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 always said that stranger danger is nothing compared to dangerous dogs..

We are getting an increasing amount of massive, aggressive/unpredictable dogs at work. It is only a matter of time before one of us is seriously hurt. The majority of owners who have these laugh at us when we tell them. “I’m the only one who can handle him like” Good for you.

We tell those with aggressive dogs not to breed but they do it anyway. Same with dogs with skin or joint problems. These dogs are miserable because their owners can’t afford proper treatment. Still breed them, more generations of unhappy dogs.

The muzzles we have in practice are neither use nor ornament. Their faces are so broad they must need made to measure or specialist companies to make them.

I am a dog lover, but there has to be stricter breeding control, stronger punishments and
licensing. And if I’m honest, I would like xl bully types banned. Most (not all) are owned by irresponsible owners.

I do believe all dogs (no matter the size or breed) should be kept on a lead in all public spaces. Not only for the safety of the public, but for the safety of the dog too.

There are MANY places specifically for having off lead dogs, if you look for them. I don't mean parks with easy entry/exit points either, there are fields that are fully enclosed with large fences that the owners charge fees to use, purposely for dogs to have off lead time. You can book onto slots where other dogs will be there or you can book private slots - I know this because I have been to many different ones with my dog, in order to do recall training with her in an open space and to also get her used to other dogs.

We also have a large garden for our dog to play in, and our garden is split into 2 with a fence, so that when the little one is outside playing, his area & toys are clean and left alone by the dog - and her area is for her to play. If we had a small garden, we wouldn't have a large dog.

There have been times where myself and the little one have had large breed or small breed dogs jumping up at us, getting too excited and behaving like idiots. This is simply down to the way in which the owner has trained them. Dogs jumping up/barking none stop/running around like lunatics, whatever the size is annoying and can be scary; but it can be prevented by having responsible owners.

My point is - banning all large breed dogs really would not solve the issue, there are plenty of small breed dogs with behavioural problems caused by their living environment/owners.

If we only had small breeds, you'd still get the big divide between those that behave and those that don't.
Not all big breeds are bad - just how not all small breeds are yappy little nipping brats, which again, wouldn't happen if their owners trained them correctly.

@Megifer she's a dogue de bordeaux! But I adore staffys! (One of my close friends has a staffy, and when we have a child free day, she brings her staffy to my house and they both have a big play in the garden, it's lovely! The pair of them are absolute diamonds🥰)

Some dogs do turn, no matter how well they are trained is not always the owners although the majority of the time it is. I know of at least three dogs who were brought up very well. Very well trained and lovely pets who turned on their owners My aunt been one of them
completely out of the blue. Dogs have emotions just like humans -they get angry and annoyed just like humans do
I don’t trust any dog left alone with a child. I don’t even let children play with my cat unsupervised because he gets overexcited and can bite and scratch during play.
if it is the owners fault, then they should be punished, more severely such as manslaughter.
I do think though there are far too many dogs excreting on the streets
I can’t walk for stepping in shit where I live and there is a massive park nearby. owners let their dogs shit all over the pavements
I had to throw away my daughters brand-new boots because the shit went up the fabric and I just couldn’t bear to put them in the washing machine everywhere you go you say puddles of urine at the bottom of posts, lampposts and Street furniture. I love all animals. Dogs included. However, as you say owners are the real culprits here and most don’t pick up after their dogs

There needs to be more policing of dog ownership.
I understand this is a very expensive option for the government but, annual fees to have mandatory licences that link to your dogs microchip. With conditions attached to being granted and keeping these licences such as puppy/training/socialisation class attendence and up to date annual vet checks. These would all be at the cost of the owner and linked to the license via a national computer system. Like points on a drivers licence.

Expensive i know. For both government and dog owners but if as an owner you can't commit to or afford these things you shouldn't have a dog any way.

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

It's quite sweet that people think this would be in any way a deterrent for some sectors of society

I read this last night. What a tragedy. I don't like dogs at all. And avoid them. I really don't know what the answer is to those problem dogs. Baa all dogs from all public places.

Oh and also licences revoked and animal removed if not insured.

I just know I can't give the time or money that's needed into training and care and I think a lot of people are in the same situation but choose to ignore it.

You're exactly right, but unfortunately there seems to be an increasing attitude that it's one's divine right to own a dog. It's cruel to the dogs, and it's unfair to everyone these people inflict their dogs on.

Best way to deal with this is to put the children on leashes they won't escape to the Jaws of the ferocious beasts
😃

See yours are well trained dogs. That’s fantastic obedience training. But we all know, that takes dedication and work everyday.

