next door staffie ran after my mum

Melonade

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Sorry but the dog should not have attacked the lady, even if it was only her bag. How on earth could she have been at fault? The owners should have kept it under control.

I can't understand the people on here who are taking the dog's side. Yes, it may have issues, but the owners should be aware of them and not let a dangerous dog out in the front garden with an open gate.

In this situation I too would be very annoyed and upset. I think they should call the police, it could be a child next time. A visit from the police might make the owners behave more responsibly

I agree with this.

As a staffy owner myself I can understand peoples want to defend a dog when things like this happen.

BUT I own a very dog aggressive staffy and he can also get a bit excitable and nippy with people... not aggressively but playful. It's my job to manage his behaviour and make sure he doesn't do anything that could get him or me into trouble.

So obviously he wouldn't be allowed outside on his own or off a lead even with a shut gate.

What ever happened with the dog getting out and biting the bag it is 100% the owners fault!! It's their job to be in control of what the dog does at all times. No wonder responsible dog owners get on the defensive when stuff like this happens. It's a shame the dog usually pays the price for bad ownership.

merlin68

Which dog breed is most likely to bite?
A study, published this week in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science, with researchers questioning 6000 dog owners had some surprising conclusions.
The dog breed most likely to bite was not the Pit Bull, Rottweiler, or German Shepherd, but …wait for it…the Dachshund. And second was the Chihuahua, followed by the Jack Russell Terrier.

Tygermoth

I remember when starting Puppy class with the the Kennel club they had up Hospital stats for bites and at the time the Chihuahua was top followed by a Jack Russell.

I can remember the number of injuries but i remember being shocked.

I think the big dogs get the bad press because if they do damage its on a larger scale and also more news worthy.

Chihuahua bites child is less dramatic than Pit Bull bites child.

valk_scot

I think a second visit to the neighbours is in order once everyone has calmed down a bit. Give it a couple of days. Then go round and explain again how nervous your mother is and how badly she's been shaken by this incident. Go over again how they intend to stop this sort of thing happening again, say by putting a self closing device on the gate, keeping the dog in an enclosed back garden and never letting it out the front unless it's accompanied and muzzled. And obviously when it's outside the garden or house it should be on a leash.


If they're agreeing to (and doing) all of this plus are very sorry and apologetic about the incident I don't see why this shouldn't be enough atm? I would think most dog owners are pretty aware of the consequences of a dog having a go at someone, even if the incident was minor. The fact that you reported it should definitely concentrate their attention on this. It's worth telling them though, in a calm but firm way, that if you've got any concerns in the future about the dog being out of control again you'll definitely be speaking to the police again. They've only got one chance at getting this right but you are giving them this chance. Hopefully they'll get their act together and there will be no more problems.


I don't own a dog btw, I'm a cat person. I don't mind well behaved dogs at all though. Oh, and I used to buy a steady supply of charity shop stuffed animals for my friend who looked after guide dogs in training. Soft as butter and very well behaved dogs but they still liked tearing up stuffies when they were playing. I think you've got to let a dog exhibit normal behaviour characteristics like this otherwise they might get very bored and frustrated, surely? Lots of play works off their excess energy.

paulineb_2

Id never call one breed of dog a dangerous dog just because it bit someone. I think staffies get a really bad press. I support a charity that helps support staffies and similar types of dog, tries to put them in rescues, some dont make it in time and are PTS. There have been staffies who have been rehomed with owners and are living with them with absolutely nil problems.

I have a fear of dogs because I grew up with an alsatian and another similar type of dog next door to me, I was just scared of them even though Im sure they wouldnt have done me any harm. A friend of mine at school had a doberman and I was at her house one day and she said you need to clap (pet) it or it will bite you. I was terrified.

Ive been bitten by a dog, I think it was a jack russell, it just ran up to me in the street and bit my leg, but I wouldnt have for one minute have thought, get that dog put down. It was probably more scared of me that I was of it.

I really cant understand replies to the effect of get the dog put down, how would you like it if it were your dog? Can anyone ever say that a dog wont ever bite someone no matter what the breed?

I hope the mum in this situation is ok, but if this dog had been a labrador and not a staffie would there have been the same reaction ie some people dont like staffies so it should be PTS?

You dont know what an animal might have suffered in a previous home. I have a cat that I rescued from the SSPCA. I was told not to take him as he was a biter. Hes maybe bitten me about 3 times in 10 years, a nip and thats it. Hes terrified of sudden hand movements. My mum was at mine one day and moved her hand suddenly and he had a reaction.

That dog might have been treated badly somewhere else. As for whether the owners are chavs, what on earth does that have do to with it? I live in a really poor area, some people might fit the stereotypical chav profile and some of them might have dogs, but I bet even middle class people who have pets, their pets still might bite someone.

Mojisola

merlin68 wrote: »

Which dog breed is most likely to bite?
A study, published this week in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science, with researchers questioning 6000 dog owners had some surprising conclusions.

The dog breed most likely to bite was not the Pit Bull, Rottweiler, or German Shepherd, but …wait for it…the Dachshund. And second was the Chihuahua, followed by the Jack Russell Terrier.

There are two separate issues - which type of dog is most likely to bite and which type of dog is most likely to inflict serious injury?

surveyqueenuk

OP, did the bag contain food by any chance? If the Staffy is a rescue dog, there is every chance that it could have been underfed in the past. We all know how powerful a dogs sense of smell is and it may well be the case that the dog was chasing FOOD, not your mum.

You still don't mention what sort of bag your mum had. Was it a carrier bag from the shop? If you were carrying a carrier, where would it be in relation to your leg? I don't want to dismiss your mum's experience but the dog was probably after the bag in the first place.

I do agree that the gate should not have been left open and would hope the neighbours take more care in future. However, dogs behind closed gates are a fact of life. Some will growl, bark or yap at passers by, this is just natural territorial behaviour. The majority of us would recognise this and simply ignore it. However it must be terrifying for people with anxiety problems.

It might be worth your mum mentioning this to her GP so she can get some help in leading a life free of fear, which is something everyone deserves.

zaksmum

mountainofdebt wrote: »

I have the most placid beagle on the planet and he does this all the time

My dogs do, too. It's just a play thing.

Twinger

On another thread paulineb accuses me of being a troll, if that were true I'd say something like 'I can't be asked to read the whole thread, did he tag the beich'
What I actually feel is that all dogs should be licensed and that I hope your mum is feeling better now!

surveyqueenuk

Twinger wrote: »

On another thread paulineb accuses me of being a troll!

What on earth does that have to do with anything? I thought the point of this thread was to help and advise the OP