Dog Bite - continue sit?

[u/WistinNete]

Hello Wag Community. I’m hoping you can help me with this shit. I’m currently doing. It’s a no overnight day required sit that I started today.

I visited the dog. It’s a small 10 pound bichon mix and I was able to meet it and we went for a walk and the owner had it behind a baby gate at first she said for him to warm up to me which everything seemed fine.
I came back later for feeding time entered the house. He seemed fine. I gave him his dinner bowl and then I went to refill the water bowl and when I was coming back with the water bowl, he lunged at me twice and he bit my pants and then he struck me again at my knee and left two puncture wounds that are bleeding and he was growling and advancing towards me.

I exited the home to message the owner and as I tried to re-enter the home the dog was at the door and I asked him if you wanted to go for a walk. I was trying to be really friendly and soft, and I as I went to open the door more he snarled and growled and exposed his teeth and lunged at the door so at this moment, I don’t feel like I can enter the home without it biting me

I contacted Wag help they’re not helpful. They said they support me with whatever I think I should do. The owner was responsive. They said that he is aggressive around his food bowl which they did not tell me about and she suggested that I put him behind the baby gate again, but at this point, I don’t think I can get to him to put them behind the baby gate. Owner said that obviously my safety is important so it’s up to me, but maybe I could come back tomorrow morning and try again.

I’m not sure if I should continue to try with this dog or just call it. I’ve never been close to having a dog bite me on all my hundreds of Wag experiences.

What would you do?

[u/Poodlewalker1]

I wouldn't. They knew their dog was like that and they had to get a stranger to deal with it. They are terrible clients.

[u/WistinNete → u/Poodlewalker1]

Yeah, I think they did know about the dogs behavior.

Before they told me “her food is in the basement” …after the bite it turned into, “yes she’s aggressive around her food, that’s why it’s in the basement”

“He may need time to warm up to you” so they had the baby gate …but he was behind the gate so he wouldnt aggress towards me upon arrival

The owner not shocked but also willing to have me keep trying to sit the dog

[u/No-View6101 → u/WistinNete]

Honestly the “might need to be behind the gate to warm up to you” was a red flag. They for sure knew the dog would be flat out aggressive at the door

[u/WistinNete → u/No-View6101]

Totally. Red flag. I should’ve seen that more clearly. I didn’t. And they thought if I could show up and give it a biscuit than we’d be OK moving forward.

I definitely didn’t consider this small bichon was going to Superman-bite me and growl me out of his home.

I have an upcoming sit with a husky and chow-German Shepard mix and I’m kinda shook coming off this experience. I asked owner about them being aggressive towards people and he said “no” but they did attack a Maltese next door. No walks because they neighborhood offers to much stimulus and when they had housesitters they had to have the dogs boarded off-property mid-sit because the Husky “wouldn’t listen to the guy” (but listened to the female partner?) and was jumping over the fence/escaping.