dogs

Thank you all so much for replying.... it's made my day.
It's been a long drawn out procedure as I have instructed a solicitor however they required dog owner's name and address which I didn't have as it was refused when requested. Hence dog owner txt me her insurance details with a reference number.
I then reported to police and whilst empathy was shown..... very little they can do.
Most frustrating bit is that dog owner has a three month response window to my solicitor.
Sit back and wait...... Thanks again.

NanaandGrampy

I totally agree with Iams comments!

I’m another who has dogs all my life and when our children were small they got just as much training as our dogs and we replicated that with our grandchildren .

I am saddened when out on a walk and we meet a small child who is terrified of dogs , we take a great deal of care to control our dog near people for that very reason. But I feel even non dog owning families need to work on how to interact and act around dogs .

It would be safer for all concerned .

My daughter now has a dog which the children adore. However her eldest son and husband, confident as they are with their own dog are still nervous around other dogs. We don’t know why the boy is scared but I think her husband may have been bitten when he was young. Everyone who owns a dog should have an awareness that other dogs and people may be scared of dogs. I do think that, with the increase in dog ownership (where did all those puppies come from?) there needs to be some sort of education programme. The breeder we got our latest dog from questions people thoroughly before she lets them have one of her dogs: ditto with my daughters dogs breeder. There are going to be big problems over the next couple of years imo.

There needs to be clear and effective legislation.
All dogs should be chipped and if not impounded.
Licensing should return as proof of ownership.
All puppies should be registered and owners given training.
Children should be taught respect for animals in school.
Fines should be heavy and prison sentences issued for actual physical injury.
Dangerous and deliberate breeding for market and status purposes should be stopped.
No one will vote for it though. Nothing's going to change.

Taylor this mumsnet thread might interest you www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/2230112-has-anyone-had-a-legal-claim-made-against-their-dog

What struck me was that none of the posters expressed any concern for the people who had been injured by their dog - their worry was focussed on the financial implications for them if their insurance company didn’t pay up.

To Keepingquiet’s list, I would add compulsory third-party insurance for dog owners to protect the public, ie it should be a criminal offence to not insure your dog.

If it can be applied to car drivers, it can be applied to dog-owners.

The problem with that is the astronomical cost of pet insurance. I’m not sure if it’s possible to just take out third party insurance. I did look into it once when my dog started running towards a main road at rush hour (she’d been in a field far from the road but met another dog and they both took off) but can’t remember what the outcome was. By the time my current dog is middle aged I’ll probably be paying £100 a month for insurance even though we rarely let her off lead and never when there are other dogs or people around. The comments on Facebook about ‘what should I do: my dog keeps running up to other dogs and snaps at them’ astounds me.

Everybody should be taught not to approach a dog directly but to ask the owner first. I am a sucker for certain breeds and if I come across one, I ask the owner first and then just put my down towards the dog's nose so that it can smell me first. Then, if the dog doesn't mind I'll stroke it.

With my dogs, if a child comes up and asks I will show them where they can stroke the dog.

It's such a pity that there are ignorant dog owners around. When my mum went into a care home I took her dog on and a few months later acquired another. I used to take them into the care home with me so my mum could see her dog. Most of the other residents also wanted to pat and stroke them and so the two dogs had lots of treats if we were there at tea time. There were one or two people who didn't like but the majority were really happy to meet them.

Maybee You don’t say what £100 per month covers in terms of pet insurance, but if it was £100 a month to just insure a dog against injuring someone, that could only mean that there was a high risk of that happening. In turn, that’s an argument for making it compulsory.
Cars cost a lot of money to run and insure. But if people want a car, they find the money from somewhere.
Businesses and clubs have to have public liability insurance too. I don’t see why that shouldn’t apply to dog owners. Responsible owners who could show their dogs had been properly trained and who had no previous claims probably wouldn’t face a big premium.

It is hard for the majority of responsible dog owners when a few irresponsible ones let attacks happen. I don't have a dog and am sickened when I hear that people have been attacked.

I walk most days in a park where there are many dog walkers and have only once been afraid of a dog. It was off the lead and was snarling, baring it's teeth at me. The owner was as nasty as his dog.

