[Simon Mess]

Saturday morning, went to this customers house, but before i got in through the gates, i noticed both dogs were out, and were very agitated by my arrival. There is obviously someone in as the dogs are out, so i wait at the gate, thinking they are bound to have a look out to see what the dogs are barking at. 5 mins later, i am still waiting, so i decide to chance heading for the door. Now at this point i better point out these are small dogs, one is a lhasa apso, the other is a little poodle or something similar. Even as i bend over to get the gate catch, the poodle is jumping up nipping at me, but i get through, close the gate behind me and head for the door, which is about 50' away. Well was this little poodle really going for it!, i was wearing shorts, and it managed to bite me on both calf's, drawing blood!.

Anyway, i get to the door, ring the bell and wait......,

and ring the bell again, and wait.......,

and knock on the door, and wait.......,

Nothing!.

Now by this time, i am extremely annoyed, both by the fact that i have been bitten by this little sh*t of a dog, but, under the circumstances, more so by the fact that nobody came to the door.

I managed to get back to the gate without anymore bites by walking backwards keeping the poodle in sight and lifting the sole of my boot towards it if it looked like it was going to have a go again!. Needless to say, i missed the house out, and went on to the next!.

It got me thinking though, has this happened to any of you guys? (being bitten by a customers dog that is), and if so, how did you deal with the customer?.

[J.D]

I'm angry for ye Simon! The customer must be a complete idiot! I've been nipped by a few dogs but thankfully no serious bites. I always carry dog treats with me and make a friend of them via their stomachs. It works quite well. I've been told by a few customers how surprised they are that their dogs dont bite me , as they have to be kept inside when anyone else calls!

[bobplum]

good job it wasnt a cat

[Dave Willis]

I've developed an allergy - seriously.

I can't bear the smell of dog poope and particularly stagnant dog wee anymore. Makes me heave - even when it's next door.

[windowswashed]

Dog owners can be prosecuted now as the law has very recently changed, they are responsible for their dogs to other people like carers for example and can be held accountable. I have a dog myself.

[Soupy]

I got bitten on the arse by a customer's dog, all the while she is standing watching, telling me "it's ok he doesn't bite".

 

If the dog drew blood, go to the doctors for a tetanus shot.

[charlie2]

Got done by a staff 7weeks ago.still painful all they said was he doesnt normally do that,then the text 2weeks ago.we would like to cancel. T!!!s

[davids3511]

Got done by a staff 7weeks ago.still painful all they said was he doesnt normally do that,then the text 2weeks ago.we would like to cancel. T!!!s

The laws on this have changed and they could be prosecuted for that now even though it was on their property.

[Simon Mess]

So far, apart from this incident, i have never had any issues with customers dogs, usually getting on grand with them, in fact most are absolutely delighted to see me as i always give them some attention!. And actually, this customer, have had the lhasa apso since i started window cleaning 5 years ago, and while it has always got a bit agitated at my arrival, all it does is bark, usually from inside the house!. They have had the poodle for about 6 months now, but this is the 1st time it has been out when i have been there. I was going to email them and explain what happened, but i seem to have lost their email address, so i will just see what happens next time. By far the majority of the time, nobody is in, so the dogs are inside, and there is no problem.

I told the lady next door after i did her windows, and she said i should have given it a good kick!. It did cross my mind, but there are security cameras, and there is the simple fact that it is not the dogs fault!.

A day older, a day wiser

[davids3511]

before i got in through the gates, i noticed both dogs were out, and were very agitated by my arrival.

Simon, I'm sure your a decent guy but seriously WTF? You were in shorts, you knew the dogs were 'very agitated' but you still went in!!! It's your own fault, blame the home owners all you like but you knew all you needed to know yet WENT IN!

[C o z y]

Bitten once and the customer saw it and grabbed the dog and took it indoors. Told them that it was too dangerous to carry on in case it happened again. So took them off the round. Not worth the hassle, just get another customer.

