Who is at fault? Unleashed dog came upto my son and bit him

[BlueBunny23]

My son was playing in our front garden. The neighbours dog was running loose and came into my garden and upto my son who put his hand out to stroke the dog and it bit him. He has a hole in his hand and we are off to see if we need cleaned / stitches. Who is at fault? My 10 year old son for attempting to stroke the dog that came up to him? The neighbour for letting her dog loose? Tried to talk to her, she slapped her poor dog in the face and said when it bites her kids she puts this antiseptic rub onto them so offered some for my son, so like she knows it bites and still just let me roam the street when there are kids playing

@LondonLovie

Not the same situation, but parents can read the collar though. Obviously, in this scenario the dog was running around of the lead and out of the owner's control, but if you see a dog walking on a lead with a warning collar on, then you have a responsibility to prevent any small child you are with who are too young to read/know better from approaching and touching the dog. Even without warning collars, children should be taught not to approach and pet strange dogs.

Absolutely her fault for not containing a dog that has form for biting. I would report - also that she smacked him. No wonder the dog’s aggressive. It would have had no idea what it had done to deserve that by the time she reacted. Very pleased you took your DS to have his paw cleaned. Very nasty infections can ensue after animal bites. (And kid bites.)

@CateringForThree

The collars don't mean don't come close. You can pass these dogs on the pavement. They are not bloodthirsty monsters that will lunge at you. What they are warning you to do is not reach out and pat them/let other dogs get too close. 'Nervous' doesn't even necessarily mean aggressive anyway, it might mean that the owner doesn't want their dog getting constantly scared by people wanting to pat it on the head. You see a dog walking around with 'Nervous' on it's collar, it is pretty self explanatory that you don't touch it at least without asking. I didn't know these collars existed untilmI saw them being used but I still managed to heed them.

Anyway, its not massively relevant, seeing as the dog in this situation was out of control. We don't know if the dog would or wouldn't have bit had OP's son not tried to stroke him, but if you know that your dog has a bite history, you have a duty to keep it under control because kids don't always know better or act without thinking, and you get people who will pay zero attention to warnings on collars/ dog coats.

Her 💯

Dog should be wearing a muzzle or be put to sleep

Your son is blameless OP. He was in his own garden and the dog entered your property and approached your son. Also as a non dog owner I've got no idea what a yellow collar would mean. The dog should be PTS. He's aggressive and getting slapped by his useless owner.

Your neighbour is an irresponsible owner. Her dog shouldn’t just be roaming into other people’s gardens anyway, but to let one roam that is nervous and that she’s knows bites is mind blowing. If he got out by accident, she should be more careful. Your poor son, I hope your he is ok.

Poor dog too. He hasn’t been trained and isn’t protected by his owner, things like this then happen and he gets a smack. It sounds like the dog needs an owner that keeps him safe and trains him.

And not that it’s your sons fault at all, but I would teach him to not touch dogs unless their owner is there, seems in control of the dog and to ask first, just for his safety. Ours are always on a lead unless they’re on our land, but if anyone approaches us and wants to touch them, I always make our dogs sit and be calm first. They’ve never bit anyone, but they can get a bit excited at the prospect of fuss from new people. I would be devastated if my dogs bit anyone so it’s my job to ensure I never put a person or my dogs in a position that it happens. Unfortunately there’s a lot of shit owners out there that don’t have a clue.

I can't believe this. Dog has bitten children before and owner thinks it's okay to have it off lead?

I am not a dog owner and have never heard of the yellow collar thing and even if I could read something on it a child isn't necessarily going to be able to.

Stupid woman. I would report her

Please report the dog. There is no rule saying dangerous dogs are allowed to run around free on other peoples property as long as they wear a certain coloured collar.

Thank you for all replies we spent a good few hours at minor injuries he’s been given antibiotics and had his hand cleaned and dressed as there was some broken skin on one side of his hand. He’s very shaken up he’s a very nervous child as it is due to a deaths in the family not long ago and he’s undergoing counselling sessions. I have reported to the police also and expect to hear back today. The dog was not accidentally out, it hasn’t escaped, they just let it out freely to roam the street and always have. The dog had attacked an old lady’s dog some time ago in the street, this dog was very old and just out on a slow walk with its elderly owner when this roaming dog ran over and attacked. I’m pleased I have reported it after thinking it over as this dog should not be in my garden or roaming the street where young children play. We live in a nice quiet street and there are a few young families here it could have been so much worse such as a toddlers face. I hope the police take this very seriously and this isn’t allowed to happen again.

