My por puppy was attacked, how do i stop it effecting him??

[lisad123isgoingcrazy]

We went on a dog walk tonight with a group of people. We hadnt even started yet and all of us were just meeting in carpark when a big weimarnaer (sp?). His only 15 weeks labradoddle puppy and this dog wasnt just niping him to say hello, had him pinned to floor, biting his head, neck and face
Owner couldnt get dog off puppy but lucky DH was holding him and so got dog off. Blood all over carpark floor, me and car. Rushed to vet with DD1 crying her little heart out (his her puppy). He has punchare markd to face, and eyes and eyes or badly swollen. Vet said he'll be ok.

Im worried about how he will now be with other dogs? He is so gentle and friendly normally and loves other dogs, I dont want him to be unsocialable.

Also would you think its fair to ask owner of other dog to pay the £156 vet bill??

bring him over once he is healed a bit to play with his brothers. will make sure tom and ralph are gentle as can be.

Yes you should ask the other owner to pay the bill. If your pup was on the lead (it isn't certain from your post but I suspect from what you said he was) then your dog was under control, his was not. He is responsible for controlling his dog and any problems resulting from his dog being out of control. If the other dog is insured then there is a fair chance the owner can claim through that for the costs as many policies will cover for 3rd party claims.

Poor boy. Thank god it wasn't worse. And yes, I'd bloody well make the owner pay too. A word with your local Dog Warden would be wise - he may be aware of other incidents involving the Weimaraner and/or be able to issue some stern warnings and advice.

Clearly your boy knows misdee and I;m sure he'll be helped by meeting up with his brothers as she suggests, Similarly, a slow build up with submissive, calm dogs is the way to go.

I do hope that he recovers very quickly.

(Oh, and PS, misdee, I just LOVE the names Tom and Ralph btw! )

evenings at the field near my house is very calm. meet others dogs each night, only one or two at a time, and not had a bad experience yet. If you want to bring little T over for one of these next week you can.

Def make the other owner pay if you can. I know we have 3rd party cover on our policy.

(thanks Val for the compliment on the boys names, Dh and the girls chose their names)

Oh no, your poor DD must have been terrified

I would definately expect the owner to pay your vet bill. It is his responsibility to make sure his dog is under control which it clearly wasnt.

I'm sure your pup will be fine as long as you get him socialising again quickly.

Just an aside, but do you have insurance of your own - if not, please make sure you get some. Vets bills can be astronomical!!!

Yes both dogs were on the leads. Yes we have insurance but to honest i dont want to use it unless needed because every claim will up my premium next year
Friend who was the lady who sorted out the group walk, came round this evening. She said owner was very upset and she has my details and advised her to wait till tomorrow to call me (think that was a good idea, Im still very angry)
The dog is known to be snappy with other dogs and is never off lead.
very tempted to report dog to local police.

Not sure police would be interested, if it was a person that had been bitten then they would be or if the other dog had been off the lead then they would be.

Someone I know her dog was bitten by another dog that was on the lead and police said as it was technically under control they couldn't do anything apart from advise the owner to muzzle it. Not sure how right that is as I think the police round here just make stuff up for a quiet life sometimes.

Hope your puppy is ok. My rescue dog was very nervous of dogs when I got her, a month after I got her she was attacked by a lab that jumped on her and pinned her to the floor. Never actually bit her but scared her, she was screaming! I've since walked her with dogs that I know are friendly and she is now not nervous of other dogs at all. I think your puppy will get over this but it will take time and plently of positive expereince.

They should definetly pay, either out their own pocket or out their insurance. If they are reluctant then the threat of involving the police may persuade them.

new laws passed on 1st July that police should get involved in dog on dog attackes. I think I will tell her that she can pay the bill and make her promise to muzzle the damn thing.
His been jumped on and pinned to the floor plently of times by bigger dogs, he just thinks they are playing (I think they generally are). Huge shock as sure as hell looked like this one was going for a kill rather than aplay or a nip to say "leave me alone"

I would report that dog to the local police. It is blatantly dangerous, and if it has done this to your puppy whilst on a lead, gods knows what it would do if it was off a lead. It's a sizeable dog too!

What happens if you don't, and next time it attacks a child.

Surely if the dog is known as snappy it should have a muzzle!! And why is it even allowed out on this group walk!!! for you!!

and yes me and misdee are sisters she has 2 of my pups brothers

WTF was the owner doing there if her dog is unreliable with others? Some people never fail to amaze me!

