....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!!

My friends had a rescue dog. A soppy, affectionate, docile chocolate lab. They made it very clear at the rescue that the dog must not be rehomed with children or allowed off the lead in public. It was removed from a family who allowed the children to torment the dog and it was in equal measures scared of and aggressive towards children if not controlled very carefully. We visited mutual friends one day (so friends with dog and us with small dd both invited to a mutual friend's house for lunch). Friends with dog didn't know we were bringing dd, we didn't know the friends with the dog were bringing him along. I walked through the door, the docile, happy, soppy chocolate lab was being his usual soppy self. DH walked in with our probably 18 month old dd. The dog turned. I have never seen anything like it. Teeth bared, hackles up, every muscle that dog had working to get to my child. Luckily there were 4 adults between the dog and dd and DH reacted quickly to pick dd up and take her straight out, slamming the door behind him. That dog meant business.

Fast forward a few years and a school friend posted a video on FB of her tiny child teasing their family dog. Whacking it on the head and shouting 'bang doggy'. The dog is cowering. The parents are laughing and squealing 'poor fido ha ha ha'. I sent her a very strongly worded message. She sent me some abuse about her soppy dog and how he has never hurt a fly and then defriended me.

I certainly don't know what the answer is.

most a nd e dog attacks are the lovely family pet

True, and we should not downplay the potential of any dog to bite, but the common factor in all of these cases where a child was tragically killed is a large, powerful breed of dog, acquired from rescue/bloke in pub without ensuring it has been trained or socialised, kept in a small house or flat. I'd be prepared to bet not one of them was appropriately exercised or trained. Recipe for disaster.

Could'nt agree more with mini fingers post. It should be an annual license, and should be policed by dog "health visitors" on a regular basis. I also think if a new baby comes into the house, a dog cage should be in the house, just like childminders are required to have. I just do not understand the need to have pets of any kind in this country. Sorry, I am just not an animal person. IQ testing for dog ownership may be the answer. For me, ALL animals should be kept outside, as nature intended.

Just reading online how many children been attacked and killed is heartbreaking. One baby was 3 days old and had just been brought home from the hospital.

Just reading the latest case in the paper. It makes me fucking angry. These children are PEOPLE ffs. They may not be able to look after themselves but they deserve a chance in life and to be looked out for by responsible adults meant to care for them not leave them to be fucking savaged. I have no doubt the mum couldn't feel any worse now than she does, so I am probably being somewhat unreasonable but I just think...ffs.

Showy just confirms the stupidity of so many people over dogs. They are not toys. Small children often want to poke at dogs eyes. They will kick them, and push them. Parents just smile. My dog is never off her lead. She is a rescue and she is scared of other dogs. So apart from stupid parents, there are the incredibly fuckwitted dog owners. I've found that the only way to get them to call their dog away from mine (after an initial polite request) is to threaten their dog with the walking stick and swear at them. One day we might not get a second chance. But, as I said earlier, there seems to be nothing you can do about stupidity, and there are more and more stupid people about

Anyone who prefaces any statement with "my dog would never..." is an arsehole. I love my dog but am very wary of him around children or smaller dogs. We've never had any incidents but assuming your dog would "never" do anything harmful is foolish at best and dangerous at worst.

I am 99.9999999999999999999999999999999% certain that my dog would never hurt anybody. She is gentle and loving and loves the DC. She has never snapped or anything at anybody.

However.... she is a dog. She does not have the same logic, intelligence or empathy as a human. And for that reason I would never leave her alone with the smaller DC and am always, always at arms reach when they are in the same room.

I completely agree, OP.

To be fair, I am also really really sick of parents encouraging their child to stroke my dog when we are out walking. For example, when we are at traffic lights parents say "oh what a cute doggie, Timothy would you like to stroke her?" Erm, ask if that's ok, and the answer will always be NO!

I've even had someone do it in the park when my dog is in the middle of going for a poo. It's disgusting and very dangerous!

Completely agree with you OP.
wasn't there also a pregnant woman attacked and killed recently.
we live in Germany near a river, lots of dogs being walked but you just don't see massive scary looking dogs here. so sad that these bigger dogs that can do so much damage so quickly seem to be popular in the uk.

All dogs can bite it's just that bigger breeds can do more damage than smaller ones. A Jack Russell or Westie could kill a young baby though fairly easily I imagine.

I have a 15 year old Jack Russell who is docile, not interested in my baby and has been socialised with young children from when she was a pup. I never leave the dog and the baby alone. Baby may be in her rocker swing or on the play mat and if I have to leave the lounge the door is shut and dog is in her bed in the hall. Whilst I would find the thought of the dog attacking my baby highly unlikely you can never tell. If the dog is under the weather and approaches the baby whilst she is kicking and then kicks the dog I dread to think what could potentially happen.

It is always the dog owner's fault ultimately if the animals injure or kills but certain breeds are more likely to attack and some more likely to do serious damage.

Excellent (but frightening) post Showy and good for you for making that comment on fb.

I was just about to say that what really winds me up are the owners who seem absolutely certain that nothing bad with ever happen.
Slightly off topic but I've seen a perfectly obedient dog dart across a busy road (and get run over) because the children on the other side of the road recognised him and shouted his name. You simply don't know how they may react.

Children who are old enough need to be taught to respect animal. Children who aren't old enough need to be protected. Dogs are not toys. My MIL thinks it's amusing that my niece teases her dog to the point that he snarls at her and she has even made him yelp a few times. My MIL has just laughs and says, jokingly, "he'll bite you one of these days". She's 3.
That is why my dd will never be left alone with MIL.

For every fatality in the news there are probably many many more cases where the child has been scarred for life - physically and mentally.

Licensing is all very well, but do you think people like this would be deterred by not having a licence?

People in the UK have had dogs for literally thousands of years, and now it's time urgent that we police everyone and everything, punish non-compliance, have our on shadows arrested in case they have sharp edges et cetera.

FFS all that is needed is that people are vigilant and adult, the fact that there will ALWAYS be people who aren't, or who slip, or accidents, or freak incidents is not a reason to prohibit the hell out every damned thing.

Ladders kill more people than dogs. Hell, fatty foods kill more people than dogs.

^forgive awful typing, I was distracted several times to referee arguments whist posting that :)

"Even though I am not a dog lover and am not experienced in any way with dogs, it seems obvious to me that it is the owner not the breed. "

We have always had German Sheperds in the family, even when there are young children in the household.

Although I agree that sensible guidelines should be followed, some breeds are on the "illegal" list for very good reason and should not be used as Pets.

All dogs can turn. A friend of mine had an old English Sheep Dog that turned one day out of the blue and bit a child's face - she had to be airlifted to hospital and was in a hospital for 3 months having her face rebuilt and tests for brain damage. Luckily she recovered really well but my friend to the dog straight to the vet and had her put down as she had 2 dc herself. The dog was used to kids but still an animal so unpredictable.

I hate seeing photos on FB of dogs cuddling babies or especially licking them - that tongue has been licking the dogs bum and now your baby? No, I don't think it's cute! Seems lots of people do though

Is there a reason they havent destroyed the dog who mauled the 6 day old baby?

I've been wondering that too hickorychicken.

maybe they need to find out what happened first

Just reading about how many children are killed by their parents on the nspcC site.
One every 10 days on average in England and Wales.

One child every week killed by another human being.

yanbu. I never my newborns alone with the cats. Who the fuck leaves an animal alone with a baby.