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’m sure it won’t be too long before there are tighter restrictions around dog ownership. I just hope we don’t have to hear about more child deaths (or any other attacks) before that happens

There are over 8,000 admissions into hospital a year for dog bite injury in the UK, most of them children and the vulnerble. That is, admissions onto hopstital wards. That works out, on average, 23 today.

You’re getting your info from The Mirror? Desperate measures indeed. Perhaps a better class of reading material might give you a more balanced outlook.

Oh, and one of the photos on there, of the child grasping the dog’s head? That is exactly how dc get bitten. Huge fines for parents who put their dc at risk like that might be in order, as well as removing the right to have a dog ever again.

What a horrible thing to say!
I would starve before my dog does.

Saucery
Why are you posting laughing emojis? Do you think its funny that people, many of them children, are regularly being savaged by dogs? Arm and leg amputations, full facial and other surgical procedures, that can take years. Eyelids, mouth, ears, noses, facial bone torn off. You think this is a source of amusement?

My last post btw was from info in the Independent newspaper from a study of UK hospital dog bite statistics (admissions onto wards) by universities (2021).

Perhaps, but we could also say that you are being deliberately hard of hearing too.
Pitbulls were only mentioned as an example of how a dangerous breed that hasn’t been banned in the US has caused so many attacks - as a comparison to the UK, where of course they are banned, hence why they don’t appear on the recent attacks list. I think the point (not originally made by me) was that some breeds are inherently more dangerous.
I will absolutely teach my own children (when they can understand me) not to approach dogs/to be cautious about going to someone’s house with one etc, just as my parents did with me. I am certainly more cautious around dogs since being bitten.
However, my point is that the onus should be on the owner of the dog to be responsible, not the child that visits their friend’s house, or the lady who gets attacked by her neighbour’s dogs, or the parents of the baby who can do nothing while a stranger’s dog kills their baby before their eyes (three recent cases).
I would agree there is some responsibility to be had about teaching children to not go and pet dogs without permission etc, but that is only a small part of the problem and putting too much responsibility on kids to solve the issue.
Every recent attack I have heard about was not because the victim approached the dog.
I agree any dog can be aggressive, yet some breeds are more likely to do major harm as a result.
Aside from all the sniping, I have been very interested to read others’ ideas for how to reduce dog attacks on this thread, and I think the best arguments I’ve heard are to crack down on irresponsible breeders, introduce proper licences with mandatory training, and for no dog to be legally off lead in public until it passes a test. I would also argue that it could be illegal to introduce certain breeds to households with existing children aged under 10.
That to me sounds like it shouldn’t deter responsible people, but might make it a bit more difficult for bad, negligent owners.

No, shame on you and the other posters on here for arguing until you are blue in the face that there are no ‘dangerous dogs’ and that their ‘right’ to own a dog trumps everyone else’s.
Since you basically sound like you want a similar outcome to me, I can’t understand why you are arguing with me so much. You must just enjoy it.
I only said I got bitten once, last year, so stop with the accusations. And I also made clear that i have owned a dog and may do again when I have more time. So I certainly don’t want dogs to be nanny stated away. I just want tighter controls.

XL American Bulldog (not a pitbull)
Chow x GSD (not a pitbull)
Cane Corso (not a pitbull)
Rottweiler (not a pitbull)
Husky/malamute type (not a pitbull)
Bulldog (seized by police, put into kennels so they'd have made a statement if it was an illegal breed)*

The above quote is all semantics of course and desigend to disguise how dangerous ANY medium to large bull type dog is.
Many of these dogs are of a pit bull type and some of them will no doubt be a pit bull mix.
Apart from that, Pit bulls (to use your definition) have killed children in the UK and regularly do around the world, especially in the USA where 'pitty pibble' obsession is off the scale

I ask again... What are you going on about?!

I honestly think there should be an outright ban on pet dogs. Only working dogs should be allowed with stringent rules on who is allowed to have them.

And thank the lord and all that is holy the decision isn't left to you

I can understand this. For me it would be 99% to prevent dog attacks but there is also the argument that owning a dog as a pet is cruel for the intensely inbred 'domesticated' dog.

PETA campaign against dog ownership on the grounds that dogs are not a natural product of evolution anyway, dog breeding is cruel, and keeping the animal in a domestic situation is also cruel to the animal. That attempts at training dogs is cruel, especially when you bear in mind that the trainer, dog traning manuals and websites all disagree with each other anyway. You only have to look at dog advice forums to see how many arguments there are on dog training. Frustrated owners begging for help always get conflicting advice from so called experts

Two pure bred collies shoved together would not be working sheepdogs but genetically they would be predisposed to herding behaviours and other collie traits. There’s a reason pointers point, sighthounds chase and unfortunately why some dogs are predisposed to some forms of aggression (animal most commonly)

It’s incorrect to say puppies are born blank slates. Even things the dam experiences during pregnancy can effect how the puppies turn out as adults. You can’t override genetics as hard as you may try.

I'm fully aware of that. I have a collie after all.

I don’t necessarily mean you @AllThingsServeTheBeam However I do spend a lot of my day explaining to people that if they buy a breed bred and born to do X that they shouldn’t be surprised when that behaviour happens. That goes for dogs bred for blood sports.

It seems like it’s a hard concept for people to grasp!

Another death today. An elderly man in Wrexham.

When the fuck is something going to be done to stop this?

However I do spend a lot of my day explaining to people that if they buy a breed bred and born to do X that they shouldn’t be surprised when that behaviour happens.

Agree so much. One of mine is bred to bark, whilst this of obviously managed she has to be able to have times where she can happily bark, also her barking is not worry or fear it is joy which people do not always realise (we are not dicks, we do not inflict this on others)

She sounds annoying as fuck. 😂

I don't for a second believe that most aggressive dogs don't show any signs prior to attacking. People just aren't very aware of the body language and don't cotton onto dominant/aggressive behaviour before it becomes a problem.

Like not realising a dog trying to sit on their foot is often trying to show dominance and instead thinking it's cute.