Bitten by a dog - no good deed...

[P3LH]

TBH I think your neighbour deserves to get bitten, pp! Why would any-one who isn't trying to get a dog out of a dangerous situation insist on approaching a growling dog? Why don't people observe body language? Have you asked him not to put his hand out to Frank for a sniff? That is what I would do.

After my break away this summer, I fear that common sense has died a complete death and I am in no way surprised dog bites and/or anxious dogs are more common. This is in terms of dogs and the general public in every day situations. Not in relation to the OP about saving a dog, which is obviously totally different and you do what you’ve gotta do to save them and keep them safe.

My two rough collie boys went to stay with mum, one doesn’t do cars at all and the other gets stressed on long journey so no point. Young, bombproof and overly friendly corgi accompanied us.

On one particular day in one particular location we couldn’t get more than a few feet (not even exaggerating) without someone stopping and shoving their hands in her face (social distancing was clearly forgotten?). There were people trying to shove their phone in her face to take photos. People shouting. Children running screaming ‘it’s like from the queens corgi’ and shoving hands at her. Grown ups equally behaving outrageously, I even had two people run quite a distance to say hello to her, and dozens of ‘corgi!’ shouts as they passed her either on foot or from
open car windows. Literally bellowing as they whizzed past. Even with quite stern ‘don’t pester her’ and ‘don’t come to close please’ it persisted, on an incredibly hot day. The breed generally gets an obscene amount of attention, but this was ridiculous and she was not happy with it at all. They ignored every single ‘go away’ in various forms from polite to direct. You could literally watch her go from looking at certain situations as if to say ‘well that’s a bit weird’ (corgi’s are generally too busy looking for things for eat to notice things such as passers by) to ‘get me out of here—anxious’
She did actually snap at someone in the end. I apologised, but pointed out I had told them one at a time. A first for a dog that usually ends up sat on most of my visitors head and being a pain in that sense.

The wider outcome? Previously bombproof and overly friendly corgi spent the remainder of the trip away stressed out (we didn’t take her anywhere busy again and spent most of the time at the cottage we were staying) especially when it came to going in the car which she loves, and has, since coming home, been utterly cautious and reserved about being approached by unfamiliar people—even people passing by on walks she is a little hesitant of. We are on it with lots of positive reinforcing sessions on walks, and it’ll be fixed—but not the point.

There’s a part of me that wouldn’t be happy, but can sort of understand children not being dog savvy and getting it wrong. It was adults, lots of them, that was the issueI since have learned from someone else who owns the breed and is part of a Facebook breed group that this is a common ‘sport’ as it were of ‘corgi spotting’ (the shouting from cars etc)—which i can’t really fathom.

I suppose the only positive from the situation was seeing certain grown ups who ran like whippets towards us screeching and acting like muppets, quite disappointed at the fact that actually corgi’s, and in particular this one, will only pay attention if there’s something edible involved otherwise you will be ignored. Usually with a back turn or a bum in the face.

My point in this long post really is I was so very shocked at a clearly not happy dog, a clearly not interested dog, a clearly not wanting to be messed around with dog, with owners physically telling you GO AWAY is not enough for some people. I was really quite shocked by that.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I LOVE DOGS!

Yes, well I Iove Michael Fassbender but I'm sure he'd not appreciate me thrusting body parts in his face.....

 

[P3LH]

I suppose I do question if for some people the fact that although dogs are a part of our lives and familie

I LOVE DOGS!

Yes, well I Iove Michael Fassbender but I'm sure he'd not appreciate me thrusting body parts in his face.....

I suppose it made me question, more than ever, if for some people the fact that whilst dogs are such a huge part of our lives, and our families, they are still animals—has been forgotten.

I, like many of us here I guess, was THAT weird dog obsessed kid. Dog books, dog toys, more dog books, a few more dog books, crufts visits, home made agility courses in the back garden, generally covered in dog hair, mud and lord only knows what else. I loved (and still do!) every (well most!) dogs that I see, but it was a non negotiable from as far back as I remember a)you never run at a strange dog (or any!) b)and you always ask if you can stroke them. All these years later I still find myself sticking to this, and there are some owners in my local park who are always mystified this. “but -insert name- LOVES people” yessss but my dogs love people too, but they don’t always want fussing or pestering. There are times where I don’t even bother them, because they aren’t in the mood!

