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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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sweetkitty · 21/04/2015 19:37

The thing is there's no packs of Staffies roaming about attacking children.

I agree with dog licensing coming and compulsory microchipping but agree there will always be a minority who will not comply

Koalafications · 21/04/2015 19:39

People tend to lunge and swoop at little dogs. Its the bane of my life

Bloody hell, yes. This is annoying. I have a small dog and it is too the bane of my life!

Petradreaming · 21/04/2015 19:40

Proud owner of several Rottweilers and my lovely Staffordshire Bull Terrier. You simply could not wish for better pets. If you have a problem with a dog, you are looking at the wrong end of the lead. What should be banned in the UK is stupid people breeding indiscriminately and selling these pups on for profit, mongrels that are passed on a 'designer breeds' bought by ill educated people who don't train or their pets and have no interest in them other than as accessories. OP, your comment shows your ignorance. The most vicious dog I knew was a very cute but sociopathic Cocker Spaniel.

Welshmaenad · 21/04/2015 19:41

rosesaresublime like I said, I used to have Dobies - I grew up with them. As a toddler I kearnwd to count by sticking my hand in our make Dobie's mouth and counting his teeth. He allowed me to take his toys and even bones off him without a murmer. Because he was very well trained and knew his place in the household.

lampygirl · 21/04/2015 19:47

So essentially what you are saying is if your dog is small, you dont need to train it because its only small... but if you have a big dog, it must be dangerous.

That clearly makes fuck all sense.

FreudiansSlipper · 21/04/2015 19:52

Personally I do not understand why anyone would have a dog that an adult would struggle to fight off if they were to attack when as you say there are so many other breeds while they may bit do not attack until a child has been killed

Then you will get those that claim that this has been sensationalised to sell papers not sure how you can make a story more horrifying

I have known well trained Rottweilers to change character and a cute staffie they had to be given away. on the many TV shows about dangerous breeds there will always be a family who have tragically had their child killed by a dog that was loved and trained well

No one seems to want to answer why certain breeds will not just bite but go for the kill others do not yet it is all about bad owners nothing to do with what these dogs were trained to do or something about certain breeds that this is innate

geekymommy · 21/04/2015 19:55

Well if that's the case, let's destroy all the Scandinavians because they're descended from Vikings who and therefore have "aggressive genetics".

Most of you in the UK (and those of us in the US with British heritage) are also descended from Vikings. All people of European descent are probably descended from Charlemagne, and he was pretty aggressive.

Interestingly enough, there are probably at least as many generations between us and the Vikings as there are between bulldogs and bulldogs that actually participated in bull-baiting, at least in the UK. Bull-baiting was outlawed in the UK in 1835, and a dog can generally breed at one year old. A human generation is usually estimated at about 25 years, and Norwegian Viking raids stopped around 1100, so we're about 35 generations removed from Vikings. I'm not sure what an average generation for dogs would be, but if it's five years (not too unreasonable, if a dog can breed at one year old and lives to be 10), that gives the bulldogs the same separation from bull-baiting ancestors as we have from Vikings. Bulldogs actually started dying out after bull-baiting became illegal, but people in the 1860s bred dogs to look like the bull-baiting dogs, leading to modern bulldogs.

Koalafications · 21/04/2015 19:58

And no one who has experience of a small dog would agree with that statement lampygirl!

ClaimedByMe · 21/04/2015 19:59

ThursdayLast some cone of shame sympathy...

To wish dangerous dog breeds and all breeds closely resembling them were banned in UK?
WindMeUpAndLetMeGo · 21/04/2015 20:00

Freudians it's called prey drive - different breeds have it on different levels. Most dogs just want to please their owners, so by tapping into this prey drive it makes it very easy to train them the wrong way.

Incidentally my DF had a JRT that had a really high prey drive and would lunge at cars etc, it takes training and patience. Unfortunately the numb skulls who want "status" dogs use this drive in negative ways

geekymommy · 21/04/2015 20:07

A small dog isn't going to be likely to do as much damage as a big dog. It's got a disadvantage in a confrontation with any human other than a baby for simple reasons of physics- the human is much more massive. A small dog is generally going to have more trouble biting someone's face or neck, which is more likely to be fatal, just because of how low to the ground it is. But small dogs, of course, can and do bite people. There has been a case of a Pomeranian killing a baby.

toboldlygo · 21/04/2015 20:08

But Freudians which breeds are these, then? I can (almost) understand your point regarding dogs which have historically been bred for dog fighting, guarding or protection work - but the OP mentions a breed which has never been used for any of these things, that in fact requires a gregarious and easygoing nature to do its job. What about the examples given earlier of small breed dogs that have caused fatalities?

Breed specific legislation is ridiculous.

