My dog was attacked by another dog- advice needed.

[angrydogowner]

I've name changed as this will out me so I will revert back to my usual name later.

Last week my dog was attacked by another dog while we were out walking. He was badly hurt and needed urgent treatment to the tune of £155.

My dog was with me on the lead and the other dog crossed a field to get to us. Its owner was really far away and this dog didn't even have a collar I could use to get him off my poor dog. The other dog had his neck and I'm convinced a smaller dog would have been killed. :(

Anyway, long story short, I've written a letter to the other owners (small village, I know where they live) and was wondering if it sounds ok? More details are in the letter which I'll post next.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks.

To the owners of xxx,

On (date) December 2012, your dog attacked my dog in a field at the foot of (name of local hill). In the time it took the gentleman walker to reach the scene, my dog had sustained injuries to the neck and right hind leg, requiring urgent medical treatment at (name of vet), all of which have been fully documented and recorded, including photographs and veterinary records. Other dog walkers can place your dog in the area at the time of the incident.

Because your dog was not wearing a collar and was running loose several hundred metres from its owner and my dog was on the lead with me, it was clear that your dog was not under proper control. It was a very traumatic and upsetting experience for me and I was most upset to see that several days after the incident your dog was still not properly restrained and allowed to slip from its insufficient chain collar to run free, possibly attacking another dog or child at any time. In order to prevent this from happening I have felt obliged to contact the police and the dog warden, who will be contacting you shortly.

I did not contact you immediately preceding the incident as the gentleman walking the dog was aware of where I lived and I was certain that he would contact me in due course to enquire after my dog and to offer financial assistance to cover the vet fees, as I requested at the time of the attack.
The cost of my dog's medical treatment was £155 and as it was your dog that attacked mine, I am requesting full payment within 14 days or I will be forced to take legal action. I have already discussed this matter with my solicitor who advised this course of action first to avoid unnecessary legal costs to both sides. If I am forced to take this matter further I will also be seeking any legal costs incurred.

Doesn't preceding mean before? Hope your dog is making a good recovery .

Gah. Sounds awful for you and your poor dog. I think you're totally justified in requiring payment, but I'd miss out the bit about what the dog might do, and stick to what it did do. I'm not sure what the police can do, though, as the dog attacked your dog not a person. Still, worth ringing them on the non emergency number and getting some advice. I hope the idiot owner takes heed before anyone else/their dog is hurt or his dog ends up PTS.

I did wonder about preceding what could I put? Following I guess. :)

The dog could easily attack another dog or child as it wears a silly loose chain collar and can just slip out (as it did when I was hunting them down trying to find where they lived in the village.

It was awful and tbh I'm still scared to walk in the village with my dog on my own, I had to last night as DH was at work but when i got home I was shaking and had a little cry. Have to get over that though, or my dog will pick up on my fear. :(

The dog warden will pay a visit and educate them on safer dog control to start.

If they had come round, said sorry, asked after my dog, even offered some of the fees if they are skint, it would have been better. They have not even bothered to check if my dog is still alive and they don't care enough to retrain their dog even after this has happened. I am very angry and upset.

If it had been my dog (God forbid) I would have done the right thing and gone round to see if the other dog and owner were ok.

Oh, I agree with you, I just think that if you do need to escalate it, it's best to stick to the facts in correspondence. My dog was attacked on lead, and I was also bitten, so the police went and had a word with the owner. We managed to keep things civil, but unfortunately the other dog attacked again and then turned on the owner. It turned out to have a sort of dementia and had to be destroyed. My dog wasn't badly hurt, but it was utterly terrifying, so my sympathies. How is your dog now?

He's half bald and very cuddly. He's quite young so the stitches are healing fast fortunately, but he was a rescue and very wary of other dogs before this (which is why I wouldn't enter a field with him loose) so we have been working really hard to socialise him.

Right now he's all snuggled up with poorly DD on the sofa, loving the fuss and attention.

Your poor dog and that poor other dog too. I don't want the other dog punished/destroyed, just properly looked after.

