When dogs attack

I know that many dogs are abused into being aggressive and certain breeds get a bad rep. I'm not debating that in many cases it's humans that turn an animal. However, sometimes dogs are just aggressive and/or mean regardless of breeding/treatment or aren't handled properly. I myself was the victim of a dog that had a good home life, knew me well and still aggressively attacked me in my own yard after having been let loose by the owners without supervision. I was 6 years old, the owner was my best friends family and I had known the dog since it was a small pup. The dog jumped over the chain link fence into my yard and I needed 50+ stitches to put my face back together.

My question is, if a dog owner knows their dog tends to be aggressive yet hasn't attacked a person, do you feel the owner is responsible if the dog attacks someone? What if the dog has never shown aggressive tendencies yet still attacked without provocation? Is the homeowner responsible if the dog attacks and the victim was on the homeowners property without permission even if it was a small child or adult who meant no harm, say crossing through the backyard as a shortcut or hopping the fence rather than going through the house? Should the victims age or familiarity with the animal family factor into the outcome? Under what circumstances do you feel the owner should be responsible for injuries? Should the size of the animal matter? A larger dog can inflict far more serious injuries than a smaller dog. Should that also factor in? What about breeds that are known to need a firm "pack master" such as wolf hybrids or certain mastiffs? Should owners be held responsible for not being knowledgeable on specific breeds and their needs or for taking on more than they should?

Just wondering what others think.

yes they should be held accountable. my dad and stepmom have a dog who has had aggressive tendancies, yet has never flat out attacked anyone.. but they still take precautions to make sure this doesnt happen. even if a dog without aggression still attacked someone, esp. a child the owner should take responsibility i mean they ARE the owner afteall

Yes, they should be held accountable 20000%. I had an aggressive dog, he hated strangers, or anyone who didn't live in the home with us. If someone rang the door he'd go to attack. I ALWAYS made sure he stayed away from company and I always took precautions.

Quoting ×ø×K·ßear×ø×:" yes they should be held accountable. my dad and stepmom have a dog who has had aggressive tendancies, ... [snip!] ... without aggression still attacked someone, esp. a child the owner should take responsibility i mean they ARE the owner afteall"

I think so to but I see a lot of people blame the owners saying they MUST have known. I don't think a lot of people would let aggressive dogs out unsupervised. But what if the dog in question hadn't displayed aggressive tendencies and it still attacked without provocation? Are the owners still responsible?

Quoting 3 little monsters:" I think so to but I see a lot of people blame the owners saying they MUST have known. I don't think ... [snip!] ... question hadn't displayed aggressive tendencies and it still attacked without provocation? Are the owners still responsible? "

yes. thats part of the responsibility i think of a pet owner

Quoting ×ø×K·ßear×ø×:" yes. thats part of the responsibility i think of a pet owner"

I think so also. I mean I only own cats, larger dog's make me nervous and I think they sense a weird vibe about me. Or maybe I'm just paranoid after having my face stitched back together, LOL. But if my cat attacked someone and caused serious injury I would absolutely accept responsibility.

Quoting Regina George ♡:" Yes, they should be held accountable 20000%. I had an aggressive dog, he hated strangers, or anyone who ... [snip!] ... us. If someone rang the door he'd go to attack. I ALWAYS made sure he stayed away from company and I always took precautions. "

How did you deal with exercising him? Did he stay inside or just in your yard or did you have a secluded place you took him?

If the dog is known to be aggressive and they don't take the proper precautions then yes, I think they should be accountable. However, if the dog is say chained inside a fenced yard and attacks someone that gets too close to it I believe that is that person's fault for trespassing. All parents should teach their children to be respectful to animals because they CAN hurt or kill them. If the dog has never been aggressive and attacks without being provoked I don't think anyone can be blamed for that. Some animals have something mentally wrong with them and they snap. There's no way anyone can know it's going to happen. My sister was attacked by her cat and had to have stitches in her arm and face because one day he just went crazy. Turns out he had something similar to a brain tumor. There was no way she could have known that or any way it could have been prevented. Accidents DO happen, but a lot of the time I think there is someone to blame other than the animal.

Quoting 3 little monsters:" How did you deal with exercising him? Did he stay inside or just in your yard or did you have a secluded place you took him? "

90% of the time he was in the yard, sometimes I'd take him out on walks. He would do ok, UNLESS someone came up to us. So I'd usually warn anyone lol.
I think weather the dog shows signs of aggression or not, it should never ever be let out alone. Always kept on some sort of leash! I'll never forget some guy was walking his dog and out of no where the dog just attacked some kid, for no reason  

That being said, though, I think every pet owner should treat their animal like it has the potential to hurt someone. No one should ever let their animal run around unleashed outside their yard. Our dogs do not leave our fenced yard without a leash EVER even though I have no doubt they would never hurt anyone. Our beagle happily jumps all over and loves on people who come into our back yard without permission (like the utility company to check our meter or the cable company, etc). I still would never let them loose around anyone else's kids or adults for that matter. I think it's all very situational.

<blockquote><b>Quoting 3 little monsters:</b>" I know that many dogs are abused into being aggressive and certain breeds get a bad rep. I'm not debating ... [snip!] ... knowledgeable on specific breeds and their needs or for taking on more than they should? Just wondering what others think. "</blockquote>




I think the owners are responsible BUT, if the person unknowingly came onto the owners property, the owner isn't responsible.
Responsible owners don't own aggressive dogs in regular residential areas.
However, owners with a questionable dog need to be given an opportunity to keep the dog away from a person "not in the dogs pack."
Everyone should be taught to be cautious of dogs especially when going on "their" property. They should also be taught that there are MANY irresponsible owners out there.

Quoting 3 little monsters:" I think so also. I mean I only own cats, larger dog's make me nervous and I think they sense a weird ... [snip!] ... back together, LOL. But if my cat attacked someone and caused serious injury I would absolutely accept responsibility. "

MEOW!

Quoting shes*almost*one!:" MEOW! "

Hey those little smurfs can cause some serious injury if you say accidently step on one in the middle of the night. I have a scar running the length of my calf and thought I as going to need stitches just to stop the bleeding!! LOL

Quoting 3 little monsters:" Hey those little smurfs can cause some serious injury if you say accidently step on one in the middle ... [snip!] ... the night. I have a scar running the length of my calf and thought I as going to need stitches just to stop the bleeding!! LOL"

haha so true -- ill never own a cat with kids. they are way too smurffy and dangerous! my husband hates them - we used to have 2 kittens and they would scratch the bed every morning at 5 am and wake us up and my husband would grab them by the heads/tails/feet whatever he could get ahold of and throw them across the room and the smurfs would keep coming back.

your bloody cat injury is making me dizzy thinking about that. gahhhhh