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?

Bignanny30

I read and understood your comments, I amended a sentence which stated some dogs don't give any warning to reflect that they may not appear to but just because an owner cannot read the signals it does not mean they are not given. A well trained dog does not become a robot.

I see many owners out and about asserting their dogs behaviour is friendly when the dog is already halfway up the ladder of aggression and would very much like their owner to remove them from the situation. I once saw an owner trying to wrestle a tennis ball off their dog completely oblivious to the fact the dog was baring it's teeth and about to bite them. I warned them and suggested they seek some advice about resource guarding and they brushed me off. The dog is now being walked with a soft muzzle and can never be allowed off lead.

The dog in the example I have given was not inherently aggressive, it was lovely when the owner first got it but the owner failed to listen to the dogs signals (didn't even recognize they were being given) and so the dog increased the "volume" in an attempt to be heard.

i'd rather introduce licences and exams for having children

@Pitavina

Yes to a licence and a course on responsible dog ownership. There should be a whole module on the fact that “don’t worry, he is only being friendly” is not an appropriate sentence to say to children when they’ve been knocked down by your dog!

I’m so sick of dog owners who think there is something ‘wrong’ with my son because he is scared of dogs. There are so many irresponsible dog owners our and about that it is very difficult to tell whether the uncontrollable dog running towards you is friendly or vicious!

Totally unworkable - and the twats you refer will just ignore it.

None of the people advocating all this extra training and licencing has given even two seconds thought to the practicalities.

We don't enforce driving laws or immigration laws how will do this?

Imagine being a child and never able to play without thought or preplanning in your own home, which should be a place of complete safety.

It should be a safe place for the dog too. Millions of households with children also have dogs without problems. If people can't understand that a dog is a living thing with needs too then they really shouldn't have one. Keeping dogs and children safe and happy in the same household isn't difficult if you are a responsible adult.

@Checkedshirt children don’t generally rip people’s throats out. Why conflate the two? It’s more comparable to gun ownership, where damage can be caused.

Imagine being a child and never able to play without thought or preplanning in your own home, which should be a place of complete safety.

Imagine being a child and not learning not to torment animals

Do people realise that we used to have dog licences - but they were got rid of (in part) because it was difficult to enforce, and vast numbers of people ignored them anyway?

What makes those in favour of licences think that it would be any different now?

Licenses won’t make a difference, society has changed (for the worse imo) more selfish, more image conscious , more entitled . We need to change society.

Most family dogs are (and should be) safe around children.
But just like humans you can never be 100% certain how they might react to unforeseen circumstances.
Dogs shouldn't be left alone with small children.
I would be in favour of banning bull breeds/rottweilers etc. There are so many lovely dog breeds who couldn't kill you, why pick one that has the potential to?

@MrsDThomas I agree with not allowing them in restaurants! we went for lunch with my SIL and she brought her dog, gave it a bit of her sausage roll on the floor which the dog them vomited back up in one piece and then she picked it up and PUT IT BACK ON THE TABLE! She didn't even wipe her hands before continuing to eat her own food with her hands. absolutely gross. made me want to vomit.

RobinPenguins

I think in this instance I don’t think the dog was at all unpredictable. Jumping on or off a sofa where a dog is snoozing, what did people expect

Imagine being a child and never able to play without thought or preplanning in your own home, which should be a place of complete safety. If this is a reasonable response from a dog, why on earth does anyone with children think they’re a suitable pet

Homes aren’t safe for children with or without dogs.
Throwing themselves around without any thought is going to lead to injuries
There is always pre planning on actions whether it looks like it or not.

It is just ingrained behaviour that they keep themselves safe. Children cannot do anything they want. Walls are not made of foam, cleaning products are not juice and if you have an ill person/someone who is on the night shift or someone who is just having a sleep you don’t scream and make noise to wake them up otherwise they are going to get a punishment. Teaching children they can do anything and they will always be safe is a very dangerous route to take
Dc on seeing our ddog sleeping would more than likely sit and talk quietly and giggle at ddog snoring or leave her in peace and go and play somewhere else. I don’t think they thought they were curtailing their actions.
After all when ddog was awake they played games with her or we went for walks and they loved her so much and ddog loved them.

YANBU. DS is scared of dogs because he's been attacked - while minding his own business - 4 times. I am sick of hearing, "Oh, don't worry, he's friendly" when my child has been chased, knocked to the ground or bitten. It's not ok.