In said corgi Sherman tanks case she is quite ‘high drive’ and intense in everything she does (14 months in and we are still working on an off switch, I still read books or watch tv with a rope toy or tennis ball in one hand...) and from a line that very much still does the job (several relations spend their days moving everything from cattle to pigs!) and even in normal circumstances e.g our daily walks, people are surprised how disinterested she is in saying hello to them or coming for fuss when they try to say hello, when there are more important things to be done e.g border collie level of intense craziness over tennis balls.

 

[TheOldTrout]

How's the hand today, OP? and well done for getting the dog to safety.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

How's the hand today, OP? and well done for getting the dog to safety.

Quite an interesting bruise thank you. Very sensitive to the touch but thanks to your advice, the ice has kept the swelling under control.

I don't think I've ever been bitten by a dog before, and I don't think this dog really meant it.

 

[Smitty]

Well done you for getting it out of the road and trying to get hold of it's owner who clearly felt sitting in the pub and leaving dog to cause chaos on the road was an option to be preferred to doing the responsible thing. I hope he has very good and flexible insurance cover and considers rehoming said dog as he clearly doesn't give a toss about it.

I am so sorry you got bitten and hope it is healing.

What a shame you didn't just phone the dog warden. The twit of an owner would then have had to pay to get it out of kennels... ??

I do hope this doesn't make you think twice before doing a good deed again

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

An accidental and minor bruise and mild discomfort is much better than a dead dog and a distraught innocent driver. If there is a next time (I hope not) maybe thanks to all of you, I'll ge able to avoid the bruise.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I suppose it made me question, more than ever, if for some people the fact that whilst dogs are such a huge part of our lives, and our families, they are still animals—has been forgotten.

I, like many of us here I guess, was THAT weird dog obsessed kid. Dog books, dog toys, more dog books, a few more dog books, crufts visits, home made agility courses in the back garden, generally covered in dog hair, mud and lord only knows what else. I loved (and still do!) every (well most!) dogs that I see, but it was a non negotiable from as far back as I remember a)you never run at a strange dog (or any!) b)and you always ask if you can stroke them. All these years later I still find myself sticking to this, and there are some owners in my local park who are always mystified this. “but -insert name- LOVES people” yessss but my dogs love people too, but they don’t always want fussing or pestering. There are times where I don’t even bother them, because they aren’t in the mood!

I was the kid who got swept out of the way or roared at to stand still with my arms by my sides, at the last second and goodness knows how, but aside from a few nips, I avoided getting properly bitten (broken skin, claret, trip to A&E) until my late 20s and even then, I deliberately put my hand in the dog's mouth to remove something ?

As was pointed out to me, if you get bit on the hand and it gets infected or badly damaged, depending on your profession, your whole career can go down the pan, so it's not something to mess about with IMO.

Some people find me quite cold in that I don't dive on dogs I don't know and wait for them to come to me and I will NOT mess with someone else's puppy, other people's dogs are generally none of my business unless they want them to be and vice versa.

(Not aimed at the OP, just a divergence!!)

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

As a child I would myself attracting strange dogs as I walked down the street. I remember walking along the road opposite London Zoo, to find that a Standard Poodle was resting its head on my shoulder. The owner was very embarrassed. Not long after that a Westie attached itself to me in a N. Yorks village - again owner was very apologetic but also somewhat mystified by the behaviour. I don't approach strangers to ask if I can talk to their dogs but I will put my hand down first to a dog that appears to be interested in me, just in case I have read the situation wrong, having first spoken to the owner. I wouldn't dream of 'patting' a dog that I didn't know well - but I don't pat my own dogs, I stroke them.

 

[P3LH]

I was the kid who got swept out of the way or roared at to stand still with my arms by my sides, at the last second and goodness knows how, but aside from a few nips, I avoided getting properly bitten (broken skin, claret, trip to A&E) until my late 20s and even then, I deliberately put my hand in the dog's mouth to remove something ?

