I'm so upset. I just got back from walking my 3 dogs?

Question

There were two neighborhood dogs, unleashed, not tied up, out in their yards with two of my neighbors. They were not paying attention to their dogs and the two ran over 1/2 a block up to us. My dog and one of the off-leash dogs got into a little fight (he suffers from on-leash aggression - basically because my dog has now been attacked on 3 separate occasions by off-leash dogs). He will now be an anxious mess for the next month while walking him.
Is it my fault that the dogs got into a fight? If her dog had been injured (neither were), would I have been responsible? I need to know what others think because this is the second time this woman has been out with her dog - not watching it - and it has ran up to us.
I'm just upset. I have been working so hard with him in training and this situation is going to set us back a month. I have been trying to diminish his on-leash aggression but off-leash dogs don't help. I explained this to the neighbor the first time it happened . .

comment: Lucky is actually fine off-leash, he is well-socialized and plays just fine at the dog park. We used to go every weekend (with the spring rain we have not gone due to muddiness!). Off-leash he is fine, he meets other dogs and is great. On-leash he turns into a protective dog. Protecting not only me, but himself (as he has been attacked 3 times by off-leash dogs!)

Answer 1

You cannot be held responsible for injuries caused by your dogs IF you take all reasonable precautions AND you had no way of predicting the incident or preventing the accident.

In other words, if you let a dog with known aggressive tendencies run around off leash and it attacks, of course you are responsible.

You, on the other hand, did everything reasonable by keeping your dog on leash. You are NOT expected to keep a muzzle on your dog just in case some other fool is letting his dogs run loose!

I feel for you because I know you are in a difficult situation. You are trying to socialize your dog, and your idiot neighbour is making it more difficult for you. They are probably thinking something along the lines of, "not my fault if their dog's leash-aggressive, I'm not going to tie up MY sweethearts just to make them happy." Unfortunately there are no laws against just plain idiocy. The best you can do is to remind them that, as long as their dogs are loose and yours aren't, they are responsible for any bad outcome.

If you own a car, perhaps your best bet right now is to drive your dogs to another area for walks until your skittish dog is better trained. You might also want to take some walks with this one alone. It can't be easy to train effectively if you have two other dogs to worry about at the same time.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Reading these answers, I think some of these people didn't read what you wrote. If your dog was on a leash and an unleashed dog attacked it, the owner of the UNleashed dog is both at fault and liable. If there were vet bills, she would have to pay them, and I am sure there are leash laws in your area. You are doing nothing wrong by walking your dog through the neighborhood on a leash, as long as he is not aggressive to humans and you have him under control. Your neighbor should be reported to the authorities.

Answer 3

Our dog is the same way - if another dog comes up to her while she's on leash, she gets aggressive. When we were living in an apartment, she went after a Lab whose owner let him run around off-leash and who came up to her (she's a Mini Schnauzer), and she went for the Lab's throat. The Lab's owner was calling "My dog just wants to play!" and I hollered back "MY dog DOESN'T, come get your damned dog before he gets hurt!"

If the neighbor's dog had been injured, I don't think there would be a way that YOU (the party who was actually being responsible and had your dog on a leash) could be considered "at fault".

I'd tell the woman that you try to keep an eye out for off-leash dogs, because you know your dog has an issue with other dogs, but that if you have your dog on a leash and she is not watching her dog, that YOU are not responsible if HER dog initiates contact.

Also, if there is any way you can avoid this woman's house on your walk, I'd recommend that.

Answer 4

Most cities have leash laws. Check and see if you do where you live. If so, your neighbor is breaking the law. If your dog hurt her dog while your dog is on lead and her's is loose, you are not liable for damages. Actually, you could make a case she owes you money for the extra training classes your dog will now need....not that you'd ever get it, but you could go tell her that. I'd also tell her she is breaking the law and if her dog hurt yours, she would have to pay you for vet bills and her dog could be classified a dangerous dog. That could mean she could loose her homeowners insurance and if the dog attacked any other animal or person, she could face criminal charges, depending on the laws in your area. You could report her to animal control. Again, depends on where you live, but most places will send someone out and warn the person there has been a complaint. And, if they happen to come out and the dog is out loose, they will pick it up and she'll have to pay to get the dog back. I'd ask, but I don't think animal control will tell who filed the complaint. However, she may be able to figure it out. It's always a tough call when you have a dog and the neighbor is being irresponsible with her dog. You don't want the neighbor to hate you and maybe do something to harm your dog.