I had golden retrievers years ago. I trained everyday, without fail. People don’t realise the hard work and dedication it takes for a dog to trust you implicitly and obey your commands immediately.

It’s rare that people bother with training, or they think it’s just for puppies. I’ve also been told I was cruel to train everyday - my dogs loved it, all the attention, praise and as a working breed it was in them to enjoy it.

I would love another retriever. But not where I live now. And actually, it’s expensive to raise a dog properly, we couldn’t do that at the moment.

I get wound up by owners that don't clean up after their dogs (if they had children would they leave them wearing a shitty nappy? Or allow them to shut everywhere and just not clean it??)

I've had to hose down my pram wheels far too many times because of it!

I'd never not pick up my dogs poo. It's just lazy not to.

That's my dream dog but I struggle enough with the sounds of snoring and fart smell from my little piggy staff, I imagine with yours its x 100!!!

Mine loves other dogs apart from nervy little snappy ones as one bit her on the leg so she refuses to walk near those types now. She does steal balls from other dogs though 🙄

What can you carry that would stall an attack? Strobe torch? Something you could spray ?

@Kevinyoutwat "I’ve also been told I was cruel to train everyday"

Shockingly I've had a similar comment!!

But dogs love to learn, some call it 'canine enrichment' but it's good for them!! Good on you for putting the time and effort in, not enough people do :(

Or perhaps there should be “dog friendly” spaces for all the aggressive or reactive (poorly
trained, badly socialised and gobby nightmare) dogs?

The majority of these cases happen when people buy aggressive dogs and seem oblivious to the fact that such dogs can - and do - kill.

They then allow other family members to be around the dog in the house, including visiting children, and someone gets mauled to death.

They are either very stupid or enjoy living a game of Russian roulette.

I think the owners of these dogs should be locked up for manslaughter.

You can see that from the batshit crazy threads about dogs on this site.

@Megifer the snoring is unreal! But my partner snores worse than she does 🙈 I don't think I'd be able to sleep if I didn't have the sound of snoring throughout the house 🤣

She's a brilliant girl, she's had some nasty encounters with some nasty dogs but she just backs away and doesn't even retaliate, there's been times smaller dogs have had a nibble on her legs and she just sort of leans on them and uses her weight to get them off and then walks away 🙈

Just carry a full cooked chicken and launch it as far as you can

@Flaunch Or perhaps there should be “dog friendly” spaces for all the aggressive or reactive (poorly
trained, badly socialised and gobby nightmare) dogs?

that’s called a dog fighting ring 😂

There are quite a few influencers who are guilty of normalising dogs being playmates for children.

One in particular with millions of followers who. films her babies and dogs sleeping draped over each other.

There are people stupid enough to copy that.

I had golden retrievers when my now adult child was a toddlers. They were very well trained and gentle. But they were never, ever left alone in the same room and my child was taught very clear boundaries. they wouldn’t have been allowed to sleep curled up with them, or go anywhere near the dogs sleeping space, no matter how “cute” it would have looked.

Christ, I don’t even leave my now two year old alone in a room with the cat!

@SnarkyBag this concerns me. I am a runner and often use woodland paths and other low traffic routes.

Absolutely sick of having to stop to avoid a dog chasing for ‘fun’ whilst hapless owner tries to get them under control. I am well aware that these places may be frequented by dog owners who have animals they don’t trust in busy parks. This has confirmed it for me.

We need a complete culture change around dogs. People humanise them too much and I think this is dangerous.

My DD doesn't like dogs. At Xmas we visited the PILs who were dog sitting BILs dogs. They were jumping up at DD and she was scared. No effort was made to put the dogs away and the 'they are just saying hello' type rhetoric came out. The dogs later tried to take food from people's plates. Bad dog behaviour is accepted and sometimes even celebrated.

We need a complete change from the social acceptance of dogs approaching people. It doesn't matter if your dog is friendly or 'wouldn't hurt a fly' it should not be happening. I think if people were more socially shamed for this it would help.

A few months ago I saw a man walking a large dog off lead in a residential area with a parade of shops. A man came out of a shop and the dog stood on it's hind legs and put its front paws on this man. The owner laughed it off and the man seemed okay but what if he was allergic or scared of dogs?

People on here always claim they never let there dogs approach people but it happens so often that I don't believe it.

I would like to see either mandatory leads or muzzles in public and a complete change on what is acceptable in public.