[Navah]

I had a scare today. We just had a family with three kids move in behind us. We were letting Navah out to go potty when the kids (maybe between 7 and 10) ran up to the fence are started playing some sort of "war game" with her. They had an umbrella and were hiding behind it screaming stuff about bombs.

Navah went crazy of course and started snarling and barking, hackles raised. Then the stupid kid goes and thrust his face up to the fence and stuck his fingers through. We of course told him not to but they continued to play the war game and we brought her in.

Now my dogs are never outside for more then a few min alone... but thats all it takes for one stupid kid to get bit. Anyone know of any laws on this? Or where one can go to find them out? Like can i call my local SPCA and ask them about bite laws.

What i really want to know is if my dog bites a kid, but it is in my backyard will i have to put her down for it?

Anyone have the same experience? What did you do? Im about to go there now to talk to the parents. Im really worried about this. Will my dog suffer becasue parents cant teach thier kids?

 

[Zoeys mom]

We have a sign on our fence to prevent this kind of issue, but even then if your dog bites a kid fault or not there could be problems. I would talk to the parents ASAP!!!

 

[Konotashi]

I'd tell their parents not to let their kids play stupid around your dogs or they're gonna have some missing fingers.

 

[selzer]

Canada -- not sure how crazy your laws are there.

In Ohio, the dog cannot be deemed a "dangerous" dog if it bites someone on your property while they are committing a crime, or while it is being teased. What this means is that if you can prove the dog was being teased, they probably cannot force you to euthanize the dog.

However, they can still sue you for damages. You would not be in danger of being prosecuted in criminal court because you could prove that you were not negligent in containing your dog. But I think they would sue you, the homeowner's insurance would pay, and it would be next to impossible to get homeowners insurance after that without getting rid of the dog. And the dog would have a bite history.

So, you have to avoid this at all costs.

If this means building an interior fence on that side of the yard, do it if possible.

Another thought, and it would cost about 150$ or so, would be to run an electric solar powered fence along the inside of your fence. The dogs will run right up to the fence, look at where the wire is and then bark, but they do not go near the wire. It teaches them about wire. It would be a little tricky because the kids could still stick their fingers through.

You do not want your dog snapping at these fingers. Kids are teasing and they think it is great fun. Talk to their parents and tell them that the kids are teasing your dog through the fence.

Regardless, you have to keep your dog and yourself safe from that bite. The dog will only be trying to grab hold and get the treat or whatever he things the hand is offering and pulling away. But if his tooth gets the finger, your in a world of hurt. And euthanasia for the dog, really only hurts them for second, it KILLS us.

So, do everything in your power to prevent this.

 

[onyx'girl]

I would definately go talk with the parents & kids.
I think you will be held liable even if the dog is on your property.

 

[AgileGSD]

I'd suggest either a second fence about 12"-24" away from the exsisting fence on that side. This can be made cheaply with livestock fencing or garden fencing and stakes - it doesn't have to do anything but keep the dog away from the fence where the kids play. Then you can plant some kind of quick growing vine next growing to add an additional barrier. Or you can simply run a solid privacy fence alongside your existing fence on that side.

 

[Zoeys mom]

These kids are old enough to know better too so why not invite the parents and kids over to meet your pup? Kids are more likely to do stupid things to people and animals they do not know. Explain to the kids to never feed your pup because she could get sick. Instead offer to give them treats if they ask when they want to interact with her. Also explain the dangers of poking a dog with an umbrella and putting their fingers through your fence. Explain it may hurt and scare your dog which could cause her to bite. Maybe the parents will be cool and talk to their kids after a meeting- the parents in our neighborhood are very good this way

 

[Navah]

Back already! We spoke with the parents and they seemed very nice (maybe we will have new friends lol). We explained they are nice dogs, but one was severly abused as a puppy and so he fear barks at children but we are not sure if that would esculate to a bite. We explained what the kids did and one of the other boys totally ratted the kid out BUT before the kid ratted them out the parents actually knew exactly what kid did it.

They were nice... but i am still not totally destressed. You never know with kids. I am going to have to find out exactly what our laws are so i know exactly what to do. Just because the parents were nice doesnt mean the kids are not total terrors who dont listen. As i said, my dogs are never left alone for too long, but im still worried.

Not only that, now that there is a bad air between the kids and my rescue its going to be horrible getting him to go potty if they are outside... he doesnt forgive easily.

Thanks all... Id still like to hear everyones opionions and experiences.

