My dog bit another dog whilst with the dog walker

[LH1997]

Hi all, i'm hoping for a bit of advice please. My 3 dogs we're out with the dog walker back in early December, and my dog has bit another dog resulting in a clipped tail and a trip to the vets for their dog. The dogs have been with the same walker for almost 18 months and there's never been any issues. They were out on their walk at 09:30 and it wasn't until 17:15 that i received a text message to say that one of them had attacked another dog (apparently very viciously) that they usually play with and as a result there was a domino effect within the 'pack' causing other dogs to fight as well. It sounds like it has been difficult for the walker but i can't figure out exactly what has happened. My dog has never been aggressive, she is a staffy and is the most loving dog ever. She isn't always comfortable around other dogs but has never been aggressive towards them and often plays. When asked what happened the walker said she opened the van doors and as the dogs all jumped out, my dog has latched onto a border terrier; the walker has then picked up the BT and as my dog has been lunging at it, she has managed to pull the skin off the bottom 1cm of his tail. The dig walker was also bit but not by any of my dogs, thankfully she is okay.
I contacted the other dog owner to send my apologies and check on her dogs condition; which thankfully he was okay. I offered to pay the vets bill as the walkers insurance claims she is not liable to pay. After a couple of weeks i had continuous bills sent to me asking me to send her money via Paypal. This included 4 different collars to stop the dog nibbling his tail including one of which she ordered from Amazon. The vets notes she sent me claimed that she had been sent home with dressings but still was going in for appointments to get it changed. I spoke to the vets to seek advice as i feel like the cost is excessive and have a feeling the dog is insured (although she is claiming he is not) and she is already claiming the money back. They said i'm not liable to pay and it sits with either the walkers insurance or for us to settle between ourselves. The lady isn't happy for me to pay for the vets fee and not the additional appointments and collars she has bought. She is now threatening (2 months later almost) to report my dog as dangerous if i don't pay (worded very well over text message). She 100% is not dangerous and is the most loving, snuggly dog ever.
I'm hoping somebody can advise me on what course of action to take please. The safety of my dog is the most important thing to me but £300 is a lot of money and I don't know where the line is going to be drawn. I am a responsible dog walker and my dog is insured.
Thanks in advance

Is third party claims insurance included in your own dog’s insurance?

So many dogs in a dog walk is dangerous. You need to pay for your own dog walker only.

Insurance should cover it.

You pay the vet bill directly and say you are claiming through the dog walkers or your own insurance.

Ask the vet not to issue the other woman a receipt of payment if you pay directly.

If she is committing insurance fraud she can be prosecuted.

The problem with dog owners like you is that it's never your snuggly cuddly dogs fault.

Your dog attacked another dog.

Your dog needs its behaviour addressed by a professional. You said she "isn't always comfortable around other dogs" So fix that. Or have her walked one on one.

And you need to stop whining and pay the ladies vet bill.

I would have contacted my insurance company if this was my dog and let them deal with it, it sounds like the dog walker possibly didn't have control over the situation, and I'd have been expecting that my insurance would be contacting hers to sort out the liability issues here, but I'd be thinking that it should be her insurance paying out as the dogs were in her control at the time.

She's a shit dog walker for letting all the dogs jump out the van together:

a) they should be seperately contained in the van
b) a dog professional should already know that letting them all jump out on an (exciting) walk together risks something like this happening when one gets over excited or over nervous. They should be taken out of the van calmly, one by one, making sure each one is under control before the next is released.

Besides, her insurance absolutely should cover it. One of her client's dogs got hurt while in her care - regardless of how. She needs to have paid these bills.

Next best thing is that you inform your insurance - which will include public liability - and have them deal with it. You've been daft not to go down this root. Going forward, I'd simply tell the other owner that the costs are now beyond what you anticipated or can afford yourself and so you will inform your insurance and they will handle it from there. I suspect the asks for money will come to an abrupt end, tbh.

Exactly this.
Your dog will be considered dangerous and it is a criminal offence. If the lady wishes to report to the police your dog will be seized.
Doesn't matter how much you parrot about the dog being a snuggly cuddly dog who will just lick you to death.
You need to pay her costs that were caused by your dog.
Failure to do so will cost you dear in solicitors costs when the police remove the dog.
Oh and get the dog muzzled so it doesn’t happen again.

If I knew someone was willing to go down the route of reporting my dog and potentially having it taken from me and held by police I would just pay the money.

if you can’t afford £300 all in one go ask if you can pay in three £100 instalments.

I would maybe look for a dog walker who is willing to walk just your dogs or has a maximum number of only a few at a time.

