Another child killed by a dog

[NeverTrustAPoliceman]

Breaking news now. When is this going to stop?

Rip little one.

This.

Banning particular dangerous breeds is ridiculous, we need legislation that put the responsibility on the owner as even a cute sausage dog can kill a child if it has not been brought up well.

Jail for people who rehome dangerous dogs to unskilled families when they cannot longer control them.

And get people to stop excusing their dogs with so much psychoanalysis , if the dog has traumas that make it dangerous rehabilitate or put to sleep.

Dont take your dog out for a walk near children and families then? I'd bet you like a little walk around the local park near a play area...

Or just.... ban dogs from public spaces given they are dangerous for children. Ban people from keeping them jn homes with children too. What is the point of it? Why would we let dangerous animals - which most posters on the thread have admitted are not safe with children - be anywhere near a child?

Would we let a child roam free around the enclosures at a zoo? No.

These animals are never safe. There will always be idiots that don't train them properly or let them off leads in public spaces etc. They are not appropriate pets and they should all be banned. People wanting to have a dog as a pet is not worth one child's life.

They are ANIMALS

@HufflepuffRavenclaw And what are you? An ethereal being…

Sure if you have no children, will have jo children visiting your property and have enough space to exercise the animal on your own property without taking it into public spaces then fine, have one if you want. But they should be banned from being in public spaces. It's completely unacceptable for other people to be exposed to completely unnecessary risks - especially children - just because someone might want a certain type of animal ass a pet.

Ass a pet - very apt slip there!

Are you speaking about dogs? Or humans? Cos it could be either

That will never happen

Dogs are used as assistance dogs. Used to detect crime. Used to deter crime

They are useful to us. They are also therapeutic in some settings.

Seriously, stop with the hyperbole. The posters above you, who mentioned understanding signals that dogs give, are essentially correct.

Will those tips do anything about lawless, feckless dicks that own dogs? No, they won’t.

But the general public would do well to at least spend at least a few minutes just understanding the basics.

I am still amazed at the amount of people that just think a wagging tail means a happy dog. And everyone should be aware of whale eye.

And a growl does not mean you’re about to be torn to death. I would much rather encounter a dog that growls than one that doesn’t. It’s an early warning that the dog isn’t comfortable with its current situation.

Obviously we don't know yet if the dog that killed this poor little girl was owned by the family or escaped from its own garden into hers but what enrages me about cases where children are killed by their own family's dog is that it is seen as a tragic accident, it was a beloved family pet and they have suffered enough through losing their child.

Well no actually if you keep an animal in your home that is capable of killing your child and does so, you should be bloody well done for manslaughter at the very least. The family of that child suffering for losing their child, gives no justice to the poor child that died in the worse possible way, in terror and agony, and has lost their life.

Totally preventable. People who have animals capable of killling children when they have children in their in their homes (which means any bull breed or large dog from Labrador size upwards) are negligent in the extreme IMO.

The owners of the dog that killed Jack Lis were jailed for only a few years each. Disgusting sentence.

Dogs are used as assistance dogs. Used to detect crime. Used to deter crime

They are useful to us. They are also therapeutic in some settings.

Fine, let very thoroughly trained ones, with thoroughly trained handlers, be kept in those circumstances and very struct licences. And nobody else can have them just for fun anymore, at the expense of a poor four year old child mauled to death on a weekly basis.

Well no actually if you keep an animal in your home that is capable of killing your child and does so, you should be bloody well done for manslaughter at the very least. The family of that child suffering for losing their child, gives no justice to the poor child that died in the worse possible way, in terror and agony, and has lost their

Exactly.

Every child should be taught to ask the owner before stroking a dog, just as they are taught to look before crossing the road.

@LastOfTheChristmasWine Exactly this! We have a Labrador and she has absolutely no problem with people coming to stroke her, but it’s always nice when a child asks rather than just doing it.
I can’t say the same for adults and some will deliberately try to wind her up, there are some dickheads in our area that try to make cat noises/bark or will try and get her to jump up on them when we have trained her not to do that! These are the same type of people who have badly trained dogs off the leash.

We also have a 4 year old son who loves dogs and wants to approach every one he sees to stroke them. We have taught him to always ask the lady/man first which he now does all the time and people seem to appreciate it.

Odd

Seriously, stop with the hyperbole. The posters above you, who mentioned understanding signals that dogs give, are essentially correct.

Why should anybody have to learn the signals of a dangerous animal and how it might react? The fact that you think people should need to do this means it is not under control and means it should not be in human spaces.

If you wish to keep a dangerous animal on your property then do so, and make sure you have it properly fenced in so it can't escape and that you warn anybody visiting the property beforehand. But there's no excuse for ever taking it into a public space, even on a lead. Why should anybody else have to deal with that?

Sadly, too many owners of small breeds don’t seem to have a problem with their dogs barging up to people/other dogs and jumping all over them. Just because it’s small, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taught manners.

I hope your dog was ok after the interaction with the Labrador.

@Sep200024 Nope, just true.

