Why do people keep dangerous dogs???

[Ori18]

Another little boy pronounced dead this morning on the news - the toddler who was mauled on Monday and subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest. The dogs in question are not thought to be banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act - but I'd be interested to know which breeds they were as it's quite evident that certain breeds are more dangerous to children than others - why aren't Rottweiler's on the banned list for example?

And even though Pitt Bull Terriers are banned, people still go out of their way to own them, and are then shocked when they attack small children, maul babies, tear limbs off people. It makes me so angry. Same goes for German Shepherds and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. The Bull Terrier dogs are/were specifically bred for fighting - why would you even consider having one of these types of dogs around a baby or a small child? What is going on there? Is it lack of intelligence? Lack of education? Lack of giving a fuck? Because I think there need to be more dogs on the banned list, and heavier penalties served to people who insist on breaking the law to keep these dogs.

Aggressive/dangerous dogs and babies/small children do not mix, should never be mixed and it shouldn't take more deaths for the law to change around this. AIBU?

I love dogs, all dogs but would not trust any canine with or near a baby, unattended.

The baby is too vulnerable and the dog is a predator and can flip in an instant. This can also apply to smaller breeds too and its absalutely horrendous what happens to these poor children and I can't bear thinking about it too much its just awful.

A dog is seen in the eyes of their owners as a family member, loved and adored. Some dogs see babies and go into hunter instinct.

@Irridescantshimmmer

I love dogs, all dogs but would not trust any canine with or near a baby, unattended.

The baby is too vulnerable and the dog is a predator and can flip in an instant. This can also apply to smaller breeds too and its absalutely horrendous what happens to these poor children and I can't bear thinking about it too much its just awful.

A dog is seen in the eyes of their owners as a family member, loved and adored. Some dogs see babies and go into hunter instinct.

I was taught in behaviour classes and seminars that dogs do not see babies as humans. The high pitched cries can sound like a distressed animal and the jerky uncoordinated movements can seem like an injured animal, a distressed and injured animal is easy prey for a feral canine and it not then surprising that an unsocialised dog or one that is not used to babies sees the baby as prey as opposed to a human like the rest of the family.

The attacks on babies are often not due to aggression and a wish to harm people, even the most person friendly dog can have a high prey drive which is triggered by small animals and babies. This is what happens in attacks with terrier breeds towards babies (and yes babies have been killed by small terrier not just pitbull terrier type dogs)

Any dog can be dangerous. I see dog bites on a daily basis. Sadly it is nearly always the same breeds (I always ask and record). I've been put off a number of breeds but the emergence of these XL bully's that are 13 and 14 stone is terrifying. Who can control a dog that size safely?

I do appreciate there are loads of lovely XL dogs and most of them are big tail waggers but there are owners being overpowered by dogs that are sheer muscle and very very large.

*XelaM

OP - I agree with every word and people who claim Rottweilers are "big softies" are just mental. I have a dog, but he's tiny and I purposely chose a toy companion breed because I want a friendly family dog!*

Really? I am actually very uncomfortable around tiny yappy snappy dogs. Having been chased by a jack russell, a yorkie and bitten by a chihuahua when I was a child.

@Jayne35 Not my breed then 😃 I agree with you about JRTs and Chis - little mean monsters most of the ones I have met (I have also been bitten by a Chi and my dog has been snapped at and bitten by mean JRTs) but none of those attacks left any lasting scars beyond being unpleasant. Had either of us been attacked by an American XL Bully or a Rottweiler, we would have unlikely been here to tell the tale

I witnessed two JRTs kill a cat once, it was horrific. Completely tore it apart.

I've not looked at them the same way since.

@Thelnebriati

A trained dog obeys the person who trains it, and in cases like that working K9 dog will only obey its handler. In the UK they can't be kept in the handlers house for that reason.

What on earth are you on about?

In the UK, serving police dogs can and do live in the handlers house!

To be honest the way the UK is going with idiot dog owners , I personally think we need to move towards ALL dogs being muzzled in public if off the lead or kept leashed at all times.

Secure dog parks which you hire are popping up everywhere, so people can exercise dogs off the lead , safely.

@Uniformity

Any dog can be dangerous. I see dog bites on a daily basis. Sadly it is nearly always the same breeds (I always ask and record). I've been put off a number of breeds but the emergence of these XL bully's that are 13 and 14 stone is terrifying. Who can control a dog that size safely?

@Uniformity what breeds are mostly to blame for biting you see.? Out of interest.

@Indoctro a lot of GSD. Most of these bites though are within the home or a sick dog has been disturbed. What put me off actually getting a GSD myself is a lot of the bites are facial.
Unprovoked random attacks, more and more of the XL Bully breeds. Generally attacking someone else's dog but also just random.
It is worth noting absolutely any dog can bite. I see at least one dog bite daily. The most I've seen in a day was 8 and it was a holiday period.
Christmas, Halloween, large events can upset dogs and probably very uncomfortable in their own homes which is understandable. These are the times I see more dog bites.
I've seen one Rottweiler bite to memory. The owner got a second dog and upset his original.

[quote Uniformity]@Indoctro a lot of GSD. Most of these bites though are within the home or a sick dog has been disturbed. What put me off actually getting a GSD myself is a lot of the bites are facial.
Unprovoked random attacks, more and more of the XL Bully breeds. Generally attacking someone else's dog but also just random.
It is worth noting absolutely any dog can bite. I see at least one dog bite daily. The most I've seen in a day was 8 and it was a holiday period.
Christmas, Halloween, large events can upset dogs and probably very uncomfortable in their own homes which is understandable. These are the times I see more dog bites.
I've seen one Rottweiler bite to memory. The owner got a second dog and upset his original.[/quote]
What about Labs as I see all the time they are meant to be responsible for most kids bites.?

