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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

My dog attacked another dog and in the melee the owner fell and got bitten. Nightmare.

37 replies

cq · 24/01/2012 03:28

It's a long story but I was out on a mercy mission with a litter of stray puppies. DH & 2DCs were at home with our 2 dogs and a foster dog who has been with us since September. And 2 kids friends. While I was out, mother of one of the visitors came to pick her up and came to the door with her dog, who she though would like to meet the puppies. My son (13) opened the door, holding onto one dog, when they all spotted the visiting dog, pushed past DS and attacked the dog. Owner bent down to pick it up, stumbled backwards and fell, and while on the floor, holding the dog, one of my dogs carried on trying to attack it and bit her arm severely enough to need stitches. DH got to the scene as fast as he could and beat them all off, shut them away, did first aid etc. Everyone in shock. I am devastated. So many things all went wrong - DS should not have opened door with dogs loose, friend should not have brought her dog to my door without asking first, but the bottom line is suddenly my dogs were like a pack of vicious animals and I don't know if I can ever trust them again. I know which one is the main culprit - she is a bit stressy and has leash aggression at times, but she would never ever attack a human. But now I have a dog who has badly bitten someone. I am seriously considering if I should have her put down. How can I be sure this won't happen again? I can train them to go the other way when the doorbell rings, I can shut them away, but I will always fear it happening again. I am so sad. Feeling sick. Not sure what I want anyone to say but I need some impartial advice from someone who is not involved. :(

OP posts:
MrsJasonBourne · 24/01/2012 21:08

So when my dog snaps at another dog, which he frequently does to the farm dog because they don't seem to like each other, should I put him down because one day I might be stupid enough to get in the way and accidentally get bitten?

Should we destroy all dogs then, just to be careful?

F. F. S.

MrsJasonBourne · 24/01/2012 21:10

Disclaimer, that was obviously aimed at girliefriend.

Scuttlebutter · 24/01/2012 21:40

CQ, a couple of points. Previous posters such as Daisy have correctly pointed out that your own dogs can (and arguably should) be trained to have a routine when the door is knocked and/or visitors come to the house. But in your case, this is not just about your dogs - you regularly have fosters in the house too and from what you say, were going to fetch some rescue puppies as well.

Because you are a foster home, you should therefore have a backup set of management techniques which EVERYONE in the household should be trained in and adhere to regarding things like household security, door opening routines etc. In fact, I would expect the rescue you foster for to go through this with you, since by their very nature a foster dog can be an unknown quantity, and is not yours, thus requiring extra levels of care and precaution.

I would put in place the training issues already discussed, but I would also (if you continue to foster) adopt a clear, easy routine for everyone in the house to follow when the door is knocked and visitors arrive. We have a similar routine as our front door opens on to a tiny front garden and then the street, and although it's a very quiet residential area, there are quite a few cats around - not a good mix with sighthounds. So, we have a system whereby whoever opens the door is responsible for ensuring that all dogs are safely out of the way. This allows me to sign for parcels, fight off religious callers or chat to my neighbour in peace.

There is also an issue of reporting the incident to the rescue you foster for - although you've said your friend is currently not minded to call AC or take legal action, you might not have been so lucky, and there could be complex issues of liability. I would discuss this with the foster co-ordinator and suggest that lessons are learned. If not already done so, foster carers should be reminded of this issue, and requested to put in place appropriate routines to prevent this happening again.

Lastly, and i realise this is not your responsibility, but I'd be very concerned about friends bringing dogs round when you had potentially new rescue pups. When collecting relinquished dogs, it is very common for them to be unvaccinated, unwormed, and to be carrying fleas, mites and various other parasites/illnesses. I'd want to minimise their exposure to other dogs until I was absolutely happy about their status, and I'd also want to protect any visiting dogs so again, I'd instigate a routine of being very clear with visitors about when it's a good time to bring their dogs. As with many doggy issues, it's more about training owners than it is about the dogs. Smile

Hope you are starting to feel a bit better now.

JaxTellerIsMyFriend · 24/01/2012 21:49

fab post Scuttle

Ive nothing more to add to the sensible advice given.

