Our friend has just messaged us saying he has been bitten outside his local newsagents by a Rottweiler on the thigh.   I have told him to get the wound looked at asap but he is a little confused as to how or who to report this to?  (I don't have any other details atm, will fill in once we talk to him)

He should speak to the owner and get the wound sorted first. The owner or their insurance should pay any expenses for new trousers and any time off work always assuming it was not his fault and it may have been as well to get an independent witness.

He has text the other half saying he was walking past the local shop in the village he lives in, the dog was with a middle-aged couple who had the excuse "he has never done that before, there is obviously something about you he doesn't like".  He doesn't know who they are but as it is a village I suspect someone will, he didn't get there details as in too much shock at the time can couldn't really take it all in.  I've reiterated to go and get the wound checked as can become infected very quickly, I guess a call to the council dog warden in the morning?

He may need a tetanus too , I'd give the dog warden a call in the morning .

He should go to A&E for a tetanus injection and also as witnesses; he might want to go to the police station as well. Also take photos of the wound.

Without knowing who this dog belongs to no one can deal with it.
He needs for it to be sorted out by medical services and photos taken.
Depending on what they want to do about this will determine whether they report this or not. The police are the ones who deal with dog bites on humans, however can't do anything without owner details, so they would need to seek these out. By all means call initially and say they will try and find out who owns said dog.. Also dog warden won't investigate but if this dog has been an issue may know owner details.

Hope the wound isn't too bad!!

> The police are the ones who deal with dog bites on humans, however can't do anything without owner details

One wonders what they would do if you reported any other kind of crime and rather hoped to leave it to them to find out who committed it.

I wouldn't get your hopes up, when we were burgled the investigating officer asked US to get and check the cctv from an adjoining property!

When my friend was bitten the police were very helpful; they accepted her photos of the injuries and the hospital confirmation and took it from there.

Just feel it is worth adding for the sake of the bigger picture: that of course, it may only be your injured friend that knows why he got bitten, or if it was unprovoked, if he trod on the dog, if he was having a row with the owners, if he was walking up to it staring it in the eye, if he touched a strange dog without permission... Also people need to remember that when the police take dog bites seriously, it may result in a dead family dog, very distressed and embarrassed owners, or owners with a pet they cannot insure who then can't receive treatment for an ailment that had upset his previously stable character.

In the same way that a woman knows whether she was dressed and behaving in a provocative way when she claims she was s*xually assaulted, I suppose.

Oh, Jeangenie.  I have never liked a post more.  Well said!

As much as it may be helpful to see things from other perspectives, it is always going to be a risk to leave your dog unattended outside a shop where there are bound to be people coming in and out. How can someone possibly say the dog was provoked to bite by staring it in the eye, stepping on it etc? What if that person was a small child?

Surely it is the owner's responsibility in that situation to ensure the dog is out of harm's way? If there are two people with the dog, why not one stay outside with him?

As someone who almost lost their hand as a 6 year old to a dog bite, i may have reached out to touch the dog which bit me, but children sometimes do things their parents are not expecting. Yes, the dog was pts eventually but not until it had severely bitten at least 3 other people!

Hope the bite is not too serious and that the matter is taken seriously by the Police.

The way I read it the dog wasn't unattended, it said two people were with him.

The OP was asking what steps her friend should take having been bitten. That has been answered by other posters. However, In every case of dog bites I think it is more than just helpful to think about what steps everyone could have taken to prevent the situation as well as understanding what going down a route actuallly means which is why I made that post. I hope people agree with the principle of that inspite of any provocative examples.

Thanks for the replies.  I havn't actually spoken to him first hand as it is the hubbies friend and he text more out of shock than anything else to tell us what had happened.  Him and his wife had walked to the local shops, she went in and he said the dog lunged at him and bit his thigh.  He has reported it, the police have taken pictures and the wound has been attended to, think they just count themselves lucky it wasn't any closer to his inner thigh!! or his wife.

I'll let you know when we hear of any outcome

Glad that they have taken things seriously and are investigating as you're right a wrong bite on the leg and he could easily have bled to death in seconds. The dog needs to be muzzled, if he is going to lunge at an innocent person for whatever reason he defines, it cannot happen again a dog cannot be allowed to make that decision, I would be horrified if my dog lunged at someone for just walking by or standing near whether it felt it were protecting it's owners or whatever the reason it made a wrong choice.

If the owners are right and it has never happened before, that is worrying, although their response of "there is obviously something about you he doesn't like" sounds to me like this dog has made judgements previously, otherwise you would be horrified by the reaction.

Strong word from the police and dog warden IMO and a good muzzle, if they don't want this dog to suffer any worse.