# Nipping incident



## Jaursland (Oct 24, 2012)

This past weekend we took our rescue to a big a 4 wheeling/ camping event. Zeus did great and was leashed at all times. Saturday night things turned as a little boy ran up from behind to Zues as he was calmly sitting next to my husband and decided to climb on him and bear hug him. Zues turned around and nipped the boy. Luckily there was no blood or broken skin I suspect he grazed him as his k-9 are all chipped and as a result have sharp edges. We were not aware of it until the child's father came and flipped out. That's how quick and blindly it happened. The father calmed down for a minute and then with full force kicked Zues in the face resulting in a bleeding mouth. Luckily he didn't call the police at that time. Witnesses did say that the little boy was running around all weekend doing the same to other dogs with no parental supervision. I'm heartbroken that my dog got hurt in the process and that the parents took zero responsibly. I am worried that the parents still might turn around and report the incident. I'm basically asking what would happen in this situation if the parents decide to make a report for those that have experience provoked/startled bites. 


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Bad situation, like a Catch-22. The man kicking your dog is abuse, animal cruelty. The kid running around all weekend unsupervised in neglect. At some point people should stop being so passive and report this family to authorities, if there were park rangers at the camp ground. This is not normal behavior and think this man should be reported to the police. I'm sure it happened all so fast that you were just stunned.

Overall you sound very responsible keeping your dog leashed at an event like this and close to you. I am always hyper-vigilant about watching out for kids around my dog. She did not grow up with them and prefers to be away from them. I don't believe that your dog was aggressive, only startled. But I can understand your fear about being reported - you never know if the police or animal services will have common sense or over-react. I'm curious as how the crude father could report you, did you give him your name and number? If so, do you have witnesses names and contacts? So sorry what sounded like a fun weekend turned out so rotten.

When was about 8, my parents had a birthday for me in our backyard. We had a beagle. Me, several kids and our beagle were all sitting nicely at the picnic table waiting for cake, when our neighbor's son, lifted up our dog's ear and blew it in. Our beagle turned quickly and bit him in the eye area, resulting in stitches. Lucky for my family our neighbors did not sue or do anything. Just a lesson learned for the kid. Nowadays....it's not that simple.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

I would have called the police for that so and so kicking my dog.What an unbelievable jerk!And in the future be super aware of what's going on around me and keep people away from my dog.
I sincerely hope your dog is ok and not so traumatized that he becomes aggressive and fearful of strangers.
What a horrible situation.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

I am so sorry that happened to y'all. I think your dog was awesome, under the circumstances. Shame on that jerk for not watching his kid and kicking your dog. I hope this family does not generally run in your circles. I would avoid them at all costs.


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## Jaursland (Oct 24, 2012)

Gretchen said:


> Bad situation, like a Catch-22. The man kicking your dog is abuse, animal cruelty. The kid running around all weekend unsupervised in neglect. At some point people should stop being so passive and report this family to authorities, if there were park rangers at the camp ground. This is not normal behavior and think this man should be reported to the police. I'm sure it happened all so fast that you were just stunned.
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We did think about calling the police at first but decided not to because we were not sure of the problems it would have created for us. We were a vendor/sponsor at the event so our information is available and easy to locate especially if the event holder is contacted as he was standing with us when it all happened and was the one who calmed the entire situation as my husband almost lost it on the guy. We do have witnesses that Are willing to speak with AC or police should there be a need. We are very vigilant around children and have our own unfortunately, it happened so fast. I just don't put it past the guy especially with how sue happy everyone is these days. It's just nerve wrecking. We aren't the type dog owners that allow strangers to pet our dogs even though they are friendly for the simple fact of you never know it's an animal. 


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Yeah,you know what they say about hindsight!I totally see your point.When I read that that guy kicked your dog it really hit home.I wanted to kick him back


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Ahh, you are a vendor, that changes things. Definitely understand your point of view. My husband and I have a small business, really small. Unfortunately there a people and judges out there who assume just because you have business you have $$$$ and will try to take advantage of that. Hopefully this will be forgotten by the bully and in the future more people will take action when they see a child chronically unsupervised to prevent the child or a doggie from getting injured or worse.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

You handled it better then I would have. The police would have been there because I would have without a doubt kicked the guy. There is a thing called accountability and people know a days don't have it. Where was he when his kid was terrorizing all the dogs? If this happened to my child I would have first asked my kid what he did and then make sure the dog had rabies shots--simple and move on. We were at a parade one time when my son was about 3, a pig bit him as he was feeding him. It was an accident, but my son waited until we were almost home to show me and tell me. I wasn't mad but I went back to make sure the little piggy had all his shots, then I called my sons father at work and left a message with his boss that his son was bit by a pig. Needless to say I never got a call back because my sons fathers boss thoughg I was kidding....


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

This really sucks, sorry it happened. With little or no injury to the kid a quick verification of a current rabies vac should have been enough, of course him keeping a better eye on his kid in the first place would be best. Common sense is on the decline. With all this I hope your dog is ok.


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## Jaursland (Oct 24, 2012)

Thanks everyone for your input I feel better knowing everyone shares our feelings. Zeus is ok physically he was checked out by a vet at the time. Hopefully he will not be affected by it mentally. Going forward we will definitely rethink such large events for his own safety. 