 

[JakodaCD OA]

went thru this years ago with my dogs and two neighbor kids, lucky for the kids, Jake the gsd in question, wouldn't have bitten a flea but teasing is definately not tolerated by me

Anyhow, I told the AC about it, she told me to take pictures when I could, even video, put up a NO Trespassing sign. And she actually came out and talked to the parents and the kids about not teasing dogs.

As I said, I was lucky, because Jake was a big marshmellow, and when they would tease him, he'd just lay there and yawn) I'm also lucky now, that I don't have any neighbors nearby that have an opportunity to tease my dogs and they are never outside unsupervised

 

[Elaine]

No matter what, if your dog bites those kids through the fence, you are going to be sued and you will lose. If it means not letting the dogs out when they are out there, then that's what you have to do to protect them. I had neighbor kids like that for a while and they quickly learned that I was one nasty neighbor and they had better stop it.

 

[selzer]

Anyone from Canada going to chime in about laws there???

 

[Syaoransbear]

Even if its on your property, unless the children were physically harming your dog you'd be in trouble. Even if those children were on your property stealing stuff, you'd still be at fault. Even if you had the dog on a leash and you were like DON'T PET THIS DOG ITS AGGRESSIVE and the person went ahead and pet your dog, you'd still be at fault although at a much lesser degree. It's crazy.

 

[EchoGSD]

Two words: privacy fence.

 

[kimkats000]

Privacy fence!!! Don't worry about the laws! Even IF the laws are on your side it will cause you nothing but heartache WHEN.....................Why take the chance??

We had new neighbors with tiny dogs. We have wire fencing around our property that the tiny dogs could/did get through. My dog is not DA BUT we did NOT want to take any chances SO we spent the money/time to put up mesh along the shared fence.

Proactive instead of reactive.

Good LUCK!

Kim

 

[Navah]

When we first got Bruno (our rescue) knowing that our entire neighborhood is children, we put up a child proof fence. We are actually the only people in our entire block and the block around that with a fence. We spent the extra for those special fences you put around pools so children cant climb the fence. So we are trying. We are not rich people, and we are still paying off our child proof fence, we could not afford the privacy one.

I like the idea of teaching the children myself, and have done so with the other children in the area and that is fine for Navah. BUT Bruno was serverly abused by a child, i wont go into detail, but it was horribly bad. It has taken us about a year of introducing Bruno to them, using treats, etc... and they can finally touch him. The children have been wonderful to us, listening and being calm. But these new kids are different, they are the first that actually taunted my dogs.

I am going to call the local SPCA today and find out where i can find some laws so i can take action and do whatever i can to make sure my dogs are safe. I guess thats all i can do really, we cant afford a privacy fence and our lot is pretty big. I can however put a smaller fence within our fence, like a run or whatever you call them, I think thats our best bet.

 

[Shavy]

As others have stated, if a child gets bitten, no matter HOW nice the neighbors, you will most likely be sued. It doesn't matter if the dog is on your property; in today's litigious society, you WILL be taken to court. And owners very very very often lose. I've even heard of cases where burglars broke into homes and were injured (either by a dog or by their own bumbling) and they successfully sued the homeowners! It is definitely not worth taking ANY risks for.

As far as your rescue holding a grudge, how about inviting the kids over (with parents to control them) and have them do some positive interaction (play, treats, whatever he likes that isn't stressful for him) with him?

 

[Klamari]

I am wondering if signs ("beware of dog") would make any difference in a lawsuit? I have no background in law so I really don't know. Could that be considered that you have given fair warning to any trespassers?

You probably would want to do an additional something else to prevent the bite from even happening. but it might be something you could do that might be a visual shout-out to parents, so they can be more proactive.

 

[Shavy]

I am wondering if signs ("beware of dog") would make any difference in a lawsuit? I have no background in law so I really don't know. Could that be considered that you have given fair warning to any trespassers?

Actually, in the past such signs have been used by the plaintiff to prove that the owner knew of the animal's aggressive tendencies or potential to bite BEFORE the incident. In this day and age, you must be extremely careful with your dogs and how they interact with the public. The safest thing to do is put physical barriers between taunters and dogs.

 

[slg88]

dog biting

I am new to the forum. i have a 9 month old GSD named Kash. this friday he ran out the door and nipped the UPS guy on the butt. He filed a report. on saturday, he was on the driveway with my son. he was laying down. the fed ex man came with a package, he got up walked over and bit him on the arm.

guess we will find out what it means to be reported to UPS. let you know.

thanks.

 

[shilorio]

yea, id tell the parents pronto. but i dont think one bite would do anything.. but if its multiple... im not really sure, but youd think after one bite the kid would learn