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.

OP - the myth promulgated by clickbait media organisations about breed specific aggression is just that - a myth.
www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/04/dog-breed-personality-characteristics/629707/

You could ban 74 breeds of dogs tomorrow. It won't stop the owners of the non-banned breeds from being unable or unwilling to control their dogs.

Plus - what's the point of yet another post on MN moaning on about dogs?
You're either preaching to the converted - people who DO know how to manage their dogs - or being totally ignored by people who know damn well their own dogs are out of control, but are hardly going to admit it or get themselves educated.

The problem isn't dogs - it's irresponsible, ignorant people.
Why don't we put more controls & bans on people, instead?

tee hee @Saucery I did enjoy your post 😘

And that is absolutely fine @vivainsomnia and I don't care whether you care about my views or not.

My point was you can't stop people using normal language to say what they think should happen.

I'm a realist, I accept the law, but in normal English the phrase 'dogs should be on leads' is acceptable.

Locally to me there are increasing campaigns/efforts to limit dogs in public places because they are causing problems and there have been changes made. There is always a swing one way, then back, then perhaps back again. There is a lot of public frustration about dogs and the situation with regards to where they are allowed may need to be re-evaluated both because the number of dogs has increased and because there are more people who own dogs but are not reasonable with regard to other people.

While I do think there should me more controls put in place in regards to who can own a dog

But realistically what would the controls be??

I've met enough middle class folk with out of control Benjis and junkies with military trained Bullets to know that'd be a bullshit rule.

So what?? Who can own a dog and who is unworthy?

The problem isn't dogs - it's irresponsible, ignorant people.
Why don't we put more controls & bans on people, instead?

This is what the measures around dogs would be - controls on the people who own dogs around what they can and can not/must and must not do WRT their dogs. No one is expecting the dog to put on their own lead or pay their own licence fee.

Are there more dog attacks than usual, or are they just in the press more?

If the former, I suspect this is linked to the impulse buying of lockdown puppies by ignorant owners with no idea how to train a dog and manage particular breeds properly.

If that's the case, the best, but unlikely solution would surely be vetting owners and mandatory training etc before being allowed to buy, but its just not viable with all the backdoor puppy farms and Facebook ads.

So many owners are absolutely clueless, and careless.

I think the law should be based more around who can keep a dog, not so much the breed.

@TibetanTerrah apparently there are more. Agree rising dog ownership a problem. Also the types of people getting them as they are increasingly bought by people who don't have time to care for them properly - more common for both parties in a relationship to work than 30 years ago for example, meaning no one can walk the dog.

Are there more dog attacks than usual, or are they just in the press more?

Dog attacks are on the rise, but that's also because there are more dogs around these days too.

I'm a realist, I accept the law, but in normal English the phrase 'dogs should be on leads' is acceptable
Acceptable on a forum, talking to people who agree with you. It wouldn't be acceptable for you to ask for a dog who is walked in an area where they are allowed off lead who isn't dangerously frightening to be put on the lead.

We have a park locally where children and dogs share the environment and amazingly, it's a lovely park, all get along. Kids do their things, dogs do their own and everyone enjoy dogs. Those who don't either avoid the park, or take the oaths they are least likely to be on. All very reasonable.

Whether there are more dog attacks, they still remain a very very very low percentage compared to the number of dogs in the country.

But those are the dogs that will be causing the problems. Unsocialised dogs with irresponsible owners

It's you that has the issue understanding. You managed it in your last sentence though. So well done

they are not your pillow

Idk, my dog likes being laid on, the closer he is to you the better. He is a massive breed though, so me lying my head on him while we are on the sofa or in bed, isn't exactly heavy. If he wants to move, he will move. Dogs are just not all the same, and what some dogs are absolutely fine with or enjoy, some hate.

Your dog is an animal.

