Neighbors’ dog attacked me

[rayofhislight]

There’s a couple living right next door to us and they have a very reactive and I guess I can say aggressive dog now. As soon as they go outside with the dog she starts howling and barking for no apparent reason. Lunges at dogs and people and her owner (a woman) can barely hold her. It’s not a big dog, maybe about 20 lbs. The other day I was outside with my chihuahua puppy and that dog managed to run away from the woman. I turned around the corner where I usually take my puppy for a walk and this dog ran up to me barking and growling. I turned my side to her holding my puppy and told her “no”. I made a mistake that I looked in her eyes. Honestly I thought she’d bark and that would be it. She bit me 3 times and every time the bite got stronger. Nothing too serious, just punctured skin. Only then her owner managed to grab her. The woman seemed to be scared of her own dog. She told me “she doesn’t bite, she’s a puppy”. I told her she already bit me 3 times. I waited an hour for the neighbors to show up to talk about the incident, they didn’t, and then decided to call the police to document the attack. The police came over and talked to both of us. The dilemma is that I love animals and I didn’t even think I can be attacked by a dog, I prevented a few attacks and dog fights in my life. The woman told me she found this puppy in a dumpster. The puppy is 7 months old now. I don’t think she’s capable of training the dog, never saw her attempting to even introduce it to anyone. Just in and out of the apartment, the dog is trying to break free and howling constantly. They told us they’re getting an e-collar to stop the howling. Although my issue is not with that. I’m afraid to go outside because somehow this dog and her owner always go out at the same time I do. The dog is just 7 months old but I believe it’s gonna get worse with someone who gets dragged around walking her. Should I escalate the matter with the management? I don’t want my puppy or me or anyone to get injured by her….

 

[niteshayde]

@rayofhislight

You are not being a Karen if she is lying about her dog's temperament and she's physically unable to hold the dog back. Her lack of responsibility as a pet owner is putting people in DANGER, including you.​

 

[moniquetrenchfield]

@rayofhislight Soooo many red flags. If a 7mo puppy properly bites you three times, on neutral territory, with no apparent provocation, then I'd say that's a big concern. If the owner can't control a 20lb dog, that's another. If they're apparently so unconcerned about it repeatedly biting you that they can just brush it off like nothing happened, that's the biggest of all.

Please don't let it drop. Sooner or later, someone will get properly hurt, and the puppy will end up dead. It needs dealing with.

 

[stephen_nz]

@rayofhislight Hey OP-

1) ALL ANIMAL BITES THAT BREAK SKIN REQUIRE MEDICAL TREATMENT. I cannot emphasize this enough. Do not fuck around with potential infection in the bloodstream. Every bite that opens skin requires antibiotics (no not polysporin, real oral antibiotics from a doctor). It is recommended you see a doctor within the first 24 hours. I cannot possibly emphasize how important this is. You could die or lose your hand. Doctor. Now.

2) EVERY ANIMAL BITE -DOMESTIC OR WILD - NEEDS TO BE REPORTED. If you’ve followed item #1, then your doctor has already done this for you. Animal bites are serious business to your public health unit. They absolutely aren’t fucking around. Rabies is 100% fatal. That dumpster dog that bit you and hasn’t has any training - how much money do you want to bet it’s not up to date on its vaccines? Doctor. Now.

OP - go to the doctor, and yes, any animal that bites needs to be reported.

 

[turtleena]

@stephen_nz Yes, yes. Animal bites can result in bacteria that live in conditions where oxygen is unavailable, in deep tissues. These bacteria/ infections can be harder to treat than most others--think lockjaw, tetanus, gangrene ect. Do not delay, you may not see symptoms for day or two but the resulting delay could mean lose of tissue or limbs.

 

[stephen_nz]

@turtleena I want to add that the only times in my life when I have been able to jump the queue at the university med clinic is when I was bit by an animal that broke skin. Once by a rat in one of the labs, and the other by a bichon frise. The sooner you have the bite assessed and start antibiotics, the better. They don’t have to be bites from a deadly creature to develop deadly infections. Bites on the hands/fingers are especially vulnerable to infection.

 

[rayofhislight]

@stephen_nz It’s on my leg. And really just a tiny scratch.

