My dog bit an old lady.

[Milliemoons]

And I feel so awful about it. He’s a chihuahua, he’s tiny but he still drew blood. He’s never done it before. It was super windy, I had my newborn in a pram and my three year old who was running off and I took my eye off him for one second and he just launched himself at this poor lady.

He was off lead but he usually is and I’ve never had a problem (he’s 7). We were in a public park where dogs are permitted off lead. Needless to say I won’t be risking that again.

She was really worried about needing to go to the doctor to be vaccinated (I assured her he was fully vaccinated and healthy). I apologised over and over but the poor woman was shaken up.

I just keep thinking about it. DH says not to worry, I apologised and I reassured her I would not be allowing him off lead again.

Has this happened to anyone else?

A dog is vaccinated to protect it from disease and stop it spreading disease among dogs, it will not protect a human it's bitten from Tetanus or the like!!

Sorry time for dog to go. 2 kids and dog has attacked someone. It's dangerous and irresponsible to have a dangerous near kids

Your dog has bit a stranger and you have children. You took your eyes off the dog today and it bit. You can’t guarantee that in your house that you will be paying attention all the time.

You should think about rehoming the dog.

it’s simply not worth the risk. There are no excuses.

I got bitten on the face by our springer spaniel when I was a child. She was in the bin eating chicken bones so I tried taking them off her. She growled and bit me. Obviously wouldn't have happened if I wasn't trying to get her away from the chicken, however my mum rehomed her immediately.

I'd be more worried about how safe the kids are. will the baby crying set off the dog? You say you dont leave the kids alone but you were there when the dog bit the old lady so being there doesn't always stop it happening.

I’m a massive dog lover, and agree with all of this. I hope the lady has gone to get antibiotics as she will need them. And I hope you’re okay as I bet it’s really shaken you up. Also second going to vets to get your dog checked over as this was out of character.

Could you dog be in pain or have an undiagnosed health condition OP?

If she’s in pain it might explain it.

My small dog grazed a postwoman so I don’t let her off lead anymore. Didn’t draw blood or puncture but she called the police 3 months later and I had to attend the police station with a solicitor. She got compensation and time off work so she spun it out.

Fortunately I have a large garden but I’m very careful now.

As I u understand, the dog in the news bit its owners arm accidentally while jumping for food she was throwing in the air. So I don’t think it was fair for the animal to be pts.

I don’t think your dog should be pts as your dog won’t see stranger danger with your children. It was probably scared in the wind and got agitated. Chihuahuas are known not to like strangers and be very territorial.

Yes OP it is completely normal to feel guilty and ashamed if your dog bites anyone. That is how you should feel.

Get over yourself and stop looking for any validation or sympathy. That is only for the lady who was bitten!

I have two chihuahua. One is nervous of people she doesn’t know but once she knows you- she is the sweetest thing. Never growled or bitten me or anyone. Complete cuddle bug.

My other chihuahua has always been snappy. He was mishandled as a puppy by a vet and since then been like this. He’s better now as I don’t do things like suddenly try to pick him up. He wears a muzzle to the vets. Ironically, he’s always been sweet to my daughter.

My advice to you:

• Book your dog to the vets to check he isn’t in pain.
• He wears a muzzle outside.
• Start introducing crate training so events that may stressful , he has somewhere to go.
• he must never be left alone with the children if you can’t see him. See my comment about a crate.

Years ago I knew a child who was bitten on the face by his grandmother's very well behaved chihuahua. It damaged a nerve in his face and his eye drooped, a permanent thing. I'm sorry it is hard but you should not keep that dog with young children, imagine your child disfigured for life, how would you live with that?

Just wanted to add this dog was not left with the children unsupervised, the mother and grandmother were there but the dog was so quick.

I’d be very careful about trying to contact her on a public forum. You could be reported and if you have children likely you will told that he should be destroyed!

I hate when owners minimise things when their dog attacks people!

I wouldn't want the dog anywhere near your toddler and baby. People always say "not my dog" but clearly what happened in the park has shown you what could happen to your children at home.

Do you have to report a dog bite?

The Lady should absolutely get medical help and your dog reported.

Just because he's a tiny chihuahua that has never bitten before is irrelevant, he drew blood thats significant. You sound like a decent dog Mum and hope you'll do the right thing by the victim.

Your dog may be jealous of the baby or protective, hard to know, but clearly you need your dog on a leash at all times and maybe a muzzle of some sort. Chihauhaus have on average an 18yr lifespan so you need to get this under control now.

I love dogs but I don’t think that a dog who has bitten someone when it’s not self-defence should be in a household with pre-teens. Sorry OP. It’s too risky.

Exactly, wth is “grazed” did the dog bite the woman or not? If so call it what it was.

We don’t know how it affected the postal worker or what their history of dog bites was. Perhaps this triggered a trauma based on previous dog attacks or made them hyper vigilant in fear of similar incidents.

Good, she deserves compensation.
It sounds like she did the right thing as dog bites should be reported to the police and also it made the owner be more careful. I suspect if she didn’t take those actions it would’ve been business as usual for that poster.

My 80 year old Grandad got cellulitis after being accidentally nipped by his own fully vaccinated dog. It wasn’t a deep bite at all and he still had to be put under a general to have the wound flushed out and it took months for his arm to fully go back to normal size.

I don’t think the vaccination status of your dog matters OP.

In my experience (in laws bred over 100 chihuahuas) they are snappy by nature.
I wouldnt want it around my children knowing its biten someone, and i certainly wouldnt have it off the leash ever again. You dont deserve any sympathy.

The older you are, the more likely it is that your immune system is not what it should be. It's also less likely that you have support at home.

There's also the fact that it's often more difficult for older people to get to and from hospital. Taxis can be expensive.

I’m probably telling you what you don’t want to hear but you sound like a mess. You had a 3 year old running off, an off leash dog, and a newborn in a pram. All 3 of those need your undivided attention, so obviously trying to juggle all 3 at the same time meant you didn’t supervise anyone properly - the 3 year old ran off and the dog bit someone. Plus, the person attacked by your dog is someone who might suffer more than usual, elderly people don’t necessarily have tip top immune systems, she was clearly worried.

In future, I just don’t think you should take all 3 out at the same time. You can’t control them
all.

Well, that's alright then.

I know many, many people who've crossed roads without looking properly, and they're all fine.

But anyone bitten by a dog should get it checked out.