What would you do? need opinions please

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Snowman81

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Hi, I am in a real debate with myself on what I should do and need opinions please, if anyone has a moment. My mum called over at a friends house the other day to say thank you for a gift. Mum knew the lady had a dog but she is very dog savy so just knocked on the door and put her head around as it was open and was about to call her friend , when the friends dog charged straight for her and bit her quite badly in the stomach, no warning or false charge or anything. Mum didnt run but just stood so no provocation other than i guess being on the dogs property. I think mum should report this personally as it sounds quite a serious attack, and other friends have been bitten apparently. My mum is reluctant as her friend has just lost her husband and the dog is a lovely companion to her apparently but vicious with all other people and dogs. My gut feeling is its a terrible situation waiting to happen but would like other perspectives as if reported it could obviously result in pts.As a dog lover i still find this very upsetting, even though it is a very antisocial dog. The dog has always been like this and is a rescue BCollie. I don't know what to do for the best, she does seem to keep it on a short lead and muzzle but what about the one time it gets out or loose, or she has another unexpected caller. Any thoughts? I thought opinions from dog lovers and those who rehabilitate would help as I dont want to meddle unneccessarly
 
My main concern is the no warning part and straight for a bite. Mum said the dog spotted her and there was no growl or warning just charge and bite...
 
If it had been a random dog on the street it would have been reported.

Having said that, this person is a friend and the dog is her companion. Would it be feasible for your Mum to speak to her friend about taking the dog for training to see if that would help?
 
I'm not sure how my dogs would react if a stranger knocked on the door and let themselves in, to be honest. Although the friend should have known the dog wasn't friendly and made sure the door was locked in case it escaped.
 
Personally, I think the dog should be PTS. End of.

Your mum could have been with a child and the bite could have been to their face/fatal.

Either that or your mum's friend keeps the dog behind a gate at all times, and muzzles the dog permanently when out for walks (which I don't feel is much of a life for a dog, anyway).

I'm very sorry for what's happened.
 
Snowman81 said:
My main concern is the no warning part and straight for a bite. …….. ...
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Your Mum has a friend with a dog which is protective of it's environment, and she didn't know of the existence of the dog or of its likely reaction to someone letting themselves in to the house?

The door was already open, and so your mum let herself in?

The owner has a dog which is likely to repel anyone who lets themselves in, unannounced and leaves a door ajar?

Had the owner of the dog been burgled, or worse, and the dog defended the property or the person, would we all be offering out congratulations?

Every house living dog which I've ever owned would be likely to nail an intruder, and without warning, and that's why I would NEVER leave a exterior door open. I'm really sorry that your Mum has been bitten, and it must be a shock, but the responsibility lies with her, and the owner between them, not the dog.

Alec.
 
Thanks for the replies so far, i was hoping to get different sides of the story, and i have, which is great. Yes I agree with those who suggest it wasnt the brightest thing to look around the door rather than wait for the owner. Mum agreed when I said thid to her at the time, but apparently the dog is never normally loose around the front of the house, it is either crated or locked in the back kitchem/garden precisely becauseof this problem, so mum didnt expect it to be loose as it never is. My worry is if there is another slip in how securely the dog is kept and it could have been a youngster for example delivering a flyer or similar or postman etc..
 
Im sorry to say your mum is in the wrong here, the dog was protecting his property, this lady has just lost her husband so wont be thinking straight, the dog will be picking up on her distress and will be even more protective.Im sure if your mum reports her this will add to her distress. This must never happen again so this lady needs sitting down and telling straight the likely consequences of a similar incident, the dog clearly needs training so if your mum could help her source a good trainer that will obviously help.

Some dogs dont give a warning like Akitas & Chows but Collies are meant to be quiet so I wouldnt read too much into the fact the dog went straight in for a bite, Collies preferred method is to come in from behind but its not a guarantee.

Snowman Im sorry for your mum, it must have been horrible, I do hope it doesn't put her off dogs and hopefully she will heal quickly.
 
I do agree with others - it was not the dogs fault - it was in its own home. the only suggestion I would make is that your mum suggests to her friend that she keeps her door locked so no one can 'pop their head around the door' and must wait for her to answer the door.

The owner muzzles the dog when walking so is taking all necessary steps to protect in a public place.
 
It must have been a frightening experience for your mum, I hope the bite heals okay. You say your mum is dog savvy, but tbh I would never just "pop my head" round the door of a house where there was a dog, unless I knew the dog very well. I suspect if someone did the same in my house there is a chance they would be bitten too.
It seems as if your mums friend is aware of the problem and generally takes precautions, and hopefully this incident will make her doubly careful at home.
If your mum were to report this there is a good chance the dog would have to be pts and I am sure your mum wouldn't really want to cause her friend such grief.
 
