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.

Well yes, every dog has the potential to bite but not every dog has the potential to maul an adult to death.

Its not standard, I know this because I have to tick the box that says id like it to be included. A quick Google confirms this too.

£25 is a great starting price, excess of £200 not bad either. Althoug it would be a lot to someone suddenly finding themselves out of work.

@Iam4eels exactly, I love that you rescued also by the way!!

But that was another point of what I said, the only thing that seems regulated openly is by the kennel club (which let's face it, all kennel clubs are in it for money) - the way a dog is bred and why it was bred has a part to play, so occasionally the kennel club can be useful in the sense that with some dogs, you can go bad decades of generations and see exactly where each dog came from, etc.

However, I strongly think that the upbringing of a dog and how an owner handles them is something that needs to be focused on. It's such a tricky thing to navigate - good owners of 'bad breeds' do exist, but it's sad to see things going the way they are

Actual consequences for dangerous dog behaviour would be a start.

I agree theres no way to enforce dog licences. It will only be the responsible people that do it.
There are already dogs off lead in banned places, dogs without tags or dogs with tags without the right information, and dogs that aren't microchipped. All that's illegal but common

I agree that lots of dogs theres no record of. Think your bloke in the pub selling puppies, your average doodle breeder, it's all backyard breeding that are sold on via unofficial routes to friends of a friend.

The only place you could regulate it is vets but a huge chunk of dogs never see the vet. it's hard enough to convince some people to take them to vets because of the cost, let alone if there was a risk that they would be fined or have the dog removed etc. Watch anyform of dog rescue programme, its full of dogs with medical needs being treated with home remedies to avoid vet bills. If a dog needs medical care, you don't want to make people avoid vets as that will increase suffering

Honesty, we aren’t speaking about a tiny minority of people here. And they wouldn’t care about anything. It’s not just dogs, it’s every aspect of life. Like a PP said, taking drugs in the high street on an afternoon would horrify a lot of people - in a lot of places, it’s normal. You wouldn’t put them off doing anything.

And these people KNOW their dogs aren’t friendly. They aren’t the sort of people who would say “oh, don’t worry, they are friendly!” if they jumped up at you.

They wouldn’t notice or care, or they would think it was hilarious and if you said anything, you’d be verbally abused and/or followed and intimated for a laugh. I’ve been there and it’s why I can’t take my toddler out to parks.

With respect, I don’t think you have had much contact with the sort of people I am talking about, and thank god for that. I wish I didn’t.

Def more regulations around breeding and selling of animals is needed.

I'd bring back dog wardens. There's a dog in our local area that has attacked numerous dogs. The owner switches parks regularly following an attack. The police are in the parks asking if anyone has seen the dog, naturally the owner refuses to give her details. There's very little chance of sorting this as the owner isn't bothered. Maybe dog wardens wouldn't solve a case like this, but if people got fined for having uncontrolled dogs off lead, their microchips and insurance checked (like cars), things would be better. Also any dog that bites, should go on the breeders record.

Pp have said big dogs should be banned does that include labradors, old English sheepdogs, afghan hounds, just pulling names off the top of my head other breeds exist. How are you judging big breeds, what criteria are you using for declaring them big dogs. I do think xl bully should be added to the banned list for starters.

Dog owners are out of control in this country. Only the other day I had a dog walking woman bitching about cyclists to me, all while walking seven small chihuahuas that she had spread across the "shared" path. Just oblivious to criticism, they are blinkered and deluded. They place dogs above human safety and hygiene.

It isn't me that's ridiculous. Every day on MN and also in FB forums are reports of random attacks by dogs on strangers.

Wakes up. Is it OK if people don't die just get bitten? Muzzle them and no one gets bitten outside the home.

You are the ridiculous one.

Report them to the local council. All areas have a different limit on the amount of dogs a walker is allowed to walk at one time. Around here it’s 5.

They leave dog poo anywhere and everywhere, they festoon the countryside with their discarded plastic bags of faeces that will take thousands of years to be destroyed, they don't control their dogs and allow them to jump up at people, they let them bark all day at home alone and attack people, even kill.