It’s wise to teach your son not to touch a dog without asking the owner, & teaching them how to approach & stroke the dog after he’s let the dog sniff his hand, listened to the owner where to stroke him/where he doesn’t like to be stroked, but your son is absolutely not in the wrong at all.

The warning collars & leads are a thing, but they don’t exonerate the owner. If she knows the dog nips & bites, it is her responsibility to keep it on a lead & muzzled if appropriate.

And smacking a dog isn’t training, it’s animal cruelty. I’d contact your local animal warden for advice & report an out of control dog/animal abuse you’ve witnessed.

My sister has an ex bait staffy that was rescued & had been through 2 previous homes. The staffy cannot be near other dogs at all, so she is always walked on the lead, has excellent recall (on the lead) & a warning collar. And she regularly hires a local dog field where she has exclusive access off lead (or in her case, a very long lead) for a good session of running around. She is well trained, but my sister will never take that risk against another dog. A previous owner must’ve smacked the dog too as it was ‘hand shy’ (puts it’s head down in fear if you pretend you’re going to smack it, just moving your hand quickly near its face) so I don’t doubt it had the same type of idiot neighbour as an owner.

I hope your son’s hand is on the mend soon, and I’m very sorry for your losses. Calling the Police was a good idea. If the dog also has previous for attacking another dog too then it is a danger & obviously out of control with a neighbour that can’t (or won’t) train it without abuse, so this situation needs to be dealt with professionally. If you don’t hear from them, follow up with your dog warden. I think that’s a poor dog that needs removing from its current home for the safety of other dogs & humans, and itself from a stupid owner.

Wow she knows the dog bites and yet leaves it out to roam? I'm glad you have reported to the police.

Wishing your son a speedy recovery, both from his physical injuries and the distress it has caused him. Well done on reporting the dog and owner - definitely the right course of action. As others have said, the yellow collar is not a Get Out If Jail card.

Definitely the owner op, glad you reported it. I would think the police will take it seriously. My dog bit the end of my finger off a year or so ago and I didn't ring the police but they did ring me! Hospital informed them I may have a dangerous dog in my house. Mine was quite a bad injury though.

He wasn't a dangerous dog, a very old Lhasa apso who bit down on my finger whilst I was trying to stop him choking ion a chew. Totally my fault.

Very glad you reported it due to the massive drip feed there!

A nervous dog.. any dog for that matter, but a very nervous one should not be allowed to be let out to roam the streets alone.

Report to the police.

I am glad there is no major physical damage for your son. Perhaps his current therapist could help with strategies to prevent this building into a wider phobia for him. It sounds like the poor boy has enough going on as it is.

This is completely on the dog owner and I hope the police do act swiftly, for your son and the safety of the wider neighbourhood and her own children.

It's the poor lad who was bitten that OP said was nervous.

I’m a huge dog lover and am lucky enough to have lots of dogs…..I would never, ever let any of my dogs do this! Randomly wandering into peoples gardens is a massive no no on its own! Your dog should always be under control. Add to that he’s a known biter?? Absolutely not. She is feckless and irresponsible and should be prosecuted and the dog removed for rehabilitation. I’m sorry this happened to your family xx

I only know about yellow ribbons (collar in this case) because I go to dog meet-up where there are lots of fostered/rescued dogs. If I’d never done that I wouldn’t know about the yellow colour and tbh if I saw it on a collar rather than ribbon I’d assume it was a fashion choice 🤣

the woman is at fault for letting her dog loose and into other peoples gardens. Especially as she knows it bites children

You do know you can report this to the police. Your son was on your land minding his own business and a god entered and but him, sounds awful op. It's the neighbours fault !! X

The dog had a yellow collar. Indicates nervousness. Plus OP said it was a nervous dog!

Glad you reported the bite.

This neighbour needs a reality lesson, her dog injured your son, it is her fault. Your son needs medical treatment unless it is superficial, if it’s serious he is also entitled to compensation, even if he is just frightened he is still entitled to compensation.
It is serious and she needs to realise this.