To think there should be more controls on dogs and more banned breeds

[Merryclaire]

Just seen on the news that another young child has been killed by dogs - that must be at least 4 this year in the UK - there have been a number more that have thankfully not been fatal. Always seems to be (most often) a US bully or sometimes a husky. Why are there not more dog breeds being banned (especially the bully)? And why is there not more noise about dog ownership rules in general being tightened up?
For the record I have always liked dogs but these regular child attacks scare me.

I have huskies and they are NOT aggressive dogs. If a husky is aggressive, you can bet your bottom dollar they have been abused.
We don't need control on dogs. We need control on owners. We need arseholes who don't have a flipping clue who go and get a sentient being and absolutely destroy them to be controlled.
We need cowboys who get a little female dog and breed the shit out of her to be controlled.
We don't need harsher controls on dogs. It's the humans who cause all the issues.
I have three very lovely, well trained dogs and I have two lovely nephews. I NEVER leave my dogs and nephews alone together - doing that would be a complete failure of my duty of care to my nephews and my dogs.

all you like, but humans trump dogs and as long as there are out-of-control dogs, all dogs should be on lead.

As long as there are out-of-control males who can't stop stalking, raping, attacking kidnapping women at night, then all males should be on a curfew.

You mention Husky in your post- what is wrong with you!
Read up properly- they are one of the best breeds with children-
maybe you should consider their needs to be criteria for Dog owners!
Dont post about something you clearly don’t know about!

Once again, humans are humans, animals are animals.

But humans are animals. We are just a species of animal

I do find the “it’s the owners, not the breed” posts to be a bit reminiscent of the arguments made by the pro-gun lobby in the US “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”.

Yeah, that’s cute, but perhaps if there were fewer guns in that society, then you wouldn’t have to rely on everyone owning a gun being a good gun-owner.

Some breeds of dog can kill or seriously injure people very easily. Yeah we can all cross our fingers, every time we come across a dog like that, that the owner happens to be a good one. However, I’d prefer it if there were fewer potentially life-threatening domestic animals around in the first place.

And there is more, not only the person walking on the path past year, but ANOTHER person has also come forward who was attacked in a public places by the same dogs in a separate incident, this time the person 'couldnt walk for over a month'. Again nothing was done.

This is being repeated allover the country. Dogs attack and nothing is done. Why aren't they immediately put down and the owner prosecuted? Is it because there is a now a powerful dog lobby, charities, clubs etc, that refuses to accept any dog being put down. We have dog rights solicitors, clubs, charities, defending the dogs in court and the dogs are then let back into the community, even dogs that have injured people, whereas years ago the dog would have immediately and rightly be put down, no question.

Its insane now and it its getting worse

A human is not the same as an animal in ethical terms, due to the capacity for higher order thinking.

So are humans who are not capable of higher order thinking lesser than the humans who can?

But... I say again. It is not the fault of responsible dog owners

@KittyWithoutAName …I don’t disagree but I don’t think male-on-famale violence is a reasonable equivalent to bring to the thread and is a huge derail, not to mention hugely triggering for someone who just wants a nice dog bunfight thread suddenly having to read about rape. Please can you stop.

Someone comes over to me and demands I do something that I do not have to do.
Absolute loon. Who knows what else they might start demanding, or who they might attack next?
Fucking hell I hope you stretch before those kind of leaps.

It’s not the dogs, it’s the owners. Look at the type of people who are breeding these bully types for a start.

But no one is suggesting it is the fault of responsible dog owners. Just because there are many responsible owners doesn’t mean the bad ones shouldn’t be punished when their precious pooch kills a child. The fact there were already reported incidents in this latest case is very troubling.
Unfortunately there are many irresponsible owners - and as with so many things in life, they spoil it for everyone else.
The original point was, something needs to change. It’s good to hear others’ opinions on the subject and how things can be improved, but I can’t understand the posters downplaying such a tragedy.

Have you read my original response? I am not saying they should go unpunished. flaxmeadow takes it out on everyone who dares walk their dog in a public place as though they are all untrained monsters just waiting to attack the nearest person.

Something does need to change. But walking trained dogs on lead isn't it.

Its the fault of all dog owners who do nothing about it and many refuse to even admit there is a problem

How many topics like this have there been, how many dog owners refuse to listen to reasonable proposals, dogs always on leads for example.
How many times do we see a topic like this on the dog kennel board? Never as far as i can see
Most dog owners, as a collective, do nothing to help prevent attacks. Where are the dog owners campaigning against dangerous dogs?

What the hell do you want me to do about it? I reported my nans dog attack to the police and warden it was posted all over local FB. We found the owner and the address. Nothing was done. I call the police weekly to see if there is an update. Nothing. I have written and emailed my MP. What else do you want me to do? Apart from (pointlessly) not walk my dog offlead?

I limber up by running after my dog as she steals ice creams from babies, bowls toddlers over like ninepins and bites innocent passers-by

AllThingsServeTheBeam
Leash you dog in public places and encourage others to do so too

No

But how do we identify and deal with the irresponsible ones before an attack occurs?

How do we stop irresponsible owners from obtaining dogs?

How do we remove dogs from irresponsible owners before they attack?

How do we reduce the risk of attacks?

How do we reduce the frequency of attacks?

How do we reduce the severity of attacks when they happen?

If responsible dog owners aren't prepared to think about and advocate for measures then people who don't own dogs and/or are fearful of them will be the only ones lobbying and their proposals might not be palatable.

Why not? You say your dog isn't dangerous but all dog owners say that. How does anyone else know?

I don't know. I have no idea. Irresponsible people will always exist and get around all rules that get put in place.

I have a dog who I trained and who has never been a menace to society. It's not my responsibility to train everyone else's dog just because I have one

Why should my dog suffer not being able to go off lead when he is allot because of others?

I think the best thing that responsible dog owners could do is, upon acknowledging that certain breeds of dogs can be dangerous (particularly if they have bad owners) is to cease brushing off peoples concerns by saying ‘that’s the owner’s fault, not the dog’ as if that solves anything. Again, it’s just like the “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” argument against gun control.

If potentially dangerous dogs keep ending up with bad owners, then a solution needs to be found. Strictly controlling dog ownership may be a possibility, as might banning larger breeds from being kept as pets.

*allowed

Give it up @Flaxmeadow . Off lead dogs aren’t going away, so you’ll have to get used to it.
If there is a specific problem in an area then you will see dog control zones, but it’s not going to happen everywhere.
The flip side of increased dog ownership is that a lot more money is going into the economy. An industry is growing up around it, one that was fairly substantial beforehand and is now increasing.
I went to a market yesterday and there were several stalls selling dog related stuff. Not to my taste, admittedly, because dogs need to be dogs and not fed “doggy donuts” imo, but many owners feel differently and there’s a lot of disposable income going into dog ownership.
All the dogs we met were impeccably behaved btw. On leash or not. The same couldn’t be said for some of the toddlers (a stall full of jewelry nearly on the floor - oops!), unfortunately but live and let live

Businesses that allow dogs aren’t going to turn away the spending power of dog owners. We’re here to stay and the most dog haters can ask for is that dogs are trained.
There’ll be no legislation against dogs on a national scale. Not the massive conspiracy you seem to think it is. Pure filthy lucre 💴