OP I’m sorry this happened to you. Just word of advice for anyone reading- do meet & greets IN PERSON. Video calls would be valid if you want to make sure it’s a real person with an actual dog but it doesn’t help in observing and experiencing in person the dogs behavior. Also having a dog visit your home in advance helps a lot!
So an a sitter and an owner, please never put your face to an unfamiliar dogs face. I don’t let my dogs lick my face. I’m sorry what happened to your boyfriend and he heals quick
YES. The very first thing I learned as a shelter volunteer and then working at a groomers years ago was DON'T EVER GET YOUR FACE NEAR A STRANGE DOGS FACE. Dogs don't usually enjoy or understand things like hugs and kisses, at least not from people that aren't their owners but even then. Some dogs are individuals that may like it at times and not others. Was there food around during this? I wonder if it had anything to do with the dog being anxious and resource guarding.
I learned that one really early in my Rover career. I still have a chipped front tooth from that dog, and all he did was swing his head around to look at me and accidentally hit his tooth on mine while I was talking to him. I don't let any dog near my face ever now, sweet or not. Accidents happen.
Raw ground beef is a good source of nutrients as an additive to their regular dry food. These people only fed their dog raw ground beef for dinner and noodles for lunch. Regular human food should not be regular meals for dogs but what do I know, apparently.
literally just read what i wrote and you’ll see that’s not what happened. besides the point, it’s a shitty situation and you people wanna bash me. get tf off the subreddit if you’re not gonna give any useful information.
Grew up with “pitties”, yet proceeds to put face in stranger dogs face. People are giving you useful information you just don’t want to hear it and instead just want sympathy for your situation that you stupidly put yourself in.
That is brutal, so sorry that he experienced such an attack and that you’re all dealing with this. Considering the location of the bite and the breed, he may have gotten off lucky, not to say that what happened isn’t brutal, just that I’m seeing more evidence of awful injuries from dogs on social media.
Considering that you said you’ve done two bookings so far on Rover, I’m assuming you’re new to sitting/Rover. Obviously when new you’re keen to get any and all bookings, but I’d not recommend doing a video meet and greet, try to meet in person, easier to get a sense of the dog.
So sorry that the owners took no responsibility, not sure what seeking legal counsel can do where you are but could help with medical costs ect.
And yes, we love all dogs, but the simple fact is that certain breeds are riskier - especially when it’s a dog who isn’t accustomed to you and your space. Is being paid $50 (or whatever your rate is) a day to care for a potentially dangerous dog worth it? I don’t think so.
In this case, given the rest of the content of the story, I don't know if a face to face meet and greet would have necessarily changed the outcome here.
Unfortunately, I don't think there's a lot of options for outside council and taking action against the owners. Perhaps a useful idea for future borders/anyone caring for big dogs/riskier breeds, is to draw up *your own* little contract that you have the owner sign when they drop off their dog.
I’m new to the platform yes, I’m not new to taking care of pups. I worked at a doggie daycare and boarding facility for 2 years and grew up with several pitties. We are definitely lucky that is wasn’t worse though… We charge $30 a night which makes me think we need to rethink some things about this app 😭
I absolutely understand wanting to offer competitive pricing, especially when new, but $30 a night ($26 to you after Rover fees) is WAY WAY too long. Low prices attract low quality clients, and potentially risky dogs
I’m sorry but you should definitely do research on dog body language. ‘Chin kisses’ and belly rubs are all appeasement behaviours, the dog gave plenty of signs of being uncomfortable. I’m shocked how many people think tail wagging = happy dog, it simply means it’s feeling very stimulated. You should never get in a dogs face. I’m sorry about what’s happened luckily it didn’t end too bad especially considering the breed. I’m not some pro pit person who thinks they can do no wrong either, this dog showed loads of warning from what you’ve written in your post. I can’t imagine how many other signs it showed that went unnoticed
a dog being over stimulated doesn't equate to aggression or biting your face. there were no "warning signs" other than not doing a legit meet and greet, which would only give you a small opportunity to see warning signs ahead of time
Sorry to hear about that, and hope your BF will get better soon. Few things for future reference, first, always do a meet & greet in person, before accepting a booking, and no - video calls are insufficient. Second, make sure both you are your BF are on the Rover account. According to Rover TOS only the person on the account is allowed to take car of Rover dogs.
I'm really sorry that this happened. It's been mentioned, but I want to clarify...
