Reporting dangerous dogs?

[LondonLassi]

Something has been on my mind for a few days after hearing about the poor 12 day old baby who died after being attacked by a dog.

My sister’s neighbour has a 16 year old son who is regularly in trouble with the police. I spend a lot of time there. The screaming and shouting that comes from next door is horrendous and the police are often called out to restrain him. He is not in school. Smokes weed all day. I’ve never seen his face because he wears a hoodie over a face covering (even pre-COVID) I’m just trying to paint a picture of the kind of troubled youth we’re dealing with here. If you make eye contact with him he will swear at you, call you names and threaten you. He is quite frankly a bit scary.

About a year ago they got two puppies from the same litter. They are fully grown now and they look like some sort of pit bull cross. Possibly pit bull/mastiff. They are huge. I’ll attach a pic of what I think they might be. When we sit out in the garden we can hear them next door fighting and growling, they barge my sisters fence to try to get to her small jack Russell terriers. They’ve had to repair the fence three times already after the dogs broke it.

This boy walks the dogs regularly. They are not muzzled. If we happen to leave the house at the same time the dogs go up on their hind legs and get very over excited. The boy has to pull them back to get them away. They try to break free to get to anyone walking near them if they’re out for a walk. Tonight we happened to be leaving as the boy was walking home. The dogs immediately started barking at us and were trying to run towards us and had to be restrained. We often hear people shouting when they walk by because of the dogs trying to get to them. It’s very scary when it happens because they are big and intimidating.

I am terrified of what would happen if these dogs managed to get loose. They have been raised by someone with a violent, anti social background. I can’t shake the image of them getting hold of a child. The boy has a little brother in the house, probably around 6 years old.

What would you do in this situation? I’m thinking of reporting them as potentially dangerous dogs. If IABU please tell me. It just seems like an awful attack waiting to happen.

Id report it op, best to be safe than sorry.
By any chance is it an xl bully dog? Lots of young drug dealers are purchasing these dogs lately for security.

If you came across a mean looking bull breed being walked by a thug would you let your small, fluffy and cute dog go and say hello?

If they were on lead, no. If they were off-lead, absolutely. My dog has been attacked and bitten in the past - both times by a tiny JRT about a quarter of his size. His best friends are a huge sheepdog/Newfie cross, a husky, a tiny cairn terrier, two collies and a very hyper cocker. He interacts and plays with all breeds quite happily as long as they're off lead and friendly.

@vanillandhoney
I wasn't saying you're clueless, I meant people sometimes get dogs without researching the breed and end up with a dog they can't handle or that is unsuitable for their lifestyle. Or they just don't put in the effort to socialise and train them properly.

I agree that terriers are probably the most snappy, yappy breed, in fact I find a lot of small breed dogs to be quite aggressive towards other dogs.

However the outcome of a Jack Russel (or even a larger dog like a lab or collie) attacking a child or other dog and say a Cane Corso, Rottweiler or Mastiff / bull cross would be very different. You just have to look at the list of deaths from dog attacks to see that.

@vanillandhoney

You're just lucky that your dog has only been attacked by a JRT, fair enough they can be aggressive but they're unlikely to kill another dog. My Border Collie was attacked by an Akita and the vet advised if he'd been a smaller breed dog he'd be dead.

[quote Honeyhoops]@vanillandhoney

You're just lucky that your dog has only been attacked by a JRT, fair enough they can be aggressive but they're unlikely to kill another dog. My Border Collie was attacked by an Akita and the vet advised if he'd been a smaller breed dog he'd be dead. [/quote]
Oh, absolutely bigger dogs are more dangerous if they attack, but the other reason that deaths from dog bites hit the news is because they are so rare.

The most reported bites (not necessarily fatale, but reported) come from labradors. Other dogs on the list include Lhasa apsos, Jack Russells, dachshunds and Great Danes. Yet nobody calls for any of them to be banned or tells people to report them to the dog warden for lunging or barking.