FGS, don’t be so obtuse. No one on here is expecting toddlers to read the signals. That’s for the bloody adults to keep an eye on.

Parents need to understand the needs of dogs fully before bringing them into a family home. SO many times on here I see people moaning that they can’t get a puppy/dog from a rescues because “kids”. Rescues have strict conditions for a reason. Sadly, it means that some idiots then end up bolstering the puppy farm arseholes.

And I’ve given up banging my head on the walk every time I see another “cute” video of babies and toddlers crawling over/sleeping on/add other daft stuff to do with dogs.

Well, I’m not happy about the stats on human violence either, but it’s a weird one if the dogs walk around free and the humans get put on leads.

Seriously, you have no idea what you’re talking about in that context. Jog on with your attitude.

Fuck me, I know it’s not the “topic” of this thread, but you cannot dismiss people who have pets that may be their only family like that.

Well, you can if you’re an arsehole I guess.

Your stats there is entirely made up There have been 5 fataI dog attacks involving children in the last year. That is of course 5 too many but there is no need to lie.

Interestingly the fatality rate you mention does map on to child homocides. I hope you would support a similar ban on moving a new partner into your home given that these deaths are so often at the hands of step-fathers and they are also an optional lifestyle choice?

I’m so glad you have made this point. I do not like dogs, I’m scared of them due to a bad experience with a “friendly” dog who thought it was a great idea when I was a small child to come running upto me full pelt and knock me over while I was playing and minding my own business in a park. The owner told my dad “sorry he did that but he doesn’t mean any harm he’s just being friendly”!

And now as an adult I get absolutely sick and tired of other peoples dogs running upto me, sniffing at me and pawing at me, putting their dirty paws and runny nose on my clothes while all the time the owner says “it’s ok he won’t hurt he’s just being friendly”! Whether or not the dog is friendly is irrelevant!! Some people do not want other people’s beloved ‘friendly’ dogs sniffing at them or pawing them or running upto them and jumping on them and making their clothes dirty! It’s really not nice for someone on the receiving end of it!

Have just rtft.

I’d be willing to put money on the dog involved being an XL Bully, Pit Bull or similar. I don’t think it’s right they haven’t released the breed and these type of dogs should be completely banned.

I agree with dogs being kept on a leash in public places, if there is a lot of people around. We always have our lab on a leash, except in a nearby secluded, wooded area where there is never anyone around, except occasionally another dog walker.

There are loads of dogs where we live, and loads of children. There are a lot of people who walk their dogs off leash and will be sometimes up to 100 meters behind them or nowhere near. I absolutely hate this, for one thing, anything could happen to their dog.
We have also had a few dogs approach ours and growl or snarl and she’s hid behind us and got scared, we’ve had to stamp on the ground etc to get rid of them but if they attacked we’d have no chance as 2 have been staffies and the other an American Bully.

Dogs can be family, anyone who says otherwise is talking utter bullshit. People who make statements like that either have zero empathy or are just animal haters. My children are unbelievably attached to our dog and consider her almost a sibling. And no, we don’t use cringy terms like ‘fur baby’ but she is a member of our family. My kids are on the spectrum and she is a huge comfort to them. She was also a big comfort to me when my mum passed away.

Too many people on here have a blind hatred of dogs and think all should be banned. Children should have priority over dogs outside but some children approach dogs very loudly and abruptly and will grab/pull at them. Owners should control their dogs but parents should control their kids, I say this having both!

Any dog has the potential to turn, but no one can deny certain breeds are extremely more likely to and shouldn’t be bred. People who make excuses for these breeds are part of the problem. Things like genetics, breeding, socialisation and training all play major parts. Again, responsible owners would be looking into things like this before buying and be making sure the dog is properly trained. Not all dogs are a menace and not all owners irresponsible.

Also, to the person who asked what a normal family needs with a dog, what do they need with a lot of things? Our dog helps my kids learn responsibility as they help feed her, bathe her etc. She helps them learn to be empathetic and respectful to animals. She is a large comfort to them when they are overwhelmed. She is entertainment for them when they play with her, or when they laugh watching her chase her tail etc. She is good for all of our mental health. She keeps us active when walking her. She enjoys cuddling up with us to watch a film. She can tell if someone is upset and will approach us. She is a member of our family, and a lot of families feel the same way.

So much this.

I never wanted anyone to be scared of my dog. I put in a lot of time and effort to teach her really good manners because she was going to be a big dog.

Thank god I did. The amount of people who would just bowl up to her (whilst on lead) was ridiculous. I’m not sure which annoyed me most. Adults doing it - or adults just letting their kids do it. On the very rare occasion that either group bothered to ask “is it ok” before plonking their palm on top of her head, I was very grateful. To the others, I would intervene quickly and ask them to not crowd her/ask permission first. I wasn’t being an arse and I wasn’t scared she would bite. But she was my responsibility and it’s not much fun if loads of random people come up and automatically go to plonk their hand on top of your head!

Again, pure hyperbole to talk about all dogs like that.

There is nothing wrong with at least learning the basics re body language.