Need advice! -A dog bit another dog.

[Thiswillpasssoon]

I need your advice please!
A friend of mine owns a dog, American Stafforshire. This 2year old dog was abandoned by previous owner and my friend adopted her a few months ago. She hasn't been fully trained but is really friendly and nice, never had any problem with kids around. One day while she was walking the dog, she found a smaller dog near and suddenly ran and attacked it. When my friend dashed to help and opened the dog's jaw to the little dog suddenly bit my friend.( I know, it's a bit confusing)
Bleeding on her leg, she apologised to the little dog's owner about her dog's attack and gave him her phone number offering payment for its treatment. A few days later, the dog's owner came with vet charge which she was happy to pay. However, she also wanted their apology because that dog bit her too! She had to go to A&E and had a stitch. The owner denied the incident totally and blamed my friend's dog for it too.
So it had to be reported at the police. Although she took some pictures of her wound and left her blooded clother for evidence it didn't prove that the little dog had bitten her. And the dog's owner keeps insisting my friend's dog is so dangerous and she bit her own owner which is not true.
At the first place, I know it was her fault not to keep the dog under control and she has leant a lesson now. She was willing to pay the Vet fee accepting her fault, however, she just wanted an apology nothing else from the dog's owner as well. Is it to much?
In thus case, what's the best thing to do?
Any experience like this? Plz help.

She sent it on a training course? Training is for the owner and the dog. If she isn’t training this dog (and not just once a week at a class) then it will never improve.
This dog is out of control.

OMG! I didn't know thie breed is banned in UK. I should have got some advice before my friend made a mistake. She has been absolutely unreasonable and silly!
Does anyone know how to get certificate of excemption?

I don’t want to cause additional stress but I am not convinced a certificate of exemption would be given to a dog that had attacked another dog..

This is a very difficult issue but I would be inclined to muzzle it, neuter it and keep it on lead personally (in accordance with the law) and hope and pray the police don’t visit.
Which is of course illegal.

Certificates of exemption are given after the dog is examined and the accessor is satisfied the dog is not dangerous and poses no risk to the public.

You won't get an exemption, not now it has bitten. And for heaven's sake did it not occur to her that a terrier is not to be trusted around smaller animals? You dont need knowledge of dogs for that, just a modicum of common sense.

The little dog was petrified having been in the jaws of a large dog , no apology needed.

Tell your friend to muzzle and never let off the lead, if it did this to my dog I'd be calling the police, it would be seized and destroyed if it was a banned breed.

Hate people getting these powerful dangerous dogs without a clue.

I don’t think you’ll get an exemption now. The only thing I can think of is maybe the original owners lied and it’s actually not this breed?

Odds are it's probably not an AmStaff or Pit Bull anyway. It's probably just a large Staffy with poor socialisation skills.

Your friend probably needs training more than the dog does.

“Odds are it's probably not an AmStaff or Pit Bull anyway.”

Probably not, but if it looks anything like one, she wants the police nowhere near it...

Quite right. It's a daft thing to do tempting fate by involving the authorities unnecessarily.

I think the Staffy/AmStaff/"Irish" Staffy confusion comes from the breed standard for the Staffy:
M 13-17kg, 36-41cm
F 11-15.4kg

This is quite small for any Staffy that's a generation or two adrift from KC pedigree show standard. 18-21kg is not unusual for a "family" Staffy without papers - but that's into the range of the breed standards for the AmStaff/Pit Bull (18-27kg, 43-50cm).

This creates a temptation for a certain type of owner to think their Staffy may be an AmStaff or an "Irish" Staffy. And if they don't realise the potential implications of doing so they could talk themselves into legal complications. Breed standards are for showing and poodle contests, they're not necessarily diagnostic of a dog's breed/pedigree.

Can you have it a look and tell?

I would say that looks ‘of pit bull type’ to me.

Looks like an American bulldog x tbh... but yes, close enough to “type” that if she was mine I’d be trying hard not to get the police involved.