Well trained, a bully breed is no more likely to be aggressive than any other breed. Yet the stereotype is always there.

@vanillandhoney

Sorry for all the posts but to answer your question I wouldn't choose to own any brachycephalic breed dog anyway but no I wouldn't class a French bulldog or Boston as being more dangerous than any other. I'm not saying all bull breeds are dangerous but you can't say that a JRT attacking someone could do more harm than a Staffy if they both for whatever reason suddenly became aggressive. Staffy's are far more powerful dogs and have a much stronger bite.

If I had a poorly trained and unsocialised mastiff / bull breed (possibly a banned breed) attempting to get in my garden and damaging my fence I would definitely report it, why would you not?

@vanillandhoney

You are completely missing my point, the reason any attacks by the likes of collies, spaniels, labs, hounds and generally "family friendly" dogs are not in the news is because they rarely if ever kill anyone. This is why they are good family dogs. They are not and never have been bred to be aggressive. They probably are responsible for more bites which is logical as there are far more of them and they are often around children. Children and dogs are unpredictable so there will always be unfortunate incidents.

Have you bothered to look at the link I put up? I honestly don't understand why anyone would choose to own a breed of dog that is capable of killing, especially if they have children.

What breed do you own?

@Honeyhoops
You do realise that a staffy is not a large dog? on average only weigh about 20kg. My collie is larger as is labs, doodles etc.
Don’t lump every bull breed as a staffy!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/09/baby-died-bitten-jack-russell

Any dog can be dangerous.

@SBTLove

As I've said Staffy's can be lovely, family dogs. However they are more muscular and have a much more powerful bit than other similar sized dogs and therefore can be more dangerous if they become aggressive.

@SBTLove

Why, if all bull breed dogs are supposedly so harmless are they the breed of choice for thugs, drug dealers and gangs?

You don't see a drug dealer accompanied by a lab, poodle, Bichon do you? There's a reason for that.

@Honeyhoops
The powerful bite thing is a nonsense, a small 20kg dog isn’t going to do more damage than a 40kg retriever, it’s a nonsense whipped up by the tabloid press.
I’ve worked with dogs for years, any dog in fight mode can do a lot of damage and it’s wrong to think ‘I could separate a lab easier than a staffy’ don’t judge a dog by its breed EVER, they are all individual, ppl have been brainwashed into what they think is safe, there are more instances of bites in breeds other than bull breeds.
One of my staffies was attacked by a patterdale; smaller lighter dog; the damage was horrific; my dog did not retaliate at all.
We need to step away from breed prejudice.

If you concerned about the risk, then you should certainly report them. Police will decide what to do, or not. At least you've done what you should do.

@SBTLove

Ffs, the "bite thing" is not nonsense. It's fact. Look at the link I posted or have a quick google if you don't believe me re which breeds of dogs are responsible for the most fatalities.

You obviously have a well trained, placid staffy. I guarantee an aggressive staffy could easily kill a Patterdale if it fought back.

We need to step away from breed prejudice
You're trying to tie this to racism in humans.
Wtf

What breed do you own?

I have a beagle.

And I'm really not missing your point. The only attacks that ever get into the news are fatal/near fatal ones, or attacks on very small children and babies, regardless of what breed caused the attack.

Any fatal attacks are a rarity, which is why it's headline news when it does occur. Pretty much all breeds are capable of killing - Jack Russels and dachshunds are both breeds that have killed small babies in the past. It's time people got over the "pits are dangerous" prejudice and looked further in depth as to why dog attacks occur - the following also play a huge role:

Breed fashion.
Backyard breeding and puppy farms - as dogs of any temperament and background can be bred from.
Poor socialisation.
Lack of training, exercise and mental stimulation.
Lack of supervision.
Laziness on behalf of the owners.
Environment and diet.
Lack of legislation which means anyone can own a dog.

All those things are far more relevant when it comes to discussing dog attacks than breed is.

