My friend got bitten by a rottweiler in the street, should it have been muzzled BY LAW?

Question

I have been told some dogs should be muzzled in public, is that right, and if so what breeds should be muzzled please.

Clarification-
The dog was outside a bank on the lead. My friend an elderly gentleman came out of the bank and as he went passed the dog he put his hand up to steady himself down a step. The dog lunged and bit him.
The owner unbeknown to anyone was in the bank. People gathered round and finally as the chemist was 2 doors away my friend went to get his hand seen too as it was bleedy profusely. There was a commotion and people were trying to find out who the owner was, when he finally came out of the bank people told him what happened. Get this! He looked through the window of the chemist and walked off. Obviously people did not want to tackle him for obvious reasons. My friend reported it to the police, but as he had no idea where the man lived (presumably locally) there was nothing to be done. He went to hospital and had a stitch and a tetanus shot. He was very shaken up by it, what if a child had been going by the dog on a bike for example and had fell off, God forbid.

Answer 1

You dont say where you live, but no its not law to muzzle rotties in the uk, I know its no excuse but maybe the dog thaught the man was going to hit him? I have rotties, but would never leave them unattended, thats wrong, because the breed has such a bad press its easy to label all rotties as bad ,they are not, they are just like any other breed, at the end of the day its the owners at fault, maybe he was too embarrassed or shocked, I am sure if the police have a good description of this man the bank will release his name etc and they will be able to contact him hopefully, to be honest I would lock up the man for being an irresponsible owner, hope the old guy is ok!

Answer 2

I don't think so but if the dog must be muzzled then it shouldn't have been in public in the first place. Thats how the law is around here anyway.

Why was your friend bit? Was the dog running loose? Were you walking towards the dog? A dog never JUST bites. There is always a reason behind it. If the dog was running loose then yes....there is a law against that and the owner is faulted. But if the dog was tied or on a leash....why would you be so close to an angry dog anyway?

Answer 3

There are no muzzle laws as far as I know. Most cities/states do have leash laws that require all dogs to be on a leash in public.

It surprises me that everyone is blaming the dog and/or the owner. I am curious if there was something your friend might have done accidentally to encourage the dog to bite. Dogs are NOT just furry people. They are dogs and governrd by millions of years of evolution. Perhaps your friend inadvertantly scared the dog or made it feel threatened in some way.

Please remember that it is unwise to approach strage dogs in the street without first asking the owner.

Personally, I saw screw the "dangerous dog" list. ALL dogs can be dangerous. ALL dogs, from the smallest to the largest, can bite and cause serious injury. The flip side is that ALL dogs can be loving, from the meanest looking PittBull to the scariest Mastiff.

Answer 4

Muzzles have nothing to do with breed. It depends on the dog. If the owner knows that the dog does not do well around strangers than it should have a muzzle on. It really should be on a leash or locked in a backyard for safety. I own a Rottweiler and she is a big baby with us but she does not like strangers so well. We keep her locked in our back yard. When I take her to the vet I bring the muzzle with me just in case I need it. She does ok with the vet. I wish people did not look at certain breeds as dangerous. They are dangerous because the owners are training them to be dangerous or they are not confining them well enough to prevent attacks.

Answer 5

Check with the city, if the dog has bitten before it may have been labled as "dangerous" and a stipulation may have been placed on the owners to muzzle the dog in public. If not, then, no, by law, the dog did not need a muzzle. However, morally, if the owner knew the dog was human aggressive they should've muzzled it.

Answer 6

the dog is not a bred that has to be muzzled by law but any responsible owner would muzzle their dog if it was a biter.
the dog may have been suprised by the gentleman and responded
the owner should of waited and spoken to the gent afterwards as the dog was unsupervised which should not happen for the dogs sake as well as anyone else

Answer 7

Even the Government is trying to make the States and Counties do away from any Breed Specific Laws.

A law to be muzzled in public is not on the books as far as I know... that is an individual choice.

Sorry your friend got bitten - why was your friend that close to the dog anyway? = just wondering as you gave no details

H.O.T. Dog
Handler Owner Trainer of GSD's
Member U.S.A & A.W.D.F

Answer 8

as far as i know if the dog has an order under the dangerous dogs act then yeah muzzle it but the law is a very grey area.

ppl say that my 1 yr old staffy cross should be muzzled - they have a right to their opinion and while you can never know a dog fully, mine has never bitten anyone, never growled at anyone in the street infact he runs behind me and wee's on the floor if approached by ppl he don't know - but thats just my dog. he's treated with love and respect and he knows i expect that in return.

all that said i am not stupid to think that he wouldn't attack if provoked enough but he wouldn't just because he's a staffy - i've seen jack russells going for someone and believe me that was nasty.

i've brought my children up to respect dogs and never ever taunt a dog - humans don't like it so why should dogs.

Answer 9

It shouldnt of been out on the streets if it was mean and harmful. It is not a law that a rottweiler needs a muzzle. Just report the bite to the police and they will take the dog away. I hope your friend is okay!!

Answer 10

Sounds to me like your friend startled the dog and it's reaction was to bite in defence. The fact that it is a heavy, strong breed of dog means it will do more damage, but it doesn't mean it's a particularly aggressive dog.
Muzzling dogs is cruel because it restricts their panting, which in turn makes them hot and potentially nasty with it.