As Falconer says, the bite will have been reported to the cantonal veterinary office; this is mandatory since 2006. (All doctors, vets, 'dog professionals' etc. are required to report incidents of bites or heightened aggression.)
From the Tier Im Recht site, the regs in Ticino on dangerous dogs:
http://www.tierimrecht.org/de/tiersc...cht/tessin.php
"Sollte ein Hund einmal zubeissen, soll für ihn eine absolute Leinen- und Maulkorbpflicht gelten."
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I would guess that your dog may be required to be kept on lead and muzzled at all times in public now.
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As to what else - from what I've heard (bearing in mind this is anecdotal only), there seems to be inconsistency in handling bites. If there was no real injury, and the victim isn't demanding drastic action, you might get a slap on the wrist. If there was a serious injury, or if your dog has a history of aggression you may face more serious penalties.
Your dog may or may not be ordered to stand a Wesenstest, a test of the dog's character and tendency towards aggression in stressful situations. (This is done in several cantons - I couldn't find specifics for TI.) And/or you and your dog may be required to attend training classes, or individual classes.
I don't want to worry you, and I truly think it highly unlikely, but yes, if after investigation it is felt that a dog is unredeemably aggressive the authorities can order a dog to be taken from his/her owner or euthanized. BUT this would only be a last step - I'd agree with Falconer, first they'd likely send you and the dog to classes or sessions with a behaviorist. As your dog is small, you will probably be treated more leniently than an owner of a larger dog would. (NOT saying that's fair - but we all know what has been happening these last almost 3 years...)
The reporting procedure - see the flow chart at the end for what happens after notification:
http://www.ti.ch/DSS/DSP/UffVC/temi/...pericolosi.pdf
As for your liabilities - you are responsible for paying the victim's medical costs. Speak to your liability insurer ASAP. It might be wise to speak to them before you speak with the police - they will probably be able to advise you as to the best way to handle this.
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Although you were not there, as the owner you are still the legally responsible party, and will bear any costs and penalties. I'm not sure, though, whether your mother in law, as the person in charge, will also be held responsible.
I'd suggest gathering as much evidence attesting to your dog's good character - a reference from your vet, any certificates she has earned (good citizen, HHB, etc.) - that kind of thing. You want to establish that she is basically a good dog who acted out of character due to a stressful situation.
If you are called to meet with the police or other authority, I'd be prepared to discuss your plans to address your dog's behavior (maybe have your trainer report on the program she is already in, and progress made), and detail what steps you would make to ensure that she is not placed in a similar situation in the future. Showing that you are a responsible owner goes a long way.
In fact, call your trainer tomorrow - he/she will probably have dealt with similar situations before, and could advise you how this is usually handled in TI.
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Hope the man bitten will be OK, and hoping for a good outcome for you and your dog.
I don't have anything to add but would really appreciate if you could tell us what the outcome is when you return - it would be good if we could all learn from this situation.
Good Luck
Nats
I will keep you all posted. I'm really hoping for a positive outcome with a little slap on the wrist.
We called the police and they were not interested in taking a report. It was a Saturday morning but that was not a factor. They said the dog was on a leash, we had the owner's details and it is a private matter. We called the emergency medical service to pre-book our arrival at the Kantonspital in Baden. This reduces waiting time. The doctor recommended another tetanus shot, even though our son's shots were up to date as he could see from his immunization book. The wound which was superficial (two layers of clothing helped no doubt). I informed the doctor that the police were not interested. He was not that surprised. He recommended that we contact the dog's owner to resolve the issue.
When we returned home we called the dog's owner, who was extremely upset. He said to be sure to send him the medical bill and that he would reimburse us for the replacement of the clothes that were torn. He said his dog was old, hard of hearing and he thinks the dog was startled as our son went by. He could think of no other explanation and he told us it was the first time the dog had ever bitten anyone. He gave us the name of the vet, who we then contacted and he was really surprised as well, as he knows the dog and he confirmed it is very old. The dog's shots were up to date.
We wondered if the fact that we have dogs and that our son would have likely had the scent of our dogs on him could have been a factor.
If you are jogging and coming up behind a dog, I think one should jog on the spot until the dog's owner sees you. Our son thought the owner saw him but it seems not. The dog was a German Shepherd, by the way.
