2 dogs off lead meet & start fighting one owner puts hands in to try and seperate & gets bitten - who's fault?

Question

I was out walking my Golden Retreiver last night when another dog came up to him they were both off the lead - it was also male - all hell broke lose and they started fighting. I tried to seperate them by hitting mine with lead and generally screaming like a banshee! The other owner also female tried to seperate them by putting her hand in amongst them - I shouted to her not to put her hands in amongst them - upshot was she got bitten - I feel really bad obviously because my dog was involved but surely she must take responsibility for her actions - she is saying my dog bit her but that is NOT the case - the dogs were fighting and she stuck her hand in?!

Answer 1

She is going to have to prove it was your dog that bit her. It is the fault of the owner of the dog that bit.

FYI Pull tail and grab scruff to separate. Or carry a big stick.

Answer 2

Both owners are at fault here. Both dogs were not restrained. The dogs displayed dominant aggressive behaviour, a pack behaviour that you allowed to happen by not restraining your dogs. Only an idiot would put their hand into the middle of a dog fight! It does not matter which dog bit her.. in the heat of the moment even her own dog would turn on anyone, including herself.
The dogs should not have been off the lead.
But ultimately, you both need to learn how to seperate dogs correctly when in fight!
THIS IS HOW TO SEPERATE TWO FIGHTING DOGS:
When 2 people are present, each person grabs the HIND 2 legs of a dog, lifts them and starts pulling the dog away, all the time slightly swinging the dog in a circular motion. This prevents the dog from swinging around to bite you.. it can't, as it will fall over it's own legs if it stops moving. When distanced, you can restrain the dog. NEVER go into the middle of a dogfight.. the dogs are bound to turn on you in the heat of the moment. You MUST know how to do this as there are many dogs out there that can attack your dog, even if your dog is restrained.

Answer 3

number one all dogs must be on a leash when thay are out in the public no matter what!!!! it's the law!!!!!!!!! number two this all could have been prevented if the other Lady's dogs wear on a leash. the other lady was stupid to put her hand in the middle of a dog fight to stop it. well now she the dummy. the point is the lady is not being a responsible dog owner and the best thing to do call the police get a police report and take her to court if she will not cooperate with you. and get a lawyer to protect you. you have right as well espelly when you are not at fault the victim in this case is your dog and you .and your dog is the one that is suffering because he or she got attack by some lady's other dog that was off leash and breaking the law

Answer 4

Honestly it's both your fault. But regardless of what other people preach, a TON of people do this and you should not be preached at for not walking your dog on a leash because you didn't ask anyone on their opinion on that matter. In answering your question, held in court they always say it's the fault of the owner of the dog who bit (or is being accused). If they do take action legally, stand by your word strictly that your dog DID NOT bite her (unless of course it did) because at some point she will mention that she's not a hundred percent sure and they will question that. You don't want your dog listed as aggressive.
Also, just to be curtious, maybe offer help with any medical bills simply because if your dog hadn't been there off the leash, it wouldn't have happened regardless what her dog did. Hope this helps and good luck! :-)

Answer 5

It`s nearly impossible to say exactly how this case would end up IF it went to court . There are several variables , and one really doesn`t know on what the judge would base his decision .

It could be argued that this wouldn`t have happened if your dog was on a leash , but then again , it wouldn`t have happened if the other dog was on a leash either .

What about if one dog was on a leash and the other wasn`t ? If the dog on a leash is attacked , you can`t be expected to restrain him and prevent him from defending himself .

The situation with the other woman being bitten could be decided one way or the other also . If your dog was on a leash , she may not have got bitten . If her dog was on a leash , she may not have got bitten . One thing she is up against is the fact she may have to prove it was your dog that bit her .

In a dog fight , things can happen so fast , it`s quite likely one may not even know for sure which dog did the biting . She might say "my dog would never bite me" , which normally would be the case , but it`s well known that during a dog fight , a dog is so focused on the other dog , it doesn`t know what or who it`s biting .

One thing for certain , if this goes to court , both of you will almost certainly he held responsible to some degree , although I`d say it`s not unreasonable , in this case , to expect a verdict / judgement of 50% responsibility .

