Leashed dog vs. Unleashed Dog - Who would be at fault?
 

I just want to be 100% clear on this. I think the liability is always with the owner of the unleashed dog if something happens, correct?

Amy and I got charged by an off-leash spaniel earlier. The owner had no voice control over her dog and the dog kept running at us (more playful than aggressive, not that it matters to my dog who is terrified of all other dogs). I grabbed Amy quickly and had her up on her hind legs with her head smooshed against my chest while I was holding her collar tightly, she was just whimpering and whining and looking at me with big terrified eyes. I shoved the other dog away with my foot and yelled at the owner several times to get her dog.

When she FINALLY got the dog (who kept running away from her and then back toward Amy and I), she laughed and said "oh, he just wanted to play" at which point I kind of lost my shit, and told her that my dog is a PIT BULL who is terrified of other dogs and I was trying to make sure my dog didn't KILL her dog. But she would have been liable if something had happened because her dog was off leash. And I told her if I ever see that dog off leash again I'll call animal control (I probably should have in the first place but I didn't have my phone on me and didn't want to stick around).

SO I just want to make sure I'm right about that - if an off leash dog charges us and god forbid Amy attacks it, Amy couldn't be seized or put down, right?

(And yes, I do have a breakstick. I'd just rather not let anything get to the point where I need it.)

Check your local laws. If there are leash laws, I would be inclined to say yes, the unconstrained dog's owner would be at fault, except that you have a dog that's commonly targeted by BSL. Because of this, it could be anyone's guess for who AC would side with. I think your best bet is to contact them right now and let them know of this dog owner that lets her dog off-leash with no control over the dog. At least give them a heads-up that you'll be calling again if the situation arises again.

Question, why did you pull Amy up on her rear legs to your chest? In the act of being Fear Aggressive toward this other dog, she might redirect on you, making a bad situation, worse.

I believe so. In most places it's illegal for a dog to be off-leash outside of the owner's property or other appropriate off-leash areas.

The owner of the bulldog is at fault.

How did your dog act after the spaniel was under control? I wonder if getting picked up and smashed against you while you yelled at the spaniel's owner freaked her out worse? Was she trying to get at the other dog at all?

You know...the thought never even occurred to me. She's never redirected except when she's happy excited, and then she bites the leash and or looks for a stick to chew. She's really gentle and honestly the thought of her hurting her never even crossed my mind. I just had to think fast. I was about to throw her in back of a pickup truck that was parked nearby.

There are leash laws in my city and county, and they're taken very seriously. I seem to be a pit bull friendly area too - it's a nice neighborhood (Northern Virginia) and a lot of people in the neighborhood have pit mixes.

The one good thing is Amy actually seemed MORE relaxed around other dogs after this happened. We passed a few and she was like "oh, a dog" instead of "holy shit! A dog! It's going to eat me!" I wonder if maybe she realized that I'll protect her from other dogs? I can hope. We've made so, so much progress I was worried that this would set us back. I would have punted that spaniel into next week if I had to.

---------- Post added at 07:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:30 PM ----------

She was but I had an iron vice grip on her collar so she wasn't going anywhere. I was talking to her though in between yelling at the other woman. Amy was really relaxed after it, which kind of surprised me. It actually was like she smoked a big fat joint or something because she was super chilled out afterward.

I just reread my previous post and it kinda sounds like I was monday morning quarterbacking you a little, which wasn't my intention. Sorry if it came off that way I was curious. Glad she stayed mellow for you though.

Oh, that's ok. If there's one thing I can count on at PBC it's to find out where I went wrong http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/biggrin.png I don't mind though because I've only had Amy 6 months, she's my first dog, and there's a lot to learn. If I had been her at the start I wouldn't have taken her to the dog park.

I'm hoping that she might have realized I'm not going to let anything bad happen to her, and she can relax a little. We've been working hard at that - she got attacked by a dog at her foster home and then in a fight at the dog park so I try to make sure to never put her in a situation where something can happen again, as I work on training her.

I, personally, would never pick up a dog that was being charged by another (friendly or not). There are too many variable that could go wrong. Not even saying your dog but what if the other dog jumped up trying to get Amy's face and got your arm? There's no telling what could happen and I just wouldn't do that... I'm glad you and Amy are okay and seemingly no worse for the wear though. http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/smile.png

Hmmm if the other dog had jumped up...yeah I don't know. I probably would have released Amy and let her eat the dog like a fur-covered snausage. And i'd be filling out a LOT of paperwork right now.

Get a stick to carry. Whack any offleash dog that charges you.

I'm glad this situation didn't turn nasty. Sorry you had to deal with what happened. I hope your girl continues to improve around dogs.

Picking up a dog is a bad idea BUT I'm guilty of doing it. I wont do it if i walk the dogs together since it's to hard but if I walk them separate, I will pick up Serenity. Sunny, my Lab x is friendly as pie with strange dogs but he's hard to pick up and hold so I'll ether scare a loose dog away or let the dog get close enough to grab it and help it (if the dog seems friendly). Serenity, my Kelpie x is also fearful of strange dogs so if it's just me and her, I'll pick her up cause she's so light. I once came across two off dogs that were off leash out the front of the owners house a few months back, A Staffy x and a Husky. I pressed Serenity against the fence, held her head over the fence and thank god this Husky just sniffed her but he was growling.. I think if they had been face to face, I would have had a fight on my hands. I was lucky I didn't get bitten from ether dog because I was worried about that BUT I am glad I picked her up because if I hadn't, I think a fight would have broken out. It's my reaction to do what I think is best at the time, even if it isn't smart.

http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/lol.gif the "whispering" amuses me!

Do I have to speak softly though?

I'm scared of you guys!!

Is that what that is?! I tried typing it in a message to see if it was a new automatic default. I feel like a retard now http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/lol.gif

yes...I was whispering so you guys didn't yell at me http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/smile.png I screwed up!

Does anyone know if that citronella spray or what it's called works on charging dogs? I've heard mixed reviews but I'd love to be able to walk my dog around here but I had a bully breed jump ON THE ROOF of it's house from the back yard and OFF THE ROOF and into the front yard to come play with my pekingese. I was so scared and most likely pooped out my heart. The dog kept running back and forth past me until a neighbor grabbed her (I had my dog in my arms bracing for anything).

My dog is stranger and strange dog aggressive. That dog specifically was a nice dog, but ANY charging dog is scary. No matter the breed. If it were a Pomeranian I would have acted the same way.

Not meaning to thread jack.

Always have sturdy dog kicking shoes, mace, a break stick, and a knife. If you can juggle a big stick with all that, take that too.

I'm not above kicking, macing, or even knifing a loose dog. Especially that HA collie thing down the street that's allowed to run loose all the time and bit a bunch of kids.... God I can't wait for the day that thing comes after me again, I'll be ready!

While it SHOULD be the off lead dog, I agree with others when they say that your dog would probably be blamed.

Unless you have a non-biased witness, or a camera phone that clearly shows your dog was leashed and you tried to prevent injury to the other dog or something.

I've found body blocking and yelling in a low voice scares off most dogs, especially the ones that really are just friendly, obnoxious and looking to visit. The Sibes that came at us that it didn't work on, I'm quite sure Hades got a piece of one of them. And I booted and whipped them in the face.

I worry about this as well. Harley is so mellow and laid back. When we pass a dog in a fence that acts like he wants to eat us, Harley puts himself in between myself and the fence and tries to pick up the pace a lil.

I'm more worried about an off-leash dog hurting MY dog. So, If I were to carry a stick to whack the potential off-leashed dog, and had to actually use it, could I be found liable for harming said dog if I whack him too hard?