I was ripped off and lied too and now my Nephew is in the Hospital?

Question

My $34.500.00 protection dog Severely bit my Nephew can I sue the company where I purchased the dog?
My nephew jumped on Troys back so maybe a court would be on the dogs side ?

The level IV Doberman male named Troy Was guaranteed to be Excellent with children and Sm dogs And this dog put my 4 year old Nephew in the hospital Ive only had the dog 7 weeks
How can i get my money back or Exchange the dog

When i called the Company where i purchased the dog they told me to bring the dog in and train with the dog for 6 more hrs of training and the wanted me to pay for it ..Ha what a joke....The dog bit and mangled my index and pinky finger when i was trying to rescue my nephew So i am scared of the dog right now .....The dog was trained to listen to my commands and it did not listen.


I feel i was severely lied to and riped off can i sue and shut the company and shut them down
they have been in business for 27 years and i wonder how they lasted as long as they have

Answer 1

Have you felt comfortable with the dog since you got it?

If you are not giving off the right vibes to a dog they can be uncomfortable and insecure also

Something has triggered with the dog if you are not happy with it take it back to where you got it and ask for your money back

Hope your nephew and you are ok

Answer 2

About the only thing you could sue for would be if they promised in writing to put you in a training program with the dog prior to taking the dog, and they failed to do so. Once you complete the training, you are supposed to keep working with the dog when you take custody of it. No one can guarantee that a dog will not bite, and if they did so and you have some sort of proof they did, then you might have something for false information.

I don't know what your past experience with dogs has been, but a dog like a doberman can be a great dog to own. Any follow up training would have been yours to do if it was not part of the purchase. Dogs can not be treated roughly and not defend themselves, and a doberman would be a dog which would defend itself. You should have known that prior to buying the a dog which is regarded as "protective".

I am very sorry for your nephew, but this sounds like a terrible accident that could have been prevented. Small children should always be watched for their behavior around animals no matter how well they know them. To ease some financial suffering, your nephew's parents could sue your homeowners insurance for expenses. Your nephew will need lots of counseling for his mental distress he will have.

My suggestion to you would be to talk to the company about returning the dog and a partial refund. Tell them you will go to the local media to tell your story, and that might help them take the dog back. You now fear the dog, and your family will too, so keeping it would not be a good option. If the company will not take the dog, seek out a doberman rescue group. A breed specific rescue will find a home that will be a good fit for this dog.

I am truly sorry you had such a bad experience, and hope that this does not turn you off from being a future dog owner. Next time better research into the breed and breeder will hopefully give you a positive experience.

Answer 3

Why on earth would you pay for a dog that highly trained and then expect it to act like a poodle?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's not only irresponsible of you but just plain ignorant to expect to be able to put an animal that may as well be a loaded gun in a situation where it may go off.
And then you say the dog is defective because it would'nt listen to your command and you want your money back?The dog is'nt defective.YOU ARE>

I'm real sorry about your nephew.It should be you in the hospital.

You were not ripped off nor were you lied to.You bought this dog and failed to work with it on a daily basis.You paniced when it attacked and commanded the dog off in a tone that was not calm and assertive as was used during training.The dog heard distress and attacked that much harder as it was trained.DID'NT IT?

Please take the dog back so it can be placed with someone who knows how to handle it.RIGHT NOW before the authorities get involved and put the animal down!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't imagine a place being in buisness for 27 years either if they allow dogs they've put that much time and effort into to go to any fool with the money to pay for them.But trying to sue them for your ignorance is unreasonable.

Think about what the kid was doing right before the dog attacked him.Was the dog defending himself ?Did the boy act in a manner that was aggressive or challenging to the dog?

I have 2 german shepherds who are the biggest babies that ever walked.But to strangers they are VERY aggressive.My dogs have been trained for everything but attack.I have great confidence that they will do so should the need arise and I take the time and great care to "train" the people I expose my dogs to.They are all told BEFORE I let my dogs anywhere near them that they are not to look at, try to touch or talk to them.Pretend the dogs are'nt there and let the dogs come to them when they are comfortable enough to do so.I won't allow my dogs around visitors with unruly children that they refuse to correct.Dogs are much stricter with their young than we are with ours and are quick to correct bad behavior.
A DOG IS AN ANIMAL.YOU CAN"T EVER KNOW WHAT THEY ARE THINKING OR FEELING AND YOU CAN NEVER TRUST THEM TO NOT ACT LIKE AN ANIMAL.DOES'NT MATTER HOW HIGHLY THEY'RE TRAINED!

You just learned a very expensive lesson.

You brought the dog home and turned it loose without thought or care of what MIGHT happen.You failed to follow thru with training which by the way is a BONDING EXPERIENCE that MUST be continued DAILY until that dog bonds with you so it will follow your commands each and every time they're given.YOU acted irresponsibly and inconsiderately to both the dog and the people you exposed it to so step up and take the consequences of your actions instead of blaming the dog or the breeder.You had $35,000.00 to spend on a dog so you can afford the hospital bills and the punitive damages that will soon come.

