Another child killed by a dog

[NeverTrustAPoliceman]

Breaking news now. When is this going to stop?

Rip little one.

@kitsuneghost better ways to deal with mental health issues?? Like what then?

That poster is saying her dog is her family and it absolutely IS for her! The dog helps her

Like other assistance dogs.

I have a dog for a colleague actually and he does a good job

@Soothsayer1 someone up thread is saying her dog is her family and helps her poor mental health. That fog is priceless. Cos the NHS or any 'charity' can't help

Dogs aren’t treated like dogs anymore therefore any concerning behaviour is just brushed off. They’re anthropomorphised to the point where people refer to them as babies and will literally trust an animal with the life of a baby, toddler or older child. Baffling.

When my children were small we had small dogs. They all got along well and the animals were loved to bits.
However, the dogs were never left alone with the youngest child although she was respectful and knew how to treat them.
I was never prepared to take the chance of something happening.

Well, tell my old MH team that, and my GP.

Fuck off with your assumptions about what is best for me.

And I’m sure that poster, as a responsible owner, would understand if there were rules around ownership, even strict ones, for the safety of the public.

Most dog owners would understand and comply though, nobody is really arguing that here

Doc a few weeks back on illegal breeding of 'super' muscle dogs, all bulldogs with dangerous upbringing, removed from mother too young, encouraged to be aggressive. Disgusting. Get it stopped. Dogs are not ornaments or baby companions.

Yeah, I have said upthread that I worry about kids who freak out when seeing my dog. My dog is on a lead but the kids still get distressed. What am I to do?

Was it one of those nasty staffies or similar bully breed?

I have a small dog and have had this happen. As a responsible owner I remove my dog from the situation as a distressed child surely comes first.

People that say "its the owners fault, poor doggi was just badly trained" actually make me want to puke.

I am walking pass with my dog. She is on a lead, and even when she is not, she does not give a child a glance.
Kid still screams murder anyway.
What am I meant to do?

Honestly how many lives would this actually save?

Looking at the wiki article, almost all fatalities have happened on private property, and occasionally in public but attacking the person walking them.

The last fatalities that appear to have happened in a public place and not involving the person walking them appear to be

• Daniel John Twigg, May 2022, reading between the lines on some news articles it sounds like a neighbours dogs escaped
• Lucille Downer, April 2021, neighbours dogs escaped
• Sharon Jennings, June 2019 - her own dog slipped its lead, got into a scrap with another dog, she went to break it up, and both dogs bit her, she died of sepsis; it's unclear which dog started the fight. It's unclear if a leash law would have changed anything here.
• David Ellam, 2016, neighbours dogs escaped
• Irene Collins, 2014, killed by a police dog let loose to hunt a drug dealer and attacked a woman in her 70s
• Clifford Clarke, 2013, neighbours dogs escaped
• Leslie Trotman, 2012, neighbours dogs escaped
• Barbara Williams, 2010, neighbours dogs escaped

Requiring dogs to be leashed in public would have saved maybe one person's life over the last 12 years, and would act as a significant curb on the law-abiding majority's freedoms.

You'd be much better off having laws around the height and strength of dog owner's fences; that might have saved six lives.

I'm afraid that requiring leashes in public would be a kneejerk reaction, not an evidence-based way of saving lives.

Yup.

My friend's dog has gone for other dogs on several occasions, including mine, and friend constantly brushes it off. Her excuse for her dog attacking mine? Her dog was feeling jealous because she stroked my dog Previous excuses for her dog "falling out with her doggy friends" include a dog looking her dog funny so her dog took offence and a dog giving off a bad vibe so her dog went into protect mode.

She is firmly in the fur baby camp, puts in little to no training, and doesn't understand why I'm so "mean" to my dog (or why we won't go on dog walks with her any more).

For the record, I'm not mean but I do have rules/boundaries for my dog.

Perhaps it would be better to keep your dog on your own property if it is scaring kids that much.

Really?
Maybe the kids should learn that an elderly greyhound with less teeth than them, is not a threat.
Why do you think it is ok to teach kids that all dogs are dangerous?

Maybe a kid that is that scared of dogs that are minding their own business, should be kept at home.

Obviously if your dog is scaring a child, you make sure it’s in a short lead by your side, and you have complete control of it.

That’s what I do 🤷‍♀️

@kitsuneghost

Er, no. The dog is being walked....which is a requirement of a responsible ownership

Ridiculous comment!

Being a dog trainer is a skilled job, just like being a teacher is a skilled job.

Your suggestion would make about as much sense as sacking all the teachers in the country and making all the parents take their child's primary school class for a week each year.

There are very good reasons why I said properly qualified dog trainer. One of the big problems we have at the moment is that literally anyone can call themselves a dog trainer or behaviourist. A few years ago I had a neighbour proudly tell me he'd quit his job in a call centre the week before and was now a dog trainer and walker; I think he thought I was going to let him take my dog out. Fuck no.

And me!

Some people approaching look a bit scared/uncertain so I pull our dog to the side and play a game with him or tell him to do something ... people pass...some even say thank you

No drama

Much in the same way kids should be (used to be) taught all cars are dangerous, and road safety was important, they should be allowed to feel (taught that?) all dogs are potentially dangerous and should be avoided / treated with respect.

yours might be harmless, others may not be, they don’t know that

No point arguing with @XenoBitch . She has barely veiled contempt for children in so many threads. There is no way that multiple children have ‘screamed murder’ at your dog walking past.

My child, any child, is more important than some animal. Keep them on a lead, away from me.

Can you promise me your kid wont come up and hurt my dog too?