But so are humans. We are simply a different species of animal. I am not really sure what is supposed to separate us from animals. Anything you say about what separates humans from animals, and that "X is the reason other animals are lesser than humans" can be applied to various different humans too.... So, I've heard "humans are more intelligent" but pigs are as intelligent as some small children, and there are many unintelligent humans or those with severe disabilities who wouldn't reach that benchmark. Is it the soul? Of which there is no proof....

Sorry, are you really trying to say that every statement of opinion should be preceded by ‘I think’?

That isn’t how people normally speak. When someone is giving their opinion. You did the same thing yourself earlier in the exchange “But I don’t put all dogs in the same bracket. So [I think that] dogs shouldn’t be either.”

My dog presses his forehead against mine and nudges me. We lie like that for hours. Some dogs don't like faces being near theirs.

All dogs are different. They all have different likes and dislikes. Saying that, I still wouldn't ever let children hug or pesters him. I hate seeing kids sitting on dogs etc. on social media

Well 'dogs should be on leads' sounds like a statement of fact and it's not. 'I think dogs should be on leads' expresses opinion.

Your example is null and void as I state 'I don't' see. You just need to use some sense 👍☺️

All dogs are different. They all have different likes and dislikes. Saying that, I still wouldn't ever let children hug or pesters him. I hate seeing kids sitting on dogs etc. on social media

Oh, I would never let mine actually sit on them or poke and pull them etc. Mine likes faces too, I know one locally who doesn't. I would allow my DD to lay with the dog, resting on them, in the same way I do, but only with my dog because I'm aware that they enjoy the closeness. Mine has never run up and tried to touch a random dog when out and about because she's always been taught that not all dogs are the same and they have different personalities, likes and dislikes, different levels of aggression, happiness, calmness, just like people do.

I am puppy sitting my mum's pup at the minute. And by gosh him and my dog are like chalk and cheese 😂

It was clear from context that the poster was making a statement of opinion. Condescending isn’t a good look on you.

It wasn't. They acted like it was a fact. That dogs SHOULD be leashed. Not that she thought they should be. Have another read.

Not being condescending at all.

Unfortunately that isn’t the case. The number of deaths is low, thankfully, but seems to be rising. However, in the last 12 months, I have been bitten by a random dog, and my DH has been attacked (thankfully not serious but terrifying). There have been 2 attacks in my street in the last 3 months. I also saw a dog viciously attack and injure another walker’s dog a few weeks ago (two adults struggled to pull it off). Only yesterday my friend told me her sister’s dog bit her nephew at the weekend.
Ok, it’s limited experience, but that to me isn’t a low level.
I actually love dogs (as long as they aren’t aggressive). I used to have one until she died of old age. She was as soft as soap and well trained. I can’t have a dog now because I work full time, but may do again one day.
I do understand the frustrations of responsible owners who have worked hard to train their dogs and know they are trustworthy. But sadly far too many people are not as responsible and thus causing a lot of resentment and fear due to their dogs being out of control and aggressive.
They are the reason we need tighter regulations.

No dog allowed in a house with children under five. That would be a start.

So because a minority of dogs attack, harm, and kill children under 5, then the vast majority of families who have this set up and babe benefited from it, should suffer? When so many can testify to the good memories and experience they had with the family dog?

Then those dogs should be humanely put down

If dogs should be humanely put down because the dog shelters are overun, what about kids in foster or care homes? I mean, a lot of damage could have been saved in my family if a certain someone had been humanely put down when they went into care instead of accumulating trauma and passing it down the generations.

I mean, if we are going on risk, plenty of kids show risk of growing up to harm others, but we don't just put them down. Plenty of kids we know are growing up with trauma they might not overcome, they may ruin others lives, but no they are people so of course they deserve the right to live, blah blah

It isn’t a low level, but it is very unusual.
I was last bitten by a dog in 1979. We had family dogs, extended family had dogs, we visited friends’ houses who had dogs etc between then and now. Stupid adult behaviour was responsible for me being bitten (aged 9).
I think there was more respect for dogs back then, though. You knew the signs to look for and some dogs you just didn’t ever approach (the farm GSD, the Chow behind the gate at the end of the road).