Reporting attacks

Hello - weird day today.

I was in the park and a dog I know attacked my dog. It is some kind of big Shepherd dog. The owner is very nice but this has happened before several times - I remember on one occasion hearing the owner of a much smaller dog screaming. I have told the owner that she will be reported if she doesn't do something but she seems slightly lost and says she has tried everything. Having seen her reaction today I don't feel she is conveying to her dog that such attacking is unacceptable. Is there anything I should do? My dog - so far and fingers crossed for the future - has never retaliated from an attack or violence from any dog or human being but he is also tough and solidly built - I wonder how a smaller dog would cope, let alone a child etc . I hate the idea that in the long run something like this would end up with the council forcing all dog owners to keep their dogs on lead.

The second thing was that my boyfriend was coming out of his home today when the neighbour's Staffy attacked him. The dog was biting his leg and foot and my boyfriend was shouting for the dog to get off him. The owners eventually appeared and said "sorry - we've been in bed." They didn't apologise and just shut the dog inside and that was the last my boyfriend saw of them.

I have told him that he should probably report this to the police or at the very least put note through their door and tell the landlord. I hate dog owners like this because they give all dogs a bad name.

Advice?

I'd definitely report it to the police. The Shepherd situation may be dealt with by talking to the owner, but the attack on your boyfriend is inexcusable! That's a potentially dangerous, out of control dog, and the owners need to be responsible.

I hope your boyfriend's okay!

Yes I agree with Eleanor.

Why is she letting her dog off the lead if it is attacking other dogs? that's completely unacceptable in regards to the staff biting your boyfriend. If the owners were in bed how the hell did the dog get out? I would go and speak to them and assess their reaction. Its just not on what if it had been a child?

My goodness that all sounds like very irresponsible dog ownership. Yes i would definitely report both incidents.

First one, report to the local dog warden before something happens. you will be doing them a favor in the long run as it may give her the kick up the backside she needs to take control.
second one, do you know what happened prior to the attack? not many dogs go for someone out of the blue so he may have startled it or something. either way if its aggressive it shouldn't be outside unsupervised.

Definitely sounds like a rough day, hope your boyfriend is okay. I agree also that it should definitely be reported.

Hi, sorry to hear about these two incidents. I feel slightly uneasy about reporting to the police because it sounds to me in each case that it's the human at fault: the GSD owner has not got a grip on training and the SBT owners clearly cant be ar*ed to get out of bed. The SBT is an impulsive dog, he needs his exercise, but he can be managed! (though you have to get out of bed to do it).

So what will the police do when/if they are informed? If they give the owners a stern talking-to and tell them to improve their standards of animal care (which results in that actually taking place), then maybe ok. But if the police just fall in with the Daily Mail (and similar) consensus that all staffies are slavering beasts that need to be destroyed, then there is the risk that two more potentially good dogs are in trouble once again because of irresponsible ownership. (I am not meaning to impugn the intelligence of the police, just to note that they are busy people and so may feel that other investigations should take their priority). When the police call, you can be certain that the owners will be full of excuses for themselves and blaming the dog for all manner of personality disorders. The dogs, of course, unfortunately, cannot talk.

Personally, I would be inclined, if it is possible, to have a friendly word with both parties. Without getting their backs up, for the GSD I would recommend the name of a local trainer/behaviourist. Maybe write a number on a piece of paper, if that wouldnt cause offence. For the SBT owners it's more difficult because they really do need to put more effort in, but if they also would consider seeing a behaviourist, then perhaps they could find it easier to accept advice from such a neutral, professional source. For the first two weeks that my dog came from the rescue, he was at my ankles all the time. It was horrible. It would bruise and occasionally draw blood. He nearly became one of the 'yo-yo' dogs that keep getting returned. But we persisted and with patience, confidence-building and consistency, he now doesnt do it at all and is a very fine and reliable dog. And very affectionate.  I believe it's a known staffie-characteristic to go for the ankles (or any body part that he can get his teeth into) if frustrated and frightened. It is up to the human to know that and to manage it. After being pent up behind bars for 7 months (he's only 2 years old, so a big chunk of his life) I could understand why my dog exhibited such unacceptable behaviour and he is truly out of it now. So I think your neighbours can deal with this problem, but only if they have the will to do so. In summary, calling the police is fine, but ideally it should bring about improved care for the dogs, not demonisation.

Finally, this is not a reason not to report a truly dangerous dog (which should always be done for public safety), but there are academics who look at the statistics for dangerous-dog reporting. ('Unleashed', by Simon Harding, for example). Yet another SBT reported to the police adds more grist to the mill of those who enjoy getting hysterical about the breed. So to report dangerous dogs, yes. But who is it that's really dangerous here? In the two cases you describe, the reporting category would probably be more accurate if it were categorised as 'dangerous humans'. As Robbie Burns (probably) said, a dog's a dog for a' that.

Hello - thank you everyone for your advice. My bf reported it to the dog owner's landlord. Landlord has a Staffie himself but was concerned about this incident so hopefully will give a talking to.

I never thought of calling a dog warden but that is a good point.

I will see how the woman with the unpredictable Shepherd is getting on next time I see her.