[quote Honeyhoops]@SBTLove

Why, if all bull breed dogs are supposedly so harmless are they the breed of choice for thugs, drug dealers and gangs?

You don't see a drug dealer accompanied by a lab, poodle, Bichon do you? There's a reason for that.
[/quote]
Where are all the guard dog chihuahuas?👀

[quote Honeyhoops]@SBTLove

Why, if all bull breed dogs are supposedly so harmless are they the breed of choice for thugs, drug dealers and gangs?

You don't see a drug dealer accompanied by a lab, poodle, Bichon do you? There's a reason for that.
[/quote]
Do you not think appearance may come into it slightly?

I wouldn't want to own a lab, a poodle or a bichon either. None of them appeal to me and the latter two have high grooming needs.

Pretty much all breeds are capable of killing
This is true they all have the capacity but capacity is not binary, it's a continuum.
for instance a bicycle and a Ferrari both have the capacity to go along the road at speed, but the bicycle's capacity is limited to about 20 or 30 miles per hour, that of the Ferrari is greater by orders of magnitude.
a large powerful dog has a much greater capacity to kill and maim
And it is greater by orders of magnitude when compared to a small breed with a smaller weaker jaw

@Heffalooomia
It is breed prejudice, OP has judged these dogs solely on appearance, would she be having this debate if they were fluffy goldies?

@vanillandhoney

Re appearance, well I don't think a poodle is going to be the look a drug dealing thug will be going for but then if a poodle had the potential to be trained as an aggressive fighter /protection dog they'd probs not care what it looked like.

Labs are large dogs but they're not
really aggressive and don't have as powerful a bite as for example a Rottweiler or Staffy. There'd be no point having a lab, spaniel or JRT as a deterrent dog, they'd be no use whereas a staffy trained to be aggressive and protect could do serious harm.

[quote SBTLove]@Heffalooomia
It is breed prejudice, OP has judged these dogs solely on appearance, would she be having this debate if they were fluffy goldies?[/quote]
The appearance of the dog ie its physical constitution is directly correlated to its ability to kill and maim
using the term 'breed prejudice' is an attempt to spin this into something else by linking it to racial prejudice in humans

@SBTLove

If they were "fluffy goldies" even if they got off lead or into the sisters garden and even if they were aggressive (highly unlikely) retrievers do not have a powerful bite. They do not and probably can not maul people to death.

Any dog can harm a baby due to the size and vulnerability of a baby. A dog that is capable of killing an adult imo is not a dog that should be owned by anyone with children. There is just no need.

[quote Honeyhoops]@vanillandhoney

Re appearance, well I don't think a poodle is going to be the look a drug dealing thug will be going for but then if a poodle had the potential to be trained as an aggressive fighter /protection dog they'd probs not care what it looked like.

Labs are large dogs but they're not
really aggressive and don't have as powerful a bite as for example a Rottweiler or Staffy. There'd be no point having a lab, spaniel or JRT as a deterrent dog, they'd be no use whereas a staffy trained to be aggressive and protect could do serious harm.

[/quote]
Yes, you've basically just proved my point...

People know that there are prejudices around bully breeds. If you want to put someone off coming up to you, would you get a poodle or a staffy?

You'd get the staffy - but that doesn't mean the staffy is trained to attack or that it's any more likely to harm the person than a poodle would be. It's just there as part of someone's image or to give off the vibe of "leave me alone - don't mess with me".

Staffs in general are small dogs anyway - far smaller than you average lab or springer. What the media refers to as a staffy is often a cross with a much bigger, more powerful dog.

Hence the bad reputation.

@Heffalooomia
You’ve clearly not heard of Deed not Breed, no attempt to spin at all, it’s a fact, ppl
are judging a dog on appearance without even knowing it.
@Honeyhoops. Let’s stop the labrador/retriever fluffy angel crap, labs are one of the most prevalent biters and can do plenty damage, your continued daft comments prove how blinkered you are.
The OP has descended into calling the boy a hooded thug, really horrible prejudiced attitudes through this whole thread.