If they did decide she’s of type, the best outcome is that she’s exempted which among other things involves her being in lead and muzzled in public at all times (people have even had dogs destroyed for having them unmuzzled in their own car) or they can have her destroyed - which is a possibility as your friend has already shown that she’s not up to controlling her and they can’t rehome pit bull types.

Difficult to tell from one photo, and lying down at that. The differences are all rather vague, and ultimately it's how the authorities choose to decide if they are ever put into the position of having to decide. My guess is a Staffy Cross, but what the other breed(s) involved are is anyone's guess.

There are a couple of options:

• See a vet and get them to give an opinion. If she applies for a Pet Passport for the animal then the vet will state the breed in his/her opinion on the document. If the vet states "Staffordshire" or "Staffordshire cross" then she should be ok.

• Submit a sample for genetic analysis to one of the online companies that do this and get a DNA report back. I'm not convinced by these reports, they tend to over-represent unusual breeds based on the reports people share online.

But regardless of what else she does, she needs to stop referring to the dog as an AmStaff to minimise the potential for creating a problem that may not be there. She needs to refer to it as either a Staffy or Staffy Cross. She also needs to work on controlling it. And she needs to be realistic with herself as to whether she has the physical strength to control a dog with that much strength of its own.

Your friend needs to suck it up. I think she’s got a fucking cheek asking the owner for an apology. It was her own fault she got bit by the other dog, because she wasn’t in full control of her own dog. Dog on dog attacks can be reported to the police here, in NI and there would be a possibility of her dog being put down. At the very least it would be made to were a muzzle in public. It makes me nauseous when someone who has NO experience with dogs decides to rescue a breed that can inflict serious damage or even death. It’s not so much the breed that concerns me, but the person that owns it.

She’s lucky she got off so light. I had an emergency operation three weeks ago, due to a serious infection from a really tiny nip from one of my foster dogs. It genuinely looked no bigger than a pimple. I don’t know if I’ll regain full use of my hand and I’m in constant pain. It was my fault as the dog was in pain and I stupidly handled him wrongly. She might not be as lucky next time.

You have a picture of your “friend’s” dog? You could be in real trouble here.
Out of control, has bitten and probably terrified a member of the public. Also clearly not a Staffie.

You have a picture of your “friend’s” dog?
I have pictures of friend's dogs. I also have pictures of my own dog.
What's so unusual about having photos of friend's dogs?

DogInATent I think it's more that it reads as 'friend' when it might actually be the OPs dog but doesn't want to admit it. However, either way it doesn't change the advice.

I don't see that it's unusual that I have a picture of my friend's dog. My DCs loves dogs although we don't have any. I have many pictures if the dog with/without my kids.

your friend demanded an apology from a woman whose dog had just tried to kill her dog (and thats why her tiny dog bit in fear)? Because in your culture you all apologise for things even if its not your fault?

That isn't a staffie OP. That's a pit bull terrier imo. At a push it could be Staffie/Boxer cross, would have to see her standing up really but the face and ears put me in mind of Boxers. I wouldn't like to be arguing it in court though. In my opinion you friend needs to draw as little attention to this dog as possible and register her as a boxer/staff on anything that asks her breed. Train her to an impeccable standard of behaviour with professional help if that's what it takes. If your friend cannot physically overpower her then she has to make damn sure that she will never have to. Keep her away from other dogs unless you know she gets along with them.

One scrap with another dog that isn't reported to the police, she may get away with but I wouldn't be fuckarsing about asking for an apology. She owns a banned breed. One complaint about this dog could get her put down.

I think I’ve misunderstood. OP, did your friend go to the police herself?

If a pit bull type dog (or any other dog) attacked my dog and then bit the owner as they prised my dog from their dogs teeth I certainly would not be apologising. In fact I would be straight on to our local dog warden. Your friends dog was out of control, no matter how you butter it up.

Vets paperwork and online DNA tests will make no difference at all.

That’s not the way the DDA works...

Vets paperwork and online DNA tests will make no difference at all.

That’s not the way the DDA works...

I know, but it's either that or do nothing and not know. A vets opinion carries some weight, and at least helps with insurance. I'll make a guess that there's no insurance in place (not even third party) if the owner is labelling the breed as AmStaff.