Good luck cq, its not as bad as it seems at the moment.

cq · 24/01/2012 22:41

Thanks all - I said it was a long story and you're getting it all in dribs and drabs.

The rescue society that I foster for has been informed, and we are a pretty well organised set-up despite the chaos that was at my house this weekend.

It was a cock-up from start to finish. There was a litter of orphaned lab puppies at the vet and needed transport to a long-term foster home about 3 hours drive away (I'm in Texas, lots of long distances!). I was going to meet the foster half way and deliver the pups. She could only do it on Sunday and the vets closes at lunchtime on Sat for the weekend, so I agreed to pick up the pups, keep them snug in my garage for 24hrs and then do the drop off. What could be simpler? Ha.

By Sunday morning one of them had thick green gunge coming down its tiny nose, and all of them had raging diarrhea (sp?). Called the rescue soc's consulting vet who said it sounded like distemper and therefore they could not be transported and would need anti-d serum, penicillin etc etc. Mercy dash was therefore to find somewhere open on a Sunday with said drugs available. And then decide what to do with the poor mites. So I was in the car park at the vets when I got the call to say disaster had struck at home with my other dogs.

It was just a perfect storm of everything going wrong at once. I usually only foster one dog at a time, they are always fully integrated into family life and if only here for a short while then they are always crated when I can't supervise closely. This one has been with us since September, she's had all her shots and she's an absolute lovebug so I had no cause for concern.

Thankfully the puppies have now gone to a friend's house and are all getting better.

Look at the shit you can get yourself into when you're trying to help. Sad

Thanks for all the advice though, it has certainly made me think it all through. I think once this foster has recovered from her op and been adopted, I will stop fostering for a while and get my dogs back on the straight and narrow. I can still help out with transport and stuff but just not anything that will stress poor Rosie.

It's good to have y'all as a sounding board. Smile

OP posts:
cq · 24/01/2012 22:43

By the way - it sounds as if a night in my garage made the pups ill - but this is Texas - it was 70F here on Saturday night so they were cozy and warm, probably warmer than in the concrete kennels at the vet.

OP posts:
readyveg · 24/01/2012 23:05

70f, I have a proper big mean dog and no 70f as consolation:)

Glad you are coming through the storm.

PandaWatch · 25/01/2012 10:12

A very minor point but have you considered putting a sign up notifying anyone coming to your house not to bring dogs to the door? I know not everyone will take notice but it should at the very least be another way to reduce the chance of anything like this happening again with any random callers with dogs in tow.

I hope this was just a one-off and you don't ever have to deal with anything like this again OP - must have been horrible for you!

BlackCatsAndPurpleDogs · 25/01/2012 11:08

Girliefriend dont be so ridiculously dramatic!
This dog was threatened by a strange dog coming to the house! Someone was bitten by accident!
OP it seems a big deal now but onless there is another incident i would not worry. Good idea re the sign, to cover yourself and placate friend too!

daisydotandgertie · 25/01/2012 12:39

Not sure about the sign. I have read somewhere that by putting up a dog warning sign, you are acknowledging the risk which then exposes you to deeper trouble if something goes wrong.

I've no idea where I read it - or how long ago, but it stuck in my mind and I'd explore it a lot further if I was considering putting up a warning notice.

Were the poorly pups in the garage when the accident happened?

ragged · 25/01/2012 13:01

Ah.
If OP is in TX then a lot of the rules (social expectations) change: I don't know specifically about TX but there is a lot less assumption in most the USA (compared to Britain) about "dog who bites human must be put down because can never be trusted again". I would ask Vet for advice, but I think I'd view it as a one-off/accident, some future vigilance required, but anyone who gets in the middle of a dog fight should expect the worst. It is one of the natural hazards of owning a dog.

Hope your friend has a good recovery, OP.

JaxTellerIsMyFriend · 25/01/2012 18:46

daisy you are correct.
But it depends on the wording of the sign. If the sign says "Danger", XXXXX (breed) or similar then you are almost admitting your dog is 'bad' before anything happens,
but if the sign says "GSD (eg) running loose in the garden" or
"Poodle lives here" then you are alerting that you have a dog as opposed to warning that your dog may bite.

Confusing isnt it? I learned this years ago though from a dog trainer person, so it could all have changed now.

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