Another dog attack- 4 year old killed. Devastating

[singingsussie]

Just woke up to this news this morning. It's just so incredibly heartbreaking for all involved. Seems to be happening so much more than ever these days

Absolutely tragic, and easily avoidable. Poor little girl. A vile way to die.

I'd welcome banning all dogs. The NRA comment is spot on. We Brits think the Americans are crazy for not banning guns. There are many people who think that dogs should similarly be banned. There's no need for any of them.

13 million dogs in the UK... 1 in 3 house holds have a dog.
How many fatal attacks compared to that? Get a grip!

The dog did draw blood, when it bit me.

My uncle's dachshund bit me even I was 3 years old. It drew blood.

I was running on a playing field with my brother. Apparently that was my fault for running (on a fucking playing field).

🙄

I wouldn't ban all dogs. I think they can be wonderful and make great companions, but I would have compulsory muzzling and dogs put down if their owners don't muzzle them.

I'd ban all bull breeds and some other large breeds that aren't suitable to be near the public, such as huskies, rottweilers, Belgian Shepherds, etc.

@XenoBitch my dogs are working dogs. I need them to do a job. What about police dogs, drug detection dogs, PET dogs, service dogs, sheepdogs...?! There are a huge amount of dogs in this country that we do actually need!

This is exactly what I mean about over reaction! How many gun deaths are there a year in America compared to deaths caused by a dog in a year here? The numbers don't compare at all.

Also a lot of the dog attacks are on the dog's owners/family. Dogs don't go rampaging into schools attacking everyone they see do they?

Dogs are never going to be banned and no sane person would think they should be. To say there is no need for them is just a ridiculous thing to say. Dogs are needed - guide dogs, search and rescue dogs, drug sniffer dogs, assistance dogs, sheep dogs.

Dogs can help people with mental health problems, with loneliness etc.

They aren't comparable. Children need adult carers be that parents, foster parents etc. We don't need dogs as pets, working dogs are a different matter.

We also try to protect children from violence in the home, social services, police, and teachers, adults go to prison for abuse and hopefully that prevents some deaths.

I am a dog lover, my much loved dog died a couple of years ago at 19 and I couldn't face the pain of losing another dog so I don't have one now but I do believe we need stricter controls and those controls should be enforced and that should be financed by a licence fee that is adequate to cover the costs.

How would you actually go about banning dogs?
How many dogs are there in the uk?
How many pups are born daily? Adding to that.
The first step would be to ban breeding.
Then what, wait for all the current dogs in the uk to die out?
What about dogs bred for service dogs? Or working dogs? They'd obviously still be needed. Not every dog bred for that purpose ends up being suitable. So what would happen then? PTS?
You don't think that people would continue to breed? All that would mean is there would be more genetically unstable dogs, not getting the training, exercise or medical care required.
Banning dogs is just not going to happen.

Cows and deer are also responsible for a number of deaths in the UK.

cows are the most dangerous animal in the countryside.

should we ban them as well?

I'm not in favour of completely banning dogs, but what a ridiculous argument. Do cows chase and attack children at the park? Do they kill them in their own homes?

When they starts happening, I'm sure you'll hear more calls for cows to be properly controlled.

We might not "need" a dog as a pet but for most people owning a dog is a positive thing.

There are lots of things we "don't need" in modern life but we still have them. I would argue we don't need mobile phones and they certainly don't bring the happiness that a dog does.

I have been a dog owner for over 40 years and would be happy to see stricter laws on who can own one and a licence fee but it could never be enforced.

As I said before, a test for anyone wanting a dog would be a good idea although, again, not really feasible but a test for anyone wanting a child would be an even better idea.

The point is if we need something, like a child needs an adult carer, that isn't the same thing as wanting a dog. We can't do away with adults so we try to police and control anti social behaviour. If we can't or won't do the same for something we want but don't need, i.e. pet dogs, then the only answer will be no pet dogs which would be a shame. Everyone needs to work towards making dogs safe be that certain breeds not be permitted, muzzles in public, mandatory training before you can have a dog or whatever. What we can't have is children being savagely attacked and killed in a most horrific way.