I cannot understand why anyone would go Into a house where a dog lives and not expect some sort of reaction...I know my neighbours dogs really well and sometimes look after them when they have been out for the day and they are fine..but if my neighbour is in I would not walk in unannounced as they may be more protective of her.....sorry but your mum knew the dog had bitten before so should have not attempted to go in without the owner being there to control it....personally if I popped my head round someones door and their dog bit me I would not be reporting it as I think I would be in the wrong...hope your mum heals quickly..
 
Yes mum doesn't want to report it, it would have been me if anyone. I'm glad I've raised the discusion on here as my initial reaction was to report due to seeing the damage to my mums stomach. It is difficult to not be on mums side as u can imagine so didnt want to do anything rash before carefully considering the event from other perspectives. Thats a good point made about the dog being extra protective in the situation, due to losing the husband. In many ways the dog will also b missing the owner too. Also about her not being as on the ball and the dog being loose (it never normally is, hence mum not being as careful as u might imagine) . Thanks for all of the opinions
 
I'm another who stands firmly in the dogs corner here. Your mum walked into the dogs house and the dog was protecting its owner and property. I am however still sorry that your mum was injured and hope she recovers quickly. Next time tell your mum to knock on the door ... and wait :)
 
I have friends and my dad who come to my place and let themselves in despite two large barking gsds at the door. My two have never bitten anyone but to be honest this alarms me so much that I lock the door now so they have to knock. They obviously have 100% confidence in my dogs, and so do I under my control but I don't under those circumstances, and I'm glad, or we'd get burgled. No way would I come in here if these two weren't mine, I think my friends and my dad are foolish for doing so.

It is an awful shame that this happened but I think there is more to be gained from having a frank discussion about preventative measures with the owner than with reporting this. I hope your mum gets well soon.
 
Spring Feather said:
I'm another who stands firmly in the dogs corner here. Your mum walked into the dogs house and the dog was protecting its owner and property. I am however still sorry that your mum was injured and hope she recovers quickly. Next time tell your mum to knock on the door ... and wait :)
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Me too I am with the dog .
It's recently lost an owner it's guarding what's left of it's family .
 
Actually, I'm not sure that anything illegal has happened here - the new dog control laws do have an exemption for any bites that happen to anybody that enters the house (rather than the property as before) without invitation.

I hope your Mum feels better soon, I was bitten by a GSD in the stomach years ago that I was dog sitting and I clearly remember the shock that went with the pain after been bitten...
 
I'm sorry your mum was hurt, but even going next door to the world's soppiest GSD, I had handfuls of treats the day we knew there was something wrong with the neighbour. In case she was guarding her, we only opened the door a crack to check how she was. Her previous dog became extremely protective and aggressive to everyone after her husband died.

I say the dog was doing the right thing, but the new dangerous dog act might be interpreted differently, so grief stricken or not, the neighbour needs to confine the dog and not allow it to be unsupervised, or she may find herself having the dog PTS :( obviously the last thing she needs right now.

I hope your mum heals up quick-how bad is the bite?
 
Yes, I think the attack was probably extra bad due to the stressful situation of losing the husband recently. I think mum for one didnt expect the dog in that part of the house and also i think was just imagining that the dog had snapped a bit before. We've been lucky and although there have been lots of dogs in the family, none with any guarding or agression issues. She does feel she made a mistake looking around the door, and it put the dog in a difficult situation. That said though I don't think I could have a dog that bit or showed agression in any situation, but I have young children so its very different to an adult only household. This lady is likely to be the only person who would take on the dog, hence me not jumping the gun to report but trying to talk it over with those who have different takes on the situation. The bite was mainly bruising with a couple of puncture wounds, not nice but mum as always wouldnt go to hospital. She's a nurse so she dressed it herself and was already on antibiotics due to a cat bite earlier in the week ( one of her rescue cats had been sleeping on her lap and had a seizure in his sleep and clamped his jaw on her arm, and then bit all along her arm:-( he couldnt help it bless him ...wasnt the best week for my poor mum
 
MurphysMinder said:
It must have been a frightening experience for your mum, I hope the bite heals okay. You say your mum is dog savvy, but tbh I would never just "pop my head" round the door of a house where there was a dog, unless I knew the dog very well. I suspect if someone did the same in my house there is a chance they would be bitten too.
It seems as if your mums friend is aware of the problem and generally takes precautions, and hopefully this incident will make her doubly careful at home.
If your mum were to report this there is a good chance the dog would have to be pts and I am sure your mum wouldn't really want to cause her friend such grief.
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Echo this exactly
 
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