I was bit by a neighbour’s dog last Aug. It tore a large chunk out of my forearm and made two deep puncture wounds. I had a large crush bruise from my elbow to wrist and now sport a lovely scar.
It happened while I was out walking my dog, their dog came out of their yard and attacked. He was after my little dog and I would not normally have grabbed him, but my seven year old was there and I worried she would get involved and get badly hurt.
It was a large dog - a mastiff/bull terrier cross and brindle in color. I have always had good experiences with Mastiffs, so this was surprising.
We did report it and also sent a demand letter to the owner. I hemmed and hawed about the letter as I am not a litigious person by nature. A few things decided it - apparently the dog had a history of attacking little dogs and he needed to better socialize and secure his dog. Sometimes the only thing people pay attention to is money.
It worked, he has changed his fence and walks his dog with a muzzle and a short lead. I did write a letter on his behalf when he made those changes for when he had to go to the city. I did not want him to lose the dog, just be a more responsible owner.
If there have been problems with aggression before than you should report it. You’re just lucky that it wasn’t a serious bite, the fact that it’s not a deep wound does not make the dog less aggressive.
As for them not being able to afford a fence until next year they can do something else until then. They can buy some chain link or stock fencing and make a temporary fence a few feet inside of their current fence. If they really don’t have any money they can mow the portion of your yard near the fence.
I do too. I’m not sure where you could live where a dog that bites unprovoked is a good thing, but certainly not someplace where you have close neighbours.
When a dog is ‘classified as a vicious animal’, it is not merely an opinion. Such classification entails many obligations the owner must comply with (as outlined in post #12).
I am going to add, if you do report it the city and you have a dog, make sure your license is up to date. You can be charged.
In my case, the owner was charged for failure to control his pet and also for having an unlicensed dog. That fine was around a thousand, and his home owner’s insurance probably went up or they dropped him.
I’m in favor of reporting any bite that requires medical treatment or is unprovoked. Animal bites, and bite attempts, are just a professional hazard for me and I see rather a lot of the latter. There is a world of difference between an animal that tries to bite out of fear, panic, or plain old cussedness at being fooled with but otherwise leaves you alone, and one that will charge at you. Chargers are dangerous because there’s no way not to set them off, there’s no way to chill them out once they get started, and they typically escalate from incident to incident.
This dog, frankly, sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. He’s progressed from barking and running at the fence to jumping over the fence to bite you. It wasn’t a serious bite, not this time, but what about next time? And the time after that, and the time after that? And what happens when he pulls this shit on someone else, someone who doesn’t have to live next door to these people and have an incentive to stay on good terms with them? It’s going to get way uglier than the fencing, muzzling, sterilizing and chipping that goes with reporting the bite if these folks don’t get serious about dealing with this issue.
A line of hot wire along the top of the fence should cure the dog of lunging or climbing over it.
Absolutely raise a stink with the neighbors, see what reaction you get, and if they aren’y horrified and determined to remedy things to your satisfaction, report it. Best to get this on record ASAP.
A dog with a history of attacks and with serious bite and this is the thinking. I wonder what would be the point of breaking for you where you would not oppose putting the dog down. I’m only reding about this and I wouldn’t mind putting the dog down myself.
Luckily, where I live, this dog would be put down within 24 hrs. But then, dangerous dogs are outlawed in Ontario so it’s a no brainer.
I was thinking along the same lines, newcomer - I wouldn’t be wondering about reporting the dog, I would have reported it the second its teeth came in contact with my skin. There are plenty of dogs and owners who can live peacefully in a society - this dog is not one of them (or his owner isn’t doing what it takes to make him a good dog).
Not all dogs that act in this manner are beyond help. Most simply need better training and the bad behaviour can be curbed almost immediately. Putting a dog down is serious business and can’t be taken back one it’s been done. If the animal isn’t a raving loon, attacking everything then it’s better to try to pursue a humane option first.
newcomer - I wouldn’t call a “bite” that didn’t break the skin a serious bite. Still, the dog needs to be better contained. A hotwire around the fence should keep the dog off it.