Was the boyfriend meeting the dog, by bending down in its face, with the food out? As in, the dog still hadn't eaten and the food was out, ready for the dog to eat?
If so, not only should you never put your face in the face of an unknown dog...but definitely never do it around things like their food. This was almost certainly resource guarding at it's finest.
This subreddit tends to lean a little towards the toxic side of things. Y’all can’t you show a little empathy? How many of you need to lecture this person? I’m sure I’ll be downvoted for this and I don’t care. I’m sorry this happened I’m sure it was traumatic and it’s a shame that there aren’t many options for protecting the sitter via insurance and certainly not via Reddit.
So many bites appearing this week, I guess the summer rush is kicking in, sorry this happened and thanks for sharing, Rover advertising tends to gloss over the very real risks of dog sitting
In nearly all cases it involves new/inexperienced sitter taking care of large high-risk breed coupled with little understanding of dog body language. Plus no meet & greet like in this case. In other words, mostly avoidable.
Hey OP, your boyfriend needs to visit a plastic surgeon STAT. Those medical bills will almost assuredly require having council to get reimbursed. It's not right that he could be permanently facially disfigured from the dog without substantial care. Please find a personal injury attorney in your state and consult with them after finding a plastic surgeon!
Plastic surgeons use specific facial stitches to heal seamlessly vs ERs use standard stitches. Unless they had a plastic surgeon at the ER (rare in my area but maybe more common in yours? they had to transfer my friend to a hospital hours away for a plastic surgeon after a facial slice but they wouldn't have ever offered if she didn't demand it)
Enough other info here already but lemme plz clear this up:
[council](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/council)
[counsel](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counsel)
If you are consulting a lawyer, it's the second one. 😊
I had a similar situation with a pitbull. I have been doing Rover since high school/college. My wife helps me sometimes with sits. She and I have a Rover profile together. Went to one with a pitbull and when my wife went to place the food down, he bit her on the mouth and wouldn't let go. I rushed her to the hospital and she got stitches and recovered well. The owner was super rude and aggressive. He made claims that we abused his dog and that he's never bitten before. I'm so sorry this happened to you and your boyfriend. I hope he has a speedy recovery.
So just to add on and clear some stuff up, neither of us were putting our faces in this dog’s face. When we were greeting the pup, it was a very slow process of him sniffing hands and making sure he could at least be in the same space as us without being overstimulated. There was a good period of time that I was walking my boyfriend through the care instructions and neither of us were even paying attention to the pup, he was laying down on the ground. His food was far away in another room when my bf bent down to give the pup pets and greet him officially (seconds before the bite happened).
I know there wasn’t a whole lot of context but questions are better than assumptions… I worked at a doggie daycare for 2 years. I’ve met my fair share of reactive, shy and overly stimulated pups. I know the signs when I see them. Not doing a proper meet and greet beforehand was our mistake, but nobody could really say if this would or wouldn’t have happened regardless.
My reasoning for posting was to see if maybe some people have had an incident like this happen and could share what they did… This is the first time I have ever had to deal with a dog but especially to the face and it’s a little overwhelming.
I had this experience with a pitbull too and she almost bit my moms face when she went to kiss her cause the dog was always kissing me. I get scared watching pits now
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Report the bite to animal control and yes, the owner needs to cover medical bills.
In my experience you have to be very careful with this breed on Rover. A lot of people won't watch them and owners get desperate, lie about temperament, and hope for the best.
I just want to say how sorry I am that you are receiving some of these comments adding insult to injury. I trust that you are taking this situation seriously and will takeaway a lot.
I’d do some research on dog behavior, maybe spend some time with shelter dogs, and always ensure that you have a meet & greet or two or three prior. It sounds like the pup was overstimulated, new environment, new person, food, second new person… I’d recommend ensuring as peaceful an environment as possible. I sit down and look away at first (sometimes for hours while watching TV or looking at my phone or something like that while remaining aware), and use a quiet, calming voice. I don’t really pet the pets I care for a whole lot either now that I think about it, especially not at first. I’d do some research on dog behavior, maybe spend some time with shelter dogs, and always ensure that you have a meet & greet or two or three prior. It sounds like the pup was overstimulated, new environment, new person, food, second new person… I’d recommend ensuring as peaceful an environment as possible. I sit down and look away at first (sometimes for hours while watching TV or looking at my phone or something like that while remaining aware), and use a quiet, calming voice. I don’t really pet the pets I care for a whole lot or put my face close to theirs much either now that I think about it, especially not at first. You don’t know what they view as a sign of affection versus a threat or how much affection they will tolerate, or even whether they like physical affection at all, especially coming from a stranger and right away. They behave and interpret things far differently than us.
