Very upset - my dog accused of biting an elderly man

[Brandi]

I would lay low as well and not ruffle feather's. Just have all documentation in case but I am sure it will be fine. Just steer clear of this guy from now on. Some people are just looking for things to complain about too. I know when a dog is being mean and it sounds to me like your dog was just happy to see him and wanted to give him a little love. Not your fault he didn't get it. I would get that one statement in writing if you could about how it did not look like a dog bite. Good luck. This too will pass.

[Irulan]

Brandi, some people don't want a little love from any dog, no matter how cute it's owner thinks it is.

[OakLeaf]

I'd find out what constitutes the "one free bite" in your jurisdiction. If a report like this triggers your having to get special insurance, muzzle your dog at all times, put a roof on your yard, etc. - not to mention the spectre of him being taken from you and put to death if the man or someone else should decide to make a second accusation - then you need to fight it now.

If there has to be a judicially proved bite before your dog is tagged a vicious dog, then just collect documentation and sit tight, as others have said.

[withm]

If I was 80 yrs old and any dog starting jumping up on me I would be terrified. Even a small dog could cause an "elderly man," or anyone else, to lose his balance resulting in a fall and possibly a broken hip (or worse). Such a fall might cause him to hit his head on the pavement with extremely serious if not fatal consequences. Certainly the fear of breaking a hip is probably very high on any of us as we get older. Loss of mobility is the beginning of the last chapter of our lives.

As cyclists, many of us have suffered from the carelessness of other dog owners. And as cyclists we should all have a better understanding of the devestation a "little love" from an unwelcome dog can cause.

Please train your dogs not to jump on people. Ever.

[PamNY]

We need to keep in mind that this thread is about the false accusation of a dog bite and the legal ramifications thereof.

Emily made it clear that she regards jumping as undesirable behavior and she corrected it immediately.

Jumping up by a dog is indeed frightening for some people, but it is far, far, more common for people to regard jumping as cute and to interfere with the dog owner's attempts to train proper behavior.

[Irulan]

Well and so Pam, but I'm of the mind that if you post an item for discussion online, it's up for discussion, not discussion between a predetermined set of parameters. That's exactly what I meant when I made a comment about " is this a me-too" thread... comments are only allowed if they support the OP's ? The incident is certainly unfortunate but if it's posted for discussion it should be open for discussion.

I don't know ANYONE that thinks jumping is cute except for the owner of dogs who don't correct it. Why do people keep saying it's not so bad? Is is just me that thinks a jumping dog of any size is ill-mannered?

[Becky]

Jumping is ill-mannered. I don't like it when my dog or anyone else's participates in this behavior.

However, I certainly agree with Pam's statement that it's a hard thing to break when well-meaning but clueless people interact with a jumping dog. If my dog is jumping up, please don't touch him, talk to him, or even make eye contact. It reinforces the very behavior that I'm working to break.

[smilingcat]

+1 with dogmama. Get a written statement from the animal control officer to the effect of what he said, "Looks like a scratch not a bite". Get things in order for a strong defense and sit tight with the information.

Just laying low will not cut it. Like Irulan said, some people do not like animals!! Hiding is no defense should someone decides to pursue legal recourse. That scratch can turn into serious condition for an elderly person. A scratch can turn into a long lasting oozing wound.

I'm not trying to scare you Emily, but I would err on side of caution. Getting the certification sounds like a good thing too. Geeze, I can just see.

How did you get the wound on your arm?
That vicious dog attacked me without provacation!
The VICIOUS DOG ATTACKED YOU?
Yes Sir
But there is a certification saying otherwise. Do you still wish to claim that the dog is vicious?
....

I think having the certification after the fact is still very relevant and getting ASAP would be much better than later.

[PamNY]

I don't know ANYONE that thinks jumping is cute except for the owner of dogs who don't correct it. Why do people keep saying it's not so bad? Is is just me that thinks a jumping dog of any size is ill-mannered?

You misread my post. I did not say that jumping up is "not so bad" and I did not say I think it is "cute." I did describe behavior that I have observed many times over a period of decades -- which is people tolerating and sometimes encouraging jumping up by a dog. This is a huge issue if you use positive reinforcement to train, as I do.

It is extremely well-documented that random reinforcement is powerful, and this is exactly what happens when people reward a dog for jumping up. Even a single instance can cause delay/failure in training the behavior you want.

The OP said: "He walked close enough to us that my dog, who is extremely friendly (overly so at times), jumped up on him. It happened so fast, but I pulled the leash and got her off him immediately, apologizing profusely." She goes on to describe using her training method of choice to immediately achieve heeling. It is not logical to deduce from these statements that the OP regards jumping up as desirable behavior.

Further, it is illogical to assume from my post that I think jumping up by a dog is desirable; if I thought that, would I be discussing in some detail training methods I use to extinguish the behavior? And would I be complaining about people who interfere with my training methods?

