Yet another person killed from a dog attack.. what is going on

[icelolly12]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-64254413

Something needs to be done...reports of dog neglect taken more seriously, harsher prison sentences... any other ideas?

Awful, awful way to die, and makes me think twice about passing dogs off lead on walks.

Compulsory muzzling in public. But who would police it?

What an insensitive headline describing the dogs as 'pooches'

General public are well aware of the threat posed by certain types of dogs and would be happy to send footage or photos to the authorities of any dogs which don't comply that would be one way of getting around the tendency of the bad owners to evade the rules.
What about a phone app that allows you to scan any dogs in your proximity if it's got a chip it will show up, if it hasn't you take a picture of the dog and send it to the police.

THIS!!

How on Earth would that work???

Pitbulls are tiny compared to Lab's or Golden retrievers which despite being one of the most populus breeds in the world, have a virtually clean record of attacking humans?

I've been around dogs all my life and you'd be hard pressed to get a huge Great Danes to attack a human unprovoked, they are soppy and dopey.

Its not size , its not even breed, its the fuckers who own them.

Life sentances for owning a dog that attacks unprovoked would be a start.

I suspect that we are on the path to dog licences. If it was the case that you had to register your dog's microchip, prove that you had third party insurance and possibly take a basic test of husbandry, I'd be fine with it, so long as it was actually enforced and the money used for the local warden services, rather than being just a tax on the sort of responsible dog owners who would sign up.

Because enforcement is one of the issues. Responsible owners end up carrying the can for the feckless, ignorant and arrogant. Currently, dogs are allowed off-lead on our local playing fields, but I can see that changing in the next few years. Not because of the majority who pick up after their dogs and keep them under reasonable control, but because of the minority who let their dogs shit everywhere and have zero recall.

The other major issue is people who get a dog that they are just not equipped to handle. With some dogs, you can get away with this. Other breeds are not so amenable. They have dog fighting genetics, or guarding instincts bred into them, or they require vast amounts of exercise and stimulation and become frustrated and wild if they don't get it. Possibly we could do as they do in some parts of Germany (IIRC), where if you won certain breeds you have to accept additional restrictions - we could require someone who wants a malinois or an XL Bully to pass a test and take the dog to training classes.

I agree pooches conjures up an image of a cute little sausage dog, it's as if they think this attack is some sort of joke, it's horrifying

So, so sad.

I hate dogs (yes, I'll say it). I hate reading these things happen. That poor woman. Her life lost in such a pointless cruel way.
I agree with @Kevinyoutwat ,I live in a rough area where people would ignore rules and would beat you up for touching or threating their dog even if it was attacking a child. It can be terrifying.

Also live near forests and lots of parks. If I was not a parent I'd avoid these areas, but DD loves going to the park and for a walk. Sorry to use this term but there's spiceheads everywhere with ridiculous sized dogs they can't control. Young girls with Japanese Akitas trying to impress boys. They need to educate themselves.

Introduce muzzles in public.
And although I'm not sure it would ever happen, we need to faze out dogs as pets, or at least ban more breeds.

You can't mandate insurance. Our 10 year old dog has always been insured. He has liver cancer. After the insurance paying nearly £10k for chemo last year they have refused to insure him this year. No other insurance co will take on a senior dog with cancer (or at least not without charging me £1k per month and then probably not covering any more chemo).

What about dogs that are un-insurable? Our dog has cancer. After paying £10k in chemo fees last year the insurance refused to re-insure her. No other insurance co will take on a senior dog with cancer. Should she be removed from a loving home just because she's sick? Put down even though she currently has a very good quality of life (although we know this won't last)?

It wouldn't be health insurance, though. It would be for third parties who your dog injured or killed. I don't know that insurance companies would be keen for the business.

"I do think owners should have to have a license and within this should have to prove a dog is chipped, vaccinated and insured"

Right. And who is going to check all these dogs or even locate them?

Scumbag walking dogs on the beach.

Hello sir, may we see your licence?

Not my dogs mate but touch em and I'll kick your fucking brain in.

Exactly it's not health insurance it's public liability insurance ......because dangerous predators are a public liability!!

A lot of insurance does cover third party liability, i know our own Petplan policy does, something like 2 million of PL cover.

I think the "some people would ignore the rules" principle isn't a reason to not have rules. We have laws against murder, theft, drink driving, drug dealing. Some people still break these laws but we don't throw up our hands as a society and refuse to have laws just because some people won't follow them.

The key is enforcement. I like the idea of a license fee helping to fund enforcement through dog wardens, though PP bring up good points about current underfunding of police, and I don't know if a dog license scheme would touch the sides on that. Has there been any number-crunching carried out on this? Anything to analyse what could be funded from licensing?

No need to approach the person just take a photo and upload it to the authorities, preferably several photos / some footage so you can get a good look and the person can be identified
Be a good citizen and do your bit to combat problem dogs!

Thanks for the link, however I'm wondering if a can of air freshener would do just as well and not cost 26 quid?

DOG LICENSES. Including special conditions if you want to breed puppies. Far too many unwanted dogs and not enough oversight. Could have spot checks like they do with the tv license fee.

Not sure what happened in this case but my dh and I were walking our small dog (cocker spaniel) a couple of weeks ago. It was quite early so pretty quiet. Our dog is really good off the lead, has a placid temperament and ignores other people and dogs, just likes diving into hedges. We met a man with a couple of large dogs, one husky type. He had them on leads but was struggling to hold them as they were strong. We put our dog on the lead and walked past while he stood still trying to cling onto his leads with the dogs straining towards our dog. Eventually he had to let go as they were too strong and they both launched at our small dog, pinning her down. She yelped, but luckily is a fast runner and dived in a hedge. Thankfully she was ok but it was pretty scary. I think people take on dogs that are too powerful for them, especially when they get older. And walking more than one dog at a time is pretty hard work, especially if they’re big. It’s difficult to have full control of both.

I thought the same! Absolutely terrible choice of words!!!!

"No need to approach the person just take a photo and upload it to the authorities, preferably several photos / some footage so you can get a good look and the person can be identified"

Which authorities? I can tell that you've no idea of the types we're talking about here. Take a photo of them and they'll give you a smack for your trouble then smash your phone to bits 😂

Licences and insurances and making it the "norm" to act responsibly doesn't work. They don't give a shit.

When i do escape unscathed what am I actually reporting? That I saw a scumbag with a dog and she might not have a licence. I don't know her name, where she lives but here's a photograph of her 🤔

"What an insensitive headline describing the dogs as 'pooches'"

That's because anyone can set up an online "news" channel now and it's just some random bloke who has designated himself as local "reporter"

This is interesting but just seems that the only solution is to severely restrict dog ownership, have it a highly vetted process which would be expensive and lengthy before you were matched with a suitable dog and granted a licence. You’d also have to attend and pay for mandatory dog training with registered professionals. Unlicensed dogs would be removed and destroyed and a heft fine issued. You say who would police it but dogs would definitely be reported by neighbours and the public.

The law says you can apply for a licence to walk up to 8 dogs if you are a dog walker in some areas. I think it should be no more than 2 dogs.

I was horrified to hear about this following on from two or three days ago when two American cross bullies (apparently) with clipped ears attacked a cavapoo on a lead in a street in kemp town Brighton. The dogs' owner came out from their house but couldn't get them off the cavapoo so went back in! The cavapoo had extensive surgery, expecting more and may not survive. The cavapoos owner got seven stitches in her arm . The police response..to tell the attacking dogs' owner to secure the garden gate and muzzle the dogs when out!!