My dog jumped up at a woman yesterday and scratched her and she's reported him :(

[Geretrude]

I have an 18 month old Boston terrier. He is very loving and sweet natured normally - no aggression at all. Yesterday when we got home in the dark, we got out of the car and my DS was holding his lead and a woman was walking past the end of the drive as DS came out with the dog. For some reason, he growled at the woman and jumped up at her. I grabbed his lead, pulled him away and apologised profusely.

She's just come round and shown me a scratch on her hand which she said is a bite (it isn't - it's his claw), she's had to have a tetanus shot and that she has reported him.

I've spoken to a friend who is a dog trainer and asked her to recommend a local behaviouralist because obviously this is awful and I need to stop him doing it. I think he was frightened of her but that doesn't make it okay.

But fucking hell :( What's going to happen now?

You did not say that the woman told the police that it was not a bite. You only said that the woman said she was bitten.

I have not personally insulted you on this thread. I was querying why you would insist the woman was lying.

You sound horrible. It's no wonder that your animal is aggressive.

Lucky it happened in the U.K. In Ireland it would have cost €40 to see a gp and €20 for a tetanus.
I echo the posters that say an adults hand height is a child's face height and I think you have had a bloody nice police man who owns a dog. Lucky you

TheCursedOne are you 5, or something?!

CursedOne are you OK? You sound a bit irrational.

I'm fine {hmm]. Some stupid woman on here calls me unhinged and loon and I am 5 .

I am never going to post on mumsnet about my dog!

What a bashing the op has had when she just asked what people thought the outcome would be!

I like dogs. I am hoping to find a job that lets me work from home enough to be able to get a dog. But that doesn't stop me from thinking that walking on a pavement after dark does not mean that it is your fault if a dog growls at you, jumps up at you, and breaks your skin. (Whether with a tooth or a claw). And it doesn't stop me from thinking that if you are minding your own business walking down the street and you hear a dog growling and it jumps up at you and cuts your hand, that that is, for people, a very unpleasant and frightening experience.

It's possible to have sympathy for a dog owner who has done her best to train and care for her dog without minimising the effect the dog's actions had on the passer-by, or putting the blame on that person.

As I said very early on in this thread, I wonder what the aim of the women was for reporting to the police?

I suspect that she wanted to try and get the dog out down. The owner apologised and was upset about the incident. Why on earth would the women then go to the police and then go back to tell the owner that she had done so?

She wasn't that upset or terrified clearly.

*put

Broomstick - if you're referring to me, I didn't blame the woman, I just said she should bear some responsibility. When it's dark I would make sure never to startle another person never mind a dog. Common sense and common courtesy really.

She did bear responsibility though- why do people re write what happened to suit their agenda?

I'm talking about the woman who was scratched not the op ....

Soz Stone . I am getting over defensive on the back of some the previous comments.

What should she have done, stonecircle? I want to know what behaviour is expected of responsible pedestrians after dark on an empty pavement which would be enough to absolve them of blame in the event of a dog behaving aggressively towards them and causing injury?

OK. Can someone please explain why walking along a pavement in the dark means you would bear some responsibility should a dog jump at you.

Am sorry, I am at a loss to understand that.

I feel for everyone in the OP. The dog was startled, the woman was startled, it was one of those unpredictable unfortunate set of circumstances.

DS and I were once standing chatting to a neighbour without dogs when DS made the mistake of stepping onto the neighbour's front lawn. Their dog instantly went into protective mode and jumped on DS, biting his jogging bottoms. Fortunately he just left a bruise and didn't break the skin. The owner was mortified but neither DS nor I were fussed. He stepped onto the lawn, the dog responded.

On the other hand, our next door neighbour is petrified of dogs and I once had to get another neighbour dog into our back garden (she'd been on a walk and the lead had snapped) because she wouldn't leave him alone (non aggressive). I felt so sorry for our dog phobic neighbour!

What Broomstick said.
I'm frightened of dogs and give them a wide berth wherever I can. But sometimes I don't see them in time and this would have been truly awful for me. I'd also have gone cold all over at the thought of it being my child it had happened to. So yes, I would have at least considered reporting you, OP. I would have expected you to check whether I was hurt and offer to administer first aid (disinfect the wound) too, tbh.

What should she have done, stonecircle

Paused while the op sorted herself, her dog and her child out on the pavement?
Coughed or made some noise so she didn't alarm them?
Not walked so close?

Navy Plase elaborate where I have 'acted' like that. I was giving an opinion (that was invited). The OP only wanted opinions from people who agreed with her that her dog was not aggressive and was even arrogant enoug to say that people who didn't should not be able to post on this board.

Stone surely all the responsibility should rest with the OP to ensure her dog does not interfere with anyone else on a public footpath. She chose to have the animal after all .

Navy Plase elaborate where I have 'acted' like that. I was giving an opinion (that was invited). The OP only wanted opinions from people who agreed with her that her dog was not aggressive and was even arrogant enough to say that people who didn't should not be able to post on this board.

Stone surely ALL the responsibility should rest with the OP to ensure her dog does not interfere with anyone else on a public footpath. She chose to have the animal after all .