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

Ugh, poor Zeus.

After reading your post of the situation it is my opinion that you do NOT have to worry about that guy suing you. Everything about him was out of control, his kid, his temper, and there were lots of witnesses. Since no blood was drawn there is not much to show the police or a doctor and his behavior was certainly criminal.


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## islanddog (Jun 27, 2016)

Oh ugh, that's all I can say. Virtual kicks in the face to dad? Does that help?
My mom's stern voice saying, "If that dog bites you, it's YOUR fault, don't come crying to me!" Yep, those were the good old days. If it had been me (as a child) & my mom, instead of that dad, you would have received an apology and I would have gotten a lecture and no sympathy.


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## Jaursland (Oct 24, 2012)

islanddog said:


> Oh ugh, that's all I can say. Virtual kicks in the face to dad? Does that help?
> My mom's stern voice saying, "If that dog bites you, it's YOUR fault, don't come crying to me!" Yep, those were the good old days. If it had been me (as a child) & my mom, instead of that dad, you would have received an apology and I would have gotten a lecture and no sympathy.




We tell our 8 year old son that all the time for those instances where he decided to no be so gentle. The virtual kicks do help 


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## karladupler (Mar 22, 2016)

Jaursland said:


> This past weekend we took our rescue to a big a 4 wheeling/ camping event. Zeus did great and was leashed at all times. Saturday night things turned as a little boy ran up from behind to Zues as he was calmly sitting next to my husband and decided to climb on him and bear hug him. Zues turned around and nipped the boy. Luckily there was no blood or broken skin I suspect he grazed him as his k-9 are all chipped and as a result have sharp edges. We were not aware of it until the child's father came and flipped out. That's how quick and blindly it happened. The father calmed down for a minute and then with full force kicked Zues in the face resulting in a bleeding mouth. Luckily he didn't call the police at that time. Witnesses did say that the little boy was running around all weekend doing the same to other dogs with no parental supervision. I'm heartbroken that my dog got hurt in the process and that the parents took zero responsibly. I am worried that the parents still might turn around and report the incident. I'm basically asking what would happen in this situation if the parents decide to make a report for those that have experience provoked/startled bites.
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> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Oh wow.....kicking a dog? That's animal abuse! And I'm sorry this happened to you this happened to me before but luckily the parents have the logic and brains to tell their son to stop running where my dogs was doing his thing... Poor Zues....ugh makes so angry :crying: Hope you all are doing ok


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## MollyMarie (Jan 22, 2016)

*So sad...*

I am so sorry your dog got kicked in the face. That just breaks my heart.  I actually feel your dog used a great deal of restraint (nipping instead of biting), as it's a natural to react when someone jumps on you from behind. I hope it all blows over and that nothing comes of the event.


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## Julian G (Apr 4, 2016)

Most states have laws to protect dog owners from people teasing, or provoking a dog. The parents were negligent. If you knew this at the time of the incident you could have called the cops and have the father arrested. Dogs, especially german shepherds, are serious dogs. They are not lap dogs. You would not be held responsible. The kid was running around wild, unsupervised and invaded the dog space, which is technically your space since you are the owner and the dog is your property.


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## MoxyPup (Jun 12, 2016)

I am sorry you had to go through this incident. It is very upsetting reading how quickly it all happened and the abuse your dog went through from the father. I have been considering a muzzle for my pup next year when we go camping and to events where there will be a large number of people that we don't know. Too many people already come up and pet my pup without asking my permission and I don't want to be in a bad situation because someone else can't respect my dog's boundaries. 
So happy he is okay!


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

It's our job to keep people from harassing our dogs. If we can't do that, we should not take our dogs. I would not have been that nice to the dad, but I try to keep an eye on my dogs when we are out so there is no way a running child would get that close. The kick wasn't your fault but that crazy dad should not have been close enough to make contact.


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## Ripley2016 (Mar 6, 2016)

I'm a mom of two tiny kids and I feel worse for your dog getting kicked. If I let my child run up to an unknown dog, that's on me. Now, if the dog runs up to my kid and does something aggressive, that is on the dog owner. I am always teaching my three year old that we do not pet any animal we don't know, and we ask before petting dogs. I doubt the police would do anything even if the guy reported it... Your dog was leashed and was surprised by something. Although for you as the owner, you might want to file it away that your dog may not be tolerant around kids and just keep an eye on that. Doesn't make him a bad dog but good info in case someone brings kids over or something.


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## Jaursland (Oct 24, 2012)

Knowing what I know now I def would have gone a different way about it as far as the kicking goes I just wasn't aware of laws since you always here about the dog being at fault. I just never expected a person to do such a thing and it all happened so fast. 

Ripley we do watch kids carefully around him and our other 2 dogs when we do have children over. We rescued him 5 months a go but he was around children his entire life and he's been gentle so far but of course it doesn't mean that will always be the case he is a very serious boy. Most people don't want to pet him because he's quite intimidating looking so that's solves part of the problem.  but it is something that will be at the back of my mind in the future. 


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

You will make better decisions for your dog in the future. This is a wake up call.


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