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?

She engaged with the lady - she didn’t just walk away

this is being blown well out of proportion. My DH has been attacked by a large aggressive dog who charged DH, leaving him on the floor. My own Dog was terrified and laid on his back and was about to be killed when the big dog owner managed to grab the big dog - and promptly got a massive bite and there was blood everywhere. What do you think happened? Nothing. My dog and DH had some scratches which healed and the dog and its owner ran off into the darkness. What should we have said to police exactly? All we knew was that it was a big dark coloured dog with a young man.

She told her she didn't need any treatment. Didn't give her details.
Tbh not a responsible dog owner.

Really hope the bite wasn't on the shin. At that age, in that location, it might never heal properly.

I'd take legal action against you and your yappy bitey dog.

The very least you should have done is taken the lady to the hospital to be checked over. No matter what she said. Your dog, your responsibility.

And taken your dog to the vet. To be checked out and or pts. That dog will be around small children and it bites 🙄

This is why dogs should be off leads in public places.

if your placid dog can do it then so can any dog… and it could have been much worse. I am literally petrified walking my kid to school through the park. So sick of the ‘it’s friendly’ - I don’t care, stop it jumping/barking/sniffing my daughter.

Bite aside, that poor woman.

was she just walking past? Did it bite her ankle?

Not that age is relevant, but I’m in my 30’s and I got bitten by a toy poodle recently. It also didn’t cause any real damage, but it bloody hurt and really shook me up. I’m not ashamed to admit that the shock actually made me cry - and I’ll hold my hands up and say that I absolutely ignored the dogs warnings and should not have been the least bit surprised when it did snap.

I’d feel really uneasy with the dog around my children now, I’m afraid. Also, your husband is really under playing it. Does he also walk the dog/supervise it whilst it’s with the children? Because I would also worry about him supervising closely enough in both situations.

Exactly this, which is why I’m amazed OP persuaded this old lady she didn’t need medical attention, most likely to downplay the severity of the incident.

It’s all very well for posters saying OP is a good dog owner because she feels terrible about what happened, but it should not have happened in the first place and once it did, OP should have acted responsibly rather than focus on how she feels.

It's why I absolutely hate the fact dogs are allowed in coffee shops

Same.

I was abroad and a huge dog ran up to me as I entered a coffee shop. I immediately asked the staff member to remove it as the owner was nowhere in sight and then left the cafe.

But even if they’re on a leash under the table I feel they can easily just snap at you while you walk past especially as loud noisy coffee shops may be over stimulating for some dogs. It’s one reason I usually don’t go to coffee shops nowadays.

Poor woman though. She would have got a terrible shock most likely. Who knows she may even struggle to leave her house for a while beyond going out for necessities. It’s all very well your husband telling you not to worry but he wasn’t the victim in this and thankfully neither were your kids - this time.

This story just shows I am not being OTT when I give dogs - especially unleashed ones a wide berth. I HATE owners telling me the dog won’t bite because they don’t actually know that!

The dog is not at fault. It was scared because of the wind, and shouldn't have been off lead or put in a position that it could bite someone. This is an OP problem/oversight, which the OP is absolutely owning/accepting and will learn from, because she's a responsible dog owner who made a mistake and is seeking feedback on it.

The scared dog does not need to be murdered for OP's mistake. Shame on everyone suggesting that.

Completely agree. I dislike the fact so many owners have dogs in my apartment building because aside from the fact a few disgusting owners haven’t cleaned up after their dogs who have pissed in the lift …often the dogs get territorial and think the whole place is their home (understandable).

And it’s not nice when you’re walking through the building and a dog is barking and running at you which is what happened to me on two occasions. One of the times I got scratched up on my leg but thankfully not bitten.

I ended up complaining to the building management and they issued the rule to all dog owners about keeping dogs on leads in communal areas and it’s been fine since, but it’s a bit mad they even had to be told that.

I still get them barking and lunging at me which tbh still isn’t nice and I avoid getting in a lift if I see a dog going in, but at least they are on leashes now.

Just curious…Would you mind sharing your experience? Did a dog go for your baby?

Op, you say you took your eye off him for one second but even if you hadn't would the outcome have been any different? If he's off-lead he's free to do what he wants and there wouldn't be time to stop him.

I would like all dogs muzzled in public. It's not fair that some are and some are not. The muzzled dogs have no defence against unmuzzled dogs so it should be a blanket requirement with hefty fines for non-compliance.

My friend has just had surgery on her hand from a bite from an ownerless dog this week. She was told that any treatment for a dog bite is always reported to the police. Is this true?

I got bitten by a chihuahua on the hand. It didn’t seem too bad at the time and luckily I was able to wash out the wound immediately and then apply antiseptic.
During the night I woke up in incredible pain and by the next morning my hand had doubled in size. By the time I went to the small injuries unit I had X-rays as they thought it may be broken. I had to take antibiotics for a week and it took about 3 months to use my hand as normal, like using a key in a door.
My jabs we’re up to date so didn’t need tetanus
.