Local police will probably not do much and advise that it's a civil matter wrt vet costs etc. If the dog were aggressive towards or had attacked humans, it would be a different matter of course. The Police COULD attempt to stretch the circumstances to fit the Dangerous Dogs Act, but ime are unlikely to do so. Also, the DOG would be likely to suffer the consequences of this if it were to happen and far less so the bloody owner, who is the one who was responsible and who allowed it to happen.

I appreciate that you are probably furious with the dog as much as the owner atm, but in his defence his behaviour is only as good as the owner's ability to instill and reinforce it and in this case the woman failed him, and in the process let your poor pup get hurt. It's just me, you may have read my posts and seen how dog-mad I am, but I'd hate to see a dog punished for having an idiot for an owner personally.

IME your Dog Warden really is the best place to start. They will (if they're any good at their job), visit the owner, give advice, recommend behaviouralists etc and a warning to the owner whilst "marking her card" and read the riot act if necessary.

"new laws passed on 1st July that police should get involved in dog on dog attackes"

Sorry, we X posted. Blimey, i didn't know that and feel ashamed of myself for not doing so.

Am off to find out more.

I still think that the DW might be more help and more supportive overall, but stand corrected wrt the Police. Thanks for making me aware.

(Soooo ashamed of not knowing!)

Im very angry with her, and do believe there arent bad dogs just bad owners. He is a rescuce dog, that much I do know.

Nattynar, as a rescuer I have to say this. Just because a dog is dog-aggressive does not mean that it is going to attack a child next. Sorry, but it's comments like this which perpetuate the myth and cause dogs to be abandoned into rescue or worse still, thrown into the street or into the pound, where they are PTS.

I deal with rescue dogs and know and have known plenty which have issues with other dogs but are fantastic with humans, including children. I've fostered such dogs too, and have children, who have been adored and been perfectly safe.

My poor DD1 who is Autisic, who saw the whole thing was beside herself. I was covered in blood and she thought dog had bitten me too. She went to bed in tears and know this is going to take weeks to sort out in her head.

Vallhala I'm just making a point that this dog ought to be reported to either police/DW.

Fair enough, but I just don't think it's worth the risk. They should have a muzzle on it.

I'm sure the families of children who have been mutilated/killed by 'loving family pets' never thought it would happen.

I think it brilliant the work you do, but don't patronise me. It's a dangerous dog, end of story.

Nattynar, I wasn't patronising you and apologise if that's how it came over. I was just telling it how I see and have experienced it. The dog is a danger to other dogs but not necessarily to humans. The other side of the coin are those dogs which are aggressive towards people or certain individuals but fine with other dogs. I know some like that too.

Too damn right the dog should be muzzled though. I'm not a fan of them if they are not necessary but here they clearly are, at least until the dog is re-trained.

Lisa, I have no experience with Autistic children, so this may not be helpful or relevent, but generally the advice wrt children in general (am I right that the expression I'm looking for is neurotypical children? Apologies if not), is to gently and gradually introduce them to nice dogs who are friendly and let the child have some control, under parental supervision.

For example, find another mum with similar aged DC and a small dog you trust and walk yours with them and your DD, letting DD hold pup's lead with you on the end too.

lisa that must have been very upsetting for you. i agree with others. teh dog owner should cover your vet bills as they clearly did not contol their dog even though it was on a lead.

can i just ask, what are you supposed to do if a dog attacks your dog? should you try and get between the dogs or drag the attacking dog away? i have never experienced it but lisa's post has made me realise that i don't know what is the right thing to do when that happens.

she has offered to pay full bill, will drop it round to her later.
Said he has been around puppies loads and other dogs and she has no idea why it happened. Tried to suggest it was his claws that damaged the dog until I pointed outt he vet said 2 punchure marks to the bridge of his nose and ear

I hate it when people make excuses for their dogs behaviour. She should have just apologised and left it at that.

At least you got a result re the vet's bill.

Hope your DD is feeling better today.

i am glad she is going to pay the bill. at least this shows she is accepting full responsibility for it. it could be a good time to suggest she does something about her dog's behaviour and the threat he poses to other dogs (muzzling or correctly socializing him)

she has said she will muzzle him if walking with other dogs. I got a comment on my FB wall from someone saying my puppy had been play biting the dogs face, which is a complete lie, he was sniffing him.