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.

From what I understand a dog walker was attacked by another single dog. I’m guessing it wasn’t a cockapoo or a Labrador….

There's some repetition of breeds there!

Yep!!

One of which I am not shocked at but some people will be,
Rottweilers - I was attacked as a child by one, I was simply walking to school and it escaped its owners yard.

The recent ones tend to be the 'XL bully's' too, which I don't think are even recognised as an actual breed by Kennel club, they're not pedigree (I know so many people who have bought them and say it's a pedigree, no it's not pedigree you have an oversized angry frog on steroids).

And before anybody says 'I have a pedigree XL bully' etc, there have been people setting up businesses, with kennel clubs in their name and charging to simply register an XL bully litter and give certificates, no family history or genetic testing known..

I'm terrified of Rottweilers, they always seemed to be the ones attacking and killing in the 90s.

@yorkshirepudsx sadly that list isn't complete and it says so. It's a list of inquests which got reported in the press. Not all inquests are reported and pre 2000 it's hard to track down local press reports as they won't be online. It means there were more dog related fatalities in that period than listed. It's also the case where a dog attacks someone and that causes e.g. cardiac arrest until 2010 there was no standard for reporting the dog attack on the death certificate so the number of fatalities caused by dogs is also underrevorded if we go back and look at death certificates. This makes recording trends in fatalities really hard. It may be going up or we may be getting better at recording it. We have good reason to think dog bites are increasing but because fatalities are rarer there is more noise in the data series.

I adore dogs, of all sizes but I wouldn't have a Rottweiler. The one that attacked me was brutal and i was the first of many attacks, the police didn't do anything. Very upsetting

Oh I wish we did have a list that showed everything though!!

And I also wonder how many people that are 'dodgy' with breeding etc, have been in fact attacked by their own dogs and never reported it, etc xx

Absolutely awful.

In all honesty I have no idea what the answer is.

It is out of control.

This is so sad and there does seem to be an increase in attacks recently.

Terrifying if it attacked a stranger as well. A large dog off the lead ran the length of the park the other day and jumped all over DD and I (owner nowhere to be seen and then when they did appear gave the old "he's only friendly" line. DD is scared of dogs anyway and if that dog had decided to attack us what could I have done about it realistically.

I was really surprised to see a local kennel advertising a young Dogo Argentino for rehoming last week, which is a banned breed.
They did say it could only go to someone with a licence, but surely banned should mean banned?

I don’t think harsher prison sentences would work. I just don’t see them deterring people who already don’t care enough to be responsible owners.

Inwouod like reports of mistreated and/or unruly dogs to be taken more seriously and acted Upon before harm is caused.

a dog near us killed one dog off the lead and injured another. He kept escaping because his garden wasn’t adequately fenced and owners did nothing to sort the situation. Nothing was done about it. At all.

My dogs insurance is £50 pm because I have the public liability and legal fees added on. Not a lot of people could afford that. That's with no claims!

I have never come across any dog insurance that didn't include third party cover, so that's nothing unusual.

For those who don't think they can afford third party insurance, annual membership of the Dog's Trust will give you £1,000,000 public liability insurance for the princely sum of £25. (Not sure if there is any restriction on the more dubious breeds.)

This makes me so sad,
I've seen a lot of rescues trying to rehome banned breeds and they say the same, must have license etc. but again, there's bad people who hold licenses and it still means another banned dog on the streets etc,
The amount of rescues that turn away friendly dogs too, that simple need rehoming due to their owner dying etc, it all just makes me sad

I know two lovely rottweilers and a doberman but I'd be lying if i said i wasn't wary of them

And a lot of the people who are guilty of things around animals, are usually guilty of a lot more things, things that do carry big prisons sentences, but it doesn't deter them from continuing with those things. Just bad people. Very sad

kevin has nailed it. "There are shithole towns and areas like this all over the county filled with scumbags who are only on nodding terms with the law anyway - the talk of dog licences makes me laugh, like they would get one or give a shit."
I live in a shithole and no one in authority cares about this area.

ban big breeds!

I don’t understand the reason why people have big dogs. They look like idiots walking them and they intimidate everyone around them. Big working dogs are fine for police and farmers (for example) but the average person does not need a big sillly dog.

Big dogs are very bad for the environment.

Big dogs injure and kill, we are seeing it more and more sadly.