That’s awful @TheNinjaWife I find it crazy that we don’t have muzzle or at least leash laws given the harm than even a small dog can cause. The law needs to become more preventative than reactive given the explosion in dog ownership.

I was in a hotel lobby waiting to check in once. A little chihuahua on an extending leash kept jumping up at this man. He said stop twice and neither the dog or the daft owner paid attention, and she let her dog keep jumping up on him.

He ended up booting it twice and it was quite shocking to see. It’s not the dogs fault of course and it’s a shame it was hurt, but honestly I mostly blame the owner and the hotel staff for not saying anything in the first place when she had her little dog jumping on all over someone who clearly wasn’t happy about it. I haven’t stayed in a hotel that allowed dogs since.

While I wouldn’t kick a dog myself, we don’t know this man’s history with dog bites - there may be a reason he acted like that for example if he had an experience similar to yours.

That’s awful , you should be worried , she can and should contact the dog ward . you should have given her your details . You will need to inform your insurance and it mean it will not be renewed as it’s an aggressive dog. So basically your dog is now a liability . The least you should do is muzzle him . If it happens again you need to consider how dangerous it is . If this was my child being bitten I would want it put to sleep . I say this Asa dog owner too . Unpredictable dogs that bit without provocation are a danger

For goodness sake OP, surely you knew the reaction you'd get on here? It's a tiny dog with no jaw strength. Yes it was a shock but you're over-reacting.

It's unbelievable that people on here say that size of dog doesn't come into it? How does that make any logical sense? Of course it comes into it.

I think you could’ve looked after her better- took her to a walk in centre/took her home and helped her clean and dress the wound/given her your number and to call you if she needed any help? Seems mean to just let go off on her own when she was so upset.

Your dog has had his world turned upside down by the arrival of the baby. It is very common for animals to display out of character behaviour when their circumstances change suddenly (remember they don't have the reasoning that we have).
I would not 'worry' per se but definitely seek advice from a behaviourist so you can help your dog in the best way possible as you all navigate this transition.
I remember when my gran died our perfectly trained dog started peeing in the house and running off on his walks. It was for attention - he did settle again.

OP had a toddler, a newborn and the dog with her - probably not able to take the lady to hospital! I would however, have exchanged numbers and given her a call when I got home to offer practical help and apologise again. I'm sure the lady who was bitten just wanted to get away from the dog that bit her!

id have him put to sleep. An old lady will take a long time for her skin to heal, so it’s a big deal. A dog who bites is a dog who bites. You now know he’s unreliable around people.

Could be devastating for anyone. Dog bites are a common cause of sepsis, regardless of the size of the dog.
With children, I would rehome immediately with full disclosure or pts.

Thank you for taking on board that poster's advice. I too think it's a good idea to use a muzzle going forwards and seek vet advice.

Just in case you didn't know, please don't get the type of muzzle that binds their mouth shut. It's horribly unethical as they can't pant. A "basket" muzzle prevents a bite whilst allowing them to pant, swallow, get plenty of fresh air to the nose, etc. Have a look at what is available, especially for the specific face shape of your chihuahua.

There are also lots of videos and advice online to help training them to get used to wearing a muzzle happily.

We do have "leash laws" in that a dog must be under their owner's full control at all times. In most places, it's up to the owner to be the judge of if that means the dog should be on the lead or will be okay off. People make mistakes, dogs are living beings who can surprise us.

I am aware of the dangerous dogs act /relevant dog legislation, but unfortunately that’s clearly not prescriptive or specific enough as here in the UK we see many dogs owners who have out of control dogs running at people in parks, beaches, apartment blocks and other areas.

So by leash law I am meaning something like “all dogs on leashes except in certain approved parks” so that the being “under control” park doesn’t depend so much on the owners often very faulty and biased judgement/logic of what that looks like.

When I asked the resident whose dog scratched my leg to keep it on a leash, she had the nerve to argue with me and say her dog was harmless. Because it didn’t “mean” to scratch me. Now there’s a blanket rule on dogs being on leashes in our building she doesn’t have a leg to stand on. It makes things very simple.

Obviously in most cases an out of control/oof leash dog doesn’t bite but it can create a lot of (understandable) anxiety and discomfort because as this thread shows dog are unpredictable and even a small dogs bite can lead to major injury.

I read on MN all the time Plenty of parents have kids who are now terrified of dogs due to them jumping up on them. It’s just not nice.

And irrespective of biting many of us including some adults just don’t want a dog jumping up on us or licking us for various reasons.

You need to take the dog to the vet.

Honestly, no amount of behaviour modification training, or keen eyes, and strong leads can be 100% effective for a dog who now has a history of unprovoked attacks.

You've got children to consider.

I've been attacked by my own dog, and it is heartbreaking because you love them but there are worse things that euthanasia for a dog who attacks unprovoked, far worse.

It could be your kids, it could be someone else's kids, it could be a visitor, it could be a dogsitter if you ever go on holiday, it could be someone passing in the street, it could be another much bigger, much stronger dog.