my dog(an American bulldog) chased a surveyor and it looks to me as though his tooth caught his knee when he jumped into his truck.. then the guy went to punch my dog and again caught the dogs tooth with his hand. dog has never bitten before, though he has chased someone before(once). i just want to know what i should do with/about my dog. he is getting on in years and i wonder if this may be one reason as to why he bit--other then he thought he was protecting his family and property?
Answers:
First you need to keep your dog in a place where he cannot get at visitors. You may be right about him getting on in age and he may becoming aggressive.
You need to call the surveyor and apologize and offer to pay any medical bills he may have incurred. Also let him know if your dog has had his rabies shot. I would do this as soon as possible because he could sue you.
they expect to get money if there r bitten
I can't say for sure, but to help protect yourself I would put up some "Beware of Dog" signs.
Someone on here can help you with your concerns about your dog. I really don't know what to tell you. I'd rather give no advice than bad advice.
Its his age. Ive seen that happen several times. If your dog gets reported he may have to be quarentined and you will probably have to pay a nice little fine.
Yes, but also there's a dog law to keep them on a lease or in a pin so I would just fix a pin or tie him before someone tries to blame you so you will be covered
YOU CAN NOT HAVE YOUR DOG BITING ANYONE!
you can get sued. they could petition to have your dog destroyed. even if your dog was protecting you. you need to get a good trainer before things get out of hand, especially because the breed is a bulldog, people might be more quick to act.
I have one too and had the same problem... luckyly i had his rabies vaccine up to date... is his up to date... if not the man can file charges and have the dog put down. Dogs get more territorial as they proggess in age ... so he was probily trying to stand his ground or protect his territory... if dogs sense that an unknown stranger is walking through his territory he/she can attack and/or be aggressive
Most would like the owner to pay for the medical expenses, and then prevent the dog from biting anyone else (may mean putting the animal down). That is sort of the damages aspect of it.
It really does vary according to the circumstances. i.e., kid is a victim, dog went off property, biting on public property, etc... Dog bite laws also differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The general consensus is that the owner is responsible in some way.
You may want to consult an attorney just to get clarification. Good luck.
The victim will probablly want you to pay for the damage done to him. I would only agreet o pay for the bite on the knee and not the one on his hand since he punched the dog and injured himself. The dog is getting older so that may play a factor but animals are weird sometimes they like you and other times they wont like someone.
Two things that might and could happen with this.
If you own a house I hope that you have insurance because he could sue you for damages, to include; medical bills and pain a suffering. Also, if he feel necessary he can ask the court to have your dog put down, if he does not take it to that extreme you may be ordered to put a sign up in your yard that states you have an attack dog.
Even if nothing really happens from this a sign warning that you have a dog is a good thing to have anyway, it protects you from lawsuits. Just for home owners out there another good sign to put up is a no trespassing sign. Some people look at it as rude and un-neighborly but in the long run it is just being smart.
If you have a no trespassing sign up and someone goes on any part of your land and gets hurt, they can not sue you for the injury. In fact if they try you can actually sure them.
Same goes with the warning dog sign. Put it up just in case. I have a little 10 lb pug who thinks that the world is his playmate and would never hurt anything except the culry bugs he likes to eat but I still have a dog warning sign up just in case he plays too rough.
Legally, dog bites are suppose to be reported to the health department.
After your dog has bitten someone you are obligated to do several things:
1) Your dog must be quarantined for 10 days.
2) At the end of 10 days, your dog must be checked by a veterinarian for signs of rabies.
3) You will need to update the rabies vaccines at that time if they are not current.
4) You are responsible for any health care expenses of the person who was bitten.
5) You must confine your dog at all times in the future (pen, leash, house) to prevent any situation that could lead to a biting incident.
6) This may affect your home-owner's insurance and they may have rules you may follow in order to maintain coverage (as dog bites are covered under many home-owners policies.)
One additional comment is that you may want to have a physical exam performed to check for health problems and to allow you to discuss this behavior with your veterinarian.
Additional comment:
'Beware of dog' signs and 'no trespassing' signs will not keep you from being sued! They actually can be used to prove that you knew your dog was dangerous and therefore have an increased obligation to prevent it from having the opportunity to attack someone. They are good to put up but do not absolve you from any responsibility.
