Dogs got into a fight - now we're being sued!

[Scootergrrrl]

Recently my dog, an old collie cross, got into a bit of a scrap with a smaller dog. Both dogs were off their leads.
We've just received a letter from the other dogs insurers who are now claiming the cost of vets treatment for the other dog running to almost a thousand pounds!
While I accept my dog was in the wrong, both dogs were off their leads and the fight wouldn't have happened if the other dog had been leashed - it was jumping around my older dog and my dog kind of rolled him before I got hold of him. The dogs have played together before so I didn't think it would be a problem for them to run around together.
Any advice? Are we liable for this bill?

I really dont have any good advice here but I would say I cant see how you would be liable, both dogs where off the lead, they have previously played well. At the time what did the other owner say?

Do you have insurance? If you don't you will just have to cough up the cash.

well... at the end of the day your dog attacked theirs and left them with a huge bill...

what would you do if it had been the other way round?
i guess they might argue that you should have known your dog was aggressive (not saying it is/was, but they could argue that) and as such should have had it on lead?

hope you get it sorted tho...

"the fight wouldn't have happened if the other dog had been leashed"

Presumably the same applies to your dog though?

I don't know about legal liability but assuming you are not disputing that a thousand pounds worth of vet treatment would have been necessary to put right the other dog's wound, that sounds pretty serious and you can see why their insurers are attempting to recover the costs from you.

what about your dog? did it have any injuries?

I suppose that I'm querying whether we (it seems we do have public liability insurance luckily!) should be entirely legally responsible given that both dogs were off their leads.

The other dog wasn't wounded outwardly - the case is that the incident caused damage to the other dogs cruciate ligament (I think!) but both of them walked away and the other owner only noticed the dog was limping later.

both being off the leash does not make it ok for your dog to attack another though, does it?

surely you should have been able to call it off?

if someone came up and hit you over the head with a brick would you say it wasn't their fault because you were both out in public without a hard hat on?

If your dog caused the injuries then you are liable, just as they would be if their dog injured yours. if they were both injured I suppose you would pay your own and split any differences, possibly?

Anyway, if your dog caused harm then you pay I am afraid. I would look into the bill though and just check they haven't chucked in boosters/castration or anything at your expense (not unheard of!)

Erm, if your dog is prone to attacking others (like mine) he should remain leashed (like mine) until he is properly trained and trustworthy around other dogs.

Ahh, an injury like that may be more suspect. If it is a pull or something then it could have been caused by the fight or afterwards by the dog playing, jumping off a sofa and so on. In that case I would ask for a vet report stating that the injury could only be caused by the fight and not some other way.

Why is your dog 'in the wrong'? If theywere both off the leash and have played well together before, then unless your dog attacked the other unprovoked, surely this is a case where both owners have an equal responsibility?

Yeah, agree with WhyHavePets - £1k of vet's bills made me envisage a poor little dog covered in blood and bite marks - but in fact it sounds like an injury that could have been caused by anything.

I'm with you here. Unless your dog is usually aggressive (mine is unfortunately) then if they were both off the lead surely it is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. If he 'rolled him' then that is what dogs do when they are playing isn't it? Cannot see how it is your fault at all. I wouldn't pay.

I think if your dog attacked the other you are liable, if you could reason with the owner, maybe offer 50/50 for the fees.

This is a tricky moral dilema, if you are going to see the dog and owner out and about then the goodwill of yourself will go a long way to help your dogs cause in the local neighbourhood, otherwise no doubt your dog will be labelled agressive and to be avoided.

IF that is the case you need to get some serious training underway via a trainer/behaviourist and address his problems. It really isnt on for a dog to attack another, regardless of circumstance and I am sure you know that yourself.

While the dog may have walked off looking unscathed, adrenalin will have played a major part and once it had worn off later, the pain will have kicked in.

They are taking the piss, they have no way of knowing if the injury happened during the fight. Did the other dog have any actual bite marks? Because if your dog didn't even break the skin it's hardly a dog fight is it??

""both being off the leash does not make it ok for your dog to attack another though, does it?

surely you should have been able to call it off?

if someone came up and hit you over the head with a brick would you say it wasn't their fault because you were both out in public without a hard hat on?"

what a ridiculous comparison.

Sometimes, dogs get into fights. They're dogs, it's what they do. And as op says there were no external injuries so we're not exactly talking one dog physically attacking another one are we? And op also said that the other dog ran at her dog first so sounds as if op's dog reacted rather than attacked. the dog could have got the same injury playing with op's dog - would the owner then also be liable to sue for damages then?

Thanks for the advice - my dog is old and a bit grumpy, although has never been in a fight in all his 10 years. There was certainly no blood in evidence and I called my dog back almost immediately, although obviously not soon enough!

You could argue back that their dog was provoking yours and they didn't call their dog back in time and it could indeed have been the "jumping" around that did the ligament damage........

Was the other dog doing "come play with me" behaviour or not - I though that was usually front legs down on the ground and then bounding away rather than jumping around at the other dog???????

Was it actually a fight? Or was it more of a "gerr off me" exchange of growls and a bit of shoving?

Your op made me think of a fight, bite marks, wounds etc but I think whatit really was was an old dog telling another dog off by rolling it onto its back and growling (possibly while standing over it), does that sound about right?

Its hard to remember exactly what happened because it was all over with so quickly. As far as I remember, they went as if they were going to play, then ran a little way and my dog grabbed the other and pinned it to the floor and there was some growling (mine!) and yelping (other one!) I pulled him off and told him off because he did appear to be in the wrong.
I don't know if the letter we've had from their insurers is a kind of kite-flying, lets see if they just pay up thing that insurance companies do! We will certainly ask to see a vets letter and try to find some details about liability for incidents when both dogs are off the lead. Any ideas anyone?

Thats not a fight, just a scuffle. Some people are so flipping precious about their dogs. If there were chunks of flesh getting hurled in the air I could understand but really it was nothing, and can not see how they can say the injury was caused by your dog.

I wouldn't have thought your insurance company would pay out willy nilly especially that amount. What do they say about your liability?