Stranger's dog bit me - what should I have done?

[namechange1238]

Name change as this is very outing if linked to other posts.

I'm still dwelling on this which happened recently and frustrated I didn't take more action so I guess this is more of a rant than anything else! But grateful for thoughts...!

I was walking a friend's house and crossing the road. A woman in her 60s/70s (fully white hair but not frail looking) was crossing the road towards me and she'd stopped on a little traffic island with her (cute and innocent looking!) medium sized fluffy dog. I've googled since and I think it's a labradoodle or goldendoodle maybe.

I crossed my bit of the road onto where she was standing on a sort of traffic island and waited there to cross the next bit of road. Out of nowhere (a few seconds after I'd stopped next to them) the dog jumped up and bit my thigh where my shorts were!

No barking before or after so doesn't seem to be aggression? Perhaps playing? I'm stumped! Nothing I can figure out that I did to prompt this. I was wearing big sunglasses so it couldn't see my eyes perhaps and clearly I crossed the road and stopped next to them on a little traffic island maybe 2-3 metres long so I was fairly close to them perhaps?!

She was saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, and pitifully telling off the dog but not at all sternly. I was just in shock and said "for f-'s sake it's actually bit me!.. Seriously.?! etc" I was trying to look at the bite but it was sort of lower thigh/ beginning of my bum and at an angle I couldn't really see! It seemed like it had grazed the skin but couldnt see too well. I was just so stunned said something like "well it didn't break the skin" and huffed and puffed a bit and didn't really know what to do so I carried on walking!

It hurt quite a bit and I had a good look later (and clean etc) and it had two tiny puncture marks but as this bite was THROUGH denim shorts they were more like scratches but it really hurt and over the course of the evening it's turned into a nasty bruise! Even worse now a few days later.

I've reported it to the police online but no cctv and I didn't think to get the details of the woman or take a photo of them. So it's been filed and I guess that's that.

I'll see if I can attach pics but I'm just dwelling on it so much as I feel like I should have done more- if I'd been wearing a dress then it would have been a serious puncture wound and if I had a child with me then god knows. What would you have done if it was you? Or if you were the dog owner?

Thanks if you've read this far!

(Oh and it was in Wigmore area in Kent if you think you know who it was..but that's fairly unlikely, I know!)

Just to add, no I don't think it was play. Dogs learn from an early age not to play with their teeth. Their mums don't appreciate it! Without a growl or warning, that sounds more like what I said - anxiety about your proximity. More likely a nervous than a confident dog. A bit like, for a human, something takes you by shock or surprise, and you lash out without thinking. Did may not be human, but they think. Or don't, as the case here may be.

I would report it to the dog warden and the police, with as much info as you have. There is little else you can do now, but if a dog bit me I wold try to take a photo of the owner and report.

I am sick of the general attitude that dogs can attack people and we are supposed to ignore it or worry about how the dog was feeling at the time of the attack.

I think you need to follow up with the police and get a full report done. I've a dog who mouths to play, and even at her most enthusiastic it has never bruised. The dog who bit you meant it. She at least needs to have it muzzled in public. A random attack on a member of the public is very concerning.

Then report it to Kent police - it is a dangerous dog.

Yes I mentioned in my OP I've reported it to police but there's nothing really they can do without cctv or witnesses etc. They said:

"The details of this offence have been recorded under the classification of Owner or person in
charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control injuring any person or assistance dog on
Crime Reference Number XXXXXX.

We understand the impact that crime can have and we want to reassure you that the information
that you have provided to us is important. It can help us build up intelligence that has a positive
impact on detecting and preventing crime. It affects how we deploy our police officers and informs
local policing.

After reviewing the circumstances of this crime, without witnesses, CCTV footage or any other
corroborative evidence, such as the offender’s details, to help us identify a suspect and place
them at the scene, there are no further enquiries we can make and this investigation has been
filed. If any new evidence becomes available about your crime then this decision may be
reconsidered"

So I think that's it.

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough about having reported it...it's more the ideas like dog warden (which sadly doesn't work for me!) etc that I was hoping for!

Yes fair enough...that's probably true I was close to the dog. Would it not have barked or growled after the bite though and when the woman was saying sorry to me etc? It was literally the bite and that's it!

I will certainly be keeping my distance from dogs in future... I guess the cute look of the dog and it being with an older woman lulled me into a false sense of security! I'd probably have thought twice if it was a rottweiler with a young guy or something! (Not that they're necessarily all dangerous but just saying that I would have personally thought differently!)

No. An anxious dog is more likely to lash out with no warning. It won't feel at all comforting, but if it meant to attack you'd have had a lot more than a single bite. Not justifying it. Simply describing it.