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AIBU?

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Original poster

To wish dangerous dog breeds and all breeds closely resembling them were banned in UK?

431 replies

DustOfALongSleeplessNight · 21/04/2015 15:59

There are so many nice friendly breeds, why chose a breed that was developed for aggression and fighting? I know individual dogs have different temperaments, but if they were selectively bred for bull and bear baiting, how can they make good pets?

Pit bulls (illegal in UK) are frequently kept illegally and passed off as Staffy-crosses until the police find them.

I think they should ban all dobermans, rottweilers, staffordshire bull terriers, malamutes, huskies, german shepherds and any other dog with aggressive genetics, plus all the breeds that closely resemble them. I frequently see these breeds in local park, off the lead, running amongst small children!

OP posts:
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sparechange · 21/04/2015 16:52

Its no coincidence that most of the attacks on children (and adults) are by breeds that were selectively bred for aggression
WRONG
It is no coincidence that most of the attacks reported in the Daily Mail media are by agressive breeds, because it makes for a nice smug 'told you so' story sneering at the underclass who brought it on themselves by having a vicious dog in the house.
Do you want to see the actual list of breeds which are responsible for the most attacks?
Here you go:

  1. Dachshunds
  2. Chihuahua
  3. Jack Russell
  4. Australian Cattle Dog
  5. Cocker Spaniel
  6. Beagle
  7. Border Collie
  8. Pit Bull Terrier
  9. Great Dane
10. English Springer Spaniel

So please bore off with your dull staffie prejudice which has zero grounding in actual facts and everything to do with you being a slave to the dogma of the Daily Mail

Samcro · 21/04/2015 16:53

PersonalClown i did wonder what you would think of this thread.

SusannahD · 21/04/2015 16:54

I thinks YABU however I do believe it is far too easy for a person to own a dog without consideration for the welfare of the dog and other people that will be affected by the dogs behaviour. I believe we should have better control over this as a society.

RosesareSublime · 21/04/2015 16:55

spare

Please show me headlines from any paper -" maltese kills child" " maltese disfigures child"

SingingHinnies · 21/04/2015 16:55

I just don't get it... there are so many friendly breeds, why choose one that was developed for bull baiting, rounding up cattle, guarding, fighting etc. The impact of generations of selective breeding can't be underestimated. How can you feel safe having a dog like that around small children??

Because they are good with humans, how do you think humans trained them and handled them, a fighting dog can't go for humans can it, think about it, fighting dogs which go for humans are discarded as they are no good, they must be human friendly

there are so many friendly breeds

whats a friendly breed op?

BaronessBomburst · 21/04/2015 16:56

We have a German Shepard at work. She is our guard dog and very glad I am of her too, on occasion.

Koalafications · 21/04/2015 16:57

Here's a load of breeds commonly mistaken for Pitbulls.

Do you know which one is a Pitbull?

There's a Labrador in there, FFS!

OP you are frankly, being fucking ridiculous.

To wish dangerous dog breeds and all breeds closely resembling them were banned in UK?
SingingHinnies · 21/04/2015 16:57

On 21st September, 2001, a Pomeranian killed a 6-week-old baby. It was a family pet.
On 17th December, 2002, a 6-week-old boy was critical injured after being dragged from his playpen and attacked by the family's dachshund.
On 15th May, 2005, a woman died two weeks after being attacked by her dauschund & lab at home.
On January 17th, 2008, a Jack Russell Terrier killed Justin Mozer who was 6 weeks old. It was the family pet dog.
On July 29th, 2008, a 6 week old labrador puppy killed an 8 week old baby.
On January 22nd, 2009, Former French President Jacques Chirac was rushed to a hospital after being mauled by his pet dog, a Maltese poodle.
On 7th February, 2009, a baby boy in Wales died after being attacked by two family dogs, one of which was a Jack Russell.
On June 17th, 2008, a 1-month-old was attacked and seriously injured by the family a puppy while he slept with his mother. The puppy was a terrier and poodle mix.
On July 30th, 2009, a Maltese terrier was declared dangerous after three seperate attacks on people.
On August 8th, 2009, a 4-year-old girl was attacked by the family beagle. She required over 20 stitches to her face. It was the second time the dog had attacked a child in the family.

sparechange · 21/04/2015 16:58

Roses
For starters, staffies aren't particularly food orientated. So are unlikely to have issues being challenged over a toy. A labrador is more likely to...

And REGARDLESS OF BREED, dogs should be trained. All my dogs have been used to having their food and toys taken off them. They are used to having their ears tugged and their tails pulled and being startled from behind and jumped on in bed. If you normalise that with dogs, they don't have an issue with it.
Handbag dogs who get scooped up and cuddled every time they snarl at another dog or person are the dangerous ones. They are the only dogs I've seen get aggressive over toys and food, because they are trained that when they snarl, their owner comes along and picks them up to an elevated position and effectively rewards them and reinforces the behavior.
You trying lifting 20kg of staffie to get it out of the way...

ClaimedByMe · 21/04/2015 16:58

PersonalClown I have the staffy beef chum this morning...we are all suffering!

RosesareSubline she will drop a toy when told "leave it" and she has no food aggression issues what so ever she is quite happy but a bit confused when anyone takes her bowl away.

catnipkitty · 21/04/2015 16:58

Errr... I am a vet, have been fir 20 years, worked in inner city London, suburban areas, rural areas and have known loads of dogs of all breeds. Never once met an aggressive Staffie, GSD, Husky etc... Plus I have never met a Pit Bull masquerading as anything else...The only aggressive dogs I have known are those that have not been trained or socialised properly, or are aggressive through fear.

