thinking its now time to get super tough on dog ownership?

[adam7485]

after what has happened in wales to that poor little boy i can't help thinking its time to not jus bring back dog licences but before you buy a dog you should have to take an exam to prove that you can look after it properly. not only that but if your dog attacks someone not only should it be taken away from you but from that moment on your banned from ever owning dogs. anyone agree with me?

*Always blame the victims. This is why I lose respect for a lot of dog people, even when dogs kill they blame the children."

I'm a dog person and I do not blame the children but I absolutely blame adults for leaving dogs and children unsupervised or not intervening to teach a child not to treat a dog like a toy. In so many cases of fatal dog attacks on children, the children have been left completely alone with the dog, I blame and judge the hell out of the adults who allowed that situation.

Being bitten by a random dog whilst out of the house is far less common than being bitten by the family pet. Suggesting that children are educated about how to interact with dogs is not victim blaming, it should be considered good parenting if you have a dog in the household.

I sincerely hope that the arrested woman is charged with manslaughter. What sort of moron leaves children alone with an unknown, powerful dog FFS?

@adam7485

hi. i posted this in the early hours so only now just come back to mn to check notifications. here is how it would or should work. you apply for the licence. you attend dog awareness training courses. if licence then is approved after you undertake the exam you are issued with paperwork which is proof that you are a legit dog owner. regular spotchecks at which point you have to show your documents for the dog and would be a legal requirement to do so or face prosecution. at the end of the day you don't let just anyone get behind the wheel of a car without proving they have taken tests and proving your a safe driver not that that seems to count for much these days(so why dog ownership shouldn't be any different is beyond me). selling on gumtree absolutely shouldn't happen and they should take a leaf from facebook who i believe have banned such advertising.

regular spotchecks at which point you have to show your documents for the dog

There are about 12 million dogs in the UK - how regular are these checks going to be? Who will do them?

@underneaththeash

If you look at the stats of people killed by dogs, they are mainly pitbull/bulldog type breeds.

Just need to ban them completely.

@underneaththeash Can you reference a source for this statement?

Because I can provide you with evidence that dog attack numbers have actually increased in this country after they began banning breeds so it’s clearly not working.

Maybe we’re focusing on the wrong thing. Maybe instead of focusing on breeds we should be looking at the owners? Just saying.

@adam7485

hi. i posted this in the early hours so only now just come back to mn to check notifications. here is how it would or should work. you apply for the licence. you attend dog awareness training courses. if licence then is approved after you undertake the exam you are issued with paperwork which is proof that you are a legit dog owner. regular spotchecks at which point you have to show your documents for the dog and would be a legal requirement to do so or face prosecution. at the end of the day you don't let just anyone get behind the wheel of a car without proving they have taken tests and proving your a safe driver not that that seems to count for much these days(so why dog ownership shouldn't be any different is beyond me). selling on gumtree absolutely shouldn't happen and they should take a leaf from facebook who i believe have banned such advertising.

Some people inherit a dog because a family member has died. How would your proposal work in this situation?

People are far more dangerous than dogs. Maybe your proposal should be extended to people wanting children too.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_Kingdom

That's a list of Fatal dog attacks. Majority are pitbull/bull dog breeds.

I do agree owners need looking at. But there's no point pretending these dogs don't pose a bkgger threat to people especially children.

How will a dog license solve anything?

That Wikipedia entry is so sad.
I love animals and wouldn't want loving family pets destroyed, but do we really need these dogs in our houses?
The list repeats over and over, American Bulldog, Pitbull, Pitbull staffy cross etc.
A lot of these dogs are illegal under the Dangerous dogs act, why isn't it better enforced?

Unsurprisingly it was an American Bulldog/Pitbull that was responsible, according to this article.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-caerphilly-dog-attack-eight-25422902

It must be possible to prevent people having banned breeds, but it costs money and police resources.

Totally ban the most dangerous breeds such as bull terrier types, with a soft muzzle and lead ban on already existing dogs and total ban on breeding them. After a certain cut off date any bred after the cut off date would be removed and PTS when noticed. This would be the only way to deter unscrupulous people from continuing to breed. No long drawn out court cases or appeals or requests to keep them under certain conditions - two vets in agreement on the bull-type and immediate PTS.

