14/07/2022 18:22

@blacksax we don't the poster was saying if true then as an owner they would be worried if it did this first time ever etc

worriedatthistime · 14/07/2022 18:23

@AllThingsServeTheBeam no she never but as much of the uk is hot and there are numerous posts up saying not to walk dogs , you can understand why people said it
OP didn't say it happened today either

worriedatthistime · 14/07/2022 18:26

@AllThingsServeTheBeam maybe the person who mentioned the heat thought that may of contributed to the bite
Most dogs do give warnings before biting and have reasons be that poorly trained or provoked etc
As a dog owner if my dog ran across a road to bite someone for no reason , I don't think i could keep him as that would really concern me , any bite is not ok but if someone hurt him i could understand why he may react , but would be horrified if my dog hurt a child as described

ComDummings · 14/07/2022 18:28

I would sincerely hope they would be.

AllThingsServeTheBeam · 14/07/2022 18:28

worriedatthistime · 14/07/2022 18:23

@AllThingsServeTheBeam no she never but as much of the uk is hot and there are numerous posts up saying not to walk dogs , you can understand why people said it
OP didn't say it happened today either

Well I'm in the midlands. Smack bang in the middle of the heatwave area, but yesterday and today have been fine. The national weather this morning said it wasnt going to be over hot today for most. It was red hot at the beginning of the week and the end but I think much of the UK has been pretty ok today. No scorching pavements.

Suzi888 · 14/07/2022 18:31

I hope your child is ok.

Ownedbymycats · 14/07/2022 18:32

I think it's best to leave it up to those who are tasked with making these decisions ie:dog wardens, enforcement officers.Often they impose conditions and do repeat visits to check on progress etc.
I'd be more concerned about how your dc will react to such a terrifying incident.

AllThingsServeTheBeam · 14/07/2022 18:33

Is your daughter ok OP? I hope she isn't too upset by the experience.

Extension leads, especially by a road at just the height of irresponsible

MuthaHubbard · 14/07/2022 18:33

Not always - the court will take into account the wishes of the victim and police will also need to provide the CPS/court with a dog control order, listing what rules need to be in place for that dog - ie always muzzled in public, not allowed off leash etc.
I've been involved cases where the victim has been bitten but didn't want dog putting down as was only companion for elderly neighbour/out of character etc

needprivacynamechange · 14/07/2022 18:33

Personally I think if any dog bites unprovoked it should be put to sleep. I love my dogs but they are animals at the end of the day. Not sure how anyone could argue otherwise what if it's a baby next time

Hellocatshome · 14/07/2022 18:33

blacksax · 14/07/2022 18:17

And how do we know that the owner wasn't lying through her teeth?

I dont 🤔

Glitterspy · 14/07/2022 18:34

I would hope so and I love dogs. If my child bit a child in those circs I would be having it PTS no matter how out of character - I’d never be able to trust again.

Glitterspy · 14/07/2022 18:35

If my dog bit a child!

freudian slip, my dog is my 3rd born obviously 🙄

WaveyHair · 14/07/2022 18:36

Report it. May not be pts but the police can issue a warning in case it happens again.

I have been bitten completely unprovoked. Met it walking down a path. Owner went on about she did but have enough time to train it, she had been ill, if i had a dog with me this would not have happened...etc. dog bit my leg in a few places, if it had been a child it would have been the face.

Wellthatsjustswell · 14/07/2022 18:36

The owner was not in control of the dog so they are likely to be in huge trouble too. Poor DC, I hope it hasn’t traumatised them for life. A friends DD is petrified of dogs since one ran over and leapt at her snarling. Horrible thing to have happened, I hope they have a speedy recovery. I hate extending leads and I am a dog owner! I’ve had someone’s little yappit wrapped round my legs far too often as they chuckle away thinking ‘look at my dog, it’s so funny’ grrrrr!

www.gov.uk/control-dog-public
Penalties
You can get an unlimited fine or be sent to prison for up to 6 months (or both) if your dog is dangerously out of control. You may not be allowed to own a dog in the future and your dog may be destroyed.

If you let your dog injure someone you can be sent to prison for up to 5 years or fined (or both).

Hellocatshome · 14/07/2022 18:37

ParisNoir · 14/07/2022 18:15

I disagree that its "unusual". My labrador had her head down sniffing a patch of grass in the park, wasnt even looking at the bull breed that came running over to her with purpose and almost ripped her neck out. She did not even glance at that dog and it ran over from the other side of the park and attacked her for no reason. Luckily she survived but it turned out it was the second time the dog had attacked another dog completely unprovoked. Of course there are reasons within the dog's own psyche/mental state but they dont have to be provoked for it to attack.

I agree I should have used without a reason rather than unprovoked. There will almost always be a reason even if that reason is just that they are an unsocialised danger to society. Of course just because there is a reason in the dogs mind doesn't make it OK and if this eason can't be identified and worked on the dog should definitely put to sleep.

