These Three Things May Cause A New Haven Dog Bite Injury

There is still so much time left in the summer months and what will likely be a wonderful fall with mild temperatures and beautiful days ahead there will be plenty of time to bring your dog out for a walk or to enjoy a local dog park. This is all good, but what happens if your dog becomes involved in a New Haven dog bite incident and gets you into some potentially hot water?

The truth is that as the dog’s owner you are under strict liability in the state of Connecticut for any actions that your dog takes. No matter what your dog’s past is, if your dog is involved in a dog bite incident you will be held liable in almost all cases. This means it is incumbent upon you to make sure you are doing everything you can to keep your dog in line. While you cannot make your dog do or not do anything you can most certainly put the animal in a position where she/he is not facing difficult circumstances that could exacerbate the chances of an incident.

One thing to keep in mind when thinking about how to make sure your dog is not put in a precarious situation that could lead to a dog bite is whether or not your dog has a history of aggressive behaviors. If your dog does have a history you may want to take that history into account as you decide when and where to take the animal in the city. While past behaviors are not predictive of future behaviors, especially with dogs, since you are liable for the actions of the dog you may not want to risk putting the dog in a scenario that could result in any sort of injury to someone else. In this case, you may want to avoid public places and keep your animal leashed at all times.

If your dog does not have a history of aggressive behavior and she/he is a calm animal that does well around other people you may be OK bringing your pet to locations that are open to the public. If this is the case, you will want to keep a couple of things in mind that could take your animal from peaceful to aggressive very quickly;

1.) Unfamiliar environments. If you take your dog for a walk every morning and you go the same route all of the time, you shouldn’t have to worry about this much at all, but if you are mixing it up, unfamiliar environments can lead a dog to become more aggressive then she/he might otherwise become. If there is unfamiliar terrain, unfamiliar people and even unfamiliar noises, your dog might become a little uneasy and when a dog is uneasy he/she may have a tendency to become more aggressive. If this is the case, you should make sure if you have taken your dog to an unfamiliar environment that you keep your pet away from other people in the area.

2.) Scary situations for your dog. Think about a situation where your dog is faced with high auto traffic that she/he is not used to. This situation can be scary for an animal and if she/he does not know what to do in this situation it can become quite aggressive. While not all dogs will become aggressive in scary situations it is possible and you need to be on the lookout for situations that could make your dog scared and avoid them if at all possible. Again, in this situation you will want to reassure your dog that it is going to be alright and also keep her/him away from any unfamiliar people in the area.

3.) Keep your dog away from children. When you’re out for a walk a lot of kids will want to come up and pet your dog. This can be tricky for a dog owner because you want to be nice to the kids who are just trying to say hi to a new friend, but on the other hand you don’t want your animal to be provoked and cause injury to the child or be aggressive toward the child. The best thing to do in this situation is ask the child to stay back and then get your animal to sit in a non-aggressive stance. Once the animal is calm you can let the child approach the dog with a gentle, outstretched hand that the dog can sniff and see as not being startled. If you do this, it is much less likely that the animal will take an aggressive approach toward the child.

The bottom line here is that if you are a dog owner and you want to avoid your animal being involved in a New Haven dog bite incident the best thing you can do is to only put your dog in predictable situations that will not leave her/him startled or uneasy. If you can do this then all people and pets that are involved in these situations will be able to benefit from healthy interactions. When you’re out and strangers approach, don’t hesitate to say no or slow the person down when they are reaching for your animal so the dog does not become startled or uneasy.

No matter how careful you are, situations may arise with your dog that lead to an injury, this can be scary for the person involved and for the dog and you will want to avoid this at all costs. If your dog does cause an injury you may need to speak with an attorney who has experience with your type of situation. Contact our office and one of our attorneys will review your situation and work with you to protect your long-term interests.