[Filnyyena]

I am sorry, I just do NOT agree with lying to the doctor of your dog biting you AT ALL.......or for ANYTHING for that matter.......it is NOT right to put your doctor in that position, regardless of circumstances.

Treating your wound yourself if fine, but when you go to the doctor for a dog-bite and you tell them you got your hand stuck in BARB WIRE?? What if something else happened to you BECAUSE of the bite? What will the doctor do then?? ALL he has to go off of is YOUR word. And it is NOT right AT ALL to put him or her in that position OR yourself for that matter.........

[JohnnyBandit]

Originally Posted by Filnyyena

I am sorry, I just do NOT agree with lying to the doctor of your dog biting you AT ALL.......or for ANYTHING for that matter.......it is NOT right to put your doctor in that position, regardless of circumstances.

Treating your wound yourself if fine, but when you go to the doctor for a dog-bite and you tell them you got your hand stuck in BARB WIRE?? What if something else happened to you BECAUSE of the bite? What will the doctor do then?? ALL he has to go off of is YOUR word. And it is NOT right AT ALL to put him or her in that position OR yourself for that matter.........

To each his own....... And as I stated I have not done this.

But fact is people as a rule are not all that truthful with their doctors anyway. They fudge what they eat, what they did, how much they smoke, how much they exercise, etc.

I guess its a moral choice folks have to make on their own. I for one seriously doubt I would report a bite I received from my dog in a situation like this. (picking up a scared dog that was being threatened by another dog) My loyalty would be with my dog.

As for something else happening? What else is going to happen? I am not an MD nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. But the treatment for an animal bite is typically.... Cleanse the would, a course of antibiotics and a tetenus shot. (I am a licensed wildlife trapper and have had a bite or two treated. In fact I have had a course of rabies vaccinations. Raccoon incident)

I have also been treated for barb wire injury. (I slung my self off a four wheeler into a barbed wire fence. That was a fun day.) The course of treatment. Cleanse the wounds, antibiotics, and a tetenus shot.


I guess some might think I am less than honest for even bringing up such a move. But what is right and wrong is a VERY grey area in this situation as far as I am concerned. Most localities dog ordinances do not contain an instrument in which the owner can provide detail in which the circumstances of the bite prevent the dog from having a bite record. It has not happened to me yet, but I just don't see myself reporting my own dog should I get nailed while pulling a thorn out of its foot pad or something along those lines.

[ozzy]

Hi All,

Original OP here, I appreciate the advice. One person asked if there was more to the story, there really isn't, the whole thing happened very fast and my dog does not ever get scared being chased usually by a pack or a larger dog. He goes to daycare once a week and plays with an older larger cousin dog so he is very socialized. I think the sheer size of the Dane and the fact that he was being aggresive is what caused my dog to snap. As I was watching them come towards us I felt very fearful of the Dane and I don't usually feel that way either when dogs are playing in a normal way. BTW to answer someone's question, I do not know which dog got my dog, I am not sure if it was the dane or the other dog (Taken away by owner) but there would be no way to identify them now. When I was bitten picking up my dog I didn't even realize it was bleeding till I started walking away, at that point I wiped the blood on my shirt and kind of hid it and just bolted out of there.

I am at fault for having him in the area with large dogs though. He is my responsibility so that is my fault. I recently moved from an area where the large dog and small dog area were divided and neither entered the other's area. When I moved here this park was different, it was a smaller crowd and most of the owners know each other well and the dogs all mingled, the small dog area just did not get used or once in awhile you might see someone with a lone dog in there that wanted to be alone. I enjoy going there for the social reasons as well since I am new to the area but I doubt we will be back for awhile. I think if I want to go back I will just have to judge the group and only bring him in when there are a few dogs (usally less than 10 there). This night there was a very large number of dogs and even a few other scuffles, I should have just left before I did!

