Got bitten today and have had to go to hospital for a tetanus jab as been 12 years since my last one. How did I get bitten, by trying to help?

I dropped a friend off in the local park as he is taking up running... ...yes in this weather. Anyhow I was in the car park, on the phone actually dog walkers all over and a car pulled up next to me and two women (40's) and a man got out of the car with two of the most unruly/noisy/uncontrolled dogs I have seen. (honest) one was a border terrier size and coat but could have been anything as his coat was black and tan and the other possibly a parsons JR, anyhow the two dogs were on extending leads and set about rushing towards and having a go at anything that past them the two women tried to reign them in one hurt her hand on the "extending" bit of the lead because she held that instead of retracting it. a right rigmarole but everyone walking dogs were putting their dogs on leads even though these to were on leads the women or the man when he had a go seemed incapable of stopping the "rushing" other dogs. There were baying/nasty barking all the while too.
Anyhow then all hell broke loose an elderly man with two well behaved mongrels. About knee height size. He saw the women and man and put his dogs on lead although they were not bothered at all. But he was approaching the car park too. Anyhow the one woman was messing with the lead and trying to put gloves on I was in the car and had full view in front of me, she let go/lost grip on the lead and the terrier charged for the man and his dogs, for a second it circled them and the woman walked slowly over and I thought "all noise no action" about the dog then the terrier attacked the dogs....the threw/fell on the terrier not sure if he did it on purpose or because the extending lead was round his legs...he dropped the leads, and one of his dogs dashed frightened to death toward the main car park myself and a man who was walking a husky with a lady (lady and husky stayed away) tried to calm the petrified dog. With little success, the elderly man was shouting at the women. He came over to get his dog me the husky owner and the old man were talking when I saw (they had back to the women) the woman bloody well lost the lead again....now I don't think this was intentional at all but she was shaking herself but hey hold the flipping lead) the terrier rushed again. The husky owner a younger man lifted one of the old mans dogs into the air away from the terrier and the terrier got the petrified dog again....this time the old man fell over hit in the "back of the leg" by the extending lead handle. I tried to grab the old man as he went down only to have the terrier bite me...
Police were called as the husky owner and the man with the women got into and argument and the old man hurt his hands and knees this time hitting the tarmac. He broke his glasses at some point to. He was in shock and needed an ambulance.

So I have had tetanus....and feeling sorry for myself too.

OMG what a total nightmare.  Poor you, I hope the man is ok and the stupid women get a visit from the dog warden at the least and the police at best.  Deed not breed - never a truer word.  As we frequently say on this forum, any dog can be dangerous.

If they'd had them on "normal" leads, they wouldn't have had such a performance!   What a nightmare - good for you Kazz, and the husky owner - the old man and his dogs might not have been so "lucky" - if you can call it that!

Honestly, some people have less brains than a pumpkin!

Is the bite deep - puncture - or ragged?   You might need a/bs - just in case :(

Well done for trying to help! people who faff about with gloves etc when trying to hold an unruly dog annoy me - get yourself sorted THEN let the dog out! What was the man doing while this pantomime was going on?

Anyway, looking on the bright side, they may have done you a favour if your tetanus had run out :-), at least you are sorted for another 10 years! Hope the bite doesn't hurt too much, I find chocolate and wine work well in these instances :-D

Well I am sure I'm not in the minority when I say extending leads are the devils tools... *growl*

I can't stand extending leads either, they ought to be sold with health warnings at the very least. On the rare occasion when I've had to use one while looking after a friend's dog it stays locked. My oldest boy was attacked by a lab on an extending lead--his owner was standing there with him on a relatively short lead at least 2.5m away one minute and the next he'd lunged at my dog and had him on the ground. She meanwhile was lucky not to be pulled off her feet and injured. As it was there was no apology from her. Luckily my boy is a very well balanced character and wasn't put off at all :-)

I feel sorry for you, the old man, his dogs and the husky owner to be subjected to a
completely avoidable situation like this 'if only' the terrier owners had been responsible and
in proper control of their dogs.

I too hate retractable/extendable leads I've seen many times when the lock doesn't work.
Or people suffering burns trying to grab the thin part of the lead etc.

Give me the good old fashioned dog leads any day over those, that said I have had two leads break on me
out on 'normal' walks. One a plaited reflective lead and another a leather slip lead.
But no nasty incidents like the one you were subjected to.

On the whole I feel that these are much better and you have more control with these types of leads than
the retractable types.

I hope at the least these people that have the out of control dogs are advised not to use these types of leads again and are advised to
get the one that bit you muzzled with a basket/baskerville muzzle and kept on a lead under control when they take it for walks...

Hope that you, the elderly gentleman and his dogs will be ok.

I prefer "normal" leads but am a fan of retractable leads also- as with nearly everything if you have an idiot in charge then you have trouble! :-)

I agree Jeff, I have retractable leads too, the type with tape not rope, we have never had a problem but then we learned how to use them properly before we took the dogs out on them and they are the correct size for the dogs. Its amazing how many folk seem to have no idea how to use them properly or have them extended beside roads :-( . Its not the lead that is the problem , its the numpty at the end of it! :-)

I certainly feel there should be a strong warning on them not to use on a public road and only in Open spaces with dogs that are unlikely to react violently, either aggressively to others or lung and whop the lead out of owners hands.  Nasty thing can happen when that case hurtles into someone.

