Advice/reassurance please...

Hi, I'm new to the forum!

Feeling very anxious today, as I've had an incident with our very playful, but soppy pug, and our next door neighbour.

Being as brief as possible - the fence between us and our neighbour fell down in the storms at the Easter weekend. They are tenants, both of us have been contacting their landlord and agency to get it repaired ASAP, but they've really dragged their heels. The lady next door is terrified of dogs, and I'm a childminder so have to keep the children safe and secure. We have put a low barrier up, the best we were able to, with the resources we had.

This morning, our pug needed to go out and toilet. I thought they were out, so I let him out while I quickly put some rubbish out front. Suddenly there was screaming from next door, I ran out and the lady was crying, with blood on her hand. I grabbed our dog, put him in his crate and gave her first aid. The "cut" was a jagged, shallow knick on her little finger, about 1cm. She speaks no English, so unable to tell me exactly what happened.

Her husband knocked and said they were going to the doctor and asked about "injections". We explained that he was fully up to date. They returned a short while later, and the doctor advised them to get antiseptic from the chemist. He explained in broken English, that "dog saw her and ran to her, she was scared, dog jump and she dropped box and cut finger" The box, which is still where she left it, and we can see it, is a plastic bucket with sharp jagged edges - an old food container she is using as a plant pot. They haven't said he bit her, but seemed to imply it - no one else witnessed and he has explained his wife is very scared. I am more inclined to think she cut it on the container.

I'm very panicked by what could happen, a bite would be very out of character for him. I took him to the vet today who has done a health check and written a report to say he displays no aggressive behaviour. I have also been in touch with the trainer and behaviourist from his puppy school who said she will write a report to support that it's not in his nature.

I'm so worried - I have a toddler who adores him, if we lost him we'd be devastated, but as a childminder I feel like this could effect a lot more for me professionally. He is wonderful with the kids - his only problem is being too playful and getting over excited sometimes (which is a pug thing!!) and barks for attention.

Does anyone have any kind advice, or reassurance for me. I feel sick to my stomach with worry.

This sounds like a horrible incident to do with bad luck and poor communication. I'm sure your little dog didn't bite. It seems very unlikely a tiny pug could bite a adult's hand. Nor I think did your neighbour say it. You feel; they 'implied' it because you were very upset and scared. If their English is poor they probably didn't even mean it. Nor were there any other witnesses.

Obviously the scratch on the lady's hand was so insignificant the doctor told her to treat it herself. There doesn't seem to have been any evidence of a dog bite then. Nor can your dog be held responsible if someone becomes hysterical and hurts themselves.

Take a deep breath and tomorrow things may look less threatening. Try to talk to a good friend or relative to help yourself stay calm. But don't go telling other neighbours about it. Don't apologise any more- you've done that once just out of good manner- nor do anything else. It just happened- nothing serious resulted. If your neighbours are from abroad they may fear rabies so their overreaction is due to not understanding it's not a problem here.

Get your fence fixed asap. if it's someone else's then buy a roll of chicken wire and put that in the gap yourself well secure. You've behaved properly then - so carry on with your life. You pug sounds like a normal little dog - barking harms nobody so don't feel defensive. By all means look into extra training but don't label him as aggressive because all the evidence suggests he did nothing wrong.

Thank you. This has reassured me. I think they were implying a bite as the husband also asked to see our dog, and we introduced him to prove he is friendly. The lady was also very histerical and waving her hand and crying a lot more than I would think necessary for the "cut" - I feel exaggerating a lot and shouting.

The fence is booked for repair, it's not our responsibility, but good idea with the chicken wire! Thank you. We have used our guinea pig pen which worked for a while but he soon got curious.

My biggest worry is what would happen if they chose to go to the police?

I know we all do the what-if thing. Maybe they won't and you'll have worried for nothing. If the worst came to the worst then most probably you'd be ordered to control your dog in future. These things are usually dealt with by community police officers whose mission is to diffuse situations so neighbours can live next to each other without more aggro. My best advice is to be calm and civil if you see your neighbours and they speak to you. Otherwise don't seek any more contact. Secure your garden- whoever has responsibility it shows you're acting properly- and let the incident pass into history.

Anyone's instinct, when fearful of dogs, is to raise your hands out of harms reach. Your neighbour would have instinctively, when seeing your dog, have lifted her hands up. They may be trying to say that the dog scared her so that she dropped the box (perhaps she threw it at the dog?). I think it is highly unlikely that a small dog could reach a scared persons hands. People who get bitten on the hand are usually trying to touch the dog. This is very unlikely in this case. Just picture the scene - she sees the dog, starts to scream and hold her hands up high and then drops/throws the box. Much more likely than a small dog being able to bit her hand.

You may get a visit from the dog warden as, sometimes, they involve them. He/she will advise you to secure your garden so you are doing the right thing in getting the chicken wire. Forget whose responsibility the fence is, just make sure your dog is securely contained in your garden. Then you can relax.

Thanks Gypsys mum - no she was bending down to put the box down - which I would imagine my dog saw as bending down to fuss or play. So as he's gone to greet her (unfortunately we still haven't been successful at training him not to jump up) she's dropped the box the rest of the way. And when I was out there she was hand flapping, so I would guess she may have flapped at him to shoo him, or even gone to smack him, but unlikely for him to bite - my gut is it was the container that sliced her finger, and she herself isn't sure what happened through panic.

I am not a medic but I suspect a tooth puncture would look different from a cut or tear from the container. Did you get a good look at it? If she does take things further therecis a legal company that specialises in dog law - http://doglaw.co.uk

Yes I wrote a statement and drew a picture of the wound - I did the first aid, and they showed my husband when she later had just a plaster on! I've had worse paper cuts - it was a bleeder, but certainly didn't warrant hysterics. And it most definitely isn't a tooth puncture shape, like I say, how you would expect a deep papercut to look. 1cm-1.5cm, slice (angle with a bit of flappy skin) and slightly jagged. Not tooth shape in anyway....

Thanks for the link

On the plus side if they cant speak good enough English to explain to you what happened then they wont be able to report you to the police ..i think u have done everything u could have done . I doubt the dog bit her and I he did it was probably a tiny nip cos he was terrified by the screaming woman. If its any help , my son is a postman and was bitten badly by a JRT..the dog held onto his arm and ragged him and he needed hospital treatment, it went to court because royal mail reported it to the police and it was quite a nasty bite, and the court ordered the dog be kept under control in public places so I doubt even if it was a bite anything would happen. ..get onto that landlord and tell him your business is suffering because the children are not safe. I'm sure you can refuse to pay rent if repairs are not done !

Yes I've been in touch with the letting agent to say the whole thing is unsafe for the children - a wonky fence post remains, which is being held up with a piece of string next door! It's not my landlord - it's next doors.

Thanks everyone, I'm feeling better this afternoon. Chicken wire is purchased ready for my husband to put up tomorrow, and I think if they'd reported to authorities I'd have heard something by now.

All that remains is no privacy between our gardens, and a lot of awkwardness!! Lol