My pet insurance is around £80 per month for two dogs. I have a limit of I think £8000 per claim. As well as health, it covers 3rd party claims.
Dog ownership is an expensive hobby. No longer do people pick up a mongrel from a neighbour, feed it table scraps and hope for the best.
I don’t wish to sound harsh but if you aren’t prepared to commit to training classes long term, to seek out expert help is problems arise - don’t get a dog.
As others have said, we are already seeing many negatives from lockdown pups. It will get worse

I did say I can’t remember what happened when I looked at third party insurance cover. It was a long time ago. My horses insurance covered me for millions regarding third party claims but it’s only been recently that I’ve taken out medical insurance for my dogs. The last one only had year cover and she had several tumours which then weren’t covered but this one has life cover which costs a lot more as they get older. They all automatically cover third party claims though. I’ll dig out my policy and see what it says.

Iam64 I agree with you, owning a dog is a LUXURY. I always had a pair of rescues but this time we have stuck to one. I think my insurance is more expensive that your though but my dog is 10 now

I agree with a lot that has been said. Certainly about the cost of owning a dog. I cannot understand how some people can afford it. Nor can I understand why people don't do everything they can to teach their dog to behave.

But I must also make a plea to anyone who is responsible for young children. Please, please teach them never to approach a stranger's dog without asking. And make sure they know that the best thing to do when a dog approaches is to stand still like a tree, with arms folded, and in no circumstances should they run. If they are knocked over they should curl up like a stone with arms and legs tucked underneath them.

That also goes for adults as well of course. Anything children learn that keeps them from being seriously hurt if the worst should happen is worth teaching them.

GrannyRose. What should I do when another dog runs up to my on lead dog? I tend to shout a lot since she was attacked but have recently started trying to just talk to the other dog and say words that it may be familiar with like ‘leave it’ or ‘sit’. Unless it looks as if it’s going to attack which, thankfully hasn’t happened recently.

MayBee70, one of my dog trainer friends suggested we carry a small water pistol. If off lead dogs run up, a quick squirt on the side of the face may give you the chance to walk on,
I had a big springer spaniel and a standard poodle sized doodle all over my two on lead dogs recently. My then 5 month old lab was hugely excited, my small spaniel is a smasher, just stood no reaction. The owners were chatting, walking slowly ‘they’re friendly, don’t worry’. I’m afraid I shouted at the two dogs which made no difference but could have upset my two. I’m a confident handler but I’m fed u[

What should I do when another dog runs up to my on lead dog?
And what should I do when I’m sitting on a bench next to a public footpath drinking coffee out of my flask, and a large dog bounds up, comes within two feet of me and barks very loudly in an intimidating way? And its owner appears 3 minutes later, obliviously chatting to her friend, and when asked to get her dog away responds with ‘He won’t hurt you’ in an indignant tone?

janeainsworth- ??.
The owners who respond in that way are selfish and clearly have never attended proper training classes. In the past 12 years, my own and any foster dogs have all been to our local dog training group, run under kennel club good citizen award structure. Entering the ‘test’ is up to owners. I put my last two dogs through bronze, silver and gold. We just opened up again so my pup is in the bronze beginner group.
It’s challenging but rewarding as it builds a bond between owner and dog. Recall, loose lead, off lead walk to heel and importantly, teaching to dog never to approach people or other dogs.
I’m a patient person in the main but, my patience is bring sorely tested by incidents like the one you describe. The huge numbers of untrained dogs is making our usual walks stressful. Shouting at the dog owner you met wouldn’t change her behaviour - I fear we will end up with no off lead fun for our dogs.

We spend most walks now just looking around for other dogs and we carry a metal stick. But my new plan of talking quietly to other dogs does seem to be working. Having said that, when attacks happen they happen in an instant. Several times a dog has approached our dog seemingly in a friendly way, turned to walk away then has spun round and gone for her throat. When people let their dogs off lead they should know exactly what their dogs are up to. In retrospect, our dog walking group (the one I’ve had to leave) goes to public places and lets their dogs run free in a large group. We’ve always kept ours on lead and felt very uncomfortable about the others running free so I’m glad we’re no longer in it.

