A dog accidentally shot his owner in the leg while the two were “horsing around” on a sofa on Wednesday.

Richard Remme was playing with his pitbull Labrador cross-breed, Balew, at his home in Fort Dodge, Iowa, when he started to feel a burning sensation.

In the rough-and-tumble the pet had managed to knock the safety on the Ruger 9mm pistol his owner was carrying and then hit the trigger with his paw.

Mr Remme, 51, told The Messenger: “I was lying on the couch, and we were horsing around, me and the dog. And I was tossing him off my lap, and he was jumping back on my lap.

“And I carry in a belly band, under my bib overalls. And apparently he bumped the safety one time, and when he bounded back over one of his toes went right down into the trigger guard.