@Mumsgirls

How many more children have to suffer such an appalling death ? We need action on the level of the gun control taken after Dumblaine and the excusers can be ignored as the gun defenders were. Sadly most of these incidents seem to take place in private homes, so a wide range of dogs needs to be eradicated over time . It has to be much more effective this time and loopholes closed. People are not allowed to have dangerous weapons for a good reason and dangerous dogs should be the same. Perhaps in time we will look back in wonder that such brutes were allowed

Yes, these are my thoughts. What a shocking, terrifying and totally avoidable way for anyone to die, let alone a 10 year old. What must his final moments have been like? We should all be up in arms about it.

There's so much focus on the breed here, but I'm more interested in how many of these dogs are:
Male
Intact
Had multiple owners or unknown history
Had shown aggression previously
Had been neglected or abused
Were new to homes were the attack took place - and were left alone with children during this period
Weren't vaccinated, insured or microchipped
Had no training
Had no socialisation, esp with children
Had their tails docked or ears cropped
(Were owned by arseholes who act like they're in a GTA game)

I'd wager most of them would get a tick for every point on that list.

Imo if bully breeds disappeared tomorrow, the same people would move onto another breed and we'd be having the same conversations about Akitas, rottweilers, dobermans, gsds...

@SirenSays I totally agree, it’s society that needs changing, not the dogs.

Agreed

@SirenSays
Obviously society needs to change, but laws are part of that.
Personally I would also phase out those other large and potentially dangerous dogs you mention, as household pets. I am not suggesting we take away loving pets, but make it much more difficult to own and breed them.

[quote trumpisagit]@SirenSays
Obviously society needs to change, but laws are part of that.
Personally I would also phase out those other large and potentially dangerous dogs you mention, as household pets. I am not suggesting we take away loving pets, but make it much more difficult to own and breed them. [/quote]
@trumpisagit
What about Labradors? They can have a nasty bite

@Binxthecat I am fairly sure this was discussed upthread but no I don't think labradors are "potentially dangerous/killers" in the same way as bull breeds, rottweillers, akitas, dobermans etc. These are very large powerful dogs who were originally bred to fight. protect.
I am sure you disagree.
On the other hand I think labradors are bigger than I would want in a dog, but fatal labrador attacks are not something I have heard of.

@trumpisagit
I feel like you’re showing abit of a bias here. The Labrador actually has a similar bite strength to the American Pit Bull Terrier. I did a really quick search and it would appear that there are many cases of serious and fatal Labrador attacks (although admittedly I’ve not checked the sources). I don’t hate labs or anything, just proving a point. No bad dogs, etc.

So this is the dog in question - he’s a very large a powerful breed by the looks of it.

What concerns me more is he was used as a stud dog and fathered at least 10 puppies.

@Rinoachicken

So this is the dog in question - he’s a very large a powerful breed by the looks of it.

What concerns me more is he was used as a stud dog and fathered at least 10 puppies.

Jeez, I'd hazard a guess that many dog lovers would be terrified of such a beast let alone those like me with phobias! 😮

The prices such dogs go for is eye watering, dodgy breeders are quids in and there'll be similar incidents involving the offspring as they grow, no doubt, and will likely be used to breed from themselves. And the whole ethics around the breeding mills, inbreeding, etc. Vicious circle in every sense.

@Fleshmechanic

In Iceland they haven't allowed dogs since the 20s. I think that's amazing. Dogs are dangerous and can kill you in minutes. A cat for example can't do that even if they wanted to. In the example of this child, the dog was so crazed and angry it had to be shot so it didn't even calm down after the attack. Why you would want that kind of animal in their house, I have no idea. It always surprises me how ignorant people are to pure fact.

Speaking about being ignorant to pure fact, dogs were banned in Reykjavik to try and limit the spread of tapeworm but they are not banned any longer. Other areas of Iceland didn't impose a ban at all. There's even a breed of dog called the Icelandic sheepdog - it's difficult to import other breeds to Iceland because they are rabies free and they want to keep it that way so there are strict quarantine requirments. Not because of potential issues with dog behaviour.

@Checkedshirt

Do people realise that we used to have dog licences - but they were got rid of (in part) because it was difficult to enforce, and vast numbers of people ignored them anyway?

What makes those in favour of licences think that it would be any different now?

Because technology has massively moved on.

@MrsDThomas
Too many Jack Russells are snappy and bad tempered and more people get bitten by labs than any other single breed. It's the owners not the breed.