Answer 5

Both owners of dogs off leash and off their own property would have been at fault.
I would NEVER walk a dog that I could not control for this very reason. To do so is asking for the very thing that happened.
I am too careful with my pets. . . had a 106lb half chow/half rotweiller that when I even took him to the vet on a leash etc I always muzzled him as one never knows what an animal will do when they feel threatened and I would NEVER put someone else at risk.
If you are walking your dogs on leashes and an unleashed dog should approach,you need to report this to the proper authorities as most cities have a leash law and only when these people are held responsible will anything be done about unleashed dogs.
Talk to this lady and inform her of your city's leash law and tell her that in the future you intend to report her.
I live in the country in a small community and many of the people who walk their leashed dogs do so with a stick in hand to thrawt off those unleashed animals that might approach. . . you might consider doing the same thing. Let this lady know you intend to do this and if she doesn't want her dog to get a knot upside it's head she might want to keep it under control.
Course,you wouldn't want to report her or defend your animal with a stick if your animal is violating the same rules you expect her to abide by.

Answer 6

No, you wouldn't be at fault. I know in most states, if not all, there are leash laws. I would tell this woman if she doesn't follow the law and keep her dogs leashed while outside, you are going to call Animal Control and report her. What if one of those dogs saw a little kid running up the street and saw the kid as a threat? That's just outright dangerous and irresponsible. I have seen "nice" dogs go after kids and the owners never saw it coming. This isn't your fault at all. Send the neighbor a letter and tell her if she doesn't start using some sort of cable or leash, you will report her. You can send a letter anonymously.

Answer 7

Your neighbor is oblivious to your explanations or simply doesn't care.
You can bring along a can of maze next time you walk your dogs and spray any unleashed dog with it. There is a law for leashing dogs! You are well in your right to defend yourself and your dogs from unleashed dogs.
You can also report unleashed dogs, and their owners will get a ticket. This should get your neighbor's attention better than your polite attempts at making a positive difference here.
For yourself, you need to let this go and simply start over. Perhaps walk your dogs in a different area.
Take the dog with leash aggression out by himself so you can give him focused attention. He'll soon be less nervous if he's the only one with you.

Answer 8

If you can change your route so you don't go by this house, I would do that. You might even take your dogs in the car to another location where you can walk them with fewer distractions. If her dogs were unleashed and unsupervised, the fight is her fault in my mind. You could report her if she's violating leash laws. Ultimately though, it's much easier to change our own behavior than anyone else's so it might be better to just avoid her house on walks. Sorry that happened, but I'm glad no one got hurt. If you haven't already, I'd check your dog carefully. Sometimes puncture wounds are hard to see and you really have to search for them especially if your dog has a thick coat.

Answer 9

Not your fault at all. Lots of cities have ordinances that the dogs must be on a leash. You might be able to report your neighbor. Do you have any dog parks around? Maybe you can take your dog to one of those and ease him into situation with other dogs or you might have to take him to a new location entirely away from your neighborhood. I might also suggest a gentle leader collar for him. He might hate it at first but you would be able to have more control of him and he shouldn't be able to bite if you pull on the leash. See this website http://www.premier.com/pages.cfm?id=29. I saw DVM animal behaviorist and that what she uses http://www.nerdbook.com/sophia/welcome.html. It really sucks that you have to work harder because other people don't play by the rules!! I hoped I helped!

Answer 10

You are not responsible.Your dog was leashed.If injures occur the owner of the unleashed dog is liable. Even if the injuries were done to his or her animal.You can call your local animal control and file a complaint against the unleashed dogs.Maybe a citation or 2 will wake the other owner up to the leash laws.