Dog bitten at 'day care'

[FMyUterus]

Our dog is 12 years old and he is a sweetheart but because I've been in hospital for a bit and now I'm going back to work full time we decided to put him into day care so he wasn't alone (with our other dog) and getting upset whilst I was away.

He's come home today with a swelling on his arse. He also refused to move from his bed and then when I went to pet him he turned and tried to bite me. So off to the vet we go.

He has 2 puncture wounds on the top of his back and a tooth drag mark about 3 inches underneath where the vet thinks he's been bitten by another dog.

He's got pain killers and has been shaved. Our other dog is in a cone of shame to stop her licking him 🤦‍♀️. But how do I approach this with the day care?

I would be sending them a picture of his wound. That looks very deep. Your poor dog. Don’t send him back. May be a one to one?

Did the daycare not notice or say anything? What kind of a set-up is it? Someone's home or a bigger commercial set up?

Sorry for all the questions, but there are good daycares and bad ones, and lots of the big commercial ones in warehouses can be understaffed with far too many dogs in one room, meaning the dogs just aren't supervised and accidents can be missed.

I hope your boy is okay. There's no way I'd send him back.

@pilates it's awful the tooth drag mark is even bigger, unfortunately it can't be stitched because of the risk of infection so we've just got to leave it to heal. I feel awful that I sent him to day care to get hurt.

Wont be going back

@vanillandhoney no day care didn't notice. It's like a paddock at her home with kennels they can go into if they want. Plus she walks them 4 miles each day. He's always been happy there but god it's clearly not safe!

That's awful op. I'd send them that picture and what the vet said. They should pay for it. I hope he feels better soon.

My dog once came back from the minders with a nasty bite through her ear. Required a visit to the vet and antibiotics. It was the last time she went there and we told them why.

I’d be sending the photos over and demanding they pay the vets bill.

I’d be putting the photos up on social media and spreading the word to avoid them.

Then I’d be looking into if there was anywhere further I could complain with a view to getting it shut down.

The fact they didn’t even notice says to me they have no idea what they are doing and are just leaving the dogs completely unsupervised together which is dangerous and irresponsible.

I’m no vet but that looks like a very deep bite to me, imo, that’s not a minor nip that was intended as a warning, that’s a ‘proper’ bite by a dog intending to cause injury.
Such a dog has no place in day care.

Don't spread it in social media unless they don't respond well to vets bill request!

Before posting bad comments about them tell them what’s happened and give them chance to respond and explain.

Speak to them first! I think they need to know about the other dog. If they are decent, they will want to know.
They should also be insured so getting the vet bill paid should not be a problem.
Hope your dog has a speedy recovery.

That's awful & yes if they're insured it should be covered.

We have a dog walker for the days we are in work. I think an older dog should be happy chilling at home with a midday walk to break the day up? I don't think my dog would enjoy day care tbh as he chills on our sofa when we're out.

Also I don't think spreading the news on social media is necessary. Just sort it out with them directly.

Don't spread it in social media unless they don't respond well to vets bill request!
I meant after they had paid the bill!
Sorry if that wasn’t clear.

tell them what’s happened and give them chance to respond and explain
If they are decent, they will want to know
The OP said no day care didn't notice. It's like a paddock at her home with kennels they can go into if they want
That statement tells you everything you need to know.

The set up OP describes sounds like it’s basically throw lots of dogs together and leave them to it, bar a four mile walk.
Which isn’t a particularly long walk.

The whole set up is asking for trouble.
It’s irresponsible and dangerous

If she didn’t notice then she very clearly wasn’t supervising the dogs.
I have a very hard time believing there was no yelping, screaming, growling etc.
So how it was missed..?
It wasn’t a tiny misjudged nip or warning snap that barely scraped the skin.

The bite I'd be upset about but acknowledge sometimes these things happen - the dog day care not realising however would ring major alarm bells.
Give them a chance to explain/ pay the vets bill before social media but I'd be ending my business with them at that point.
Hope you find a dog walker that can come into yours and let him out when you're at work

I'm a fairly tolerant person and more the type to shrug and say, they're animals - accidents happen.

But that's a nasty bite and I find it very hard to understand how an injury of this severity could happen without a lot of noise, and without anybody noticing. It does suggest that the dogs are left to roam around a large area unsupervised doesn't it.

My terrier goes to daycare and plays for hours, but it's at somebody's house with a relatively modest sized garden - the guy can see them and is with them all the time, if there were any spats he'd know about it and could probably intervene very quickly.

I'm so sorry your dog got hurt, I hope he heals quickly. They're incredibly resilient, our four-legged friends - my old girl had a ruck with a random dog on the common years ago and had a similar hole in her side, went right down to the abdominal wall. They couldn't stitch her because she was feral, but it healed up in a week!

OP a decent daycare would have seen this happen and immediately told you. If they're not aware then dogs weren't being supervised and it's not safe I'm afraid.
One of my dogs came home from kennels with a fresh bite mark bleeding on his ear. A white dog, so impossible to miss but the kennels denied all knowledge. He never went back.

Your poor dog, I hope he heals quickly and that the day care accept responsibility

Poor dog :(. I hope he heals ok. He must have made some noise poor soul so I would really wonder how they didn't know about it :(. Hope you get some answers

[quote FMyUterus]@vanillandhoney no day care didn't notice. It's like a paddock at her home with kennels they can go into if they want. Plus she walks them 4 miles each day. He's always been happy there but god it's clearly not safe![/quote]
It worries me that it wasn't noticed - sounds a bit like outside of walks, the dogs are left to it in the paddock - which is fine if there are enough staff to supervise, but if that was the case, an injury like that would have been spotted, surely? Dogs fighting make a hell of a lot of noise - how on earth did she not realise something had happened?

I would also be going straight to her with the vets bill. If she's running a reputable (legal) daycare with the correct paperwork in place, she should be able to claim off her insurance for accidents and injuries that take place on her property.

The fact they didn’t know about it is very worrying:

1. They didn’t notice the noise when it immediately happened.
2. They didn’t notice the swelling or your dog behaving off afterwards.

It sounds awful and miles away from my dog’s day care which is in someone’s house (where they spend the majority of the time having a cuddle on the sofa with the lovely owner)!

My parents owned a boarding kennels and always had a very simple rule that dogs did not mix with dogs from any other household for exactly this reason.

They went out for walks alone and got time running feee in a paddock each day (as long as they could be recalled).

Whenever I see these kennel/daycare models where the dogs are all free together I think it's a disaster waiting to happen.

The simple fact is that you cannot guarantee how the dogs will respond to other unknown dogs, they may be placid and delightful at home and on walks but put them all together and there will be dominance issues with some.

If you need to use a doggy daycare then I recommend finding one that can guarantee separation from other dogs and regular walks/time out of kennel during the day.

At one of the daycares I used there were 3 or 4 staff there at all times mixing with the dogs. If there’s an issue they know immediately
Doesnt sound like the dogs are properly supervised at yours though

Firstly you are paying for someone to look after your dog. If this has happened unnoticed then I would inform them and I would not be putting my dog back there. I would also be checking their qualifications and credentials too. If you had to go to vets I would be sending them the bill.