Yes ban all big breeds and working dogs for the general public. They are so bad for the environment.

I was attacked by a Labrador as a child. Was a nice dog but it snapped - as they do!

I'd go further than PPs saying dogs should always be on a lead and muzzled (absolutely yes to this). I'd like to see dogs phased out as pets and just kept for assistance or working roles. Controversial opinion - dogs make bad pets compared to the variety of much better companion animals available. The fewer of them around around the better.

But remember everyone: cyclists are the real problem!

Dog shit everywhere too.

I see a certain type of person with XL bullies and the like. And they seem to be exactly the type who don't properly socialise them or train them and often seem to have little control over them, even on lead.

The problem dogs at any point in time are always the breed that is currently popular with those type of people. Once upon a time it was rotties and dobermans, then staffies, pitbulls, and now XL bullies.

My bigger dog is enormous, over 85Kg. If he even tried to go for a person then the police wouldn't need to take any action, I'd have him PTS myself. You have to wonder how many of these dogs that have attacked have previously shown aggression towards people and the situation could have been resolved before a serious attack happened.

@FourTeaFallOut yes I completely agree and recognise that my dogs have the bite strength to kill an adult. I am a responsible owner and am as confident as possible that they wouldn’t.
Other popular breeds, think cockerpoo, are unlikely to kill but unfortunately many are poorly trained and nervy. They can present a danger albeit a smaller one.
As for xxl bullies, I think unregulated cross breeding has created a ticking time bomb. Soon the rescue centres will be overcrowded with them and who will rehome them?
I don’t know the answer but the problem lays squarely at humans - poor breeding and poor ownership.
All breeders, even of one litter, should be regulated and proper consequences for back yard breeders and puppy mills. I can’t see it happening though.

I see a lot of small poo's about too though

Not just this country, it's rife in America and Canada etc too.

There's a group on Facebook 'Oh look another clueless dog owner' and it highlights how stupid people can be

Two things struck me about the incident (I read the Guardian article on this incident):

A member of the public died, in public. Not the dog owner and not in the owners home. This is significant. Another member of the public is in hospital.

Seven dogs were rounded up by police. Seven. This wasn’t one rogue dog.

Bear in mind that the articles we see in the press are the tip of the iceberg. Over 8000 hospital admissions annually. And that’s just the people who go to hospital - lots more than that are actually bitten.

There is an odd indulgence for dogs in the UK - let your kids outside to scream at 6am and you’re a pariah but complain about dogs barking outside at 6am and you’re an evil animal hater.
Even the Queen indulged her snappy Corgis….

As others have said, too little regulation and next to no enforcement.

No requirement to train dogs (in some European countries dog training classes are mandatory and enforced but not the UK).

Little accountability within the police force - they’re supposed to have specialist dog units but many don’t and will look blank if you ask.

Of course people are going to be injured or worse. But who dares lobby for reform when so few voters will support it.

Dog licences were scrapped because they were so cheap they were a nonsense and they were hard to police. Of course it wouldn’t solve everything but it would go a long way to making dog owners more responsible about all aspects of owning a dog.

It’s not just openly awful dog owners who are the problem it’s also just clueless dog owners - and there are so fucking many of those now. Think that dogs turn up fully trained, or that others find it cute when their dogs throw themselves at us 🙄. The “he’s only being friendly” brigade. Dogs are really expensive so if you can’t afford a dog license you can’t afford a dog.

Oh yeah I’d personally get rid of all dogs. Smelly things! but I do have friends with little dogs and they love them to bits and I see why they have them as companions.

I think it’s best to concentrate on the main problem. Big dogs are really bad for the environment and totally unnecessary for the general public . We simply should not have them in this day and age when we are trying to tackle climate change.

Small dogs bite yes, but I’m not sure I’ve heard of a small dog killing….

"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."

Highlights it to who exactly? And how are you going to get a majority of scumbags to comply? They simply won't even listen to you and if they did they'd think you were a twat and instantly forget what you said

I’ve just written to my MP. This needs to stop. That poor woman.