....to be sick and tired of hearing/reading about dog attacks on children??

[M0naLisa]

I probably am going to get flamed for this so I am donning my hard hat for this one but I am sick of hearing or reading about dog attacks.
And I know I could 'turn the channel or just not read' but why should I?

When will people realise a child especially a young baby/toddler cannot I repeat cannot EVER be left alone with a bloody dog!!!!!!

2 in 2 weeks now! It's getting bloody out of hand!
A dog origins from the Wolf family - not that I need to remind anyone.

Why are some people still blind to the fact that any dog whether it's a Rottweiler or a Yorkshire Terrier or a poodle can turn on their heel and KILL a young child!!!

Rant over!!

And if it is deed not breed why is it the criminal under world favour husky types and staff types

Well, criminals wouldn't look very tough with a scotty dog or a poodle, would they Those kind of people choose dogs for their looks. Staffies look tough (they are soft as shit given the right owner though), malamutes and huskies look tough. It was only a matter of time before this kind of thing happened with that breed. There's nothing wrong with the breed, but they are very active dogs bred to pull sleds for ages. The vast majority of people can't give them the care they need, they just want something that looks like a wolf. If dickhead owners keep treating dogs as fashion accessories then this kind of thing will keep on happening.

I have no idea but they are ANIMALS we systematically kill loads of other animals for all different purposes and I for one don't get the slathering over dogs.

Chip. Them maybe with chips if they pass or are licenced to breed and employ dog wardens again.

MrsJay

All licensing systems are flawed. However once in place it grants easier legal action against non holders. Gaining a license means some degree of aptitude has to be shown.

Not everyone will abide by the rules, it relies on the decent people doing so though. Which then makes the idiots easier to prosecute.

Also once a license is revoked, you cannot apply for another.

oh yes you are right honey

Didnt you used to need to buy a dog license anyway I am sure we had one for a dog we had when i was a child i remember my mum talking about going to get it

And destroy the dogs which are not licenced. No second chances.

Mind you I am pretty hard hearted about pets of all shapes and sizes and would never be cruel to an animal but think being overly sentimental about them is a bit much.

The problem with licencing is that the only people who are going to do it are responsible dog owners. It will be extremely difficult to stop people breeding 'fashion' dogs to sell to idiots who roll in from the pub with a dog on a string or whatever to babysit their 3 young children!

My neighbour has shared custody of her 3 dogs (all collies). When she has them she is so stupid, she lets them run around the close off their leads. She openly admits they like to chase cats so I can't let my cat out when they are around as 3 dogs are a pack. How does she know they won't chase a small child? Plus they poo on everyone's front gardens.

A woman on Radio 4 was discussing this today, and said that the cry of a newborn baby is very similar to the noise made by small animals who are injured

The dogs' instincts tell it to go back and finish off the animal, which is why you get 'unprovoked' attacks. Obviously they key here is that children of whatever age aren't left unsupervised, but I wonder if some breeds are more prone than others to have that instinct? (And I say that as the owner of 3 rescue staffies over the years, plus a soppy as wet cloth lab)

a baby cry must really confuse a dog that woman made sense my last dog used to sit and stare and the wall and whimper when the neighbours baby was crying

YANBU

My relatives are driving me mad with this at the moment, though luckily they live a distance away so the issue only crops up about 4 times a year. After always being cat families, most of my relatives now own dogs of a range of breeds.

Strangely enough, they waited until their children were of secondary school age before getting them. They insist on bringing them with them when we all get together at my mum's. I have a toddler. There are always promises that they'll be under control / kept on a lead / kept out of the sitting room, but within 10 mins they are tearing around the house, barely controlled or trained, with none of them wanting to watch them. I then get told I'm being over protective for snatching DS and his toys out of their way.

This started when DS was a baby. I wasn't able to let him wriggle on a mat as the bloody dogs were tearing everywhere.

I definitely think that midwives could include a talk about pets throughout pregnancy at the check ups, as well as at the discharge appointment (preferably with the partners present too). Perhaps even with pictures of a range of attacks from different breeds, including 'safe' ones.

Isn't microchipping becoming compulsory by this year? Maybe this could be linked to a licence element later on. Police could have a microchip scanner to check the dogs if they see, or are alerted to, a potentially dangerous dog situation. Dogs without could be seized until owners attended classes, or be rehomed or destroyed. It isn't the dogs' fault, but something needs to change the attitudes of owners.

Additionally, and wandering into the realms of fantasy here, the microchip could contain a record of that dog's DNA, so if poo is found on the pavement, a quick test would reveal the culprit and an instant fine issued to the owner. Non-payment resulting in dog seizure and a ban on animal ownership.

You are 'wandering into the realms of fantasy'.

A microchip is just a barcode, it gives the dog an individual number and contains no other information. Currently there is not even one unified database to hold the owner information, different brands of chip run their own databases and they do not communicate with each other. Often owners forget to update the information when they move house or change their phone number, rendering it useless. There has also been absolutely no plan for how the 'compulsory' microchipping is going to be policed. Responsible owners will comply, irresponsible ones won't.

I think expensive dog licenses, with the money raised being spent on policing the non-compliant, is the way forward. It would be great if some element of compulsory training/good citizenship could be built in, but I think there I too am starting to wander into fantasy land...

It's very hard to legislate against sheer stupidity.

Mortha this baby did die BBC article.

My point was made in response to those talking about smaller dogs being less risky, and in the two cases mentioned the child was savaged but not killed. They were fortunate. I'm very well aware that the baby in Wales, attacked by a malamute, is dead.

Are dog attacks actually increasing or are they just making the news more?

The cry of a newborn baby is very similar to the noise made by small animals who are injured. The dog's instincts tell it to go back and finish off the animal, which is why you get 'unprovoked' attacks.

I didn't know this and suspect most people didn't. I thought it deserved highlighting.

The rescue we got our dog from,welcomes toy donation but no squeaky toys, as they said children sqeak and childrens toys squeak...
having a dog able to do damage round small children is like having an old gun in the house.

Yadda yadda its the owners, YES but most a nd e dog attacks are the lovely family pet.

There willalways be potential for any dog to attack one day and its the more dangerous ones that will do the most damage.

Id love to see evidence of lap dogs attacking causing serious injury.

I'dRather, you seriously want people to look for statistics about facial mutilations caused by toy breeds?
Do you have any understanding that your attitude is part of the problem non dog-owners might have with the gaslighting and flippancy some dog-owners use to minimise the arguments against control and the need for owners to take responsibility?

Obviously it's the size of the animal rather than its temperament that is key.

A hamster could be deadly if it were the size of an Labrador.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States

It was in 1887 but still a lapdog attacked and killed.

You'll need
To read down to fatalities caused by dog attacks.

Date Category of Dog Victim's name Victim's age Circumstances
January 30 Rabid Lap dog Ada Clare, a famous actress and writer 39 years Attacked by her friend's lap dog in her theatrical agent's office in New York City and died of rabies weeks later. Her face was badly mutilated but recovered and returned to the stage, but later developed rabies, suffered greatly, and succumbed on March 4.[16][17]

October Pomeranian Girl - name withheld 6 weeks An uncle was babysitting the child and left her alone to prepare a bottle for her. When he returned, he found the dog attacking her.[82]