As far as reporting it, well to be honest I kind of wish I didn't. The quarantine seems excessive to me and I am worried about him having a bite record. I thought because it was my dog it would not be a big deal. I think this kind of thing prevents owners from being as forthcoming in the future if they get treated this way. I understand the law but now I am worried about him having a record and the bite was really pretty minor, I am not even sure I absolutely needed the antibiotics. Does anyone know if this bite thing will affect him for daycare or other things? He is such a good dog and loves people, he doesn't deserve a rep!

Hi Filnyena,

Just reading your response again as far as something missing from the story, basically the dogs chased my dog, first the dane then another white dog, the dane was the one I was scared of but the white dog quickly got involved, it was all so fast and I was trying to get Ozzy away and pick him up that I am not sure who might have snapped at him but he does have a bite on his belly. The woman came over and grabbed her dog as soon as I had Ozzy and said I am sorry but he can get rough and take advantage of smaller dogs. This white dog was still following us and barking as we tried to leave and she was just kind of calling him and following along. The Dane owner never even stepped up but once I had my dog the Dane sauntered off, at this point I noticed I was bleeding and just wanted to LEAVE!

[BarclaysMom]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBandit

I guess its a moral choice folks have to make on their own. I for one seriously doubt I would report a bite I received from my dog in a situation like this. (picking up a scared dog that was being threatened by another dog) My loyalty would be with my dog.

I agree. There's a big difference between a strange dog biting you and your own dog biting you in a situation where it's afraid and being attacked. I would do whatever I had to do to protect my dog from having a record with the county. They take away your rights first and ask questions later. Luckily Ozzy's dog is being quarentined at home, if they wanted to take my dog away, I would do whatever was necessary to avoid it. Can you imagine the mental damage that would be done to your dog if it was sent to quarentine in the local shelter for two weeks? It's outrageous!

Ozzy, it's easy to look back and say 'I should have left sooner', I guess that's a lesson for next time. I've done that so many times in my life! For now just be glad the injuries were as minor as they were.

[Filnyyena]

I agree Barclay, it is easy to look back and ask "what could I have done different"..

@Ozzy:
Ok, thank you for clearing that up. I guess I missed your dog being bitten..I hope he gets better

And also, if you are concerned about bite records..why not look it up? Maybe google your county's dog-bite laws? Or have you done this already? Also it may be a good idea to call your AC about the laws/protocols too..ask them about different "hypothetical" scenarios so you know what is up.

[Lolas_Dad]

We have 2 dog parks that I take Lola to. Both of them have a 35 pund and under area and the other area is for any size and weight dog. The second park opened on October 1 and I have taken Lola there several times. At the newest dog park I have taken her on both sides. We start out on the small side and I look to see how the bigger side is with the number of dogs, types of dogs and how they are interacting with each other. At that point I decide on if we are going to the larger side or not and that will depend on how many small dogs are on the small side.

Today while on the small side a person brought a great dane on the large side. The great dane was running around and with his huge size and loud feet hitting the ground (sounded like a horse trotting) was scaring even the large size dogs away. I noticed (it was very easy) that the dog was not neutered. I asked the dane owner how old the dog was he said one year old. The rules state that a puppy no earlier than four months old is not allowed in the dog park and that any dog 6 months or older must be neutered or spayed. Seeing how the dog was acting around other dogs and scaring the dogs I let a park ranger know about the dog not being neutered. She went in the dog park and told the owner of the dane that his dog was not allowed because he was not neutered.

Needless to say the guy who owned the dane did not think it was fair because under the advice of his vet that he should not neuter the dane until the dane is 18 months old (which I find to be BS but could be wrong) and he gets mad at me for telling the ranger in the first place. Now he is not allowed to have his dog in the dog park until he is neutered.

I feel that if the rules are posted at the gate as they are and if a dog owner cant follow them then they do not belong there in the first place. There was a few smaller dogs in the large area and I was talking to one of the owners of the small dogs on the large size. She had commented on Lola and how it would be nice for her dog to play with my dog. I had told her that I would gladly bring Lola over there but as long as the dane is there I woudnt.

