Got bitten by a dog yesterday

[FoxyWench]

i agree, if the owner says go for it (and the dog di aproach her if i read the op correctnly) then there should be no reason to assume the dog would bite, again, had this been a child the dog aproaches and the child is good enough to ASK and the owners had said yes that kid would have been bitten through no fault of its own, latvia said the dog showed no sighn of agression...

this situation is unfortunatly likely a result of the dog being trained not to growl or give warning and the result an "unwarned" and seemingly unprovoked bite.

hopefully like i said, the owners of this dog realize now that the dog is NOT comfortable with someone petting it whether it aproaches them or not...

this is why i never correct a dog for growling, i like the fact that a dog gives a warning!

i also agree with zoom, some dogs LOVE attantion, from anyone (not just thie rpack) but are trained to wait or such, ruby for example loves attention but because shes a service dog (and i prefer my dogs to have manners anyway) she must sit and stay untill given the ok by me to go revice her lovings...

 

[HoundedByHounds]

Amazing how I get accused of throwing human morals into my training, when you EXPECT the same response from a human and a dog. You EXPECT the dog to behave, a dog that is not yours.

I'm always on the dog's side, sorry. You got bit, oh well. My question is why the dog was uncomfortable with the situatution and why do you all feel the need to make dogs who arent social uncomfortable?

The dog didnt ask you to pet him, so getting bit was your fault, I highly doubt the dog ran up to you wagging his tail, barely controlling his happiness and joy of seeing you, practically smiling at you.

BTW: Dogs are pack animals, they are more than content to socialize within their pack, and could care less if they get "pets' from strange people. So long as they are given proper "pack" time and bonding time within the pack.

What a rude post. The part I bolded, is especially laughable as you've obviously never met a Beagle. LMBO.

For the OP...I am so sorry you got bitten...I hope you feel better...and I agree...the owners need to know their dog a lot better before they okay interaction with ANYONE. It's hardly like you are a know nothing un dog savvy person...and they allowed the dog to approach you.

 

[smkie]

Funny i expect people to train the their dogs and to only take their dogs into a public setting when the dog is socially ready. I expect owners to know their dog well enough to be sure before giving permission. ANd most of all i expect my dog to not bite anyone unless the situation calls for it. You did nothing wrong at all.

 

[FoxyWench]

good post smkie!

 

[Saintgirl]

The part I bolded, is especially laughable as you've obviously never met a Beagle.

LOL! How true! My little beagle LOVES, and I mean LOVES people. He dances up to people with that wiggle butt of his praying they will scratch him behind his ears.

Sorry you had the bad experience. Obviously the dog has issues that need to be modified, and I am glad that you weren't seriously hurt.

 

[Lilavati]

The bruises are gone now, and my dignity has healed up as well. I talked to my dad, who has springers, and his comment was that his field springers and show style springers are completely different (which I did know) . . . I liked his suggestion . . . only pet field-bred springers!

But perhaps I should have been more wary . . . I do know that many show springers are a little off . . . and though the actually confirmation people have been working on that, that doesn't mean the BYBs and the mills have . . . but I also have a policy of not judgng a dog by its breed or its strain of a breed.

I just assume owners know their own dogs. I guess more paranoia is in order.

 

[SpringerDog]

My guy is a rescue also, which means I don't know everything about him yet.
I do know he doesn't like women and loves men. It doesn't take a lot to realize he was mistreated by a woman. I've had to work hard to gain his trust, and it's still a work in progress.

People come up to us all the time because Fergus is such a beautiful guy and they want to pet him. At first I didn't let anyone pet him, I didn't know how he would react and wasn't taking a chance. After taking him to obedience classes, I've seen him in social settings and he has been fine with people. I now let people pet him. I am still cautious with overly loud and aggressive people and warn them he's not friendly.

I'm guessing the people that own the dog that bit you, have not had him for long and don't know him well enough yet. With rescues, a little caution can save problems from happening. I hope they learned from this, otherwise you won't be the only one.

And thanks for not judging a breed by one dog.

 

[Lilavati]

My guy is a rescue also, which means I don't know everything about him yet.
I do know he doesn't like women and loves men. It doesn't take a lot to realize he was mistreated by a woman. I've had to work hard to gain his trust, and it's still a work in progress.

People come up to us all the time because Fergus is such a beautiful guy and they want to pet him. At first I didn't let anyone pet him, I didn't know how he would react and wasn't taking a chance. After taking him to obedience classes, I've seen him in social settings and he has been fine with people. I now let people pet him. I am still cautious with overly loud and aggressive people and warn them he's not friendly.

I'm guessing the people that own the dog that bit you, have not had him for long and don't know him well enough yet. With rescues, a little caution can save problems from happening. I hope they learned from this, otherwise you won't be the only one.

And thanks for not judging a breed by one dog.

Thanks . . . and handsome springer by the way . . . though I think I'll refrain from asking to pet him

 

[IliamnasQuest]

Lilavati, sorry to hear you were bit. From what you posted I don't see that you did anything wrong - the statement by the owners afterwards about how he was "usually okay" says a lot about their inability to control the situation. When you ask and are told the dog is friendly, and the dog willingly comes toward you, why wouldn't you think it was okay to pet? You didn't even act aggressively - you moved slowly, your hand was to the side. I don't understand why anyone is blaming YOU.

I pet dogs all the time. Most people LIKE having people pet their dogs and are a bit insulted if you don't. I always ask first, I always watch the dog for behaviors that say they don't want petted, and I move slowly and yet confidently. It's rare for me to see a dog that doesn't enjoy calm friendly petting. A well socialized, properly handled dog will most likely enjoy friendly interactions.

All of my dogs like people and in fact Khana (given the opportunity) would throw her entire body into someone's lap .. *L* .. all of my dogs (except for the pup) have visited at the nursing home where people sometimes grab onto the fur and don't let go for several minutes. The girls are calm and accepting and that's the way I feel they should be.

A normal dog, handled properly, should be able to assess the difference between a threatening person and a friendly stranger who is reaching out slowly to pet him. It has nothing to do with being a pack animal. It kind of concerns me that someone going by the handle "showdawgz" is condoning the behavior of a dog that bites without warning or true reason. Do you really think that a dog should bite someone who is not threatening (and nothing described should have been interpreted as threatening)? What kind of dogs do YOU have that it seems normal for a dog to bite that quickly and without much notice? Do the judges you show under (assuming that your handle MEANS something) know that you have this opinion? *L*

It makes me think of a chow forum I go to that defends aggressive chows because the breed standard says they're supposed to be "aloof" - it's become an excuse to shrug off the bad behavior of their own dogs (and therefore alleviating them of any fault if and when their dogs bite someone). It's just plain ridiculous.

Melanie and the gang in Alaska