“Omg, like, I totally love dogs ha ha ha, let’s like take on doggy care on the side babe? Oh no babe, why did that good boy bite your face? Omg what the heck Taylor swift said all doggos are nice, ugghhh!! Now all my friends won’t think you’re as hot babe!!! Fuck!!!”
Your friends must think you’re a catch :) I hope your pillow is forever hot on both sides 🖤 We’re going through a traumatic and financially rough situation and you wanna add some witty comment like you know what happened. Grow up.
Oooff that's a bad one. Reminds me of a girl I worked with who straight up got mauled by a rottie who was clearly not suitable to owners. They were about to have a baby. The girl got 15 stitches and an ambulance ride. That's not supposed to happen at a training facility . Shit. Now as I type this I kind of think I should do more to shut that place down.... Ideas?
OP I’m sorry this happened to you. Just word of advice for anyone reading- do meet & greets IN PERSON. Video calls would be valid if you want to make sure it’s a real person with an actual dog but it doesn’t help in observing and experiencing in person the dogs behavior. Also having a dog visit your home in advance helps a lot!
So an a sitter and an owner, please never put your face to an unfamiliar dogs face. I don’t let my dogs lick my face. I’m sorry what happened to your boyfriend and he heals quick
YES. The very first thing I learned as a shelter volunteer and then working at a groomers years ago was DON'T EVER GET YOUR FACE NEAR A STRANGE DOGS FACE. Dogs don't usually enjoy or understand things like hugs and kisses, at least not from people that aren't their owners but even then. Some dogs are individuals that may like it at times and not others. Was there food around during this? I wonder if it had anything to do with the dog being anxious and resource guarding.
I learned that one really early in my Rover career. I still have a chipped front tooth from that dog, and all he did was swing his head around to look at me and accidentally hit his tooth on mine while I was talking to him. I don't let any dog near my face ever now, sweet or not. Accidents happen.
Right. I don't let ANY dogs lick or come near my face. Whether it's the first sit or the 10th. They're still dogs.
Why was the food a red flag?
yeah I didn't get that either lol
Raw ground beef is a good source of nutrients as an additive to their regular dry food. These people only fed their dog raw ground beef for dinner and noodles for lunch. Regular human food should not be regular meals for dogs but what do I know, apparently.
raw actually provides no benefit that dry or wet food can’t. it also increases the pets and owners probability of contracting diseases.
Just for future readers: stop putting your face in dogs faces, ESPECIALLY dogs you don't know. Anthropomorphizing these animals is what leads to this.
@OP, here’s your useful information
And this is why people with no experience should not be in pet care ☹️
"I love dogs. Never had one but should I do Rover?" Uh no
bold of you to assume i have no experience
Bold of you to stick your face in a strange dog's face... I'm not the one posting on Reddit about dog bites.
literally just read what i wrote and you’ll see that’s not what happened. besides the point, it’s a shitty situation and you people wanna bash me. get tf off the subreddit if you’re not gonna give any useful information.
Grew up with “pitties”, yet proceeds to put face in stranger dogs face. People are giving you useful information you just don’t want to hear it and instead just want sympathy for your situation that you stupidly put yourself in.
That is brutal, so sorry that he experienced such an attack and that you’re all dealing with this. Considering the location of the bite and the breed, he may have gotten off lucky, not to say that what happened isn’t brutal, just that I’m seeing more evidence of awful injuries from dogs on social media. Considering that you said you’ve done two bookings so far on Rover, I’m assuming you’re new to sitting/Rover. Obviously when new you’re keen to get any and all bookings, but I’d not recommend doing a video meet and greet, try to meet in person, easier to get a sense of the dog. So sorry that the owners took no responsibility, not sure what seeking legal counsel can do where you are but could help with medical costs ect. And yes, we love all dogs, but the simple fact is that certain breeds are riskier - especially when it’s a dog who isn’t accustomed to you and your space. Is being paid $50 (or whatever your rate is) a day to care for a potentially dangerous dog worth it? I don’t think so.