Also when I am on the large size as well as the small size of the park I look at the other dogs as they are being brought in to decide if we should leave or switch sides. So far it has all worked out and I have been taking Lola for almost a year now to the dog parks. I just make sure she is close by and not more than 25 feet away.

[Willowy]

Originally Posted by Lolas_Dad

Needless to say the guy who owned the dane did not think it was fair because under the advice of his vet that he should not neuter the dane until the dane is 18 months old (which I find to be BS but could be wrong)

There is some credence to this idea, as being deprived of the right amount of testosterone while growing can be harmful to large breed dogs, and they aren't done growing until they're about 18 months-2year old. But, rules are rules, we all need to follow them and accept the consequences of our decisions.

If I thought anything bad would happen to my dog if I reported a bite, I would not report it. Personally, I'm not much on going to the doctor anyway, so I would only go if I couldn't stop the bleeding after a reasonable amount of time......I know how to flush the wound myself (ouch), and I would rather risk tetanus than risk my dog's well-being.

Toby bit my mom once (a total accident), and she did go to the doctor and told him it was a dog bite. He called the cops, but when the cop came, he said that they don't file any reports if it was your own dog that bit you, and was sort of annoyed that the doctor called him, LOL. So Toby still doesn't have a bite record, fortunately. My mom says that if she knew they wouldn't stitch the wound (they told her they never stitch puncture wounds), she wouldn't have gone anyway.

I don't approve of lying in most circumstances, but if the protocol is intrusive and unreasonable, I do not think they are entitled to know everything about your personal business---including whether your dog bit you or not. Maybe it's a moral gray area, but I'm not going to risk my dog's life for a reason like that.

[Lorina]

As far as your dog having a bite report, it's not that big of a deal. I know many dogs with bite histories, and have even had many calls from the dog warden on the same dogs biting people multiple times. The dog warden calls the vets, verifies information, and the owner possibly gets fined if the dog was at large when the bite occurred. Between working at the vets and working at an animal shelter, I have never seen a dog destroyed for a bite history unless it was the owner's choice. No one is going to take your dog away from you for biting you.

[KaseyT]

I would get back to the dog park as soon as possible to avoid any bad associations becoming hardwired in your dogs brain (or your own brain).

Sometime sh%t happens. The same incident could occur a thousand times without you getting bit and it would be no big deal. The simple fact it the dog is statistically 100 times more likely to get killed or injured in your home that at a dog park.

If both you and your dog enjoy the dog park, don't let a silly incident (or the nervous Nellies) ruin both your fun.

[JohnnyBandit]

Originally Posted by Lorina

As far as your dog having a bite report, it's not that big of a deal. I know many dogs with bite histories, and have even had many calls from the dog warden on the same dogs biting people multiple times. The dog warden calls the vets, verifies information, and the owner possibly gets fined if the dog was at large when the bite occurred. Between working at the vets and working at an animal shelter, I have never seen a dog destroyed for a bite history unless it was the owner's choice. No one is going to take your dog away from you for biting you.

Dog laws vary from place to place. Some are more intrusive than others. Homeowners insurance policies vary as well. Some will cancel you, exclude the dog from liability coverage, or demand you remove the dog from the home or face cancelation.

A bite record can be a big deal.

[GreatDaneMom]

Originally Posted by Lolas_Dad

I noticed (it was very easy) that the dog was not neutered.

he should have been wearing a jock-strap...excuse me, "dane-strap" anyway... my SOs uncles dane is not neutered nooooo thanks, those are too much for me. my next dane is going to be a boy....A NEUTERED BOY!!! lol

sorry to get off topic!!!

but yes some say not to neuter until later... i dont agree personally, just because deeper chested dogs have a harder time with anestheisa as they get older...