I hope you know what it feels like to be poor.Because you will be very soon.

Answer 4

I'm sorry?????
You buy a trained guard dog, it savages your poor little nephew and YOU want to sue the company who sold you the dog, if I was your nephews parent I would be suing YOU for not making sure my son was safe! What idiot in their right mind would let a trained guard dog be anywhere near a small child!!!! Plus you have only had the dog for 7 weeks so you don't know it yet!!
Yes the company who sold it to you was wrong also but only in the fact that they didn't 'vet' you closely enough to see if you were responsible enough to take a fully trained guard dog home with him!!
Get the dog put to sleep before it Kills someone!!

Answer 5

Anyone who has any experience with dogs will tell you that you cannot get someone else to train "your" dog. A dog answers only to one master and the question is not "how good is the dog with Children" but how good is the child with dogs. Has the child been taught how to behave around dogs, how to respect a dog. You should have bought a puppy, gone to training classes with the puppy from the word go and then taught your nephew the "do's" and "don'ts" of being with a dog. I am very sorry that your nephew was bitten so badly, but I think that you are as much to blame as the dog.

Answer 6

I'm so sorry to hear about your nephew.

I don't know where you live and it will make a difference. However I do believe that you have a case against the agency that trained your dog. A well trained protection dog is one that is a valuable and trusted member of the family.

It is a common misconception that if you have a dog with aggressive tendencies then it will make a good protection dog. This is totally untrue. A good dog for protection will be a dog that is stable in temperament. The agency should have done a temperament test on your dog before taking him on as a protection dog trainee. Did they do this?

Even though your nephew jumped on the dog, this is not a good enough reason for the dog to bite your nephew and I don't think a court will fault your nephew for that. Granted the dog had reason to be upset, however because he is a trained protection dog, this is even more reason that he shouldn't have bitten your nephew.

I'm sorry, I am not a lawyer, however I do think you should call one and talk with them. I strongly feel that you do have a case against the agency that trained your dog.

Good luck and I hope your nephew gets better soon!

Answer 7

If you have a signed guarantee as to what they said the dog would and would not do, and what he was or was not trained for, then I would go see a lawyer. Your nephew should not have jumped on the dog but he was possibly doing what he was trained to do PROTECT.
Check with an attorney. That is an awful lot of money to pay for a dog even if he had solid gold b@#$s.
Sorry about your nephew.

Answer 8

First off no dog sold as a protection dog should ever be allowed around children. Gaurd dogs are handled by and trained with one person and should NEVER have contact with anyone but the handler.
They are not family dogs and do not live in family homes like other dogs do. They are working animals and not to be treated like other dogs.
No company should be sellinga protection dog that is trained and telling anyone they are ok with kids.
I have seen ads for things like this and feel sorry for anyone who gets taken in by them as it is a big rip off and it is a miracle more people are not hurt.
As for $34,500.00 for a dog I could care less how trained and how well titled the dog is NO DOG is worth that kind of money EVER.

Answer 9

Severely ripped off??? What about your dog!!! he's the one being ripped off here....you allowed you nephew to abuse and hurt that dog and then the dog pays the price with either a damaged back or to be 'put down' (destroyed) and you think you are ripped off? You bought that dog as a guard dog. They are not a TOY they are not meant to be 'horses' they are dogs and dogs designed to survive and protect themselves!!!

You should be severely told off and made to take a course in how to respect an animal that is potentially a lethal weapon. Would you have allowed your nephew to put his fingers down a loaded barrel of a gun and jump up and down on the trigger????? Same deal!!

The companhy is not to blame here. You should be scared of the dog....you just lost its total trust and respect allowing him to be mistreated like that! A dog wont listen when it is in defence mode...it's own defence mode......

I am sorry you nephew and you were injured but it was a natural reaction!!! Don't blame the dog or the company...blame your nephew and who on EARTH would pay that amount of money for a dog!!!???

NEVER leave a child alone with a dog and definitely NEVER leave an animal that is trained to protect alone with ANYONE not trained to command that dog!!

Your questions have made me angry - Do yourself a favour and the dog...sell it to someone who knows what they are doing and invest in some electronic protection.

Oh and I'm on the dogs side by the way!!!!!

Answer 10

I'm sure you have a signed contract with the company. Read it or better yet take it to a lawyer to be reviewed. Why in the world would you pay 34,000 for a guard dog and then let a child near it?
Seems to me thats too much money for a dog AND its too expensive to let a child near it

Answer 11

You can not guarantee how an animal will react when under what it saw as attack. Just learn from the experience, get rid of the dog and think yourself very lucky your nephew wasn't killed. I live in the UK and there have been a spate of stories in the news recently about dogs attacking children including a baby who was torn apart by two guard dogs- think yourself very very lucky that it wasn't worse.