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?

Rottweilers are amazing dogs with the right owners, but they are definitely not for everyone.
They are very clever and trainable, but need clear boundaries and consistency with training.
They are big powerful dogs, and shouldn’t be owned by people who are not prepared to put the work in to train/manage them.
One of mine is a big softy most of the time, but can give a growl if he is not comfortable with something- never bites or snaps, just a low growl. It is my responsibility to not put him in a position where he feels the need to do this, and to recognise any signs of him feeling anxious before we get to that stage. He is extremely smart, loving and very willing to learn, but he needs handling a certain way.
All dogs need to be getting enough exercise and mental stimulation, as well as a firm but fair hand. It should certainly be made much harder for just anyone to be able to own dogs, and training should be compulsory.

I wouldn’t class a staffie as a dangerous dog at all. The Staffies I have met have all been utterly stupid and docile. Very energetic but ultimately loving dogs. No experience with German shepherds but also never thought of them as particularly dangerous.

My God, some of the replies. People are so quick to stand up for these awful dogs. If you've got children you need a family friendly dog, not a bloody Rottweiler FFS. Some people are just stupid, some are just unwilling to admit that their precious dog could be aggressive. There should be systems in place to stop people with children having these awful child-killing dogs. Breaks my heart every time a child is mauled to death, because it is preventable. Don't keep these f-ing creatures as pets.

I'm totally in favour of much harsher penalties and tighter control over the existence and ownership of banned breeds.

I have a miniature poodle and I would never leave her alone with a child. She is not aggressive at all but I just believe that's how you exist with dogs and children, always supervise. However if something were to happen it's not going to be difficult for me to get her jaws apart and grab her, so a fatal attack is very very unlikely. You cannot say that large muscular breeds aren't more dangerous even if well trained and with an even temperament.
It's shocking the amount of deaths already this year.

Sorry this thread is ridiculous. No one should own two rottweilers with young children. GSDs should also be kept away from young children and kept in a secure kennel when you are not able to supervise around children.

I cannot understand why and it is mainly women are oblivious to the potential of their dogs.

Countless times whilst walking my dogs recently have I seen large breed dogs off the lead, no way would the owner be able to control two 25kg dogs should something happen.

@Greedy7

Message withdrawn

Oh my.

Let's hope for the sake of children that your dog doesn't suddenly bite if someone stands on it's paw, feels threatened etc. A lot of the owners say the type of things you say in your post. I cannot imagine allowing a child to roll around with a very strong dog pulling it's ears. Poor dog.

@nearlyspringyay

Why should rotties be on the dangerous dogs list, or most of the breeds you mention? I don't think anyone has been killed in the UK by a Rottweiler. They're usually dopey sods.

Any dog can be a dangerous dog.

Yes they have, sadly en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_Kingdom

People have them for all the reasons given - and are then devastated and shocked when their powerful dog that’s previously been a lovely family pet kills someone. Whilst - technically - any dog can kill someone certain breeds are repeat offenders. The bite force of these dogs means you don’t stand a chance if one goes for you - a toy poodle, not so much.

I met two (rough af) young women with an American bully at a pet shop recently - at 12 weeks he was already huge. They were raw feeding so he would be “solid muscle” and were telling me proudly how they were training him themselves - as he was jumping up at me. All bravado - and fucking terrifying.

@PenguinPup

My God, some of the replies. People are so quick to stand up for these awful dogs. If you've got children you need a family friendly dog, not a bloody Rottweiler FFS. Some people are just stupid, some are just unwilling to admit that their precious dog could be aggressive. There should be systems in place to stop people with children having these awful child-killing dogs. Breaks my heart every time a child is mauled to death, because it is preventable. Don't keep these f-ing creatures as pets.

Don't be ignorant. Do a bit of reading.

@Greedy7

Message withdrawn

The fact you've said 'she never will hurt anyone' means you are complacent and its that sort of attitude that leads to these incidents happening.

What should happen is a crackdown on the reselling of dogs on sites like gumtree and unlicensed backyard breeders.
The common theme with these attacks is people buying dogs from some idiot who is trying to rehome a badly trained dog via the internet and they want to recoup some money so they sell a dog that has behavioural issues on to some unsuspecting (gullible) new owners-who believe that this person is truly selling a much loved, well trained dog to some stranger for no reason.
Or they are puppies from some backyard breeeder who is simply out for a profit and breeding dogs with no regard to temperament and not start long the pups off well in life with good early week socialisation.