PinkBump2022 · 14/07/2022 18:38

Thanks for your replies. It happened this morning around 8am it was only around 13 degrees at that time here and only reached 23 at midday. I don’t know the owner personally Iv never met her until this incident so she could be lying and it may have done this before I don’t know for sure. And yes it was completely unprovoked my child is a sensible 12 year old walking alone along a street going to knock on her friend to carry on the journey to school. The woman says her and her dog walked around the corner her dog Infront and reached the corner before she did and just ran and it wasn’t until she heard the scream that she knew anyone was even there: she’s told me herself my daughter was just walking and hasn’t even made a noise she had done nothing at all and it was all her dog. I don’t want her dog to be put to sleep, she’s an elderly lady and lives alone with her dog. I don’t want to take that away from her BUT I don’t want this happening to another child. I realise it’s most likely all out of my hands and the police will deal with it in which ever way they see fit at the time.

OP posts:
MuthaHubbard · 14/07/2022 18:40

The dog is also usually examined by a trained dog handler to make note of breed, temperament etc. If one of the 'dangerous' breeds, this is also taken into consideration

Spanielsarepainless · 14/07/2022 18:41

Most people saying their dog has never done it before are lying. A rescue dog attacked an elderly dog locally and the owner said this. Turned out there were several other dogs in the area that had also been attacked.

Notanotherwindow · 14/07/2022 19:40

Not usually for a first bite unless it seriously mauled someone. I highly doubt it was a first bite though. Healthy, stable dogs don't just attack completely out of the blue. There is almost always a previous incident or a gradual escalation of behaviour, growls, snaps etc.

If it really was a first time thing, I imagine the owner would be extremely concerned and taking the dog to the vets as the only dog I've ever known to have such a drastic, out of character episode was eventually diagnosed with a brain tumour.

This owner didn't. She bought a muzzle. This tells me this has happened before. People KNOW their dogs. My dogs are family. I know every facet of their personalities and if they bit someone, that would be exceedingly out of keeping with their personalities. Even provoked, they would not bite easily.

Ddog2 would, I think if someone was threatening or hurting me. He snarled once at a man who approached me on the street in the dark and started asking me random questions. Really properly snarled, teeth bared, hackles up, he looked pretty menacing and the guy backed up pretty damn quick. It's the only time I've ever seen him do that and I'm pretty sure the guy meant me harm. Dogs know. But otherwise, never. He's had children all over him, worked as a pat dog at a nursing home, I even have a photo of him somewhere with the hamster sitting on his head. If he went for a child unprovoked, I wouldn't be buying a muzzle, I'd be buying a brain scan and blood tests.

Ddog1 just doesn't have it in her. Not an aggressive bone in her body. Sweet and affectionate to a fault. Same deal, if this happened I'd be worried about her.

That went on a bit. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is if this is a first, I'll eat my dog walking hat and the police will make the decision about whether the dog is put to sleep and they will know whether there were any previous incidents reported concerning this dog.

Iamsnoopy · 14/07/2022 19:46

Wellthatsjustswell · 14/07/2022 18:36

The owner was not in control of the dog so they are likely to be in huge trouble too. Poor DC, I hope it hasn’t traumatised them for life. A friends DD is petrified of dogs since one ran over and leapt at her snarling. Horrible thing to have happened, I hope they have a speedy recovery. I hate extending leads and I am a dog owner! I’ve had someone’s little yappit wrapped round my legs far too often as they chuckle away thinking ‘look at my dog, it’s so funny’ grrrrr!

www.gov.uk/control-dog-public
Penalties
You can get an unlimited fine or be sent to prison for up to 6 months (or both) if your dog is dangerously out of control. You may not be allowed to own a dog in the future and your dog may be destroyed.

If you let your dog injure someone you can be sent to prison for up to 5 years or fined (or both).

This - I have two. If either bit they would either be rehomed in the middle of nowhere or pts. My friends dog (ex friend) bit her daughter unprovoked when daughter was 10 - stitches needed and friend brushed it off as the dog was learning - stitches leave a scar ffs and emotional damage.
owner wasn’t in control despite a lead and that not good enough

how old is your child? On a lead and the dog did this - I’d ask for it to be pts. Your poor child - everyone deserves to feel safe

Minimalme · 14/07/2022 20:14

I actually hate long leads too - there are always posts on here about "my dog was on a lead and another dog came up to it - my dog is reactive blah blah blah".

A dog on a long lead can be very far away from it's owner in a moment. Dogs need to be trained properly to recall or walked on a short lead.

This dog should be pts - it will do it again.

DogsAndGin · 14/07/2022 20:20

No. Maybe it will be investigated if it is possibly an illegal breed

Nat6999 · 14/07/2022 20:47

I got bitten by a neighbours dog 20 years ago. I had just got out of my car on the drive when the neighbour opened the door & the dog ran up the path & grabbed me, luckily it let go after I kicked it as hard as I could & I had thick jeans on. The neighbour was astounded when I shouted at her that if I saw the dog outside without a lead again I would have her prosecuted (that was the polite version at least) Her house was up for sale within a month & she never spoke to my family again.

isadoradancing123 · 14/07/2022 20:50

It certainly should be but no, unfortunately no it wont. Is it going to wear the muzzle 24/7, i doubt it

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