 

[vee]

@rayofhislight If it broke skin at ALL, it needs care. Even a tiny, tiny cut can get infected. Please go get treatment.

 

[shan73]

@vee So everybody raising a puppy needs to go to the doctor all the time and get antibiotics? Because I can't count how many times our puppy bit me during teething and several times it left scratches or even bled. I think people are being a little overdramatic.

 

[xxdarkelementalsongxx]

@shan73 Yes YOUR puppy who was not found in a dumpster and definitely has its shots. You cool with dumpster puppy bites?

 

[shan73]

@xxdarkelementalsongxx They confirmed that the puppy in the post has all its shots and it's not like it's currently in the dumpster.

 

[doreenpayne]

@shan73 Wash the bite, look for signs of lingering redness that is spreading. If not, you'll be okay. You don't get sepsis in 30 seconds.

 

[counsellingservices]

@rayofhislight Is it a tiny scratch, or a puncture? You do not want to mess with a puncture from a bite, even if it’s tiny. People are not exaggerating about that.

 

[yanekcastell]

@stephen_nz Definitely see a doc. My stepmother had a smallish bite on her leg, ignored it for a week, then had to be admitted for flesh-eating bacteria and sepsis.

 

[hknight]

@stephen_nz seriously. "nothing too serious, just punctured skin" OP you're confused about what a serious bite is. breaking skin is definitely serious enough. that dog meant business and you stated yourself that the bites were escalating. given the chance, it sounds like that dog would do a ton of damage.

 

[rayofhislight]

@stephen_nz The police told me the animal control will verify it the same day and contact the vet office. I put some rubbing alcohol on it. If the dog’s owners survived so will I I had a tetanus shot some time ago

 

[stephen_nz]

@rayofhislight Tetanus is only one of the potential bacteria to create serious infection from bites. There are loads of others including MRSA superbug. 15% of open skin bites result in serious infection.

”If you have been bitten by a dog or cat, wash the bite area right away with soap and water, and call your doctor, even if you don’t feel sick. This is because dog and cat bites can pose a risk for rabies, as well as Capnocytophaga.”
-CDC

Anyways, here is a list of symptoms to look out for (but you really should see a doctor or at least call telehealth)

https://www.cdc.gov/capnocytophaga/signs-symptoms/index.html#:~:text=After%20being%20bitten%2C%20most%20people,with%20dog%20or%20cat%20bites.

 

[finlandia]

@rayofhislight 10000% report

A lunge, a scary situation, or just barking would have been annoying and maybe still warranted a report to management.

An actual bite?? That's report to management and animal control.

You are NOT mean for doing so. You are NOT a "karen". If this is the first offense, they are NOT going to destroy the dog.

If ANYTHING happens to them as a result of this it is a result of THEIR actions and inactions. They didn't train, they made dangerous desicions, and you GOT HURT. Do you even know this dogs vaccination status? You need to visit the ER if the skin broke.

This is more serious than you're making it out to be. What if it was a child? What if they got your small dog and your dog died or got an infection? If these people didn't do anything wrong, there would be no consequences.

You have an obligation to report to prevent another attack. Honestly, if you did nothing and the next incident was a child's face getting mauled ... I'm sure you would feel guilty. These owners need to know the gravity of their mess up. They can't walk away from this like "glad we.got away with it" because that does not enforce change

 

[nic_88]

@finlandia In addition the sooner OP reports it the better chance the dog has. If they wait and don't adress this behavior it's just going to get worse. But with a bite on record they will be highly motivated to adress the issue and put safety measures into effect. This will be beneficial to both the dog and the community.

Also even though it's not your job OP and I understand if you don't want to, maybe you can reccomend a good force free trainer or send them the list of how to find a good trainer from r/dogtraining. They sound very ignorant of how to train an agressive dog and a bad trainer could make the situation worse.

I am so sorry this happened to you OP, I hope you're doing OK. Make sure you are up to date on your tetanus vaccine and talk to your doctor to see if you need antibiotics (if you haven't already). While I hope this dog is muzzled and well controlled from now on it might not be a bad idea to look into some safety measures like an umbrella, pepper spray, an air horn or another deterrent to keep yourself safe.

 

[rayofhislight]

@finlandia The police checked the dog’s vaccination status, I was worried about that too. We have a lot of kids running outside and it always looks like the dog is about to break loose.