Well done Mr Alhadi.....but what kind of parents still have a pitbull dog as a pet?

[mrsruffallo]

Thank God for this man walking past...but really shouldn't all parents be thinking hard about having these kind of dogs in the home?

animals

Yes, Jenai, they definitely need some PR ....

Just to hijack here - do any of you Doggy people have a view on Whippets?

I'm finding the prospect of a lab sized moggy rather frightening. But strangley compelling. They should have one on Primeval.

Can you imagine the sheer volume of fur you'd have to vacuum up each day though?

put old people on skates being pulled by staffies nad everyone is a winner. no slow dawdling and staffies getting the good publicity they desserve.

I loathe little dogs. It's probably unfair but I think of them as teeth and yap and little else.

I agree with Wannabe on almost all of her post. My one exception is that I believe pitbulls, since the ban, have been bred for aggression. The people who want them, knowing they're illegal, want them to be aggressive.

Rots are lovely- I have heard of police units trialing them and having to rehome them because they refused to get out of the van when they're supposed to be working!

yeah they are too skiney. i dont like them but not sure why?

I would like a beagle though. (yes this dog cad be dangerous as they were origionally bred to work and hunt)

there are cats as big as labradors. they're called lions and tigers and panthers

They could pull their mobility scooters! Good for the dogs, great for the elderly owner, and environmentally friendly

I have heard whippets are good dogs for cat lovers. And they don't shed fur or smell, but are very loving and relaxed.

"Belgian Shepherd - the Belgie (who is v closely related to the Timber Wolf)"

A Belgian shepherd is no more closely related to wolves than a chihuahua is.

The Dangerous Dogs act is pointless as it proscribes 'Pit Bull types' - type being judged by physical characteristics - there is no DNA database/testing involved. Many legal breeds of domestic dog and their crosbreeds can turn out resembling a pitbull.

There used to be hysteria over German shepherds - then rottweillers, dobermans... now it's bull breeds. I fear it will be my breed (Siberian huskies) next - a breed with zero tendency to aggression but who look 'hard', require specialist handling and without a great deal of exercise would easily be dangerous in a family home.

No child should ever be left unsupervised with a dog of any size or breed.

MrSpoc - we dont have a dog but i was raised with dogs as a child - my paretns have had 7 labs over the years and still do have 1, and had 5 children, all dogs well behaved loyal and lovely - they have been ridden, prodded, dressed up, all sorts! never a problem. never a problem with our DC visiting them either, however, as a responsible parent, i STILL do not let my children play UNSUPERVISED with the dogs JUST IN CASE

my school friend was watching Tv alone with her family's sleeping dog, also a soft lab - who had even allowed kids from the local school to burgle their house in the lunch hour! - for no reason whatsoever the dog woke up and went straight for her. (at the time it was thought possibly brain tumour?)

to say will i keep ALL PEOPLE out of my childrens lives is ridiculous - but i make judgements all the time about who i allow in my kids lives, who i trust with their safety etc etc - some on here would say i am OTT on that score BUT if a person "snaps" they are not likely to pin a child down and bite their face off

we cant protect our Dc from all dangers, we constantly assess risks in everything we do, but by being vigilant around dogs, even family ones, thats one more thing i CAN do to look after them

It doesn't help the moral panic when the Daily Heil prints an article about a pitbull, alongside a Press Association photo of a Staffie.

DUH

We have a dog, a 3 year old Border Collie. he is well trained and obedient. But, as other posters have said, he could turn if provoked, so we make sure he's never in a position where he could be provoked. I childmind and he sleeps in the kitchen, under a work surface. There is a gate on the kitchen door. He never ever gets into the room when there are mindees there.He is wel trained when out and has great recall, and will sit when called to do so, when's quite a bit in front - and will stay till we tell him to move,but if we see anyone coming, either on their own or with another dog he goes on the lead.

A neighbour has a staffie. and it recently attacked another staffie and bit into it. it was off the lead (the one which was bitten was on the lead) and has no recall at all

The children i CM for have got a chihuaha(sp?) and the older child has hit it, sat on it, kicked it etc and the dog has gone for him

Why do people keep these dogs or EVER leave them with children. Am i being dumb? i thought pitbull's were a banned breed - so why would anyone thing it's ok to have one? They are banned for a reason right?

