Angrywith the RSPCA/Council dog wardens

MortgageMamma

pbradley936 wrote:

Yes, a boy of two who had to be rescued by a handyman who just happened to have his tools (hammer) available he whacked the dog and it backed off. The dog has since been put down.

Is the boy OK? was it a specific breed? Do you think its anything to do with how the dogs brought up by the owner or do you think these attacks are genetically pre programmed? It could even be reactions to the [EMAIL="Cr@p"]!!!!!![/EMAIL] they but in dogfood these days

pboae

Asher wrote:

If your dog cannot be trusted in a public place where toddlers might run to him you should not take him there. A child has more rights to enjoy public places than a dog. I agree with you that adults should be more aware but in many cases they are not.

You have completely missed the point Asher. My dog can be trusted but the parents don't know that. And no-one, child or adult, has the right to hurt an animal by doing something stupid like putting a weight on a crippled dog's back.

I still wouldn't leave my dog unattended with small children though, but that is common sense with any dog.

Of course owner's should be responsible for their dog's behaviour, but it is ridiculously naive for a parent to assume they will. By that logic, parents should happily let their kids go off with strangers because the child has the right not to be abused by them.

Other people don't always do what they ought to, and it's the parents' responsibility to keep the child out of danger. Just as it is my responsibility to make sure my dog isn't hurt by idiotic parents or their out-of-control offspring.


MM, any news on your patient today?

There aren't many details around yet about the second rottie attack, but IM(NS)HO it is usually a question of nurture over nature. Though there will always be cases of a biological problem (brain tumour, chemical imbalance, etc) that leads to unexpected aggression.

I do wonder if this new case would have been reported at all if rotties hadn't been in the news at all though. A few years ago it was Akita attacks being reported, before that we had the pitbull media panic. Have Akitas stopped biting people now, or do they just not get reported anymore?

pboae

Contains_Mild_Peril wrote:

Unless the owner has a massive garden, that's not really an option for a big dog. If the owner keeps their dog on a lead in areas where it's likely to encounter children (and pboae's post gives me no reason to suspect that his/her dog is let off the lead in public parks) then it it not the owner's fault if parents fail to take the same sort of responsibility for their children. I was taught from a very early age not to approach strange dogs, and assumed that all kids were taught the same "rules": don't cross roads unsupervised, don't eat sweets you find in the street, don't go with strangers, don't approach strange dogs etc.

Thank you CMP, I should have clarified this earlier, but my dog is never off lead in public. Not because he is a danger to anyone, but because his legs are so bad I have to restrict his exercise and so that I am always on hand to protect him from other dogs (and children) bouncing on him and hurting him. Again though, parents don't know that that is the reason he is kept on lead. I also had it drummed into me never to approach a strange dog without asking permission first, along with all the other basic safety messages.

Mrs_pbradley936

MortgageMamma wrote:

Is the boy OK? was it a specific breed? Do you think its anything to do with how the dogs brought up by the owner or do you think these attacks are genetically pre programmed? It could even be reactions to the [EMAIL="Cr@p"]!!!!!![/EMAIL] they but in dogfood these days

It was another Rottweiler and the boy alive but bitten on the face and the back of the neck. He is watching a favourite video according to the news. The boy was being looked after by his grandmother and I do not know if it was her dog or a neighbours. I have no idea about the other points you raised. I am on AOL and they have a poll on whether Rottweilers should be banned. I have not had one but I have had a German Shepherd and people were afraid of him, he never bit anyone but people would cross the road and snatch their children up when I took him out.

Mrs_pbradley936

The poll on AOL has 61% of people saying that Rottweilers should be banned.
17,000 odd people have voted.

Mrs_pbradley936

Someone has already started another thread on dangerous dogs, it's here:-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=271898

Contains_Mild_Peril

How do you "ban" a breed of dog? Are they suggesting that all existing rottweilers should be killed, or just that they should be compulsorily neutered so that the current generation will be the last? What about crossbreeds?

Mrs_pbradley936

Contains_Mild_Peril wrote:

How do you "ban" a breed of dog? Are they suggesting that all existing rottweilers should be killed, or just that they should be compulsorily neutered so that the current generation will be the last? What about crossbreeds?

No idea, I just posted it because I thought it might be of interest.

pboae

With the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 four 'fighting' breeds were banned
the Pit Bull Terrier;
the Japanese Tosa;
the Dogo Argentino;
the Fila Braziliero.

They cannot be imported, bred from, sold, bought, exchanged or gifted. They have to be microchipped, neutered, insured and kept on a lead and muzzled in public. So in theory there should be no (or only elderly) dogs of these types left in the UK. Pitbulls crosses are also specifically included. Yet pitbulls are still widely available and used in dog fighting.

However, the legislation actually refers to dogs 'of the type' rather than breed. Which means if a dog has the characteristics of one of those breeds, then it can be classed as 'of the type'. For that reason the UK govt tells people not to bring American Staffs into the country as they cannot guarantee that they won't be seized. Of course most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a pitbull and a staffordshire bull terrier, let alone a staffy cross, so the whole thing is a bit of a nonsense.

I've been having a quick flick through recent news reports on https://www.ourdogs.co.uk and found these:

a 20 month old baby girl was attacked and killed by a labrador in Woodbury.

a 7 week old baby girl was attacked by a 10 week old cross breed terrier puppy. She survived but lost 3 fingers.

I remember reading about the second one in the press, but not the first. It doesn't seem to have been widely reported.

MortgageMamma

Thats ridiculous thinking about banning a breed of dogs. Its like us saying, "some muslims are dangerous" and a small minority are terrorists, so lets ban them completely, neuter them and keep them locked up with no rights.

After all a "breed" of human is only the same as a "breed" of dog! Absolute rubbish, I can't even believe some dimwit on AOL put that poll on - whats next?