Is that actually true.?

Also what about Staffies.? They seem to get blamed a lot but then on other hand you read they are fantastic family pets.?

I'm genuinely interested to know from someone who actually see's first hand bites.

Thanks

I generally only see adults. I did expect to see much more lab bites as there are just so many labradors about. If I've seen any in 15 years they were minimal. Same with staffies. Interestingly, these are the 2 most popular dogs for staff in our ED.
In fairness I rarely see kids so the stats for kids being bitten by these dogs could be far far different.

I see almost as many cat bites as dogs!

@Uniformity

I see almost as many cat bites as dogs!

Do you see many cases of cats mauling someone to death?

All dogs can bite but, save for a few rare exceptions, it's always the same few breeds that kill.

What on earth are you on about?

In the UK, serving police dogs can and do live in the handlers house!

This. Difficult to form the necessary bond with the handler otherwise.

[quote XelaM]@Jayne35 Not my breed then 😃 I agree with you about JRTs and Chis - little mean monsters most of the ones I have met (I have also been bitten by a Chi and my dog has been snapped at and bitten by mean JRTs) but none of those attacks left any lasting scars beyond being unpleasant. Had either of us been attacked by an American XL Bully or a Rottweiler, we would have unlikely been here to tell the tale[/quote]
We’ve had two JRTs. Neither were mean monsters.

@Uniformity

I generally only see adults. I did expect to see much more lab bites as there are just so many labradors about. If I've seen any in 15 years they were minimal. Same with staffies. Interestingly, these are the 2 most popular dogs for staff in our ED. In fairness I rarely see kids so the stats for kids being bitten by these dogs could be far far different.

Thank you that's interesting

What on earth are you on about?
In the UK, serving police dogs can and do live in the handlers house!

The person killed by the dog was not the handler. When the handler is not present, a dog trained for man work is supposed to be in its kennel, where it sleeps.

My dream was to have a doggo argentino but unfortunately it is one of the banned breeds in the Uk. I believe dogs personalities are mirrored by their owner’ personalities… it is naive to think a ruthless aggressive person would raise a sweet docile animal (or child for the sake of argument!)… we opted for a cane corso, out of respect to others, we only walk him outside rushing hours ie 6/6:30am and after 8/8:30pm. We also super mindful of our surroundings… other breeds he doesn’t like, etc. I believe we can live in harmony, we just have to respect each others boundaries, choices and limitations.

We need to look at the people, not so much the breeds.

Why do people own dangerous dogs - because lots of people are stupid, and ignorant, and even non-stupid, non-ignorant people sometimes make mistakes.

Lots of people buy dogs from shitty sources, for shitty reasons, use shitty training and shitty management and their kids and the dogs pay the ultimate price for that.

We don't enforce the animal welfare act properly - you can set up as a dog trainer tomorrow, flog your methods all over social media where you use shock collars and prong collars to suppress behaviour, and you teach ego-driven morons to teach pet dogs protection dog work and bite sports, never make the risks of any of this clear and you're never going to be held responsible when something horrific happens.

You can breed from really nervous, anxious, fearful and aggressive dogs and sell those dogs to people who think they want a guard dog to protect their family and the chances of you being held responsible for that when it goes tits up are nil.

You can go out and buy or rescue a crossbreed puppy, and 9 months later, even though you have done everything right and been the most responsible owner, you can find yourself owning an illegal, banned breed. Because our legislation bans breeds by appearance, not DNA, and THAT is why we have far more 'type' dogs now than we had when the ban was first implemented.

Banning MORE breeds would not work. We have first hand evidence that banning breeds and their crosses/types does not work and if we look further afield to other countries who have done the same, amazingly... it doesn't work there either.

Educating people.
Preventing puppy farmers breeding on commercial scales.
Preventing the breeding of mentally and physically unsound dogs.
Enforcing the legislation we already have.

These are the things that actually need to be done.

You are bu. Staffies are gorgeous, lovely natured dogs. My dog is a German Shepherd, and the only danger to you would be that he licked you till he drove you nuts. And he'd still make sure you were ok, even if you shouted at him. He is my heart, and everyone loves him. His best friend is a staffy who runs around with him and helped him get over a fear period.
So yeah
YABVU. And goady

And even though my dog is a softie, I know it's because I train him, set boundaries and make sure he heads structure. I also used balanced training techniques because totally FF is failing most dogs. My dog has a clear understanding of what is expected of him. And I don't treat him like a human child

I have two GSD, had my oldest since my daughter was 12 weeks old. They are an absolutely amazing team but have always been supervised together even to this day. I wouldn’t trust any animal unsupervised with children.

Both of my dogs are fantastic with kids although the older dog hates other dogs. They run around the garden waiting for the kids to incite playing with them otherwise they entertain each other and never approach.

I wouldn’t blame the breed, I’d blame the way they are raised. My FIL has 4 staffs, each and every single one listens to commands from all the grandchildren, plays gently and doesn’t push the boundaries.

That being said, I don’t trust dogs I don’t know or dogs of family where no boundaries have been set. My sister has a lab who jumps all over everyone, children included, steals food from the kids, snatches toys from the kids and in general is chaotic. Snarls at us if we dare walk past her or sit on the sofa!

With such a small sample ‘luck’ is I feed the most likely explanation.