My dog just bit someone!

[WalkingWolf]

No offense to other posters, BUT there were children in the yard, and they were perfectly SAFE. Nobody with any common sense sticks their hands into a yard to pet, tease, or touch a barking dog. He did not get out of the fence to bite, he was approached, it could have easily been a child molester trying to get in.

My dogs are very docile, but they have bit, one was a neighbor teasing the dog as I watched, before I could get out the bum tried to grab her by tail, BIG mistake. The other time a burglar attempted to raid my shed, and when my wife found him cornered by the theif he moved towards her with a stick, BIG mistake. Our dogs follow commands and OBEY, and stay in their boundaries. Neither time were there charges filed against me or the dog. The thief went to jail and convicted the bite scares were used as evidence against him. The neighbor was informed he could be prosecuted for animal cruelty, never heard another peep from him and he moved away. BTW he was subsequently arrested and his chickens impounded for taking part in a activity that is against TOS to be discused on this site. It is amazing how a dog can just sense BAD people.

I only had one dog that would not obey commands and I put him down. If the dog obeys commands and is docile around the children, which we all know can paw dogs to the point of iritation, then there may be something else the dog senses. Maybe the mailman was the one who peppered sprayed the dog. How well do you know your neighbor, there are many lonely and suffering parents out there who would have loved to own her dog.

SAFETY of HER CHILDREN comes before any other considerations. At this point with her children present if I was her I would watch and access the dogs interactions with the children. Personally if it was me and it was my grandchildren I would be giving that dog a reward. If the dog is a danger to the children, if the dog does not obey commands, if the dog has nervous ticks or other nervous disorders by all means put it down. Other than that with 5 acres double gate.

Check your state database of offenders, then access whether you want to keep the dog or not.

 

[Hens_And_Chicks]

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I shouldn't let this statement irritate me but this is blackmail. The postal carrier (or anyone for that matter) gets bit by your dog and you are off the hook because if he reports your dog bit him, he could lose his job. Meaning, any medical treatment or complications he has is out of his pocket - any loss of work means he loses wages. How fair is that.

Ignorance it not bliss. It's like putting on blinders and pretending you can't see anything.

I recently made a very difficult decision to rehome a dog that showed severe aggression when anyone new came onto the property. She had never bitten anyone but I wasn't about to let that happen while she was in my possession. She was a gorgeous gentle dog with me but not with anyone else, particularly all men and boys.

 

[Dar]

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although i agree with you 100%...the law may see it in a different light...so may her homeowners insurance..(remember laws vary state to state the the mail man was not an intruder...

we need to remember that what it is moral right is not always the law and lets face it getting into legal problems can get expensive

what was that song?..."i fought the law, and the law won"...

(sorry had to)

 

[TriciaHowe]

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I shouldn't let this statement irritate me but this is blackmail. The postal carrier (or anyone for that matter) gets bit by your dog and you are off the hook because if he reports your dog bit him, he could lose his job. Meaning, any medical treatment or complications he has is out of his pocket - any loss of work means he loses wages. How fair is that.

Ignorance it not bliss. It's like putting on blinders and pretending you can't see anything.

I recently made a very difficult decision to rehome a dog that showed severe aggression when anyone new came onto the property. She had never bitten anyone but I wasn't about to let that happen while she was in my possession. She was a gorgeous gentle dog with me but not with anyone else, particularly all men and boys.

