Dog bit another dog whilst out with dog Walker

[Inxs10921]

Hi everyone, I’m just looking for advice if possible.

my dog has had the same 2 dog walkers for the past 2.5 years. She can be reactive when she’s on her lead and tends to play quite rough (although I think this may be something to do with her breed). We’ve had an incident before around 1 year ago where she went for one of the other dogs whilst out with them on a group walk. Luckily nobody was harmed and I bought a muzzle for them to use when they take her out.

they’ve dropped her back off earlier today and said that her and one of the other dogs were growling and barking at each other in the boot so the dog walker pulled the car over and when she lifted the boot my dog shot straight round the partition and bit the other dog under it’s lip pushing one of its teeth out of position. She’s said she’s not sure she can trust her anymore and will have to speak to her business partner regarding the future.

i feel awful about it I really do but they have stopped bringing the muzzle with them when they take her out so I feel they are also a little bit to blame here as well. I’m assuming we will have to pay any vet bills for the other dog but I’m just a bit miffed that they didn’t have a muzzle on her and that now I’m liable to pay out for a potential extraction. Is this something that their business insurance should cover or not? Sorry for the long read!

It doesn’t sound like she has the dogs properly secured in the van / car which frankly is her problem not yours .

I don’t have a dog but i'd want them to explain how this happened when she should have been wearing the muzzle you bought her.

Hell no. Don’t pay anything. This is on them. You provided a muzzle and they chose not to use it. They are liable.

I’m a dog walker and if this happened to me I would be covering all costs involved. You provided a muzzle they should have used it and shouldn’t have had a dog known to be reactive in an enclosed space with another dog.

Actually I’d be tempted to ask them if their insurance will cover your dogs visit to a behaviourist as their ineptitude has made his reactivity worse .

Not sure if it's the same situation for them or not but in dog grooming we're generally considered liable for anything that happens to or is caused by a dog whilst in our care.
So from the moment I'm handed the lead until the moment it's handed back to the owner, I am the responsible person for that dog, meaning I'm expected to keep it safe and under control. If it bites someone, it's my fault.
I expect this situation will probably be similar, especially given that your dog has a known history of not always getting along with others and you've supplied a muzzle for that reason which they've then decided not to use.

It's likely they already know it's their own fault and won't try to use your insurance but in the event they do you can call your insurer and explain the situation. They'll most probably refuse the claim and send it back to the walkers and their insurers to deal with.

Thank you all so much for your responses. It’s incredibly helpful

Don't be so quick to pay anything.. They should have had your ddog muzzled...
Surely in their care =their responsibility?

This is why I don't use a dog walker. They're too arrogant and think they know best about dogs that they see for maybe an hour a day. Usually less. A good dog walker is like gold dust and they don't do group walks - because it is too unpredictable. Even bonded pairs can turn on each other so two random dogs that don't know each other is always a bad idea. And opening the boot when a dog is growling instead of waiting for the situation to deescalate...what a fool.

BUT they should 100% cover it. Their cock up, their mistake.

And I would be making a list (including any communications you have had) of all the times you had provided the muzzle and they had not used it and you had raised it (I assume you did given you say they haven't been using it - if you didn't, then you are as bad as them tbh). I would then tell them, in no uncertain words, you will not be paying - this is entirely on them - and you will not be using their services again as you do not trust them around your dog.

If the other dogs owner has an issue, they can address it to the dog walker - you did all you reasonably could. This is on them. Not you.

I agree you have pains for a service and as part of that they are responsible for your dog in their care.

They will need to claim on their own insurance. They should (but probably won’t) tell the other dog owner that they didn’t use the muzzle provided.

This is on them. Your dog is known to be reactive and you have provided a muzzle. The dog clearly wasn't properly secured (a partition they can dart around is not secured!) and should have been muzzled, tbh shouldn't have been on group walks at all imo.

I am also a dog walker and agree with @aquietlifeplease .

I wouldn’t walk a dog that was known to be reactive in a group either.

Not your fault there was a previous incident and the dog walker felt your dog was still safe for group walks, you provided a mussel and she didn’t use it. If it was my dog I would expect her to put the mussel on at my house and take it off when they dropped him/her off back home if the dog walker had done this (as I assume you assumed they were) this would never have happened. I don’t mean to sound heartless as a dog lover I’m sure tho was very distressing and painful for the other dog but at the end of the day this is for them to cover not you, and if the other dog was mine I would want to know the full story which you can bet the dog walker never gave them x
Just noticed how old this post is apologies haha! 🧟