Attacked by a dog at work

janninew

What kind of dog is it OP? My Mum has a collie and she has really strong herding instincts and when you leave a room will herd you up and snap at your ankles! Not very pleasant, but she isn't acting aggressively, just doing what her instincts tell her.

I'm not sure what your rights are as an agency worker regarding compensation for being off work (did the hospital give you a note saying you are unfit for work?)

Good luck getting it sorted out and I hope your leg heals quickly.

Person_one

Raksha wrote: »

Just a bit of advice - if you find yourself in a similar situation do NOT turn your back on the dog. When an animal is nervous, being face to face with it can be enough to stop it attacking, but when you turn your back you are leaving yourself defenceless.

Are you a behaviourist? No? Then you shouldn't be giving out advice that could make a bad situation worse.

Welshwoofs

There's one option that doesn't seem to have been mentioned here:

How about contacting the owners and letting them know the impact the dog bite had on you? You've said they were very upset about it, so it seems to me that you should contact them to let them know you had to attend hospital and that the bite is extremely painful. If you are genuinely concerned about future prevention and don't want to make an issue out of it that may result in the dog being put down, I'd let the owner's know what whilst YOU don't tend to seek action, the fact is that if their dog did it again that person may call the police and the dog may have to be destroyed...that you certainly don't want that so advise that they keep the dog shut in another room when agency staff visit.

In other words, give them an opportunity to sort the situation out rather than steam in straight away with police reports and ambulance chasing lawyers.

janeys

Having been bitten a number of times as a postie, I think the above advice from Welshwoofs is excellent. It can sometimes do you good as well to revisit the scene of the incident, in my opinion it is best to let the owners know exactly what has happened and show them the bite marks. When these incidents happen they are usually quick and you dont see the damage until later. Some people dont even realise that blood has been drawn. Give the owners a chance to control the incident and stop it from happening again, they may not understand how badly you were injured.

LudaMusser

I go to alot of home addresses because of my job and it annoys me how some dog owners automatically think that just because they are comfortable around their own dog that everybody else will be. If I go to an address where dogs are free I will wait until they are under control before I get out of the van. I really feel for you and it must have been a nasty experience.
I`m not that comfortable around dogs myself because I was chased on a couple of occassions as a child. My younger brother bought a rotweiller/german shepherd cross breed about two years ago, I`m okay around her now but I refuse to walk her because I can`t control her. They took her to training early on but that soon stopped.
I would firstly report the dog to the employer and myself, I would refuse to go back to that address. Other ppl who may go there instead of you need to know you were bitten and in future I think the person should be made to keep the dog locked away for other ppl`s own safety

K4ylee

thanks everyone for taking the time to reply to my post, it was a springer spaniel, there was no issue before the attack, I had just turned around and started to walk out of the door.

Welshwoofs, excellent advice, I think this is what my plan of action will be, I'll speak to the owners and show them my injury and hopefully they can put the measures in place so that no-one else gets hurt in the future. The last thing I would want is for them to destroy a dog if it really was out of character, but they need to be aware of the damage that has already been done to me and could so easily have been much worse.

Thanks everyone! x

elsien

Regardless of any other issues, your employer has a duty of care towards you and any other employees visiting the clients house.
I would be insisting that an accident/incident form is filled in, and as hospital treatment was needed ask whether the bite is reportable under RIDDOR. ( I don't think it is, as you weren't in hospital for over 24 hours, but it doesn't hurt to let them know that it could have had more serious implications for them.) You should also ask for a risk assessment before you/anyone else goes back into the clients home.
As previous posters have said, all the owners have to do is crate the dog or lock it in another room, but anything that gets the agency to take you seriously can only be a good thing.

dizziblonde

K4ylee wrote: »

thanks everyone for taking the time to reply to my post, it was a springer spaniel, there was no issue before the attack, I had just turned around and started to walk out of the door.

Welshwoofs, excellent advice, I think this is what my plan of action will be, I'll speak to the owners and show them my injury and hopefully they can put the measures in place so that no-one else gets hurt in the future. The last thing I would want is for them to destroy a dog if it really was out of character, but they need to be aware of the damage that has already been done to me and could so easily have been much worse.

Thanks everyone! x

Seems like the sensible way to go about it - especially if they're feeling utterly mortified anyway. Surely they can work with you to plan putting the dog in another room (we use a babygate at the kitchen if we need to confine our two dogs - for fear the hound will lick someone to death or the point of annoyance - so they can still see what's going on and not feel like "OMG I'VE BEEN SHUT IN AND ABANDONED WAAAAH" but they're out from under our feet) or whatever while you're there.

dumpy

elsien wrote: »

R
I would be insisting that an accident/incident form is filled in, and as hospital treatment was needed ask whether the bite is reportable under RIDDOR. ( I don't think it is, as you weren't in hospital for over 24 hours, but it doesn't hurt to let them know that it could have had more serious implications for them.) Y.

If you are unable to do your normal duties for over 3 working days then it is reportable under RIDDOR.

Raksha

Person_one wrote: »

Are you a behaviourist? No? Then you shouldn't be giving out advice that could make a bad situation worse.

Define 'a behaviourist' - I don't currently earn my living by training dogs or advising on behaviour matters, but I have 50 years experience with dogs, as well as having trained with Gwen Bailey. I don't understand how NOT to turning your back is not going to make a bad situation worse, can you explain please?

Springers can often become territorial, as well as poor strains of breeding leading to nervous dogs.