Answer 6

Both at fault but in difficult circumstances, if a fights going on then no dog is going to turn its back and go back to the owner. Other lady should have had more sense than to put her hands in between them, it would have been safer to both try and grab the back of their collars. You've had a hell of a fright but you will feel better soon as you calm down, best avoid that walk for a while. I would do a course of dog obedience training to reinforce things between you and your dog, she should do the same, you need to be able to read situations and get your dog back to you before any trouble. Sometimes when I look after a pals Old English things can get a bit narky between the males. I turn the hose on them to stop any fighting, but I can tell by their body language if ones starting to get narky.

Answer 7

Both of you are at fault. When walking dogs they need to be under your control. You have no control when leads are not used. I also have a Retriever, I know her temperment and I would walk her off leash if I knew the temperments of other dogs coming her way. I do not...so for the safety of the dogs and their owners always walk on a lead. Remember that they are animals and are unpredicatable. If you want to walk her off lead take her to an area that is not frequented by others. There are also proper ways to introduce dogs to each other, which I can't get into...but I will say that is always done on a lead. To avoid any more disasters...please always walk your dog on a lead. If you come up to others walking dogs that are not on on lead, very calmly and nicely tell the owner to put the dog on a lead before they meet, to please walk in another direction or revert your course as well.

Answer 8

I am pretty familiar with laws like this, well in CA. If both of the dogs are off leash in public you both are in violation of the law. I would check with the county or city you reside in but I'm pretty sure no matter where you live you technically violated the law. Did she say she was going to sue? Do you know her or run into her alot? If not than you are worrying yourself for nothing. If you do I would try to talk it out since you are both at fault and it might cost more time and money to go to court than to work it out. Also look about dog bite law and you can read a lot of interesting info.
In reference to the fight I understand the instict to stop the fight and protect your pet but sticking your hands in the middle is NOT wise as she could ended up in the ER needing surgery. Sometimes it is best to let them work it out but IF you think you can step in then do the following. Grab their back legs, near their paws, and "wheel barrel" them away from each other. If you grab them there that is the furtherst point between you and the dog therefore it lessens the chance you will get bit.
Whoever said male dogs are known to fight does NOT know what they are talking about. You are sterotyping! I know plenty of male dogs who don't fight and some females who do. The fact of the matter is dogs sometimes act out on leash or dogs don't like someone in their face just as we humans do not like it. It is possible that the dog had a bad experience in the past while walking and they handled it one way and that didn't work for them. So the next time they picked another way to handle that worked and now they pick that "tool". It is now up to the owners to get them to pick another one. If not, too many fights or bites can get your dog taken away, you get sued, jailed or fined or possibly the dog gets put to sleep. Yes you can actually go to jail b/c of your dog.

Answer 9

I'm an attorney and can tell you that both owners should have had their dogs on leads. The other dog owner acted negligently when she stuck her hand in and around snarling animals. It is very hard to separate large dogs who are fighting but one good method is to grap your dog, the other owner grab hers, BY THE HIND LEGS, and squeeze at the tops of the thighs and move the dog from side to side so if it tries to spin around and bite, it'll be thrown off balance. Once you get your dog a safe distance away, snap the lead on. The other dog owner would be hard pressed to prove which dog actually bit her, and her case would likely be dismissed for lack of proof. Good luck!

Answer 10

Has this woman forgotten that dogs are animals and do what comes naturally. Getting involved between them is stupid although natural (I had to stop a friend of mine running inbetween two fighting horses), it is asking for trouble.
Not sure which country you are in or the bylaws but I believe dogs need to be exercised and dragging them along on a lead is not exercise. However, before this is done, you must ensure your dogs recall is faultless.
I have trouble alot of the time when walking my dog, under control and who is not very good with other dogs, when people allow their 'friendly' dogs run up to mine, claiming they only want to play, when my dog obviously doesn't.
I think we tend to forget that dogs have different rules to us and just because a dog redirected a bite to a person in the heat of a dog squable does not mean it is person aggressive. Tell her it was her own fault!!

Answer 11

You are both equal in the blame category,(1) both dogs should have been on a lead.(2)screaming like a banshee isnt going to stop them,(3)what idiot would stick there hand inbetween 2 dogs fighting(her obviously)(4)both of you are to blame so any Vet bill or Doctors bill should be 50/50.(ps) hitting the dogs with a lead,you would be as well tickling them with a feather.