Petcare liability question

[Flushing3370]

Hello all! A friend of mine recommended I post here as he has had very good advice in the past. I’d be very grateful if anyone would be able to provide some guidance/experience/advice as it pertains to my situation below.

a friend of mine was walking my dog recently whilst I was unable to do so. My dog was off lead and went up to another off-lead dog (smaller than mine) to say hello. As this was happening, the walker (not owner; the owner’s nanny was walking the dog) for the other, smaller dog, gave said dog a treat; when this happened, the smaller dog began to resource guard and growled and snapped at my dog multiple times.

my dog defended itself and in doing so, bit the other dog and caused some damage that required a vet visit and some stitches.

neither the other dog’s owner nor I witnessed this. The other owner’s walker told my friend that their dog was known to resource guard, so this was not new behavior for said dog. My dog does not resource guard and is not aggressive; she’s only ever shown aggression if and when she’s attacked by other dogs.

the other owner would like our insurance companies to resolve this. I am a little concerned that my dog, by virtue of being the larger, “scarier” dog, will unfairly be blamed for this and my insurance premiums will skyrocket. The other owner has insisted this be the case because my dog is larger than his dog and my dog wasn’t injured in this scuffle.

does anyone have any experience in situations like this or could anyone opine as to what sort of liability (if any at all) I wear here? Thank you for your time reading this and thank you in advance for any advice you can provide!

[PallasAthena]

Has the owner of the other dog made a legal liability claim against you? In writing?

If so what are they claiming for?

The other owner cannot insist that you involve your insurers. That's up to you. However your insurance policy covering your personal liability as a dog owner almost certainly requires you to notify the insurer if you receive a claim from a third party.

[atticus]

I am a dog owner. My rescue dog can be very reactive to other dogs - 3 years of hard work and he is better, but not perfect. It is my responsibility to control him and manage/avoid difficult situations. Unfortunately other owners' "friendly" dogs can cause a situation by the way in which they approach my hound, and their owners never seem to be able to recall them.

In the case described, the person walking the other dog appears to have contributed this situation by the manner in which the treat was offered, when the dog under her control was known to have this behaviour. But it may also be said that your dog should not have been off lead if she was not under total control.

Proving what happened in court may be easier said than done.

[Flushing3370]

Thank you both for your responses!

the other owner has not made any legal liability claim, in writing or otherwise. They are claiming they’d like our insurance companies to negotiate amongst themselves who’s at fault and whose insurance provider is required to pay.

as to my dog being under control, I completely understand the concern. Both dogs were off lead in a big, green park that is heavily trafficked with families walking their dogs and professional dog walkers walking packs of dogs. My dog has good recall and when my friend called my dog back after the incident, my dog went back to him immediately.

[atticus]

The fact remains that, whatever caused it, your dog bit the other one.

Of course the other owner has primary responsibility to pay the vet bills for his dog. But he may claim from you, in which case see what PallasAthena has said in post #2.