As was pointed out to me, if you get bit on the hand and it gets infected or badly damaged, depending on your profession, your whole career can go down the pan, so it's not something to mess about with IMO.

Some people find me quite cold in that I don't dive on dogs I don't know and wait for them to come to me and I will NOT mess with someone else's puppy, other people's dogs are generally none of my business unless they want them to be and vice versa.

(Not aimed at the OP, just a divergence!!)

I am the same. Even my OH routinely says ‘but you’re supposed to be the big dog lover!’ But then again I’m very particular and don’t like to be pestered too much anyway, I don’t think that takes away from my fondness of dogs.

I suppose I learnt a pragmatic approach very early on. One of my earliest memories is my grandparents rough collie biting me, not awfully but to leave a mark, on my arm when I was very small. When I told my Nanna the dog had bit me she asked me what had happened. ‘I was stroking him and he went to lie down in his bed under the table, so I went under and tried to get him to come out’ (I won’t comment on my level of parental supervision, as I’ve said here before I spent a lot of time alone in the woods with just a Jack Russell!) to which I was firmly told ‘well then, you’re the one who needs to say sorry to him for annoying him! Leave him alone next time’

Lesson learnt and quite a lot of years I still heed those words! It wasn’t the first nor last time I’ve been nipped or snapped at, and barring only one incident I can think of—all of them have been my fault!

 

[CorvusCorax]

Rough collie was first dog that nipped me too ?

Yep all of mine have been either me being too slow to get out of the way or sticking hands where I shouldn't.

 

[P3LH]

Rough collie was first dog that nipped me too ?

Yep all of mine have been either me being too slow to get out of the way or sticking hands where I shouldn't.

All of my cousins can’t fathom why I ended up with two of my own—as the aforementioned was a swine for having a sly nip, herded us up and clothes pulled, barked continuously and hated other dogs—but naturally in my grandparents eyes, every incident was the responsibility of a grandchild!

 

[Orangehorse]

I was driving down a busy road and saw 2 small dogs running round the road, obviously escaped. I didn't know what to do, but I didn't want them to be run over. I pulled into the side of the road as soon as I could and tried to call them to me, luckily they came over and they seemed friendly enough, and small, so I was able to look at their collar and phone the number. The owners seemed very blase and I didn't get effusive thanks! And I could have driven on and then found them flat on the road on my way back.

They had escaped from the garden, so although I was able to put them back in - the owners weren't at home - I obviously couldn't look for where they got out. But at the time I was only thinking of rescuing them, and not about the danger of being bitten. And I have been bitten in the past by an Alsation and still bear the scar.

 

[ester]

What a shame you didn't just phone the dog warden. The twit of an owner would then have had to pay to get it out of kennels... ??

Not everywhere has one of those anymore, we don't.

 

[ponyparty]

As a dog-mad child, although hmmI was painfully shy, I would ALWAYS ask the owner before going anywhere near a dog - no matter how badly I wanted to stroke them! And just enjoyed talking to them about their dogs. Loved meeting all the different breeds! Not sure who instilled this into me as my parents weren’t particularly dog savvy and even my grandparents, who “my” first dog really belonged to, didn’t have a clue, looking back...

 

[ester]

I spent my childhood borrowing other people's dogs, still do really. . . . I definitely have one in the planning if I ever get to retire

 

[Lots of Gift Bags]

Ester, I saw the same post on FB and can understand the meaning behind it. I think it's more about people who shove their hand in the dogs' faces, most of us doggy people hold our hands out and let the dog come to us.

i was walking Juno in the woods the other week when we came across several families, I think it was 3 couples with about 7 or 8 kids all about 8-10 years old. Juno tends to avoid other people and dogs and was happily sniffing when one of the boys ran up behind her and went to pat her, she turned and almost snapped. I tried explaining to him how that's the wrong way to approach a dog, he told me he's scared of them. Well I'm not surprised if you act like that, as that's how you get bitten!

 

[HashRouge]

And without George there would be no Colin!

And without Colin there would be no thread full of cute puppy pics...

Sorry I thought we were keeping it going ?