Was the dog provoked? If so, it's the guy's fault. Also, he shouldn't have taken a swing at your dog. NOT cool. That was the worst thing for him to do in that situation. Personally, if anyone takes a swing at my dog for ANY reason, they're going to have to answer to me. Plus, this guy is a surveyor, they work in many different types of areas. They have to understand that in residential areas some people have dogs that aren't friendly or are overprotective of their territory. If you get too close, they act on instinct. In your case, the age of the dog could definitely play a part. If the dog is old and has no real history of physical aggression, the worst you would have to do is pay a medical bill...if it's even necessary.
unfortunetly if your dog bites a person there is very little good that comes to you from it. Even though it is not your fault that your dog chased him and the man shouldn't have tried to hit the dog, there are two different things that can happen. He can sue you, take you to court, and he could also request that your dog be put to sleep. if he asks for this the court will probably rule in his favor, my dog bit a girl b/c she slapped me and the court also ruled that my baby had to be put down. This is terribly unfortunte i'm sorry this happened to you
What was he doing loose to chase anyone? ANY dog should be confined to the house or a fenced yard to prevent them from biting, running off, or getting HBC. Being older is no excuse unless he is deaf, was awoken suddenly and startled. People expect dog owners to be responsible and keep their dogs secure so they can not bite or chase. I have 7 dogs now have owned and trained Personal Protection and Schutzhund dogs and have never had any dog bite anyone but the padded "bad guy". My dogs are in a fenced yard with a padlock on the gate so no one can blame the kids, or meter reader for leaving the gate open. When in public they are leashed and under control. And they are all in the housedogs. I never leave a dog outside when I'm not home or even if I am in the shower. Irresponsible dog owners give breeds a bad name. My friends own 2 ABs and they are both good watchdogs but very social. They live with 3 MinPins and are securely fenced or leashed .
Well... first off, any authority is going to cite you (if requested by the bitten person) for not having your dog on a leash, unless... you own a lot of property, and the surveyor was on your property.
In which case, you may want to look up your plan as far as your homeowner's insurance goes. IF you do not own the home, then you might want to get in contact with your landlord/owner, and let them know what has happened.
Of course, it could be argued whether the surveyor provoked the attack or not too.
And... if the surveyor presses charges, which he might not be able to do if he was on the job... due to his employer's requests. then you need to get a lawyer if you plan to keep your animal.
And... finally, there is always that small, small group of people that understand the nature of animals... and choose to ignore it, count their lucky stars that they werent injured permanently.. and walk away and never mention it.
Frankly, if I was a parent, and your dog bit my child.. I might have words with you, and tell you that you need to control your animal and maybe threaten if my child's emergency room bills were ridiculously high... but if it were me... I would tell you to keep your dog inside, or in an enclosed area. (Because technically, you have to. and it must be on a leash if within reach of the public, or public property.) And I would leave it at that.
I wouldn't react too strongly unless you receive notice of charges filed.
AND.. if this happened today, stay on your toes about it.
But if it happened over 2 days ago, forget it.
Lastly, you should take your dog to see a vet. And get him checked out. Sometimes, there are underlying health issues when an animal acts out. It is not always a protection of family/owner action. Dogs do get aggressive when they are not feeling well. It is a defense mechanism to them, to defend themselves when they are ill. Because they feel naturally weak and vulnerable.
Hope this helps.
We all do the best we can to ensure these kind of things don't happen but you cannot get it right always. Your dog probably was protecting your home and family. To be fair you should have tied the dog up or kept him inside a fence. Especially if you knew the surveyor was coming round. If the guy just turned up you cannot blame yourself too much. I had to errect a six foot fence in the backyard to protect people from my guard dog. My dog has never shown aggression but I always think it's better to be safe than sorry. American Bulldogs are awesome but very powerful and I would hate to be attacked by one of them. I am sure you agree that you are partly to blame for the attack. All you can do is put in place preventive measures for the future. You cannot change the past. Errect a fence or simply keep the dog in the house when your expecting people round.
First of all, do not put up "Beware of Dog signs." Believe it or not, when you do that it becomes an issue of liability, in other words you are saying that you are aware your dog is a threat - so if something happens you can REALLY get in trouble!
Secondly, why not restrain your dog when you know delivery people and the like will be around? Eliminate the problem before it starts.
If someone IS bitten, many states will require you to show proof of vaccination (rabies), otherwise your dog will have to be taken by Animal Control and quarantined for so many days. If not, the person who has been bitten would have to undergo extensive rabies shots - not pleasant at all.
If your dog is getting on in years, his hearing may not be as good and the man may have inadvertently startled him. Again, when you know outsiders will be around, you should restrain your dog. Put him in the house or in a room in the house. That's a no-brainer, right?
Everybody who gets bitten does not want money, trust me. I was bitten yesterday and the owner came to check on me twice afterwards, left his # and had another neighbor who works in the healthcare field to come take a look at me. I appreciated the gestures, but mostly hope that he keeps a very close eye on his pet. Usually when something like this happens, there is a very good chance it will happen again and heaven forbid the next time is a child. The dog was on a leash, but weighed more than his owner and easily broke free. If, and when the animal breaks loose onto someone else - the owners need to know that there ARE plenty of people out there ready to sue at the drop of a hat or worse...they will grab a gun and shoot it. Don't think so? It happens more than you think.
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