So mortified...my dog nipped someone :(

[ohbigdaddio]

Last night I was in the pub with my dog and he was lying on the floor, chilling out while I chatted to my friend.

The next thing l know there is a commotion - a woman shrieks, my dog yelps and she shouts "he bit me!" She rolls up her jeans and there's a little wound where one of his teeth caught her, but no massive bite mark, though he did draw blood. My dog was laid out on the floor and she must have not seen him and either stood on him full force or tripped over him. My dog wasn't snarling or growling, in fact he just went back to lying down.

l was so apologetic and the woman was furious and told me to get out of the pub. l felt truly awful and sick and left in tears saying I was so, so sorry.

My dog is a small/medium rescue with a lovely nature, very calm, placid and even a bit timid. It's ironic as l was planning to write a post about how amazing he is as I really feel he has saved me!

[Fucksandflowers]

As the dog didn't lock on, snarl, growl or even move much, this was the least 'out of control'

Some dogs go straight for the attack, sometimes unprovoked, sometimes provoked.

They don’t growl, or bark, or snarl or anything, just bite.

If a dog bites it is by law ‘not under control’

[mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork]

I was travelling on a branch line train with my dog once after a day at the seaside. She plopped down to lie in the aisle and I went to pull her to under the table but the guard, who was walking down the aisle, said it was fine and I could leave her and he stepped over her. This happened about 6 or 7 times and then she bit him, having shown no sign of uneasiness. I can only assume she didn't like the flappy trouser leg passing her face. I, too, was mortified. He was quite put out (not surprisingly) but couldn't make too much of it as he had given permission for her to be there. I apologised profusely and put her under the table (there wasn't much room which is why, having had permission, I hadn't done it earlier). No blood was drawn, fortunately. Now, I always travel with a muzzle in case it gets busy and she has to be too close to people. I am taking no chances. In normal life, she is really affectionate and well behaved and does not bite people - I can only assume she was feeling tired and a bit stressed at the new surroundings (though has been on all public transport before) and his flappy trouser leg passing close to her nose every 10-15 minutes was the last straw.

[adaline]

Er no, no one or thing was out of control.

Unfortunately that's not correct. The law states that a dog that bites a person is deemed to be "out of control", whether on a lead or not.

The reason behind this is obvious - if an owner can claim "my dog was scared/threatened" as a get-out-clause for having a dangerous dog, then people are going to be allowed to keep dogs that bite strangers.

Of course dogs under attacked will attack back - which is why people need to be super vigilant with their dogs in public. Lots of dogs don't do well in busy public spaces with people milling around - especially if they're on the floor and surrounded by big humans wandering around near their head and face!

Not all dogs who bite will show signs of aggression first.

[thesnapandfartisinfallible]

I'd bite someone who stepped on me too!

[Backwoodsgirl]

OP hope your dog is ok, sounds like she was startled/hurt and reacted accordingly. I would expect my dogs to react in the same way and they have done, I have been nipped and I know it was my fault.

[anothernotherone]

The dog should have been under the table, not where people would trip over him. It was your fault and using the word nip will massively piss off the person the dog has bitten hard enough to draw blood through jeans. You're lucky she didn't escalate it if your response was to minimise and tell her how lovely the dog that just bit her is , and that it's just a nip, instead of apologising profusely.

[missbattenburg]

anothernotherone

I must be missing something because the OP says she was "so apologetic", was in tears and saying she was "so, so sorry" and doesn't mention saying to the victim is was just a nip or the dog was lovely?

[MarieG10]

I'm afraid I don't have any sympathy. I was out walking in a footpath and a dog owner walking along, dog in lead and then the dog starts running up to me, trying to jump up which I hate. Pushed it away and it proceeded to bite so it gets a massive kick to get it off me. The best bit is the dog owner starts shouting at me it's my own fault as I pushed the dog off and she was just being friendly

No dog is safe or totally predictable. They all have the potential to bite and injure. Dogs would be on a lead as the OP did, but her dog shouldn't have been in a pub like that. Must pubs should not be allowing dogs anyway if they serve food and the dogs are in the serving area.