As you can see at the end of my post I DID offer to pay for any medical expenses. I didn't tell the mailman to not report it and I had no idea he could loose his job until HE told me this information. You are making it sound like I already knew this information and am now holding it over his head. This is not the case at all. If he brought me an ER or Dr bill today I would pay it. I never told my neighbor to not report her bite either even though she had her arm through my fence trying to undo the safety lock on the gate. It's not a "padlock" but difficult enough that the 3 yr old can't open it. I didn't know she was out there and she didn't call to say she was coming over. She is not someone who normally comes over. Both times the bites were not like a clamp down bite but more like a scrape with one tooth is the best way I can describe it. Not trying to minimize the bite just trying to explain the way it looked. If I had any idea that he would bite over the fence I would never of had the box on the outside of the fence where it was. The incident wasn't severe enough that he would lose any work over. It was a 2" single tooth scrape on the arm, not a mauling. I would still pay for any medical treatment no questions asked if he decided to seek it.
I am going to do like a pp suggested and put the hotwire across the top of the fence. where the gate is. This should hopefully prevent any future problems. I don't have any neighbors that butt up to my property that the dogs have access to. I have no neighbor to the south, but we have a pasture on that side that the dogs don't go in unless they are with us and our neighbor to the north is seperated by a 2 1/2 acre pasture that again the dogs have no access to. There is a state park behind us.
He has no problem with the kids coming and going through the north pasture when they come over to play and greets them with a toy and wagging tail. My farrier also lets himself in with no problems through the front gate every 6 weeks. He is also the most kid friendly dog I have ever had. He has never as much growled at any of the kids. He is exceptionally patient with them and seeks them out to play so they will throw his ball and plays in the kiddie pool with them too. They can take anything out of his mouth - even his favorite toys with no problems. He just wants you to throw them so he can play.
Honestly I had much more problems with my parents Maltese (now deceased from old age) who would bite anyone including my kids. He was an awful little cuss. Wasn't just from old age either, he was just a spoiled rotten pisser of a dog. Was like that before my kids even came into the picture. He was 7 yrs old when I had my 1st.

 

[rooster0209]

Sounds like he probably did get sprayed at the gate. For whatever reason he is associating people at the gate with something traumatic.

There was a show on Dog Whisperer where Cesar retrained a dog who was afraid of doggie gates (a board used as a doggie gate fell on him once) The dog would attack, bark and go out of control when one was put up. Slowly Cesar would pull the dog to the gate keeping the leash tight, until the dog relaxed, then Cesar would relax the taught leash. Then would spray a vanilla body spray in the air (w/the dog seeing him do it). He repeated this until he got the dog to the gate. Then worked with the dog not using the leash to go up to the gate. He explained the scent in the air was pleasing to the dog and the dog was associating this good scent w/the gate, basically erasing the traumatic memory.

Read up on some training on this behavior or talk to, or hire a trainer. I think you and your dog can correct this. It will just take consistency and time

 

[Oblio13]

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You might have a hard time suing someone who pepper-sprayed an aggressive dog with a history of biting. I hope so, anyway.

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If you think it's normal and desirable for a dog to bite innocent people through and over a fence, you shouldn't own a dog.

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Kids don't have common sense. Dogs sometimes get out of yards.

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You might consider adding a personal liability rider to your homeowner's insurance. I'd wager this'll happen again.


Dogs are, within the limits of their species, breeds and individual personalities, what we make them. I agree with those who have said that this is "not the dog's fault". However, that doesn't really matter when a kid is disfigured.

 

[abluechipstock]

well it seems that both times people were imposing on his property, if a meter reader would have pepper sprayed my dog on my property i would have thrown them over the fence myself, they carry cell phones and could call first, you could put up signs, or run another piece of fencing to keep the dog away from the part of the yard where people come the most, it is a problem but at the same time dogs are the best baby sitters, you won't have to worry about someone messing with your kids, i can see both sides

 

[WalkingWolf]

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You might have a hard time suing someone who pepper-sprayed an aggressive dog with a history of biting. I hope so, anyway.

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If you think it's normal and desirable for a dog to bite innocent people through and over a fence, you shouldn't own a dog.

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Kids don't have common sense. Dogs sometimes get out of yards.

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You might consider adding a personal liability rider to your homeowner's insurance. I'd wager this'll happen again.


Dogs are, within the limits of their species, breeds and individual personalities, what we make them. I agree with those who have said that this is "not the dog's fault". However, that doesn't really matter when a kid is disfigured.

Kids are smarter than you think, at least I was and knew better. But then how old a "kid" are we talking about and WHY would a child to young or whatever to not know to approach a strange dog be doing WITHOUT adult supervision?

Again why should a responsible pet owner be punnished for someone else's lack of responsibility to properly teach and or supervise their children?

 

[SarahBeth9394]

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I wholeheartedly agree. There is no excuse for a parent not teaching their children to never pet a dog through a fence. If they are too young to understand they shouldn't be unsupervised that is neglect.

 

[TriciaHowe]

I don't live where there would be kids just running around on the road. It's a very dusty dirt road where you would either get run over or choke to death on the dust if you tried walking it. We even specifically put the gate on the pasture where we did so the kids could come and go (the only kids around here happen to live next door!) without having to go to the road. They get along fantastically with the dogs.
I can't imagine a kid at my front gate - especially unsupervised.