The situation here is somewhat different. Why do you use a muzzle to walk your dog? Has it bitten before?
I think an incident like this illustrates the importance of leaving your dog in the care of a professional dog sitter when away in vacation. If it is an emergency, and there is no time to find this, and you do use a family member or a friend, then you need to leave very specific instructions about your dog's routine including putting on a muzzle if that is what you do as an owner. If you have a fenced garden, you can also suggest playing with the dog in lieu of a walk.
Dog sitters and kennels are expensive, but that is part of the costs of owning a dog.
I hope this situation is resolved satisfactorily for all involved.
I have 2 dogs who have perfect behaviour patterns for 99.5% of the time however when sitting on a bench for example (and especially when eating!!) they both become very protective of the area around them and can become agitated by anyone , man or dog , approaching too closely.
While non dog owners may not realise this most dog owners will be familiar with this.
It should be realised that it is not only the owner who has responsibilities but also others who may invade the space of a dog ( and me!) by coming too close.
I am often amazed by the inconsiderate nature of others , especially cyclists , when out walking in the countryside with the dogs unleashed , who make no effort to slow down to accommodate the situation.
I wish you luck OP.
We've always had family look after our dog when we travel. I'm not sure how good I'd feel about a stranger staying in our house and I don't think our dog would feel comfortable somewhere else with someone she doesn't know. It has always worked out well for us.
I agree that people should also be more careful about approaching strange dogs. At the same time, you should see the looks and comments we get when she's wearing her muzzle. You'd think we're abusing her in some way. People just don't get it.
I was bitten by a dog once in Hungary, totally unprovoked, the dog jumped out the window of a car and chewed up my leg. It was very nasty, I still have scars. The owner (from Austria) just laughed at me. I went to the police but they didn't care. The dog had not been vaccinated for about 3 years. It was a very bad situation and I was really upset.
A couple of years later, my son was bit on the face (also in Hungary). The dog bit right through his cheek. We didn't go to the police because it belonged to his aunt. So we know that dogs can be unpredictable and we can't expect them to behave like humans.
I think this guy was totally just in going to the police but I also think he should have been more careful when approaching a dog, especially in a big park with lots of space. The dog was on a short leash, so there was no reason for him to go up to her and to talk to her.
A very puzzling comment. Since when are humans predictable? Actually, I would say that my dogs' behaviour is far more predictable than any human I know. When I come in the front door, I am greeted with wagging tails. I am not asked where a missing object is, why I haven't done this or that. When I put their food in front of them, they eat. They don't complain about eating the same thing every day. I know when we go for a walk that they will eat all the apples and plums that have fallen on the ground. We are surrounded by farms and I know they are not at all bothered when the horses, cows or sheep approach the fence.
I know they are friendly and they expect all visitors to my house to greet them and stroke them, with the alpha dog to be greeted first. I know my dogs are completely trustworthy around children but a child holding a lollipop might expect one of my dog's to lick it if it was within her reach.
I know our dogs love to play with other dogs and they have a great time at the kennels because they have a chance to do this. I know that each of our dogs is very protective of their own food bowl and the place where they eat and the other dogs understand that and respect that.
When you are out walking, other dogs don't know your dog or understand it's issues. One of our dogs is afraid of black dogs and she will bark at every black dog she sees. This is predictable behaviour. But that is all she will do, bark to tell it to stay away from her.
I know of no human who will react as predictably as my dogs.
I can't help feeling that if you generally walk your dog with a muzzle that is an instruction that you should have left with the person who you left your dog with.
Hope things work out nevertheless...
C
If your statement here is true you have extremely bad communication skills.
We have a dog, he is also predictable i.e. I can predict he will start barking at and try to attack any horse he sees among other things. Unless you regularly have conversations with you dog, and I hope you don't, you have no way of knowing what he/she is thinking. To feel secure that your dogs are completely trustworthy with children is negligent.
I agree, but security reduces the extent to which you take precautions. Bad example but hopefully you get the gist of it: If you install a light fitting would you approach it with exactly the same level of caution in all three scenarios:
1. Somebody tells you the power is off
2. You switch the power off yourself
3. You test the power is off with a voltmeter
The report says that on average 1% of dogs will bite a person. However that likelihood is 10x higher for an American Pitbull, 5x for a Rottweiler and 3x for a Dobermann.
Here the link if you want to take a look: