Dog attacked yesterday

I've only had my dog Alfie for two weeks. Yesterday he was attacked by another dog in a field. Alf was on his lead and another dog off his lead and way in front of his owners attacked him leaving a puncture in his side.
Alf did not retaliate, in fact he is the gentlest of dogs and just cowered down. my partner pulled the other dog off by his collar. The owners got there and said that their dog had never done that before and apologised.

I am cleaning it now 3 times a day and putting on wound powder. and hopefully it will heal quickly. But will keep a close eye out for infection and take him to the vet if necessary.

Never owned a dog before but have many other animals, cats, horses, chickens and ducks and we all live happily together. I do have a question for everyone though. Should I take details of the owners and if Alfie has to go to the vet should they pay? And should the owner be reported to anyone?

I am upset and worried about him. I re-homed him two weeks ago and we are getting along fine, he especially loves the cats! but this wasn't a good thing to happen at any time let alone so quickly.

If you can get their details or have them yes you should report it to the loal dog warden if you have one in your area.

Even without details it would do no harm reporting and giving a brief descripion of the dog and owners if you can remember. If you do have to take Alfie to the vet and you have a way of contacting the owners then yes they should pay towards costs in my opinion towards all costs.

I hope Alfie recovers soon. Mentally and physically.

Oh, what an experience for poor Alfie, and you.

Hope he's ok.

Helen

Poor Alfie and poor you. I agree about reporting it to the dog warden, and I also think you should take Alfie to the vet to get the wound cleaned properly and checked as it might need stapling.

I hope he gets over it very quickly, poor lad.

When Pereg was attacked and had a puncture wound she also had to have antibiotics for ten days.

PLEASE report this attack to the dog warden. The owners are using an excuse by saying their dog hasn;t done this before. Maybe he hasn't, but I doubt they'll keep him on lead and/or muzzled when out and about with other dogs int eh future.

I think you should try walking (withou Alfie) in the same place at the same time to see if you can see them. This way you can speak with them without any chance of Alfie getting hurt again and can ask them for their details should he end up with an infection, requiring vet treatment etc.

My now 9 month old dog was attacked on 2nd December. Only on Wednesday did the vet say he didn't have to go for treatment anymore. He was ripped to bits arund his face and neck. The dog that attacked Alfie could well do the same to another dog who may come off much worse. By reporting it you could be preventing another attack.

thank you everyone!

I don't think I'll have a problem finding the people again as we live in a farming area and everyone knows everyone else. Unless they were visiting the area for the day to walk. I will try to track them down today.

And I'm sorry to hear that some of you have had similar experiences with your own dogs.

I do hope the dog doesn't attack anyone else's dog.

What a horrible experience. I hope Alfie is ok hon....

x0x

Poor Alfie, I agree about finding the people.

Hope he recovers OK, we don't do vets unless it looks like it is getting infected and it sounds as if you'd know if that happened.

Give him a hug from us.

rune

Oh dear. Hope he recovers well

How horrible for you and I know what it's like to have your own totally non aggressive and submissive dog attacked by another dog out of the blue. Very scary for both of you.

I think you should get their details and also take Alfie to the vet in case the vet thinks antibios are advisable.

The owners/dog needs reporting so that, if nothing else, they keep this dog on a lead in future as it has shown it is liable to attack without provocation. Especially in view of you saying it is farmland round about. I am assuming there are sheep and/or other animals nearby.

I do have to smile wryly every time I hear of that old chestnut 'he's never done that before'. Even if it is true - the important thing should be to make sure he never does it again.