I have a 5yr old collie, who yes is soft as anything, but still wouldn't leave her alone with my DS (6)

It's not really clear from the story what exactly happened, i.e. who did the dog belong to, did it live at the flat where the boy was playing or was it just wandering loose? Why was no one supervising the seven-year old? What sort of 'playing' were the children doing with the dog?

I'm not a fan of breed-specific legislation and I feel these sorts of attacks are almost always caused by some combination of bad parenting and bad dog ownership. I'd rather see those things tackled than go down the route of banning certain breeds or killing dogs.

Very unimpressed by them illustrating a 'dangerous dogs' story with a picture of a Staffie for no reason . I remember another dog attack where the Guardian had a huge photo of a snarling Rottweiler on the front cover - despite the fact that the dog involved was not a Rott or anything like one. This is so irresponsible and harmful to all the innocent dogs that would make lovely companions and family pets if people weren't put off by 'image' and prejudice...

With any dog there is a risk. Even if you treat it properly and all that. Probably a very small risk, probably less of a risk you run than by owning a car, but lets not have our heads in the sand, eh?

All the picking up shit would be the dealbreaker for me. Looking at the state of my local park, some people think differently...

What a top bloke Mr Alhadi is but would like to know why it took a total stranger to break in and rescue the little boy....

I personally think it's fine to have dogs and children living in the same home... BUT both have to be properly looked after and supervised at all times, no excuses. Dogs need to be trained properly and children need to be raised to respect all animals including the family dog.

Those dogs should be banned. They are not nanny dogs anymore. The thugs have tarnished this breed forever, you can't trust a dog with a giant mouth and 'jaws of steel'
Yes, little dogs can bite more than other bigger dogs, but the thing is they don't KILL!

Ripeberry you are talking rubbish. they are not useing Staffies. When they are stopped they claim them to be staffies as they are not an illegal bread and can be mistaken for pit bulls.

"Wise words wannaBe - and true about Staffies not liking other dogs. in fact mine hates other amiles but we are aware of that and so act accordingly."

Dogs that 'don't like' other dogs are a total menace, how anyone could call anything with that sort of aggressive nature safe is beyond me. And where is the enjoyment in having an animal that you can't trust to behave in public places?

Recently an elderly lady who lives near my mum was left distraught as her little dog was killed by another dog as she walked it down the street. Yes it was muzzled but it shook the muzzle off easily enough and killed her dog in front of her with one bite. And yes it was a staffy. How unfortunate for her that they don't like other dogs, still I'm sure she will be glad to follow recommendations to get one to look after her grandchildren!

I have three staffs. None can be let off the lead in public.

We take great precautions to keep DS safe in the house and he is never alone with any of the dogs.

Any dog can be a danger though.

On the plus side, it's the best excuse to never have other people's children over to play

I wouldn't keep a dog full stop. Any dog can turn, regardless of how well trained and placid the owners claim it to be. It's an animal and it's in their nature.
And LMAO at 'nanny dogs'!

Breed specific prejudice and legislation has engendered an awful lot of hysteria and has a lot to answer for. Some of the remarks upon this thread are ignorant in the extreme and many of the posters are looking at the wrong end of the lead when pointing the finger of blame.

I echo Ephiny's questions and reservations about the integrity of the journalism.

I find these sort of threads so irritating.

The fact is, ANY dog has the potential to be dangerous. They are animals, not little people in fluffy coats.

A tiny jack russel could maul and kill a small baby or child just as easily as a pitbull, rottweiler, akita whatever.

They use pit bulls as therapy dogs in America so they're not that bloody dangerous and if you look at the dog attack statistics, retrievers and spaniels are repeatedly responsible for most child dog bite hospitalisations.

The problem is (usually) silly people not training their dogs properly/actively encouraging them to be aggressive like the gang type owners/leaving them alone with children/allowing the children to pull their ears, tail, generally annoy them etc.

And of course you might just get a freak of nature attack with no apparent cause.

If your going to stereotype an entire breed and by the way, there is NO such thing as a 'pitbull' breed. Its not registered anywhere. Its basically any dog that looks like a big staffy you might as well just ban ALL dogs full stop because they all have the potential to cause injury.