It was a very traumatic and upsetting experience for me and I was most upset to see that several days after the incident your dog was still not properly restrained and allowed to slip from its insufficient chain collar to run free at will.

Is that better do you think?

Take out the bt about possibly attacking a child. As far as you know it hasn't attacked a child before and there is a world of difference between dogs that don't like other dogs and dogs that attack children. You can't make emotive accusations like that. Concentrate on what it has done

Dog aggressive does not automatically equal child aggressive. Dog aggressive dogs, oddly, are normally fearful. They go into kill or be killed mode and more often than not pose no danger to people, not that any of this makes things better for you of course and I agree the attacking dog needs to be under proper control and leashed and muzzled when out. A responsible owner would also begin a new training regime with their dog to help manage his fear aggression, although these people don't sound that responsible.

There are no laws on dog on dog aggression but there is a law about dogs being dangerously out of control in a public space, which this dog was so if you wanted to pursue this legally you could use that argument, although you should be aware it might lead to their dog being seized and destroyed under the Dangerous Dogs Act, although that would be the fault of the owner not you. If they haven't learnt from this then maybe legal action would be the best course. It can't be nice for the attacking dog to feel like he has to be on guard constantly and of course their is the risk that the next time either dog might not be so lucky.

The rest of your letter sounds fine, but like Chickens said I'd leave out the bit about what the could do, the dog warden will cover that with them. I hope your dog is okay now?

It sounds terrifying. You might find that your dog has some fear-aggression issues in the future because of this, so if you can afford it it would be a good idea to contact a behaviorist for advise on how to socialise him with similar dogs. It's easier to solve if you catch the problem before it escalates.

I hope you and your dog are able to get past this soon. Give him a big hug and some treats from me

That sounds fine, your poor dog, my dog got attached by a GSD when she was only a puppy, about 8 months I believe. The GSD actualy jumped out of its garden and over a fence to get to my dog, she had to have about 40 stitches to sow her back up and 2 drains in. It took about 6 months before she would walk past a GSD calmly. Thankfully in my case the owner paid our excess. The dog warden did go round and see them but nothing has changed, the back garden is still unsecure and the dog could easily do it again. We have totally changed the route of our walk. I hope you get some money from the owners and I hope your dog makes a full recovery. Mine thankfully is now as dozy as she was before, she thinks every dog is a new friend.

Thanks for all the advice. I am worried about the effect this will have on my dog so have got the details of a couple of behaviourist trainers locally and will do everything I can to get him through this with no lasting effects if possible. The physical injuries are a small part of what has happened to him I'm sure.

I'm gutted, he's such a lovely, loving little dog.

angry, I think that revised bit is perfect. My dog did become fear aggressive after being attacked. He doesn't run up to other dogs, or bite (thankfully), but he is very defensive if approached and will jump up at an ill mannered dog and make a lot of noise in its face. I have had a session with a behaviourst and it was hugely helpful, although I have to accept that he'll probably never choose to have doggy mates. My dog is more reactive on lead as he feels trapped. He copes much better and has a higher tolerance threshhold off lead. I hope your chap makes a full recovery and isn't too fearful.

chickens - i wouldn't have thought that that was too bad a thing? he doesn't run up to other dogs and dogs that come in his face get told - not to the point of irreparable harm but so that he teaches some manners.

My 19 week old got taught some manners today as she needs to learn that jumping in dogs' faces is alright with puppies but not so much with an adult. i took her over to my friends with nine dogs. dog one told her, dog two told her, dog three didn't need to tell her - instead of leaping on it, she held back, touched noses and said hello decently. i'd much rather have a dog that did that than took her nose off.

I suppose, always, it's just quite embarassing when he does it Everyone else I meet seems to have really friendly, chilled out dogs. Mine is the troublemaker

dont fret my pups crazy, thankfully shes better with kids, she just brings my friends boy her toys lol.
i have done so much training with her but she still jumps up with excitement when meeting people, she has to be brought in from the garden at least once a week because she is barking, she has no hope of being let off lead as her recall is rubbish. ive been told she is actually good for a basset hound lol. oh dear...