The main point of my post was that a bite is a serious legal issue; jumping up, while undesirable, is an entirely different matter. I did not state that discussion should not ensue; I did intend to encourage that the discussion include logic and careful attention to detail.

[Irulan]

You misread my post. I did not say that jumping up is "not so bad" and I did not say I think it is "cute." I did describe behavior that I have observed many times over a period of decades -- which is people tolerating and sometimes encouraging jumping up by a dog. This is a huge issue if you use positive reinforcement to train, as I do.

Maybe I'm not being articulate today. In no way was I suggesting that you were tolerating jumping - you brought up and underscored that some people think it's cute, acceptable, whatever; then added to that comment with how people underminine training efforts, and then I just went on to ask why the heck do people think it's cute or acceptable in general. Whether it's a 8 pound mini-dog jumping at your ankles, or a 125 pound newfie... it's never cute.

Back in ancient times when we were doing obedience work, we were taught to knee a dog in the chest or face to discourage jumping. Not as the dog handler, but as someone being approached by a jumper. What's the thinking nowadays when you see it coming?

[emily_in_nc]

We need to keep in mind that this thread is about the false accusation of a dog bite and the legal ramifications thereof.

Emily made it clear that she regards jumping as undesirable behavior and she corrected it immediately.

Jumping up by a dog is indeed frightening for some people, but it is far, far, more common for people to regard jumping as cute and to interfere with the dog owner's attempts to train proper behavior.

Thank you Pam; this is so very true. I consider myself a responsible dog owner and of course I know that jumping up is undesirable behavior. However, whenever Paisley does this to our friends or family members (for instance, off leash in our apartment when they are visiting), and I apologize and call her off; they always say "oh, I don't mind", "oh, it's ok", "oh, she's so cute", and so forth. A lot of them encourage it by bending down to visit with her then. She just wants to see them and kiss their face. She's so little (16 lbs) that she wants to get close to people's faces. She has never even come close to knocking anyone over, and no one has ever shown any fear whatsoever of her.

In this particular case, she was on a leash (not a flexi), I had it wrapped around my hand to keep it tight, and pulled her off the man immediately. He had walked almost right into us, which is the only reason she was even close enough to him to be able to jump up. I was boxed in by a row of recycling bins and could not get out of his way in time. Whenever we are around children or any other vulnerable person, we keep her on a tight leash and never let her close enough to jump. He did not seem scared or even come close to stumbling or falling. He seemed annoyed, not frightened. And yes, it is annoying, and I take full blame for that. I felt bad, apologizing profusely at the time she jumped and later, when he showed me the scratch.

Thanks to those who have offered advice and support. And for those who feel for the man, I feel for him too. But I also think he knew he was not bitten at the time, and if he now thinks he was, he may have had this suggested to him by a relative or friend.

[emily_in_nc]

Yesterday I wrote an email to our apartment community manager to explain my side of the situation as I knew the man had gotten my apartment number from the office, so had most likely told them his side of the story. Since I'd re-read our lease and realized that one offense could get Paisley kicked out of the complex, I really wanted to know if I should prepare for that.

I got a phone call from the manager today, and the first words out of her mouth were "We love Paisley." She went on to say that situations like these are considered tenant disputes, and she does not normally get involved. But she did say that as soon is Paisley is off quarantine, she hopes we'll bring her back to the clubhouse (we have a dog-friendly clubhouse here, which is very cool -- dog treats inside and water on the porch!) So, they obviously don't intend to give her the boot. My step-father had already said that he and my mom would take her until our move date if she did get "evicted", but that would have been a lot of work for them, so I am glad we won't have to take them up on that option. We've also had offers from a couple of friends here who know Paisley well to serve as "character witnesses", should the need arise. So, the support has been great.

We still don't know if the man intends to press charges, but from our reading of the NC laws, he would have a very weak case based on no past history, no viciousness, Paisley being on leash at the time of the interaction, and several other factors. So, we are feeling more optimistic that this will end up being just a wake-up call, and once we can walk Paisley again, we will redouble our training efforts.

I read the requirements for the canine good citizen test and feel that Paisley could pass most of them, with the most difficult ones for her being "walking through a crowd" (similar to this situation where she was, in the AKC's words "overexuberant") and "reaction to another dog" (she gets very interested/excited). We've actually been working on all of these behaviors informally since moving to the community, since Paisley spent the first 2 years of her life in a rural area on a large acreage, and although we made many attempts to socialize her (as a puppy, we even took her to the polls when we voted, to our marina, and many other places), there weren't nearly as many daily opportunities for encounters with others as there are here in an apartment community. That probably has a lot to do with how excited she can get when she meets a new person or dog. She's a very enthusiastic girl!

Thanks to everyone who PM'd me in addition to those who posted on this thread. Your comments have been educational and helpful. I haven't taken the advice of some who suggested a more proactive approach (getting documentation of the man's injury and so forth) as I felt that could make the situation worse. If it turns out that I am wrong about that, I'll certainly be humble enough to admit it.