My dog bit my dog Walker

[Jennie12345]

Hi,

I am hoping for some advice. I have a cocker spaniel who has always been super hyper and hard work, but never aggressive at all.
I have had the same dog walker for 2.5 years (he is just over 2 years old) and she called me Friday to say my dog had bit her! I was shocked and very apologetic.
she said he had become fond of a plastic container in her car and had been resource guarding it. She dropped some treats on the floor to try and get it off him and he bit her, quite badly as she ended up in hospital all night saturday having it cleaned up apparently. I haven’t seen her yet but am in constant contact and will pop over tomorrow to apologise in person.
she asked me if he’s changed at all recently and I said not at all, he’s never resourced guarded at home, we can take anything off him. She said it’s been happening a while with stuff but she has never mentioned it to me?
so we have a 5 year old at home and have had to make the VERY sad decision to rehome him. He’s gone to a lovely place with a vet who specialises in cocker spaniels.
my question to you guys is.. can she take legal action against me for damages? I am very worried. He had honesltly never done this before and she had not told me he had been acting like this with resource guarding until Friday when he bit her.
she’s being lovely to me and keeping me updated and I’m offering to help in anyway at all.
Would really appreciate anyone’s view on this? We are heartbroken and I have been in tears all weekend as he was my baby, but also very concerned we could get in legal / financial trouble ?

Yes I am in contact with her over the weekend checking how she is. My husband is going to pop over tomorrow with some flowers and I won’t keep making contact now.

So you've never witnessed this behaviour from your dog, you didn't witness what the dog walker said happened, you've not worked with a behaviourist at all, and you've fucked your dog off immediately?

This can't be real.

I’m normally on the side of the humans in situations like this but I think it’s possible here your dog walker might have engendered the issue themselves.

I mean, cockers are prone to resource guarding and they can be real dickheads about inanimate objects but equally resource guarding can be learned, ie if someone takes something off them rather than trading - particularly in an environment with competitor dogs around.

Gotta agree with others - no way would I ever rehome a dog (particularly in 2 bloody days!!!) on the basis of behaviour someone else claims happens when I had seen no evidence of it myself.

Your dog probably did nip her, but I’m more than willing to let the majority of the blame lines with her. Bullshit has your dog done it before - if it had (which I highly doubt) the dog walker would have told you. At least if she was any sort of good dog walker…sounds like she’s either a liar or incompetent and you got rid of a perfectly innocent dog based on the word of a fool.

Yes, exactly.

As a dog walker myself there is no way I would
ignore resource guarding in my care - I always tell the owners, no matter how painful a conversation it is - they need to know. It’s happened a good number of times over the years and has never escalated into a bite because the situation has been managed.

I’ll also be honest and say if my own dog was out with a walker and they came home to tell me my dog had bitten, I’d want to know what the bloody hell they’d been doing to him because he’s never even attempted to bite anyone in the 7 years I’ve had him (accidental nips as a puppy aside).

I certainly wouldn’t be rehoming him.

I so hope it is not real, poor bloody dog.

knowing someone whose "super friendly" family cocker spaniel ripped half the face off of their 4 year old - I could not disagree more. OP is being very responsible making the sad decision to rehome. At the end of the day there is no contest between a dog and a child in priorities.

By that logic, nobody should ever own a dog.

OP didn’t see what happened with her dog - she only knows that the dog walker has lied to her in the past and has now been bitten.

If my dog was out with a walker and bit them, my first reaction would be to wonder what the bloody hell they’d done to provoke my into doing that in the first place!

Re-homing a dog when you don’t know what’s happened, based on second hand information and without even getting it checked by a vet is far from responsible.

Overnight in hospital is a bit more than a’nip’

I don't believe her version of events.

The dog has never shown any signs of resource guarding in the home and she's supposed to be qualified to care for dogs but got in a position where the dog bit her?

No, I'm not buying it.

Your husband is foolish to go round with flowers and admit any kind of liability.

Let her claim off her own insurance.

She's not fit to be looking after dogs.

