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.

I've never seen them kill other swans, but I've seen them drown ducklings, which I thought was very unkind . . .

This news report has witnesses who saw the lady a couple of days earlier walking the dogs, she asked them if they could help her find an 8 week old puppy she was looking after, they said the other 7 dogs had been placed in the van so she could look for it.

www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/dog-attack-victim-struggling-to-control-animals-days-before-being-mauled-to-death/ar-AA16rPAc

I’m starting to wonder if there’s any where safe to walk anymore - dd and I walking on residential streets yesterday and a big, husky type dog lunged at us, growling and barking aggressively. Clueless owner of course said nothing.

Not a park. Not woodland or fields. Just a street and even that’s not safe from eejit dog owners.

Maybe I should randomly lunge and snarl in the dog owners faces and see if they get the message?

I had an incident yesterday, large dog barking aggressively at me, owner said
'he doesnt like what you're wearing'
I'll be carrying a stout stick from now on

then again shelters are overflowing so hopefully much of the surplus will be destroyed and people will stop buying the rancid things!

You don’t have to be a “dog hater” to be concerned about out of control dog behaviour. In fact, I think most dog lovers should be worried about how many unhappy, untrained, and unsocialised dogs there are about.

not all dogs are like your “girls” 🙄 Millions are not.

Was the husky do on a lead? What else would you want the owner to do?

Such an extreme and unpleasant view.

yet warranted and shared by many

Well, you’re a peach! Sorry, I meant arsehole.

Surely that’s because the pond was home to the swans? Why on earth would you let your dog go into the pond?

Dog in the sea, or a river, or even a large lake is mostly ok. But why let your dog go into a pond?

That’s awful. I really need to walk more for my mental & physical health but things like this puts me off. I find myself scanning ahead a lot of the time to watch out for dogs on narrow paths, not to mention checking I’m not walking through dog poo. It doesn’t make for the most relaxing walk!

And a dog pulling at its owners leads and growling is still unpleasant when it’s a powerful dog like a husky because you know if it really wanted to it could probably break free. I came out my lift in a former flat building and some kind of pitbull/terrier type dog lunged at me. It was on a short lead but It was close enough to me and pulled the owner enough that it would have got me if I didn’t side step it. The woman holding it didn’t look that strong at all.

Train it not to lunge and snap at people?

There’s a bully XL that brings to a woman in the flats up the road from us. She can’t control it, it drags her down the road lunging and barking at bikes, other dogs, anything else that upsets it. We watched it dragging her up the pavement, barking and snarling, and dragging her off the pavement into the main road trying to get at a dog on the other side of the road. We stayed back where the pavement was wider, so she could pass without getting to close to us, and DS hid behind me.

The owner was calling out “don’t worry baby, he is just being friendly, he won’t hurt you!” After we had watched this dog barking and dragging her. Some owners are just completely deluded. The dog was walking her, she had no control over it whatsoever.

Furries · Today 03:17

Surely that’s because the pond was home to the swans? Why on earth would you let your dog go into the pond?

It was vast and the swans were about 100 m away, on the other side. I didn't know that they would make a beeline for her and now, if there are swans anywhere, I don't let her in.

"Was the husky do on a lead? What else would you want the owner to do?"

Er I'd like the dog owner to bother to train it if that's not too much trouble. So dd and I don't have to jump into the road if that's not asking too much.

Dp grew up with dogs and really likes them. So does dd. I quite like cute well trained ones. We spend time with family who have lovely dogs.

We know the difference between responsible owners that have bothered to care for and train their dogs properly and lazy, feckless, selfish, irresponsible dog owners who find it easier to blame 'dog haters' than get off their lazy arses and train their dogs.

It's not the dogs we hate. We feel sorry for the dogs.

I find myself scanning ahead a lot of the time to watch out for dogs on narrow path

Me too, I constantly amend my walking and running routes. The canal towpath is the most difficult place as it's so narrow. Sometimes I do just turn round and go back.

As for the husky, it's good that it was on a lead but if it lunges at innocent passers by, it's obviously not trained properly. A lot of dogs seem to be really reactive.

If a dog can't be controlled even on leash then it should be muzzled.

I love dogs. I am one of these people who think that too many dogs isn't enough - but I would never keep a dog which was a threat to anyone, or even to other dogs. It's not fair on other people or their pets.

Personally I wouldn't have a dog that I couldn't physically restrain if necessary, but if a dog is trained properly it should almost never be necessary. (I say almost, because even the best trained dog might respond badly if another dog attacks it, or something startles it.)

Because the dog gets such enjoyment from terrorising swans and the dog's enjoyment must always be the highest priority!
Remember you see the reality, a large powerful predatory animal with the potential to kill and maim, but the person with 'dog brain' sees a 'fur baby' surrounded by a pink fuzzy haze, if I try to represent it in emoji form it looks something like this:
💝💖💘
💕🐕💞
💘💖💝

A lot of dogs seem to be really reactive.

I agree @lieselotte - I've had dogs all of my life - never less than three, and at one time had eight in the house (my 6 terriers and DDs great dane and staffie), but it is only the last 2 or 3 years that I have noticed the degree of aggression and reactivity that we are seeing now.

I think lockdown has had a lot to do with it - people have bought dogs because they were at home all day, and neither trained nor socialised them. In addition, once those people went back to work, the dogs have largely been left to be bored and lonely, after being used to a house full of people.

The other contributing factor is people buying dogs because they like the look of them, or because they want something "unusual", without taking into account the temperament and needs of the breed. This means that very active dogs are often condemned to a sedentary life - which frustrates them and makes them over-excitable, or people buy dogs they physically can't handle (and I swear I've met several people who are actually frightened of their own dog). Frequently these dogs are, at best, half trained. There are many working breeds which just aren't suitable as pets - they are too independent-minded. require far too much exercise and mental stimulation, and are often "one-man" dogs and will only really take notice of one person in the family.

It isn't the dogs' fault - but that doesn't stop the dogs being a problem.

Soothsayer1 · Today 11:19

Because the dog gets such enjoyment from terrorising swans and the dog's enjoyment must always be the highest priority!

She wasn't terrorising the swans. They were 100 yards away, on the other side. They came to have a go at her.

Don't be ridiculous!

Some idiots might like to see their dogs chasing wildlife - most of us don't.

I often let my dogs go into water if there are no waterfowl about, but wouldn't let them anywhere near ducks, swans, coots etc. Nor would I let them off lead where there might be ground-nesting birds.

And we don't call regard them as "fur babies" either - most of us know they are dogs and that it doesn't do them any favours to be treated as children. Keep your silly prejudices to yourself.

Dogs should not be off the leash where there are people or wildlife
Even if the dog doesn't 'catch' something. The animals (and some people) will be petrified.

Why do you think they came over to “have a go at her”? Because swans are great big meanies, or because they felt threatened by your dog in the water near their chicks?

If a swan is driving your dog out of the water, your dog was too close to the swan.

Why do you think they came over to “have a go at her”? Because swans are great big meanies, or because they felt threatened by your dog in the water near their chicks?

Cygnets, not chicks. As I said, they were 100 yards away, on the other side, so I didn't think it was a problem. Obviously, I understand why the came over to have a go, which is why I got her out and kept her out.