Dog Bite's

lori84

Im looking for some advice....My mum has her 2 dogs to the park last night and my mums dog bit (well we think so but no on actually saw this happen but the other dog has puncture wounds but this could possibily be done with her paw?) another dog. Now as it happens it was my mums cousins dog but she was looking after it for her sister.

My mums dog was on her lead at the time and this other dog wasnt and was standing behind my mums dog, now no one actually knows if this dog has dont anything to provoke my mums dog as both my mum and her cousin had there back to it.

My question is who is responsible for paying vet bills? Will it be my mother or the other person. If it is my mum there is no way she would beable to pay it all in once as she is disabled and does not work.

I am worried sick about this and just need some advice on how to deal with it all.

Thank you

littleme82

Hi, if the dog is insured it may be worth looking at the 3rd party liability cover. HTH

laurz

if your mums dog was on a lead the other one should have been aswell! if i see someone who has their dog on a lead in an open area i put my dog on back on her lead.

Nelski

I dont know the legalities of it sorry but its a real bug bear of mine when free roaming dogs trot over to my chap on his lead and then annoy him enough for him to react. I would say your mums dog was controlled and the other one wasn't therefore it is down to the owner to take responsibility for the out of control dog.

and don't you just hate it when they say......hes fine he just want to play........yeah well mine doesnt so expect a fight :mad:

viktory

My boy can be fear aggressive and therefore always walked on lead. He is often approached by other dogs who are off lead; their idiot owners have no control. If my boy actually bites their dog then tough. I am not paying a brass farthing. You should control your dog and keep it away from mine.

tango

this is a difficult one I agree that if your dog was on a lead then he was 'under control' and therefore shouldn't have to pay vet bills.

Re dogs of lead or not,my dog has many off lead walks and whilst very good on recall ,still being a puppy will go up and meet other dogs.Now sometimes this hasn't been always friendly but my dog has learnt what is acceptable and what isn't,she is, most of the time quite submissive ,if a dog does reacts aggressively she will retaliate,but never bite .

Surely dogs socialise and learn by meeting each other ?

laurz

tango i completely agree. most dogs learn to read the body language. if my very friendly (still puppy like) lab gives a dog a wide berth or approaches and retreats i know it's given her the "doggy fingers" for want of a better phrase.

bagginslover

viktory wrote: »

My boy can be fear aggressive and therefore always walked on lead. He is often approached by other dogs who are off lead; their idiot owners have no control. If my boy actually bites their dog then tough. I am not paying a brass farthing. You should control your dog and keep it away from mine.

This^
I asked the same question after my dog was mobbed by 2 other dogs,who were 'just being friendly'. Barney didn't see it that way (they were trying to hump him from both ends-not at all friendly in my opinion!) and snapped at them repeatedly,finally the owner,who had no off lead control at all came and pulled them off. Barney was on his lead,aswe don't have and recall yet either (so he stays on,always). I was told (not here,on another forum) that there is no way the other party can make you pay their vet bills. The opposite is also true though,if an off lead dog hurts your on lead dog,you can't make them pay. Dog insurance isn't the same as car insurance,and the 3rd party bit of it is for damage to property and people,not other animals.

paulsad

tango wrote: »

this is a difficult one I agree that if your dog was on a lead then he was 'under control' and therefore shouldn't have to pay vet bills.

Re dogs of lead or not,my dog has many off lead walks and whilst very good on recall ,still being a puppy will go up and meet other dogs.Now sometimes this hasn't been always friendly but my dog has learnt what is acceptable and what isn't,she is, most of the time quite submissive ,if a dog does reacts aggressively she will retaliate,but never bite .

Surely dogs socialise and learn by meeting each other ?

Totally agree - my pup is playful and I encourage him to meet other dogs - so far every dog he has met on or off the lead has recognized him as a pup and been very tolerant - when he grows to full size he will have learnt to be sociable (he is a rottie/doberman cross with a lovely nature). If I had an aggressive dog it would be muzzled I'm afraid, I wouldn't put the onus on others to keep their dogs away.

bagginslover

paulsad wrote: »

If I had an aggressive dog it would be muzzled I'm afraid, I wouldn't put the onus on others to keep their dogs away.

Was this aimed at me?
He's not at all agressive, he loves other dogs, just not ones that are trying to overly,and aggressivly dominate him. We did muzzle him forover a manth when we first got him til we knew he was friendly with other dogs.

I challange any human male to react differently to 2 men trying to do the same. :mad:

lori84

Mums dog was off her lead for all the walk and is very friendly. She was only put back on her lead because they were about to go back to the car. The other dog was not on her lead but the person who had her was also puttind leads on her other 3 dogs so in my opinion she could not have any control over the dog.

Very hard situation.