I like dogs and cats, but people who haven't got their pets under control need a slap.

[Simon Mess]

before i got in through the gates, i noticed both dogs were out, and were very agitated by my arrival.

Simon, I'm sure your a decent guy but seriously WTF? You were in shorts, you knew the dogs were 'very agitated' but you still went in!!! It's your own fault, blame the home owners all you like but you knew all you needed to know yet WENT IN!

As i said, the owners original dog, the lhasa apso, was always agitated when i went in, but it just barked, so i hoped the poodle would be the same!. Yes, in hindsight, i should not have gone in, but hey ho. Also, i should point out, that although the dog drew blood, it was hardly a life threatening injury. And although i plan to let the owners know what happened, i was not going to get all shirty about it, after all, i have been cleaning their windows for 5 years.

[Tom White]

I think the mistake was you went in the garden, Simon.  I have all my customers telephone numbers; if you had had theirs, you could've just phoned them from the front gate.

[sunshine windies]

Yeah I was bitten by a similar little dog a couple of months back I went straight to the GP and got a tetanus jab ( worth doing they need renewing after 10 years)
Anyway next time round I told the lady about it as she was out the previous time when this happened and her son didn't grab the dog quickly enough, she was very apologetic and told me I must kick it to show it who's boss so she bought it out sure enough it went for me again so I kicked it (egged on by her).
Leaves me alone every time now but to be honest I don't think it's good enough I mean if it's in the park and goes for a kid like that it could do some serious damage ...

[Soupy]

Get a cat.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=C-Opm9b2WDk

[SB Cleaning]

before i got in through the gates, i noticed both dogs were out, and were very agitated by my arrival.

Simon, I'm sure your a decent guy but seriously WTF? You were in shorts, you knew the dogs were 'very agitated' but you still went in!!! It's your own fault, blame the home owners all you like but you knew all you needed to know yet WENT IN!

I agree. .its your own fault

[andyM]

I was bitten by a particularly vicious little spaniel b*stard thing about a year ago while doing a quote.
The owner had left the dog indoors but somehow it managed to get out of the conservatory door and before I knew what was happening it had clamped it's teeth on to my niagras.
The owner was very apologetic and I accepted that it was not the owners thought.
But I cleaned the property a few times after that and it was always a drama because the owner would insist the dog was taken out for a walk when I was due, sometimes I would have to wait for the animal to be taken out.  
The dog has a behavioural problem as it was mistreated by a previous owner, and it is really vicious to people that come to the house.
So I decided to dump the job and never go back.
  

[EandM]

Last one that bit me was a Springer. Daft, friendly thing normally but took exception to me one day - came running at me bit my leg and hand - gave it a kicking and it ran away.
Next visit it looked very subdued and was friendly again - following visit it tried it on again as I was speaking to housekeeper.
Ran at me growling and barking in a rather mental way. I asked the housekeeper if she would excuse me for a minute and I ran towards the dog yelling that I was going to rip it's head off which is very unusual behaviour for me - the dog realised I was serious and ran back indoors with me still yelling at it. From then on the dog refused to come outside when I was there.
I've been around dogs all my life and completely get the territorial claim and protection issue but I found the Springer's split personality a real worry because it introduces too much uncertainty.
Have a couple of Dobie's on the round and they're lovely.

[J.D]

I got blocked in by a horse today! The animal jumped a fence in the field next door and come and stood at the front of my van and wouldn't move! It just stood and stared in the window at me, I thought it was going to mount the bumper! It was the weirdest day i've had since I got chased round a customers house by an angry goose! The fecker bit the arse of me!

[PoleKing]

Serious question:
Say a dog runs at you, intending to bite/tear you to pieces.
And you punch it in the nose.
You kill it.
(I'd imagine you'd lose the job )
What repercussions would there be?

I suppose the same question about cats.
If one is in my garden and it 'dies unexpectedly' what would the repercussions be?