Small dog physically surprises random passerbys. What is the worst that could happen, legally?
My mom has a small 4-year old dog with a behavioural issue. He (Jerry) isn't "aggressive" or anything of the sort. Rather, he is too playful and wants to "horseplay" with random strangers. It's always males, strangely. He "attacks" their legs with a playful "bite". I find it really difficult and unfortunate how there is no other term than "bite" for this kind of action, since that usually has infinitely graver connotations. I mean "bite" as in the way dogs do when you play-wrestle with your/your friend's dogs, with zero intent to actually use the teeth. It really more accurately is "clamping with your mouth (with the teeth hidden below the lips)". He also isn't a breed that is infamous for having sharp teeth, so even in case of an accident, almost certainly there wouldn't be a risk of significant injury. He is is a Yorkshire Terrier-shaggy Dachshund mutt, the latter a breed that are hunting dogs, which is perhaps why he got this behaviour. My mom doesn't go farther than the local (deserted) forest besides Sundays, so it's not a daily occurrence, but happens like once every 1-3 months. She only unleashes the dogs for part of these Sunday walks in appropriate spots, and it's (of course) not the main focus of Jerry, but rather some weird urge that randomly, unpredictably pops up. It also happens only with strangers, never guys Jerry knows (it has never happened to me), and he has a preference for joggers (probably because they remind his primeval brain of hunting prey).
This is him, in all his 3.5kg glory. The womens' boots to the left and the brown chihuahua puppy give a sense of how small he is. We really are talking about a small dog that could never be threatening even to a 10 year old. He is also extremely social, sweet, and plays with puppies super gentle. He could never hurt a fly.
The main issue is that Jerry with this "play-clamping" physically surprises random passerbys. If they see the dog approach or quickly understand the situation, they are usually just weirded out.
But because they often don't see him coming, they understandably get jumpscared. Most people awkwardly laugh it off, but sometimes people get really indignant or hysterical, making the situation worse. I don't blame them for being angry, but I fear that one of these days, someone could misinterpret the situation as an actual "attack" and try to report the incident to the authorities, or sue my mom. Does anyone know what could be expected in such a case? Especially if the authorities aren't aware the dog truly is harmless.
Of course, it would be best if we could get Jerry to just stop. But it's not feasible. I live separately from my mom and Jerry, which means I can't intervene to calm such situations down or leash/pick up the dog more rapidly (he only "strikes" once, so leashing/picking up is more to apologize than out of fear he might go for another round). My mom really can't train/discipline dogs (i.e. sternly recalling them or very lightly smack them with a paper. She just can't do that), so such behavioural problems aren't getting resolved. She's also slow to leash him when this happens. It's not that she doesn't want to, she genuinely is just too slow or not aware of her surroundings enough (she has ADHD, and also three even smaller dogs, so it's like herding cats. Yes, she should have fewer dogs, as well. Sigh. She always goes on Sunday walks with her boyfriend, so the logic would be one pays attention to two, but the BF dislikes dogs and doesn't help with this task).
Long story short, this is just something that won't get resolved, dog-side or owner-side. I can only remind my mom so much that she should discipline Jerry, leash him immediately when such things happen, etc. You can't teach an "old mother" new tricks. So realistically, we are stuck with this and have to deal with consequences if they might pop up.
This was the case last weekend: Jerry "ambushed" a 12 year old boy (he doesn't go for kids younger than that. Probably because they don't read as "guys" in his head). The boy was shocked and started crying, and his mother became hysterical and loud, and demanded the dog be leashed. I don't know what exactly happened, as I wasn't there.
I am mortified some authority might demand dire action against Jerry, this lovable doofus. A bit less bad but still shitty would be if he's required to be muzzled, even though it's rather strange as his problem isn't actually injuring people (besides there is no guarantee he wouldn't still jump at people without the clamp part). Another question is if people could sue privately, and on what grounds.
TL;DR: small 3.5kg dog playfully clamps strangers in the legs. It's not cute, it's a behavioural issue, but circumstances are just that we can't stop this. Could such incidents without serious injury have legal consequences?
EDIT: wrote the wrong breed. It's a half Yorkie. Also changed injury to "significant injury", as of course there's always the chance for a nick in the skin. + clarified she isn't alone, but the BF doesn't help.
Posted Jan 20, 2022, 8:48 AM UTC · edited
What the fuck ?
So the dog attacked a kid and you call the mother "hysterical" ?
You and your mom know that the dog do this and you don't use a leash ?
What's wrong with you people ?
I would personally not hesitate a second to call the authority on your dog if it happened to me or my kid.
Also, you should probably start caring a bit more about others and the impact you and your family and dog have on them.
EDIT: to be constructive: go to a dog therapist and to a professional trainer. The behaviour you describe is not normal. By the way, I do have a dog, before you call me a dog hater ;)