I'm hoping somebody can advise me on what course of action to take please.

First, change your dog walker ... for several reasons, mostly around dog safety, but also because her insurance should be covering this, she was in charge of the dogs.

This

This should be covered by the dog walkers insurance. I believe this is unusual behaviour for your dog and you are not denying this happened.
I see lots of professional dog walkers and some amaze me with their control over a number of dogs. 6 is the maximum allowed round here but I think that’s too many.
Unfortunately some professional dogs walkers really aren’t professional. I see 2 women professionals with up to 14 dogs walking together. It only takes 1 dog to start a terrible pack incident.
Another walks her defence aggressive dog with a few smaller dogs. They used to be calm but have now learnt to bark and snap at other dogs. The paid walker has ruined those dogs.
When I walk my dogs I am responsible for their behaviour. Professional dog walkers are paid to be responsible.
I do think the owner of the injured dog is probably trying it ion a bit tbh.

Surely it's your dog walkers insurance that should be covering this as your dog was with her at the time?

Your dog will be considered dangerous and it is a criminal offence.

To put your mind at rest, OP, this is bunkum. The police don't give a monkey's about dogs killing other dogs, let alone mild spats.

Could not agree more! My staff is a lovely cuddly super friendly dog who then viciously went for another dog.

I’d be more worried about a dog like this biting you or your children if you have them.

Wake up. Your dangerous dog caused this and you are liable.

She isn't always comfortable around other dogs

Bollocks. Why the actual insert rude word would you have a dog that isn't always comfortable around other dogs being walked and shoved in a van with random dogs!? You are just as negligent as the dog walker tbh - poor dog ownership.

Dog walker is useless - no one should be walking that many dogs at one time, and they DEFINITELY should not have them loose in a sodding van.

Honestly...the sandwich isn't big enough for this many idiots.

Not necessarily a criminal offence - it depends whether the dog is deemed dangerously out of control and that would be up to the police to determine based on the circumstances and the evidence provided. If the police decide it's not a criminal matter is then becomes a civil matter - which is the far more likely or course of action.

OP - I would pass this over to your insurers and let them deal with it. Your dog walker's contract may state that her insurance doesn't cover dog on dog bites but your insurer will sort it out.

Personally I'd pay for the vet bill and then unless the vet recommended these collars, I'd draw the line at that

@LH1997 you're going to get ripped to shreds over this here, and more so because your dog is a staffy. You've shot yourself in the foot unfortunately by the way you've described your dog. Dogs fall out and they scrap when put in situations like this. Even nice ones.

The dog walker wasn't very good by the sounds of it, they should have the basic knowledge that letting the dogs out of the van like that is going to cause issues because it's high tension and managed that better.

And from experience, no the police probably won't follow up a dog on dog fight.

They can contact the dog warden or report as a dangerous dog all they like, it's dog on dog and therefore they won't do anything

Absolutely this ^!!!

You out your dog in a vulnerable position when you knew he felt uncomfortable around other dogs but allowed the dog to go in the dog walkers van where there were other dogs.

The dog walker was very lapse in just letting them all jump out and I would never use her devices again.

You need to suck up the payment to the other dog owner as your dog attacked their dog. The owners have suffered emotional distress as well as the physical harm and treatment costs involved and their own dog may now have behavioural problems as a result of being attacked.

You are responsible for your dog and whilst I don't think your dog probably only went for the other dog as it got caught up in the excitement of being cooped up in the van and then released, you need to ensure that your dog cannot harm another dog again.

Going forward you need a dog walker that walks only your dogs together or that particular dog of yours on their own.

The comments about your dog being dangerous are clearly from people who have never worked with dogs. Even the most placid laid bag dogs can scrap in the right circumstances for example over arousal. Your dog walker sounds completely incompetent, however I don’t agree with group dog walks full stop, so would never have had my dog in that situation. Also a dog biting another dog does not mean your dog is likely to bite a human, completely different scenario. People have no clue about dogs. Long story short, the dog walkers insurance should cover this, if not then yours. But I’d be investigating if your dog walker actually had insurance if it’s not covered.

As above, I’m wondering if this dog walker had any insurance, or are they just a cowboy operation, taking on as many dogs as possible to get maximum profit?

Lots of professional dog walking insurance doesn't actually cover dog fights if both dogs were in your care at the time - mine does - but many companies don't.

They take the stance that as a professional, you shouldn't be walking dogs together if they are likely to fight.

It's also the case that many owners' insurance won't cover them if they're out with a professional dog walker - it's absolutely something you need to check.