My husband cannot get on with one at all,a nd far prefers a long lien, I can't get on with long lines as I can't get them back fast enough without tangling someone up, but am great with the locking and reeling in needed for a flexi, but would only use one in the Park for my won't come back until I have eaten every chicken bone or emptied every food bin Jozi (it has been a nighmare since my council started recycling food waste, those bin handles are so easy to flip up by a smart dog).

Poor you hope your feeling better. omg stupid owners they need help from someone to own their dogs responsibly and hope fully the poor gentlemen who was knocked down is feeling better.
I use a retractable lead for my chi/pom but its only because she has been unreliable at recall if frightened.generally I agree they have to be used sensibly which ithinbk I do I much prefer a normal lead but cant stop getting tied up in a long line dont thionk I would like to use one on a big dog though

I can sympathise on the tetanus, I had one a few weeks back after one of my girls mistook my finger for the chicken wing I was giving her. A weeks worth of horse sized antibiotics too. I really do get annoyed at situations like this, people must be aware that they have an aggressive/troublesome dog, so why not take appropriate measures to keep it under control?? Flexi leads can be a great accessory in the RIGHT situation.
Hope you heal up soon. Dog bites can be painful!

Take Care

Poor you :( Poor man and Poor dogs :(

Makes you wonder how some people manage to stand up, walk and breathe all at the same time :(

I can't stand extending leads, just can't hold them the same as an ordinary lead, for a start you can't loop the handle round your wrist and I have very small hands, then the lock usually fails just when you need it most :(   and am sick of seeing numpties with them extended on the main roads here, usually with some aggressive 'rat' on the end

Have been contacted by the police, they were called because of the disagreement between the "man" who was with the two terriers, and the other man who helped the old man, the disagreement started after the terrier got loose the 2nd time.
However they never got past more than words, I'm not sure who rang the police. ut I have given my statement such as it was.

The ambulance was called by the lady who owned the husky whose husband was helping, because the old man was in shock and tears.

Also had a phone call at 12.35 from the elderly man's son seems he has broken his wrist (I know his hands were cut and grazed from the fall onto the tarmac) but he could have broken it when he fell/dropped onto the terrier the first time he hit the ground hard and it was icy/hard the grass. He had torn trouser knee's too. As well has other things, but he has a broken wrist and a dislocated thumb on his other hand.  He has a large bruis forming on both his knees and I have found out he is 67 the chap and has dialasis due to kidney cancer.
They took the dog Lucy (who is 15 by the way and almost deaf hence maybe why she was so scared) to the vet who tried to contact the terrier owners by phone but it went to answer, the vet has tried again asking them to contact them. To settle the bill as the one lady did say they will pay the vets bills if there were any in the presence of the police and us and ambulance men.

The dog called Lucy apparently has a slight bite on her ear, which needed stiches but the blood it appears was mostly mine :) vets cost £97..which included out of hours visit on a Sunday. I think the terrier owners are getting off light. Given the old mans injuries as well. 

Poor chap :( hope he and his dog Lucy are soon better.

Hope those terrier owners will pay up for the vet bill.
It's the very least they should do!

> Hope those terrier owners will pay up for the vet bill.
> It's the very least they should do!

And get their dogs to some training classes!! They have managed to cause a lot of damage in a very short time when they were both on lead! Muzzles might be an idea too!

Hope your hand is feeling better today

Get the owners to some training classes!!!! The dogs are badly behaved, but the owners were criminally irresponsible (and from the sound of it, not remotely apologetic) and the elderly gentleman's subsequent condition just proves how easily something as stupid as this could have tragic consequences.

Sorry to read this, hope you are feeling better today!

Hopefully you are over the shock of it all now, what lunatic owners!!! Hope that all owners and their dogs are fully recovered. I agree that if normal leads were used this wouldn't have happened, well, along with some training of certain dogs here!

Retractable leads are useful, (the larger ones that is) but I have to say the ones for smaller dogs an pups are lethal, they are so fine and strong, they really do cut and hurt as I unfortunately found out, I had one of my families pups for a couple of days recently left along with the retractable lead they use and I found it a nightmare, sliced my leg twice and left it bleeding when it got wrapped around me by an over exuberant puppy. I put a proper lead on straight after (didn't wish to spend time refining it's use) and refused to use the thing. Maybe these people were using them for the first time too, as they seemed to be using them with difficulty.

Put me off them for life, give me a whistle and a proper lead any day. :-D

Get well soon. :-)

Crikey what an episode that was to witness- let alone get involved in... then get bitten to boot!

Just goes to show some people are just not capable of owning any type of dog... even one under 10lbs!

Poor old gent (well, I say old - he's not really).  You all did a great thing in getting involved, it could have been a lot worse if there'd been no one there to help him.  Being stuck on the ground in that kind of weather would have led to all kinds of problems.