Iam64 I went to KC dog training many years ago with my first dog. Because of lockdown I have been trying to remember all I learnt to train my new puppy at home. Two things I particularly remember - there are no bad dogs just bad owners who need training as well as the dog. The other was to get control of my wilful lab through food!

My dog does everything wonderfully in the house or back garden. Even on the beach when there’s no one around she’s pretty good. However, as soon as she sees anything it anybody she has selective deafness. That’s why we’re so careful with her. She did socialisation classes and was fine. But we can’t be sure that she wouldn’t run down a small dog and hurt it because she’s a sighthound. I do sometimes look back to the days when I had spaniels and they had fantastic recall and didn’t take off at 35 mph but I’ve changed to another breed and have had to change my dog walking behaviour.

I’m appalled at your post, Grannyrose suggesting that tiny children need to have self-defence training to protect themselves against dogs. Talk about victim-blaming! How about dog owners having complete control over their animals?? Then we’d all be safe!

I speak as someone with two GC who’ve recently been attacked by dogs, one in a children’s playground, I myself have had lately had a big dog come at me out of the blue and my pregnancy daughter was also subject to the same treatment. I’ve had dogs myself in the past and like them, but I have never come across this level of misbehaviour before, and quite frankly, I don’t care any longer whether people are good or bad owners, I have no way of knowing which category they fall into, I just want these creatures kept away from me and mine.

I think it was very good advice and I’m going to tell my grandchildren. I don’t think GrannyRose was defending people that don’t control their dogs: just giving the best advice as to what to do if an out of control dog does approach you. From experience, when it happens any preconceived plans tend to go out of the window and it’s easy to start flapping around rather than remaining calm (bit like when there are wasps around!). My speaking to approaching dogs rather than shouting and waving my arms around is helping me as the attacks on my dog have left me a bit ptsd’sh when it happens.

...I do totally agree with the second paragraph though!

SueDonim

I’m appalled at your post, Grannyrose suggesting that tiny children need to have self-defence training to protect themselves against dogs. Talk about victim-blaming! How about dog owners having complete control over their animals?? Then we’d all be safe!

I speak as someone with two GC who’ve recently been attacked by dogs, one in a children’s playground, I myself have had lately had a big dog come at me out of the blue and my pregnancy daughter was also subject to the same treatment. I’ve had dogs myself in the past and like them, but I have never come across this level of misbehaviour before, and quite frankly, I don’t care any longer whether people are good or bad owners, I have no way of knowing which category they fall into, I just want these creatures kept away from me and mine.

I hate to disagree SueDonim but I don't think this post had anything to do with self defence and is actually a very sensible suggestion by Grannyrose that a lot of children do need to be taught how to behave around dog's!

I've stated before that my dog's are well trained, social and kept on leads but the number of times children have ran up to them to pet / stroke / hug them, well I've lost count and I've actually changed my walking pattern to try and avoid this. The number of times a parent / carer has asked if their children can approach my dogs - I can count on one hand.
I've had both since they were pups and while I'm very confident in my control, why should I be on guard because parents don't control and/or teach their children?
I was taught from an early age how to approach a dog and to always ask the owner if I could stroke it.
There are good owners who shouldn't be penalised.

Sorry, I disagree. It’s an owner’s responsibility to be aware at all times and to take avoiding action if anyone shows unwanted attention to their dog. It’s very hard for an 18mth old, maybe non-verbal, child to understand that dogs can’t always be approached. Children come before dogs.

Ime, many children nowadays are afraid of dogs because of the problems. My 3yo GD, whose other GP’s have a lovely dog, is now scared of digs, because of being bowled over by an off-lead Labrador whose owner wasn’t even carrying a lead.

SueDonim I agree with you on many of your points.
Personally, I am aware of any potential issues when walking my dog's and it's because of that, I've changed routes and times.
I actually challenged one parent who got quite stroppy with me, telling me her little one 'wasn't doing any harm.'
I see your point about very small children but for me it's similar to saying that it's hard for an 18mth old to understand you can't go near a fire...as a parent/carer, you take responsibility for the child in your care and ensure he/she doesn't go near the fire because they will be hurt.
Surely the responsibility lies with both parties.
It's horrible that your GD is scared of dog's because of what happened, I have a friend in a similar predicament, her son is terrified of dog's after a very large dog knocked him of his bike.