I’m writing to my local mp about this. We at least need all dogs muzzled in public and no more than two dogs walked at a time.

That's my point though @Kevinyoutwat

As a society we've normalised almost every household owning a dog WITHOUT those households doing their breed research and making absolutely sure they are choosing the right dog for their circumstances.

We've made unsocial dog behaviour socially acceptable. It is NOT ok for dogs to be running amok in public spaces with zero to little recall, harassing families and other dogs, jumping at people for attention "because he's friendly dontchya know!"

All of these things along with little to no regulation or enforcement has made it easier for the people you are referring to to own the more dangerous dogs in plain sight.

You are right, they won't give a shit about complying but if the MAJORITY of people are complying and there is appropriate enforcement in place, it highlights those who don't comply.

Yes, there will be some who "go underground" and do it anyway (the same as there will always be those who drive cars without licenses or insurance) but there will also be some who become disincentivised.

It's about taking multiple measures to ensure life is a lot more pleasant and safer overall, not trying to eradicate something completely because let's face it, that's unrealistic.

Not just their sizing though, there are big dogs who have no history of attacks and have lovely temperaments, because that's how they're bred!
There are also smaller dogs that do have history of attacks and bad temperaments, because again, that's how they're bred!

Also fun fact - in most areas, breeders don't have to hold a license if the dogs they are breeding are becoming police dogs. the police don't focus much on breed/where the dogs come from, as they are all given intense training.

Very big nature VS nurture debate in all of this.

It’s a tricky one as compared to other deaths, death by dog attacks are very low, you just hear about it much more due to the media.

However, animal abuse especially dogs is something that needs to be dealt with. I agree with this PP

Regulating breeders and preventing the sale of dogs through Gumtree etc would help.

I know someone who swapped £20 worth of weed for a dog.
This person is an amazing owner and the dog is lovely but the person he got her off didn’t know that and didn’t care who his dog ended up with.
She had also had at least 4 previous owners and was just over a year old.

I think all dogs should be neutered by law by a certain age and you must apply for a breeding license.
These licenses should be proven before being allowed to be advertised on gumtree etc.

My ‘big dogs’ spend 22 hours a day upside down on the sofa, they are hounds and notoriously lazy 🤷🏻‍♀️

Claiming to have a pedigree XL Bully is akin to claiming you have a pedigree Lurcher.

My dog is a rescue and I had to go through so many hoops to get her. This included an online application, a video call where I showed them around my house and garden to prove I had enough space, and a letter from my landlord (council) saying I had their permission to keep a dog at the property. I then had to go meet her with DH to see what we thought. After that went well I had to take the DC to meet her for the rehoming centre to have a supervised play session and a dog walk. Once that was all approved we took her on a month long foster during which they regularly checked in which us to see how it was going. At the end of the foster we were allowed to adopt and at the adoption appointment we had to show that we had registered her with a vet, that we had changed her chip details to our details (and they scanned it to check), and that we understood they could undertake random checks on her welfare during the next five years (and could take her from us if they weren't satisfied she was being properly looked after).

If an underfunded rescue centre running on donations, goodwill, and more volunteers than paid staff can manage it then so can breeders and local authorities.

Licence, compulsory third party insurance, leads and muzzles in all public places, exceptions for working/assistance dogs.

Unfortunately too many dog owners do not take the level of responsibility required to care properly for a dog. I’m a dog owner, a bull breed and a guard breed. My dogs needs are fully met and they are great dogs. Unmet needs and/or ill treatment will almost certainly cause behavioural problems and any dog has the potential to bite.
I think too many dogs have been bought with too little forethought and research, there is definitely too little regulation of breeders .

ban big breeds!

I completely disagree.

It’s often the smaller breeds that are much more dangerous.

The larger breeds can sometimes do more damage but are less likely to be aggressive.

E.g a staffy is way smaller than a golden retriever but a golden retriever does not have the same bite force, although it can do damage if it’s aggressive.

I’ve never actually known an aggressive St.Bernard (that would be scary) but I don’t think these are an issue like some smaller dog breeds are.

I have seen almost every breed of dog be aggressive and it’s nothing to do with the breed or size, it’s usually the owner that is the issue, whether that’s because they spoil it or mistreat it or simply don’t socialise it properly.
Sometimes there is something wrong with the dog or it lashes out in pain but it’s usually an owner issue.