Sorry but it is the OP responsibility and dog should be left at home and not imposed on others and free to attack them

[AbbyHammond]

You should have had your dog out of the way and been supervising. While you were turned away oblivious a child could have fallen over the dog or got in it's face with much more serious results.

[Fishcakey]

If someone trod on me I would bite them! Your dog doesn't sound remotely aggressive. Find a different pub and ignore the shreaky dog kicking woman. Pubs need dogs.

[adaline]

Your dog doesn't sound remotely aggressive.

As has been said, the law disagrees. A dog that bites is deemed to be dangerously out of control and could be put down if reported. Imagine if that was a child or a baby that got bitten?

Find a different pub and ignore the shreaky dog kicking woman

OP has no idea whether the dog was kicked or not - she wasn't paying attention! Dogs need to be under close control in public - that means you supervise them and don't put them in situations where they can be hurt or scared like that.

[ferretface]

Personally I would be a bit worried that the dog went straight to bite without a growl, air snap or angry bark. I don't think that the dog is dangerous but I would not trust it in this scenario, it is a level 3 bite on the Dunbar scale.

www.usadogbehavior.com/blog/20141096-types-of-dog-bites

[ferretface]

Also poopypants you misunderstand the meaning of a growl - a growl is better than a bite because a growl is the dog saying please don't do that/get away and a bite is a much more drastic expression of that.

christinecollinscaninebehaviour.com/2017/10/30/the-gift-of-a-growl/?fbclid=IwAR2yk24Qcln4xLr5rEvciGOy7FAOE0DGcDdg52svqAiCXppq4EDya33T1NU

[Figure8]

Ah, thanks...

Your poor doggie....

[perplexedagain]

Your dog did not nip someone - it bit them. You might have thought it was easy for the person to walk round your dog but sometimes dogs aren't easy to see if you aren't expecting them to be somewhere. Dogs can also get stressed if people get too close, or are in a loud, noisy atmosphere. This is why I hate dogs in cafes, pubs etc. its not fair on the dog or people

[RidgedPerfection]

The dog didn't growl and move away; it bit. No point minimising it.

A dog is deemed dangerously out of control even if "there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that it will injure any person or assistance dog, whether or not it actually does so", so delivering a bite itself certainly means that it meets the definition.

I'd hope that no one present reports the incident, especially as you're so genuinely upset and sorry OP but I wouldn't take your dog into environments like this again. Being tethered to a chair in an environment where the dog may well be feeling stressed and unable to escape it may have just been enough to push "stressed" over the edge into aggression. I had a dog that would react to stress by shutting down and lying or standing quietly - people used to tell me how "good" and "placid" he was but in fact he was the very opposite of that when he exhibited those behaviours.

Hard lesson to learn and I hope that you're feeling better today.

[aweedropofsancerre]

My dog does not like anyone touching him, he would definitely mouth anyone who caught him by surprise. I am very aware of what is going around him when we are out because he doesnt like that. He looks cute so people think its okay to approach. Difference between him and your dog is that he does a slow growl first when he doesn't like something...so there is a warning. My DM dog didnt bite anyone even with the grandkids sitting on him or accidentally landing on him. It doesn't matter whether the person stood or caught the dog, biting and drawing blood is very unusual. I have accidentally stood on my dogs paw in the garden and he whimpered....didnt bite... So i would defintely avoid taking him to the pub or if you do put him under the table out of the way

[anothernotherone]

Fishcakey her dog bit somebody without warning and drew blood. No pub needs that. There's no evidence the woman kicked the dog, more likely she tripped over him. If the woman reports the bite to the police the OP may no longer have a dog. Best not ignore the fact her dog bites strangers without warning as she clearly loves her dog and will be upset if a series of people reporting it biting them leads to her dog being confiscated and destroyed. Don't you think?