We had a Rottweiler for over 10 years. Her relationship with my dc was superb. Well trained dc make for a very all rounded ddog. And vice versa.. People who bring an unknown adult ddog into a home with unknown dc is a recipe for disaster imo..
People who haven't a clue make terrible owners...
And the poor ddog and dc pay the price.

A jack russell terrier killed a baby with a single bite a few years ago.
Any dog can kill, it’s just that larger dogs can do more damage.
No dog should be left alone with a child, or a child be allowed to pull tails or ears period. Doesn’t matter how placid and well trained the dog is.

Labradors statistically are the ones that bite the most people. That’ll be because they are one of the most commonly kept pets, and since they don’t usually cause life changing injuries when they bite, lab attacks are rarely newsworthy.

I personally dislike labs as I’ve had 3 off lead and not under control attack my on lead dog for no reason. I also dislike JRT and Westies as they’ve been some of the nastiest, yappiest dogs I’ve ever encountered. I was terrorised by a JRT growing up - I lived in a cul de sac and had to pass a JRT further up the street that would always run out of it’s garden and snap at my ankles when I went past. I ussed to pray it wasn’t out everytime I had to go to school.

The problem is these so called 'idiot brained owners' do have dogs, and they do have children.

We can't stop people having either it seems so surely it's better to ban the dogs most capable/likely to cause death - for the safety of the children of the 'idiot brained'. No one's saying they can't be raised as nice dogs, I'm sure there are banned breeds that can be lovely - the problem is in the wrong hands they can be deadly.

It's almost never the dog itself though. Almost always the owner. Millions of dogs were bought in the last 2 years by very inexperienced owners without any idea of dedication and time it takes to make a dog safe. I am sadly not suprised this is happening a lot now.
Ive seen labradoodles jump at kids in our local park, a cockapoo bit me on the hand last week when I was sitting on the park bench eating a sandwich. It was off lead and owner didn't seem to care. They didn't even see it happen.
I hate that dogs are getting a bad rep for this.

The fact you've said 'she never will hurt anyone' means you are complacent and its that sort of attitude that leads to these incidents happening.

Exactly. Going by this thread if I had any power, I would ban all dog of a certain weight, size and bite force from houses with children. Some people are just never going to get it?!

Any dog has the potential to harm a child; I have one of the most placid breeds a british bulldog (Churchill dog) he’s so chill and the most perfect family dog but I would still never leave him unsupervised with a child. It’s just a risk I’m not willing to take, he’s an animal at the end of the day.

I don’t trust my Maltese around my 8 year old DC.

It’s utterly heartbreaking the number of children killed in the UK because their idiot parents put them in dangerous situations with dogs

Because they’re not very bright.

I'm sick of hearing "it's not the breed it's the owner". The breed does matter when it comes to damage inflicted. Even if you never leave your child alone with a dog, a large dog is very difficult to stop if it does attack.

I would never have an animal in my home that I couldn't overpower singlehandedly if necessary. And many, many dogs do fall into that category, including Staffordshire bull terrier, GSD Rottweiler and even Labs.

Even the best trained dog can attack if it's ill or injured, especially things like brain injury and if the worse happens I need to be able to fight it off.

Any dog can be a risk around children if it's not properly trained. I own large dogs and I have children. I'm neither unintelligent or uneducated. I care very much about the safety of my children and others, and that's why my dogs are well trained. I'm sick to death of people thinking big dog equals vicious dog.

There are no bad dogs, only bad owners.

Also children need to be taught how to respect animals. People shouldn't be letting their small child pull on the ears of ANY sized dog.

Loads of people protesting there are no 'dangerous breeds'.
Link to list of fatal dog attacks in uk including the breed.
Complete lack of poodles, labradors, and chihuahuas on list. Multiple rottweilers, pitbulls etc on list.
Still loads of people insisting its nothing to do with the breeds.

@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!

And you’re mental thinking a toy companion breed is a friendly family dog. Some of the nastiest dogs I’ve met have been “toy dogs” sure they’ll do less damage but they usually have an attitude problem. I’d take a Rottie over toy dog anyday.