YABVVVVU.

Psipsina · 21/04/2015 17:01

What sort of 'certain people'? Why does it bother you why (in your own opinion, not backed up by anything factual) you think these people might have certain dogs? And how do you arrive at that judgement?

Good question. We live in a pretty rough area. Our bit is nice but a few streets away it's a different story. It's renowned for being rough as f*ck.

There are a lot of rough looking blokes (who may well be sweet and charming, who knows) who dress like BNP supporters used to dress, with shaved heads, tattoos, massive boots and a couple of ultra muscular, ugly dogs by their side.

You cannot judge a dog, or a person, by their appearance however it seems fairly likely that the whole getup is designed to make them look tough and unapproachable.

This makes me a bit shirty. But I ignore them by and large. It's the folk with really actually aggressive dogs, as described in my earlier post, that really feck me off.

Toofat2BtheFly · 21/04/2015 17:02

Many years ago my dd was mauled badly , she is permanently disfigured and will continue to have treatment for the rest of her life ....

It's hasn't put her off dogs at all she knows it was just a bad egg .

It was a staff that tried to protect her from the other dog !

If I'm to take op opinion on board I best get my Ddog put down to the vets !

Stupid thread !!

LaLyra · 21/04/2015 17:04

Imo there's no such thing as a dangerous breed of dog. There is, however, a dangerous breed of owner, which sadly means some dogs are too out of control so end up being pts. My grandparents had a staffy when I was a child (they brought us up mostly). The dog was sweet and gentle, but they were still very careful owners - never left the dog alone with children when they were young etc. They did exactly the same when the staffy died and they got a 'family friendly' beagle. It's the owner that makes the difference, not the breed of dog.

The little girl next door to us has a nasty scar from being bitten by a labrador. According to its owner it was a 'lovely, friendly, family dog' hence they were not to blame for letting it run loose in the park and attacking a child.

My neighbours yappy little dog is tiny, but it'd have your finger gladly. Again the issue is the owner - he thinks because it's small there's no problem.

psipsina What makes you think people unpleasant enough to treat their dogs and other people like that would give a jot about a new law? It's already against the law to let your dog be out of control in a way that makes someone fear it will injure them.

OnlyLovers · 21/04/2015 17:04

by their appearance however it seems fairly likely that the whole getup is designed to make them look tough and unapproachable.

Oh, by their appearance ...

A lot of this dangerous-dog shite is a lot to do with class, IME.

26Point2Miles · 21/04/2015 17:05

Op why didn't you engage with anyone on this thread? You just came back with a similiar statement to what was in your op....

ShouldIworryornothelp · 21/04/2015 17:05

Staffies will lick you to death before they're aggressive. They're the only breed the KC recommend for families with young children

I love Staffies.

formerbabe · 21/04/2015 17:06

Really weird how defensive people can get over a breed of dog,..

Psipsina · 21/04/2015 17:06

psipsina What makes you think people unpleasant enough to treat their dogs and other people like that would give a jot about a new law? It's already against the law to let your dog be out of control in a way that makes someone fear it will injure them.

Fair point. It might make a few people think twice about it I suppose but you are probably right.

A lot of this dangerous-dog shite is a lot to do with class, IME.

Really? How do you arrive at that?

OnlyLovers · 21/04/2015 17:07

There's a certain kind of 'dangerous dogs on council estates' rhetoric in the press.

Plus you talk about dogs that 'look aggressive, even if they aren't', presumably because they're with people who live in what you call a 'rough' area.

SingingHinnies · 21/04/2015 17:09

My staffordshire was attacked by 2 patterdale terriers, ripped to bits, she lay on the floor whimpering till a neighbour helped me save her, we were both bitten.

Ban all Patterdale Terrier's

See how ridiculous that sound's

My other dog was mauled by an ex police dog and needed vet treatment

Ban all police dogs

Both times my dogs were leashed and the others running free, my dogs like other dogs so will not fight back, they do what i tell them to do. I don't leave my kids unattended ever with my well trained dogs.

Most fatalities can be traced back to human error and bad ownership, unsocialised dogs, underfed dogs, dogs who get no exercise, dogs who are beaten and mistreated. Kids who have been left unattended with dogs.

Ban irresponsible owners
So should my dog suffer for another irresponsible owners mistakes/dogs.

formerbabe · 21/04/2015 17:10

There's a certain kind of 'dangerous dogs on council estates' rhetoric in the press.

Nothing to do with the press...I see it with my own eyes everyday.

sparechange · 21/04/2015 17:13

Really weird how defensive people can get over a breed of dog
No, really weird how people can make such broad sweeping statements based on total ignorance and expect not to get called on it.
It is as infuriating to read people coming up with crap about SEN being a cover for bad parenting as it is to read that staffies are evil, partly because it is a judgement on the parent and owner

BohemianRaptor · 21/04/2015 17:15

I worked in a vets in a dodgy area once where 90% of the dogs that came in were staffies. All in all I've worked in vets for 20 years, guess what? I've never met an aggressive staffie, ever. The reason there are so many in rescues is because idiots believe their reputation, get one in their desire to have a 'hard' dog then discover they're actually big softies.
You are very goady ignorant OP

formerbabe · 21/04/2015 17:15

It is as infuriating to read people coming up with crap about SEN being a cover for bad parenting as it is to read that staffies are evil, partly because it is a judgement on the parent and owner

Children and dogs are really not comparable.