I love dogs, have three now and have kept them all my life. Ive had big dogs. I'm no dog hater. But we need a big culture change. People are being killed. People are getting severe rip and tear injuries from certain breeds. Not straightforward bites, but tears and gouges. Heaven only knows how many dogs, cats and other pets are killed every year too. Again, it would make sense that the same breeds are responsible for the majority of this. Add to this the fear that people feel seeing and passing these large bull breed dogs, often kept by people who want to intimidate and scare the public. It's not just the killings that are affecting people, they are affecting a lot of peoples lives in a lot of ways. No-one NEEDS these breeds as pets.

PTS healthy dogs for being born after an arbitrary date is not something I'd like to see, but I think it would be the only real deterrent for breeders and purchasers in the end. Anything that is banned or resembles a banned breed would become a risky purchase and emotional risk. We will never prevent all deaths or bites, but we could stop most deaths and prevent the worst injuries.

Also keep up a campaign reminding people that dogs of all types may not recognise newly born babies as people, and may see them as squeaking prey and should be kept well separated until the baby is older.

Also - we should have police units who actively go out looking for banned types of dogs and seizing them for type assessment. That should be happening now. The existing law isn't being applied and it really, really needs to be.

@Peacocking I 💯 agree with you ,these breeds are often chosen by people with no regard for the law , I know a lot of drug dealers have them for ‘protection’ .

Just heard on the news that the woman who was looking after the dog has been charged.

The maximum sentence for allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control is 14 years.

Good. I hope they throw the book at the woman. Leaving children alone with a powerful, unknown dog is like leaving them alone to play with a loaded gun.

Leaving children alone with a powerful, unknown dog is like leaving them alone to play with a loaded gun

What the hell is wrong with people? I hope she gets a custodial sentence.

I agree with dog licences.

To be fair, if this was a pit bull as reported, it was already a banned breed, and I imagine the owner will be banned from ever keeping a dog again. What idiot leaves 10 year olds with an animal of that profile?

Why would restaurants need to be dog-friendly Not envy!

I am on the fence here. In some way, it would be good to "clamp down" on irresponsible dog ownership. But how and who is seriously going to ploice it?
Secondly, would this mean an blanket ban on dogs in family homes or dogs off lead in the park? How do you proof your dog is safe? (Keeping in mind dogs are predators and however much domesticated they will attack if necessary.)
Thirdly there are a lot of rescue dogs that are not 100% safe- Do we need to be more vigilant with these dogs and have the heart to PTS if they have bitten someone before? Should EVERY dog that bites be PTS?

I am a dog-lover. I have a little dog and he is the sweetest thing. I love him dearly.

But I have no patience for the idiots who seem to want to own a dog of a breed like a pit bull or similar. I live in Canada and when I look at dogs available for adoption they are often the only ones available.

This tragedy is, I hope, a clear message that these dog breeds are not safe. I don't care how friendly their owner says they are. You just can't trust the dog.

So so sad.

@icelolly12

How will a dog license solve anything?

It wouldn't

It does baffle me why people choose a dog that was bred to fight or kill. Instinct and genetics make up the vast majority of temperament and I would never have a dog bred for any sort of blood sport in my home.

@Leonberger

It does baffle me why people choose a dog that was bred to fight or kill. Instinct and genetics make up the vast majority of temperament and I would never have a dog bred for any sort of blood sport in my home.

Ditto.

Breeds were developed to fulfil certain functions, and while behaviour will vary within a breed, most dogs of a specific breed will show most of the behaviours you would expect. Obviously if you don't continue to breed towards those behaviours, they will get watered down, but genetics underlie the notorious barkiness of terriers like cairns and westies and the enthusiasm to retrieve of the average labrador.

YANBU. There should be compulsory licensing and microchipping with immediate power to remove a dog from an owner if these are not in place.

@Leonberger

It does baffle me why people choose a dog that was bred to fight or kill. Instinct and genetics make up the vast majority of temperament and I would never have a dog bred for any sort of blood sport in my home.

I have a dog bred for chasing. Am I not allowed my dog because I don't go out and utilise her natural instincts?

Part of me agrees but I also think the hassle will put people off rehoming dogs.

What baffles me more is why people insist on having working dogs like collies in cities and never exercise them properly. My friend has one that is rarely walked and it just goes nuts around everyone. It needs agility lessons or some sort of puzzle games to keep it occupied but the poor thing is left to it’s own devices. Dogs like these need lots of stimulation but lots of owners are too lazy to do so, then they end up rounding up kids and nipping them! The dogs not the owners. 😂 I don’t know why they didn’t get a King Charles or a lap dog if they just wanted a dog they didn’t have to do much with.