Neighbor's Dog...

[Challenger]

There is a neighborhood dog (a very large male yellow lab) that occasionally escapes his yard and runs from house to house. He is usually very affectionate with people, but last night, while I was enjoying the evening, sitting in my garage, playing with and petting my dog, he paid us a visit; no sooner than he entered my garage, he attacked and mauled my pup (10 months old, medium size). It was all I could do to pull him off, and I was also injured while defending my dog. My dog suffered several bites to his head and ear and shed quite a bit of blood (he whined most of the night). I did not call the police because I know where the dog lives and am familiar with its owners.
What would you do in this situation?

[Dog Bite Coverage]

Basically you can do just about anything that you want to do in this situation. The standard home owner policy no longer offers dog bite coverage in the State of Texas so the dog's owners are completely vulnerable to liability in a case such as this.

What do you want to do? What would you like to see done on your and your pup's behalf? After such a long hot summer are you concerned to know if the yellow lab is current on rabbies shots? Do your injuries or your pups require medical care? Are you concerned that the dog will be problematic in the future? If the dog can turn on a smaller dog like you experienced, what are the possibilities of it's attacking a child? Will you feel comfortable in just ignoring the situation and not taking any action at all? Answer these questions and follow your instincts.

[KidShelleen]

Challenger wrote:

There is a neighborhood dog (a very large male yellow lab) that occasionally escapes his yard and runs from house to house. He is usually very affectionate with people, but last night, while I was enjoying the evening, sitting in my garage, playing with and petting my dog, he paid us a visit; no sooner than he entered my garage, he attacked and mauled my pup (10 months old, medium size). It was all I could do to pull him off, and I was also injured while defending my dog. My dog suffered several bites to his head and ear and shed quite a bit of blood (he whined most of the night). I did not call the police because I know where the dog lives and am familiar with its owners.
What would you do in this situation?

http://www.ci.la-porte.tx.us/residents/animal...

Call animal control. Report this:
Running at large off the premises: Any dog which is not restrained by means of a leash or chain of sufficient strength and not more than six feet in length to control the actions of such animal while off the premises, or any cat which is off the owner’s property.

If your neighbor gets mad, it's his own fault.

[Heavy Fed]

It's important to remember... it's not the dogs fault.

It's 100% the fault of the owner.

If you report the dog... it may be destroyed... but that may be what is best for the dog.

I'd go talk to the owner first and try to resolve it that way.

If you are not happy after talking to them... then report it.

In the end... it's all up to what you want to do.

Is YOUR dog OK?

[Challenger]

Heavy Fed wrote:

It's important to remember... it's not the dogs fault.
It's 100% the fault of the owner.
If you report the dog... it may be destroyed... but that may be what is best for the dog.
I'd go talk to the owner first and try to resolve it that way.
If you are not happy after talking to them... then report it.
In the end... it's all up to what you want to do.
Is YOUR dog OK?

The dog is generally a good boy, but apparently he doesn’t like other dogs. This lab has visited several times, although my dog wasn’t present during those visits. I’ve even leashed him and walked him back home before. If you ever met the pooch, you’d never think him capable of such behavior. I think his tags are up to date. I let my dog out to the backyard this morning. He was in a little pain, so I gave him a pain reliever that should settle him for the day. I plan to talk to the culprit dog’s owners this evening to see what they are going to do to prevent this from happening again. Hopefully my dog’s injuries are minuscule. My injury was not inflicted by the dog, but a result of my wrestling him away from my dog (he's a BIG SOB, probably over 70 lbs!).

[bayfisher]

I would take the dog to the vet and have him checked out and then give the bill to the neighbor. They are financially responsible for your and your dog's injuries. Maybe the pain of paying out will make him/her be responsible and keep the dog confined in his own yard. We have many dogs roaming freely in our neighborhood. I worry about my dog and cats. What gets me is when one comes in MY yard and starts growling at me....it's my yard dang it, you leave.

[RangerDoc]

That should be intrest and Animal Control. My fingers hit the wrong keys!!!

[Norma E]

Here's a hint that I was told by a veterinarian several years ago that I have had another situation to where I tried it out and it works.

Grab the offending dogs back legs and hold them up. The dog will not be able to turn and bite you and you're able to pull the dog away from yours.