What’s with all these dog attacks?

[xxcatcatcatxx]

Seems like there’s loads and just read about another. Not sure if it’s always been this was or if the news is just reporting it more.

it always seems to be disproportionately terrier types involved, I’m not a dog person so don’t know if it’s their natural temperament etc. Just feels like there’s so many at the moment. I wonder if they’ll add other breeds to the banned list of dangerous dogs or if it’s more to do with owners and upbringing.

You can see why some unthinking adults and excited kids forget their manners when he aims that look at them 🙂

And the tough lads who want to prove something...

@Anonaymoose Yes. I check previous notes very carefully now, some owners refuse to say their dog is unpredictable. “Oh they’ve never done that before” when teeth flash millimetres from your face. Just the last four times they’ve been in then? 🤔

When we were working in small bubbles it was a nightmare. These dogs are so strong, I’m no lightweight but they flung me around like I was a weak kitten.

In my opinion muzzles for the more aggressive XLs need a serious rethink too. When they are snarling in your face they seem a shade flimsy.

In my opinion muzzles for the more aggressive XLs need a serious rethink too. When they are snarling in your face they seem a shade flimsy.

Yes! Neither mikki or baskerville are bite proof and they are all most practices seem to have! .
Every time I open a patient record these days it seems to have a big red warning!

Shit owners. I wouldnt go to a house with any dog like that. But then I don't mix in those circles

@SamphirethePogoingStickerist

Your dog is gorgeous! We hardly see any of them any more, I think we just have 2 or 3 registered, and they are older now.

@Anonaymoose so many XLs, Bandogs, Corso crosses, Micro Bullies, Mastiff crosses these last 2 years, some bred from really unsuitable types with existing health/temperament issues. Just to cash in on the trend.

Dog licenses should be mandatory; no licenses and the dog is seized until you pay.
Equally carrying poo bags- I read somewhere recently that this was being introduced (can’t remember where) and if you’re found not to have one then you’ll be fined.
i’m a responsible dog owner and I simply despair at the number of ignorant and arrogant dog owners out there 🤬

Unfortunately I think that's where we're headed, probably with a requirement to have a licence tag on your dog's collar. There could be a system where you pay a lower fee if your dog has passed a test of basic obedience. If you're caught without the tag but do have a licence, smallish fine. Caught without a tag and NO licence, dog impounded while you are fined, educated and cough up the cash. Unfortunately some dogs would pay the price of owner irresponsibility and end up in rescue.

It would be an expensive pita for reasonable dog owners (of whom there are many), but a few well-publicised cases might make some people think twice.

💐💐to all the vets who have to deal with aggressive dogs.

Why “unfortunately”?

But having a dog licence won't stop these sorts of dogs or attacks. If they're expensive they'll mean people can't afford them, especially pensioners who might rely on their dog for company and if they're cheap then even these 'macho' type owners will get one but nothing changes.

I have a dog who is a real sweetheart most of the time but a lot of work went into that and continues to go into it as she needs consistency on where the boundaries lie. The times when she isn't a sweetheart are when there is unattended food lying about, cats, and sometimes other dogs depending on their temperament and behaviour. She doesn't get aggressive, she just acts like an overexcited dickhead but sometimes that overexcitement can tip into negative behaviours which is why I'm always aware of her trigger points, have put work into minimising her behaviour in those situations and solidifying her recall, and I know to manage situations where we might encounter them. For example, on walks she's leashed until we're in quieter areas, if we see another dog then I call her back to me and I re-leash her, I will ask the other owner if its okay for her to say hello and if it is I take her over slowly. If it goes well she can come back off the leash, if it doesn't go well or if the other owner doesn't want their dog approached then she stays on the leash and we move elsewhere. A lot of it is just common courtesy and vigilance.

I'm noticing more and more though the indulgent "isn't my dog a cheeky little pickle!" owners who let their unleashed dog tear around the place, jump up at people, approach other dogs, snatch food or toys and so on. 7yr old DS was bitten on the hand by one a couple of months ago, the owners defence was that his dog was just trying to get the ball from DS because "she just loves to play", a ball that did not belong to the fucking dog and that DS was calmly carrying not waving around or throwing. Luckily it didn't break the skin but DS was understandably shaken and was very wary of dogs for a good few weeks after. I was at the vet last week, someone had their dog on an extendable lead in the waiting room and was letting it weave all around the seats, go up to people, and was just smiling at it the entire time like it was adorable. The dog kept jumping at my dog who ended up standing on my knee with her front legs up on my shoulder trying to get away (she gets nervy at the vets). Both those dogs were -doodle types and clearly badly trained.

I think the licensing/tag idea suggested by a PP would be the most feasible way of tightening up dog ownership, the scheme could pay for itself using the funds raised via registration and fines. I also think a minimum of basic pet insurance should be compulsory alongside microchipping and that all adult dogs should be sterilised so that only registered breeders are allowed to hold unsterilised dogs and sell puppies (again a scheme that could pay for itself via the cost of registration). Breeds over a specific size/weight should have additional registration requirements.