We might not "need" a dog as a pet but for most people owning a dog is a positive thing
It is a positive thing for the owner of course otherwise why would they have a dog!
But for wider society who have to have to put up with the dog problem it is nothing but a nuisance at best and at worse a danger to life and limb.
Please don't reply that's someone's children are a nuisance, human children are part of human society in the most part they grow up and fulfil useful roles which are vital and contribute to the good of society.
A dog is a hobby/toy for its owner but a nuisance not to mention the potential threat and menace for everyone else

a test for anyone wanting a child would be an even better idea
Children are not a threat to society, children ARE society, children are the human race without children there's no more society no more anything for people ....your dog isn't going to grow up and get a job is it, it's neither use nor ornament.

Another child attacked by a dog in London whilst at bus stop- police have restrained it, it looks to be a Staffy

Thats one enormous staffy, had them and been around them all my life and never seen one that big.

I never once said children are a threat to society. I mean that any old idiot can have a child and lots do.

I know people that have only ever claimed benefit and worked cash in hand and quite a few of their children now do the same so, no, they don't all grow up, get a job and contribute to society.

Lots of people just have children because it's want "they want" with no regard to what that child's life will be like. Some people (many really) just should not have children and that is why a test would be good.

Just out of interest, what is the threshold before you consider that something needs to be done?
In your opinion, how many people/children need to be killed by dogs before you consider the statistic to be significant?

Obviously I'm not condoning cheating the system but even if they are working cash in hand these people are still working, someones gardening or plumbing is getting done they are oiling the wheels of commerce, they are doing things that contribute to human society, or they may have children there is a shortage of staff a shortage of people able to work.
A dog is just a hindrance a nuisance and potentially a threat to life and limb to everyone but it's owner.
It's a thing that dog people have for their own pleasure and amusement which causes endless problems for everyone else.

"Oiling the wheels of commerce" while cheating the benefit system! Certainly not right in my book. One set of neighbours have been doing this for years and years.

17 attacks since beginning of 2020 whilst awful are hardly a large number. The poster is right that when you compare that with the number of dogs in the UK it is a very small number.

Fireworks probably injure more people than dogs even if they do not usually cause deaths and nothing is done about them

allowing your child to be destroyed by a dog is such a gross failure of parenting that you should be going to prison for a long time. Owners are responsible. Don't tell me the family have suffered enough. It could easily have been someone else's child. These parents are grossly negilgent. They bought something and put in their home and it killed their child. As bad and as evil as handling a toddler a shotgun.

Why should we even consider banning dogs when these tragedies are almost always down to stupid people getting a large dog with u known histories, when they have small children at home. This is the reason why most reputable rescue centres will never allow a dog to go to adopters with young children.
You can not take the stupid out of some people no matter how many bans and protections put in place.
My sisters ssd has 3 dc under 8. Her boyfriend (an absolute idiot of a man-child) came home the end of last year with a 4 year old staffy/bull dog crossbreed (no idea where the poor thing had come from). My dsis and bil where horrified, my bil tried walking the dog and she pulled him over, she was so very strong. Luckily, they didn’t have the dog for long and she was rehomed (God knows where, poor dog).
Even if dogs were banned (which would be a travesty as all my dogs have brought me and my family nothing but pleasure), the type of parents who would bring a large dog (with unknown history) into their young children’s lives would still put those poor kids at risk but in other ways.
Banning dogs is far from the answer.

Why should we even consider banning dogs when these tragedies are almost always down to stupid people Another NRA-type response.

Guns don't kill, people do
Dogs don't kill, owners do

how are the previous bans working out? Or like the legal highs, have they just changed the breed?

its the same owners, just different breeds. That’s where the carefully considered legislation needs to be. On ownership.