My girlfriend was just bit by a dog, what do we do?

After making sure your girlfriend is alright and reporting the situation to Rover, I'd try and evaluate why the bite occurred and what the dog's intentions were. What were they both doing at the time? Was the dog startled or did he give her warning before the bite that she missed/ignored, or did the dog seek her out to bite? Did he inhibit his bite? Dogs are very good at metering out damage depending on their intentions. A dog who intends to warn, but not harm, will rarely break the skin or even leave bruises. Bites to the extremities (hands/wrists/feet/ankles) and face are most often warning bites. Bites to the meaty part of the arms and legs are more often intended to wound or incapacitate, while bites to the core are more often intended to seriously injure or kill. Bites where the dog releases quickly are less serious than bites where the dog holds on/shakes. By looking at the severity and location of the bite, you can deduce a bit about his intentions. A nip on the hand or ankle from a dog who had appeared nervous before the bite and I'd be confident continuing to work with this dog, knowing I needed to be more aware of his body language and emotions. A dog who sought me out when I wasn't engaging with him and grabbed hold of my arm, not so much.

I would also be interested in knowing how the owners reacted, since it sounds like they were present. As an owner, I'd be very concerned about how my dog would react once I was gone if he was already biting while I was still home. And while I personally feel confident in my abilities to handle more difficult, fearful dogs, as an owner, I would be concerned about leaving my own fearful, difficult dog in the hands of someone he had already bit, even if they expressed confidence in working with him. I wouldn't want to set my dog up for failure, especially when there's the chance of having a dangerous dog label placed on him, or worse.

It's certainly alright for your girlfriend to cancel the stay--she shouldn't continue to work with this dog if she's not confident in her ability to handle a repeat performance. Her nervousness will very likely make the situation worse. I would hate for this situation to turn you off dog sitting entirely, though. Remember, dogs don't have words to tell us what they're thinking and feeling. They use their body language to tell us what we need to know. The bite that couldn't be prevented by humans attending to the dog's communication is exceedingly rare because the number of dogs who are truly aggressive rather than simply reacting aggressively out of fear is very tiny. Most dogs would rather avoid a conflict if possible, and only react aggressively if they... (more)