Not sure about weight. I have a basset that’s 26kg but soft as anything. Great Danes are big, goofy things. But lovely and sensitive.

Its hard.

Not all Great Danes. And I had a neighbour with a basset hound who was a nasty little shit ( dog and neighbour) so tricky to generalise. All dogs have capacity to be arseholes.

My reasoning for bigger weight = more checks was that as a general rule larger digs have the capacity to do more damage, need more space to be kept properly, and usually need more exercise (again, not all big dogs)

Did I say anything about people not provoking dogs or did I say things about people running up to a strange dog. I think you’re just looking for a fight.

It’s because scum bags are buying American Bully XLs as the latest statement dog, they aren’t strong enough to restrain them and they don’t train them properly.

I think a lot of people don’t know how to act around dogs. And parents don’t teach their children how act. They let their little darlings rush up to a strange dog and start touching it. Would you like a stranger coming up to your like that? Or would you react?

I actually think a well behaved dog should be fine with a child coming to stroke them. A well behaved dog does not bite in reaction. A dog whose automatic reaction is to be aggressive is a dangerous dog

Because it will have an impact, and impose a cost, on a lot of responsible dog owners.

Believe me, no one dislikes arsehole dog owners more than those of us who try to NOT be arsehole dog owners.

@FarmerRefuted
I also think a minimum of basic pet insurance should be compulsory alongside microchipping and that all adult dogs should be sterilised so that only registered breeders are allowed to hold unsterilised dogs and sell puppies (again a scheme that could pay for itself via the cost of registration).
A lot of people don't have pet insurance because they essentially self-insure (we do), though having to have some sort of third party is a good idea (it's often included in home insurance).
And limiting the keeping of intact dogs to registered breeders, while it looks like a good idea on the face of it, would be a bloody nightmare for the gene pool of a lot of breeds. Also, some excellent litters are bred by people who only breed once every 2-4 years. And some only keep a stud dog, and never actually breed a litter themselves. There are also other reasons for keeping dogs intact, certainly into early adulthood.

WTF???

The dog doesn't belong to the child, so they should ask permission. Does that work for you?
Poor dog being the expected butt of every unwanted touch and attention.

Some research on breeds and behaviour. Cut to the chase, it's mostly down to how humans raise and train them.

www.scientificamerican.com/article/dogs-personalities-arent-determined-by-their-breed/

www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/28/dog-behaviour-has-little-to-do-with-breed-study-finds

There's a joke here about right angles. Give me a minute.

Children should absolutely ask, of course - I don't think anyone would disagree.

But a dog whose first response to an annoying child is to bite them is a dangerous dog.

This. Yes children should ask but if they don’t it’s not normal or safe for a dog to go straight to biting

You can't really ban the XL bullies because they're not a breed. They're mongrels. They're bred from a mix of several bull breeds and mastiffs.

The legislation would be a nightmare to write. It would end up being based on measurements like the pitbull ban which, as proven, has done precisely fuck all at reducing the number of dog related fatalities.

What we need is proper control of breeding and proper education when it comes to dog ownership and training and to educate children how to behave around dogs.

I meet plenty of kids on walks who don't have a clue how to behave when approaching my dog, mostly rushing to pet him without asking but I have had a couple try to hug him and one extremely ill mannered young madam who actually rushed over and scooped up my chihuahua when she was a puppy while her parent laughed and assured me she wasn't trying to steal her. She "just loves little dogs like that"...

Thanks for all the comments and thoughts. Bull breed terriers was what I meant and yeah it was the XL ones, my dog knowledge is awful.

Although the tiny terrier types do also scare me a bit, I wonder if they weren’t so little if it would be different that’s why I wondered if there was like a “terrier” gene 😂 I honestly have no idea how to articulate that thought but hopefully someone understands what I’m trying to get at.

So many god points, I’d completely forgotten lockdown dogs were a thing, everyone seemingly became dog people in the space of two days.

No, there is no terrier gene. There are inherent breed traits but there is no specific gene that would cause a dog to be inherently aggressive by breed.

Going back to the original breeds our modern day bull breeds came from, they should be inherently friendly and placid to people due to the nature of their "job". They were bred to fight other dogs and large animals such as bulls and bears. Due to this they often needed to be handled by people when in a state of high arousal. Any dog who showed aggression to its handler inside or outside of the ring would be destroyed. This didn't happen with the likes of retrievers, herding, hunting and cart dogs who were bred for other "jobs".

Also a terrier gene or bully gene wouldn't explain the spate of attacks by Rottweilllers (bred for cart pulling and herding/guarding livestock), German Shepherds (bred to herd) or by the northern breeds (bred for sled pulling in colder climates).

The things these breeds do have in common is a fleeting popularity with a particular type of person. This has a two fold effect. 1) During the height of their popularity there are higher numbers of these dogs being bred and sold. It stands to reason they will be involved in more incidents if there are more of them.

2. This particular type of person is the kind of person who buy dogs as status symbols and attempts to train them to guard/attack/behave menancingly while having no experience or training in how to do this safely. When done incorrectly this tyoe of training can go very wrong, very quickly and would be dangerous for any breed to undertake.