Thankyou for all the opinions everyone. I shall be reporting the incident to the relevant authorities and informing other hydrobathing services of the dog in order to use appropriate measures. Companion animal grooming and training of course has its dangers, there are muzzles in the salon for dogs that hint at being dodgy, in particular for smaller nippy breeds that always seem to come with that attitude. In the case of the littlies a bite isn't anything to worry about, even if they were to bite a child they wouldn't be doing much damage. However this particular incident concerns a dog which could potentially cause serious damage to a child, and no i do NOT believe that a dog EVER biting a human is acceptable in the slightest, My snakes can nail me all they like, I understand they are not domesticated and they don’t exactly have the ability to rip me to pieces are they? (I am referring to smaller species of pythons here; I don’t keep scrubbies or vens.)
I am a little sad to see the responses that put the blame on me though. Of course i expect to get bitten on occasion, and this usually tends to be no more than a 'gumming' or a snap at the equipment, the dogs are always told off for this behaviour and over time they know we mean to just wash and pat and cuddle them, with lots of bikkies to boot. This on the other hand was the worst bite any of us have seen in the seven years the service has been in operation. And yes, to those comments regarding getting to know new dogs and not letting them know you're nervous, yeah of course i understand that. I wouldn’t exactly be a dog groomer if i didn't understand how dogs communicate and how to approach strange dogs would i? A new dog is always met with the owner, with bikkies in hand, lots of gentle pats and encouragement, etc. I wouldn't have my hands at all if i just waltzed up to every strange dog, dumped them in the bath and proceeded to wash them.
The owner was present at all times throughout the incident and judging my his casual attitude towards it, and other comments of his afterwards, we were given the impression that the dog has been known to bite. I am only mildly concerned with the state of my hand, knowing that the damage will heal and i can go to the doctors if needed. However, i feel my responsibility lies in doing what i can to prevent this from happening again. I would feel partially responsible if another groomer were more seriously injured, or a child had their face ripped off because of my failure to report this incident.
To those of you that say i should not report it, i still appreciate the advice and opinions you have offered. I am confident in my values and attitudes towards dog-human aggression that i know i am making the right decision in reporting this.
On a final note i should add that i would indeed be disappointed if the dog is destroyed, after all it is still someone's pet. Preferentially i aim to have the dog listed as dangerous, and be made to wear the relevant collars and come with the required warnings and registration fees. I was influenced in this by discussing the matter with owners of a listed guard dog, who over-nights on business premises. Council regulations no longer allow the dog to be near customers during the day so it is kept penned on the property, simply because the dog did its job by restraining an aggressive intruder by knocking him to the ground and holding his arm in its mouth, didn’t even break the skin. We wash this dog weekly, and he is the biggest darling you will find. That dogs knows its position in the dog-human hierarchy, why should not all owners be expected to maintain their animals at that level?
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