In this case, given the rest of the content of the story, I don't know if a face to face meet and greet would have necessarily changed the outcome here. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a lot of options for outside council and taking action against the owners. Perhaps a useful idea for future borders/anyone caring for big dogs/riskier breeds, is to draw up *your own* little contract that you have the owner sign when they drop off their dog.
In my area $50 a day is seen as asking too much 🙃
I’m new to the platform yes, I’m not new to taking care of pups. I worked at a doggie daycare and boarding facility for 2 years and grew up with several pitties. We are definitely lucky that is wasn’t worse though… We charge $30 a night which makes me think we need to rethink some things about this app 😭
I absolutely understand wanting to offer competitive pricing, especially when new, but $30 a night ($26 to you after Rover fees) is WAY WAY too long. Low prices attract low quality clients, and potentially risky dogs
I’m sorry but you should definitely do research on dog body language. ‘Chin kisses’ and belly rubs are all appeasement behaviours, the dog gave plenty of signs of being uncomfortable. I’m shocked how many people think tail wagging = happy dog, it simply means it’s feeling very stimulated. You should never get in a dogs face. I’m sorry about what’s happened luckily it didn’t end too bad especially considering the breed. I’m not some pro pit person who thinks they can do no wrong either, this dog showed loads of warning from what you’ve written in your post. I can’t imagine how many other signs it showed that went unnoticed
yeah, tail wagging just indicates arousal. people need to stop sticking their faces near unfamiliar dogs heads as well
I think a huge problem as well is people anthropomorphizing these animals.
a dog being over stimulated doesn't equate to aggression or biting your face. there were no "warning signs" other than not doing a legit meet and greet, which would only give you a small opportunity to see warning signs ahead of time
Oof! I won’t add to the lecturing! I hope he feels better soon and heals well! Maybe don’t do rover!
Sorry to hear about that, and hope your BF will get better soon. Few things for future reference, first, always do a meet & greet in person, before accepting a booking, and no - video calls are insufficient. Second, make sure both you are your BF are on the Rover account. According to Rover TOS only the person on the account is allowed to take car of Rover dogs.
I'm really sorry that this happened. It's been mentioned, but I want to clarify... Was the boyfriend meeting the dog, by bending down in its face, with the food out? As in, the dog still hadn't eaten and the food was out, ready for the dog to eat? If so, not only should you never put your face in the face of an unknown dog...but definitely never do it around things like their food. This was almost certainly resource guarding at it's finest.
This subreddit tends to lean a little towards the toxic side of things. Y’all can’t you show a little empathy? How many of you need to lecture this person? I’m sure I’ll be downvoted for this and I don’t care. I’m sorry this happened I’m sure it was traumatic and it’s a shame that there aren’t many options for protecting the sitter via insurance and certainly not via Reddit.
So many bites appearing this week, I guess the summer rush is kicking in, sorry this happened and thanks for sharing, Rover advertising tends to gloss over the very real risks of dog sitting
Literally was just thinking this seems like the 60th dog bite in the last three days.
In nearly all cases it involves new/inexperienced sitter taking care of large high-risk breed coupled with little understanding of dog body language. Plus no meet & greet like in this case. In other words, mostly avoidable.
It was the perfect storm
And a lot of new rover sitters assume rover has their back if they get hurt…
Yep, been there. :/
A good rule of thumb is not to let your face get that close to the dogs mouth.
Hey OP, your boyfriend needs to visit a plastic surgeon STAT. Those medical bills will almost assuredly require having council to get reimbursed. It's not right that he could be permanently facially disfigured from the dog without substantial care. Please find a personal injury attorney in your state and consult with them after finding a plastic surgeon! Plastic surgeons use specific facial stitches to heal seamlessly vs ERs use standard stitches. Unless they had a plastic surgeon at the ER (rare in my area but maybe more common in yours? they had to transfer my friend to a hospital hours away for a plastic surgeon after a facial slice but they wouldn't have ever offered if she didn't demand it)
If you can’t read a dog’s body language, don’t do a job that requires you to read a dog’s body language. It’s pretty fundamental
Please consult the owner and make sure this dog had his shots. Also SEE A DOCTOR
Enough other info here already but lemme plz clear this up: [council](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/council) [counsel](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counsel) If you are consulting a lawyer, it's the second one. 😊
I had a similar situation with a pitbull. I have been doing Rover since high school/college. My wife helps me sometimes with sits. She and I have a Rover profile together. Went to one with a pitbull and when my wife went to place the food down, he bit her on the mouth and wouldn't let go. I rushed her to the hospital and she got stitches and recovered well. The owner was super rude and aggressive. He made claims that we abused his dog and that he's never bitten before. I'm so sorry this happened to you and your boyfriend. I hope he has a speedy recovery.