StarsInTheNightSky · 21/04/2015 20:11

I'm not in the UK, and we do have need of our two extremely large guard dogs (not one of the breeds on your list OP which I was surprised about, I thought their breed was topping the bosom heavers hysteria at the moment) as they serve as protection, primarily for DS and I.
They don't look like an aggressive breed, quite the opposite in fact, but they are the most fearless and loyal protectors you could ever find whilst being soppy and gentle with us. We have trained them so that they are always under control and so that they know their place in the household, and their toys/food are frequently confiscated by DS or his little friends (all around 1 yr old) and they never make a murmer, just relinquish whatever they had instantly. That being said, I would never leave any children unsupervised with dogs. My post is probably irrelevant though, not being in the UK and not having a breed on the list, still, I have had personal experience with all of the breeds on your list and as someone said, deed not breed. Nastiest dog I knew was a lab with an overly indulgent owner.

TalkinPeace · 21/04/2015 20:14

I'm a cat person and do not like staffies - just a personal opinion

but the OP was one of the thickest posts I've seen in a while

Jack Russell's were always the worst for biting in the 70's

CandyAppleFudge · 21/04/2015 20:16

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

FreudiansSlipper · 21/04/2015 20:22

All breeds will be defended and their actions will be blamed on bad training/lack of training/their owners

Rottweilers have been reported on many occasions to have attacked I could not fight off a Rottweiler yet has every attack has the dog

Staffies have attacked again many will claim it is down to their owners (yes I know that often breed has been wrongly reported)

Why are these dogs killing I am aware that they will be kept by people who want a vicious dog but not everyone one of these dogs has been badly treated yet they have killed not just bitten someone

The discussion is always shut down by the the calls of the Kennel Club say Staffies are great (or is it best) family dogs or it's all the owners fault

Staywithme · 21/04/2015 20:26

People tend to lunge and swoop at little dogs. Its the bane of my life

Tell me about it. I've got a 15yr old blind and hard of hearing Yorkie. Fe king sick of the little darlings and their prats of parents swooping in on him. I get dirty looks when I put my hand out to stop them from being bit by my very frightened three toothed old boy.

ThursdayLast · 21/04/2015 20:28

ClaimedByMe GrinGrinGrin

Thanks, that's made my evening!

tabulahrasa · 21/04/2015 20:31

"Rottweilers have been reported on many occasions to have attacked I could not fight off a Rottweiler yet has every attack has the dog."

But labs are the same size as Rottweilers, have killed people and top various lists of bite stats.

If you leave aside fatalities - which are rare and usually have circumstances much more complicated than pet suddenly turns... Bites per breed usually roughly correlates with how numerous a breed is in a particular country.

StarsInTheNightSky · 21/04/2015 20:36

Freudian I certainly couldn't fight off either of my two 160 lbs Caucasian Ovcharkas, but they have fought off a very large predator who tried to attack (and would have killed) DS and I. They both walked away without a scratch and were immediately back nuzzling both DS and I checking that we were OK after the threat had been dealt with. If our dogs were of a size that I could fight off they wouldn't be much good at protecting against big predators!
Having them means that DS and I can go for hikes (well, I hike, he lounges in his wrap sling on my back) go outside and play and even do mundane things like hang the washing out without worrying, being hyper-vigilant and taking a gun with me. It means that we can happily potter about without worrying while DH out working. Then again, I'm not in the UK so my point is moot.

fattymcfatfat · 21/04/2015 20:46

stars what beautiful animals they are! I am jealous I would never have the space for them. I bet they cost a fortune to feed though! Grin

TheCraicDealer · 21/04/2015 20:47

I suppose if you're combining an owner who doesn't have the nous or inclination to train a dog with a strong jaw and a tenacious personality it's not going to end well. Staffies' jaws don't lock, as far as I know their ability to hang on to whatever they're biting is down to sheer will. I like dogs but I wouldn't get one that I wouldn't feel I could fight off either myself or anyone else I was with in an emergency.

All dogs are dangerous, but considering the qualities of this breed I wouldn't have them around small children. I hate to see those videos posted online by people who usually extol the qualities of Staffies or similar breeds where very young kids are playing with them, often quite roughly. Then it's presented as pro-breed propaganda, when really it's asking for trouble with any dog regardless or shape or size. Seems very naive to take a risk like that just to prove people wrong.

Idefix · 21/04/2015 20:49

This thread is making me feel Hmm
Absolutely no dog is 100% safe op and yadbu.
I have two small dogs that are just as able to bite and injure someone. As a responsible owner I make sure that my dogs are always supervised and always warn people that whilst they are small and look cute they do not like to be petted by people they don't know. This warning is often met with lots of eye rolling and one occasion I was completely ignored by a grown adult who continued to try to pet my smaller dog. He wasn't bitten but it was close Angry I wonder how this would have played out had he been bitten...

honeyroar · 21/04/2015 20:54

Just because a dog is of a type bred to do something it doesn't mean that it does. My labs are bred to retrieve. One of them is hopeless. It couldn't retrieve to save it's life...

StarsInTheNightSky · 21/04/2015 20:55

fatty thank you Grin they are stunning and such an amazing breed. We own a ranch so plenty of space thankfully, and they do eat a lot but nowhere near as much as you'd expect, they aren't food motivated either (extremely cuddle motivated). Sadly they are so misunderstood, I know that both of our dogs would die defending us without a moments hesitation, but they are such lovable hearth rugs too, suspicious of anyone not in their pack but ours will accept anyone we tell them too, albeit they stay aloof.