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

Some dog breeds are weapons. It's like carrying a gun outside on you. What happens when you're at home and have kids and leave the gun on the coffee table or garden where there are little children, well a crime scene will happen!

Excuse me I live in a HA house and have 2 dogs.

Do we know if it was a bully xl yet? Going by the photo of the street I'm assuming it was

Dog owner and parent of a young child here, feel sickened and heartbroken what that child has gone through. It happens more and more, people keep saying these attacks are rare, they aren’t!

My dog is not allowed to approach another dog or person (unless they know them) ever, he is either on lead in public spaces or off the lead when in the forests / large open spaces and will come as soon as he is called.

Likewise our child will be raised not to approach any dog under any circumstance, and they are never allowed to be rough, gentle hands only.

People need to take responsibility for their dogs, yes they might be your beloved pet but unless you have full control they need to be on lead at all times.

Yeah I saw the picture of the house and can immediately make a snap judgment of both the owner and the type of dog.

Poor wee one never stood a chance. May she rest in peace.

The reality is that many bad dog owners would seek to circumvent any licensing attempts, and those are the people with the dangerous dogs. Responsible dog owners aren’t a problem to start with.

Another dog owner here who would be happy with a licence and also mandatory puppy classes for all dogs apart from those who are ‘pets’.

*arent pets

IMHO it’s a class/ poverty issue and an animal rights issue. When was the last time you saw all the police vans lined up anywhere but very very poor housing where a fatal dog attack has taken place. This is a poverty, class, education issue. It’s an animal rights issue because the powerful breeds are highly athletic and intelligent. If you want one but can’t be bothered to walk it and mentally stimulate it the dogs frustration levels will build over time. The dog starts to get really unstable and then you let a child ‘play with or pester the dog it’s going to be really bad. There’s lots that can be done, a licence scheme, tougher charges on having an out of control dangerous dog. An amnesty whereby some of these dogs need to be seized and put down when people in the community repeatedly raise concerns about them.

💯

That says a lot about you @Taxdummy. “a random child” is someone’s son or daughter. I don’t have a dog but if my cat for some reason killed someone’s child I would be heartbroken for the child and for their parents. I would also feel disgusted with myself for having allowed it to happen.

Horrible. I had a Staffie in the past, that I loved very much. He was a lovely, gentle dog. He passed away in 2017.

I now have two kids under 3 and there's no way I would bring ANY kind of dog in the household.

Friends of ours had a lovely dog (non-dangerous breed) that was lovely and placid for 12 years. Until one day it bit their 3 year old son in the cheek.

Dogs are animals at the end of the day, not human beings.

I remember someone saying once there are so many dog attacks in Western countries, because we treat them like human beings, not animals. And I think it's so true.

Sorry, that was for @Nw22 not @Taxdummy

I'm so tired of the old chestnut "there are no bad breeds" being trotted out. Dog breeds literally exist to have specific traits and behaviours. That is the actual purpose of selective breeding. Bully breeds are bred to fight, they have incredible jaw strength and are tenacious in a fight. It's just factual. Of course not all bully breed dogs are nasty on an individual level, but there is more of a tendency to aggression towards other animals (and I think some dogs perceive small children as animals rather than as authoritative humans as they would perceive an adult) and to latch on with hugely powerful jaws when they do attack. The damage a bite from one of these dogs can cause just can't be compared to the damage from a snappy cockapoo or Chihuahua. Why anyone would have one of these beasts around a child, I'll never understand.

A friend has a bully xl and it can't be around other dogs at all, can't visit his parents house because it will go for their cat, and he keeps it away from children. The thing is a solid mass of muscle and has jaws like a t rex. I just don't get the point of having an animal that you need to be constantly vigilant around lest it decide to maul someone or attack another dog. He can't take it on walks to the woods or in parks because it simply can't be trusted.

Thankfully the types to own these dogs don't usually take them to our local nature preserve where we walk (not good for those poor dogs locked up in houses and small gardens but good for my tiny dogs) but a staffie did get loose on my road and tried to snatch our small dog from my DHS arms and wouldn't bugger off even when he kicked it. It followed us all the way to our house and waited outside our gate.

That's a good point.

I hate to break the news but human beings are also animals.

Also plenty of human beings kill people 🤷‍♀️

I wouldn't accept restrictions on the dogs, as it simply won't work. Not NRA 🙄 I just have some common sense.

You are a good and responsible dog owner. I wish there were more like you. We don't have dogs, I don't particularly like dogs to be honest but I do see how much love and joy they bring to others. I hate being out for a walk and being jumped at by dogs off the lead particularly when I'm with my children. There's always some feckless owner making a half-hearted attempt to recall the dog(s) and then telling us they are friendly. I don't bloody care! Tempted to ask for their number for the dry cleaning bill for my coat last time...

I know that estate and sadly I am not surprised......it won't be the only unstable dog in the area. Dogs should be muzzled around children and off the lead.

Exactly. Their child died in terror and agony.
Their responsibility.

I'm a dog owner and would 100% support licensing. I'd also support funding enforcement.

Could not agree more. I also have a small fluffy. I have also experienced children running straight at him when he is on the lead and putting their hands in his face, frightening him and risking a defence response, even when I tell them sharply not to. Parents just ignore or worse are on their phones and don't even see.

Control your children and teach them how to have manners around others!

OTOH there is a group of young kids who play in the street on my regilar walk who know my dog well and always come out to say hi to him. I've showed them how and where to pet him gently in the correct manner and he will gently lick theirt hands, or sit and grin at them (he's very well trained and will always sit or heel even in high stimulation environments - as long as he's not being actively poked in the face). He's the local star of the block!

I think one of the major problems is that lots of people got dogs in lockdown but because of lockdown, they didn't get the chance to be properly trained and socialised around strangers. BUT parents should absolutely be teaching their children not to grab aggressively at strange dogs just as they shouldn't grab at other kids. Basic common child-rearing.

Exactly this!

I made the same comparison on a different thread and was called ridiculous 🙄

There should be lengthy prison sentences for owners of dogs who kill or maim.

Just read that they only got the dog a few weeks ago and it’s a large brown breed. God only knows what the fuck they were thinking.

That poor sweet girl.