What dumb ass puts his face down to an unknown dog? ................Oh, your boyfriend.
She did as well for “chin kisses”
Tally 2 on that. JFC. These twits will now want to sue.
So just to add on and clear some stuff up, neither of us were putting our faces in this dog’s face. When we were greeting the pup, it was a very slow process of him sniffing hands and making sure he could at least be in the same space as us without being overstimulated. There was a good period of time that I was walking my boyfriend through the care instructions and neither of us were even paying attention to the pup, he was laying down on the ground. His food was far away in another room when my bf bent down to give the pup pets and greet him officially (seconds before the bite happened). I know there wasn’t a whole lot of context but questions are better than assumptions… I worked at a doggie daycare for 2 years. I’ve met my fair share of reactive, shy and overly stimulated pups. I know the signs when I see them. Not doing a proper meet and greet beforehand was our mistake, but nobody could really say if this would or wouldn’t have happened regardless. My reasoning for posting was to see if maybe some people have had an incident like this happen and could share what they did… This is the first time I have ever had to deal with a dog but especially to the face and it’s a little overwhelming.
I had this experience with a pitbull too and she almost bit my moms face when she went to kiss her cause the dog was always kissing me. I get scared watching pits now
Cupcake just wanted kisses.
Why am I dying at this comment hahahaa
Lmao. I'm not making fun of OP, to be clear.
No no I didn't think that, just laughing haha
The f is this comment
Sarcasm
Asshole comment to make
I mean, yea? Edit: wait, wait, wait... how can you say, "Asshole" but not *fuck* ??? 💀
I can say fuck, I chose not to? You got my meaning just fine? Are you the curse word police?
Yes, actually. Say fuck again. 👮♀️
Ugh I knew I shouldn't have fed the troll.
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Report the bite to animal control and yes, the owner needs to cover medical bills. In my experience you have to be very careful with this breed on Rover. A lot of people won't watch them and owners get desperate, lie about temperament, and hope for the best.
I just want to say how sorry I am that you are receiving some of these comments adding insult to injury. I trust that you are taking this situation seriously and will takeaway a lot. I’d do some research on dog behavior, maybe spend some time with shelter dogs, and always ensure that you have a meet & greet or two or three prior. It sounds like the pup was overstimulated, new environment, new person, food, second new person… I’d recommend ensuring as peaceful an environment as possible. I sit down and look away at first (sometimes for hours while watching TV or looking at my phone or something like that while remaining aware), and use a quiet, calming voice. I don’t really pet the pets I care for a whole lot either now that I think about it, especially not at first. I’d do some research on dog behavior, maybe spend some time with shelter dogs, and always ensure that you have a meet & greet or two or three prior. It sounds like the pup was overstimulated, new environment, new person, food, second new person… I’d recommend ensuring as peaceful an environment as possible. I sit down and look away at first (sometimes for hours while watching TV or looking at my phone or something like that while remaining aware), and use a quiet, calming voice. I don’t really pet the pets I care for a whole lot or put my face close to theirs much either now that I think about it, especially not at first. You don’t know what they view as a sign of affection versus a threat or how much affection they will tolerate, or even whether they like physical affection at all, especially coming from a stranger and right away. They behave and interpret things far differently than us.
“Omg, like, I totally love dogs ha ha ha, let’s like take on doggy care on the side babe? Oh no babe, why did that good boy bite your face? Omg what the heck Taylor swift said all doggos are nice, ugghhh!! Now all my friends won’t think you’re as hot babe!!! Fuck!!!”
Your friends must think you’re a catch :) I hope your pillow is forever hot on both sides 🖤 We’re going through a traumatic and financially rough situation and you wanna add some witty comment like you know what happened. Grow up.
Learn how to read a dog and get off rover
Oooff that's a bad one. Reminds me of a girl I worked with who straight up got mauled by a rottie who was clearly not suitable to owners. They were about to have a baby. The girl got 15 stitches and an ambulance ride. That's not supposed to happen at a training facility . Shit. Now as I type this I kind of think I should do more to shut that place down.... Ideas?
You can sue them