She wasn’t in hospital overnight. She got bitten on the Friday but apparently didn’t bother to get any treatment until Saturday which would make me even more suspicious of her story.

The whole thing just sounds odd. How can someone find a reputable, safe home for a dog that apparently bites and resource guards within 24 hours of the bite occurring? And who would rehome their dog based on a story from someone who has shown themselves to be a liar?

Sorry I can’t see anywhere that it’s states she has ‘fucked of her dog’

Sorry I can’t see anywhere that it’s states she has ‘fucked of her dog’

This.
She didn’t tell you the dog was resource guarding? On what planet does an experienced dog walker not report back something like this to the dog's owner?

She was in the hospital over night, she went on got checked on the Friday then an appointment to a specialist hospital on the Saturday and had to stay over night to have surgery to clean it out internally. She was a reputable dog walker but just hadn’t told me that the dog was showing signs of resource guarding. I don’t blame her for this I just wish she told me that he had shown signs of this previously.
I am heartbroken but I know I can’t risk a dog thag has bitten someone around my 5 year old!!!! As per someone else has said on here

@Jennie12345 You believed the woman and got rid of your precious dog because of what she said!

Unbelievable that you have taken her word.

@Jennie12345

Apologies, the overnight part wasn’t clear - however I have to argue that a dog walker that didn’t tell you your dog was displaying severe behavioural issues is not in any way reputable. She may be popular but that’s not the same thing.

I’m still gobsmacked that you got rid of your beloved dog based on this, though.

i have a 5 year old in the house, so I have no choice. I love my dog very much, however I love my son more and I’m not putting him at any risk.

I understand that, but you don’t even know what happened - all you have is a second hand story from a woman who has shown herself to be dishonest. You don’t even have evidence that your dog bit her or that she didn’t antagonise him or hurt him first.

How did you manage to find a reputable home for a supposed biter and guarder in such a short period of time anyway?

He has gone to live with a vet that specialises in fostering cocker spaniels as they are well known to have behavioural issues. She fosters him, asses’s his behaviour and will then rehome him to a person that has experience with cockers .
I have done what I have to do. Judge me all you like but it wasn’t an easy decision but one I had to make with my son in the house.

I guess I’m just concerned that the walker is not being entirely honest with you and that you have been forced into making a decision based on a lie or a situation that was actually not your dogs’ fault in the slightest.

@Jennie12345

take a deep breath.

It sounds like your dog is currently in a brilliant place being looked after really well.

Given the Vet who is looking after him rehome the dogs when he considers it suitable , I wouldn't be seeing this as a one way road for your dog,

People are not always what they seem, so whilst you might have got on well with your dog walker she may not be actually telling you the truth about what happened or if she did get a bite which Dog it was from.

Your dog showed no sign of resource guarding at home, so either he wasn't or there was something about the situation with the dog walker that was creating this dynamic.

IF what she said is true, she should have spoken to you about the resource guarding as soon as it started and she should have more knowledge about how to behave around it, if what she said was true she has created the situation.

it's concerning that you are so willing to believe it was your dog and the dog walker is 100% legit when your dog gave you no cause to worry about resource guarding.

Speak to the vet and see how things are going.

Cross posted with you, you said it's so much more succinctly and I agree 100%

I just want to highlight something that may be of use to anyone reading this thread who has a dog but no pet insurance. If you join the Dogs Trust (£25 pa or half that if you are over 60) you get 3rd party cover www.dogstrust.org.uk/support-us/companion-club

Unless there is something missing from the story then I doubt if your insurance would accept responsibility for this. You employed an experienced dog walker to care for your pet, she was responsible for the dog at the time. She knew the dog well, yet she chose to aggravate it in a very confined space (the car). The dog walker was responsible for the dog at the time it bit. Unless you know something about the dog that you are not sharing (unlikely with a 5 year old child I accept) or there is evidence of, for example, you consulting a vet about behavioural issues then I do not see how you can be held responsible, yet your posts suggests you are behaving as though you are. Be careful not to admit liability.