To blow into my Rottweilers face and record his vicious reaction for a laugh?

[VirginiaCreek]

Bloody idiots everywhere! I joined TikTok to watch dog videos (as in dog training etc) and I’ve noticed a new “trend” which always seems to involve winding up Rottweilers/pitbulls etc just to see their reaction. I always scroll past as soon as they start but one yesterday had me absolutely gobsmacked.

A small baby crawling towards a Rottweiler. Rottweiler growls - humans tell the dog off and instruct dog to go and “kiss” baby. Dog clearly uncomfortable around baby but does as he’s told, reluctantly.

There have been so many dog attacks in the news lately, why are people still doing shit like this??

AIBU to think every single person in the UK should be required to have a license to own a dog … and to get that licence you should be made to attend a training course and pass an exam? I’m sick of absolute idiot dog owners. Don’t even get me started on the off-lead “don’t worry, my dog is friendly!” types.

BTW - I’m a dog lover.

They should all be licensed / chipped or immediately seized and threatened with destruction or rehoming. As in police checking random microchips on dogs in public spaces.

The only way we will ever end this culture of assholes owning dangerous dogs is by being absolutely draconian I'm afraid.

People who mess about with dogs deserve whatever they get in return.

I think it's something like 30% of the UK population own a dog. There are millions of them out there. How on earth could this realistically be managed by way of checks/licenses? Public services are on their knees as it is. We just don't have the resources to be able to do anything IMO.

I agree @SquirrelSoShiny

Licences need to be brought back in as well as compulsory microchipping.
The payments for these could be used to pay for dog wardens to be visible on the streets and open spaces.
These wardens should be given powers to seize any dogs that haven't been licensed / chipped or that they feel are in the wrong hands /aggressive.

dazzle I saw that guinea pig and dachshund video and was WTF?!

Growling means “leave me the fuck alone”, it will have been a last resort but the whale eye, stick body language etc will either be missed or ignored.

Our dog growls the moment he sees the claw clippers, so when it is the dreaded time to clip his dew claw it’s done when the children aren’t here as him growling could be scary, and when there are two of us as often the growling subsides when you offer some yummy mashed banana. There’s nothing funny about an angry, scared or traumatised animal.

True but I am going to add in gas explosions. It’s simple and easy to cut the gas so it leaks and hard to find out who has done it. I’ve seen at least ten this year- they are incredibly destructive, destroy house and lives. I think cctv is essential or some kind of alarm

YANBU. I work in veterinary practice and you wouldn't believe the number of aggressive dogs we see on a daily basis compared to pre pandemic. Currently working in a fairly deprived area and my god so many badly bred puppy farmed dogs with serious behavioural issues and health issues/physical abnormalities. And yes, so many of these large powerful bully breed type dogs. I'm actually leaving the profession shortly as I do not feel safe working with these animals, not just from a bite perspective, but the sheer strength of these dogs, they are impossible to control since no one bothers with obedience training anymore and I'm done with coming home covered in bruises every day. It's quite terrifying knowing there are so many of these dogs out in public.
When I started out in this profession a couple of decades ago it was all well trained working breeds or mongrels. Not anymore. Pet ownership has changed beyond recognition and we're seeing the consequences of that now.

You're right. Some people just don't respect dogs, give them their space, treat them.with compassion and respect and a slight comprehension of wariness around their capabilities. I would never wind my dog up or poke them in their sleep or aggravate them. I respect him as a lovely but potentially grumpy and intolerant of certain things animal, as we all are. And he is lovely in return

I report those types of videos as 'dangerous acts', sometimes they are removed. Hopefully it will discourage the behaviour, but I suspect it would only be a drop in the ocean.

The problem is that too many idiots own animals, there's no suitability to own testing, and possible solutions would probably be too expensive or complicated to implement. My (pie in the sky) idea is to attack the problem from all angles:

• include basic animal care in schools as part of the national curriculum. Yes I know there's so much to cover already, but this is a huge problem worthy of some time spent on it at schools. We can't assume parents are doing it (clearly lots aren't)

• make all animal breeding illegal without a license. The breeder would have to pass a test so show they know what they're going regarding the animals, and also that they know how to vet potential new owners

• anyone wanting to buy or adopt any animal would need to get a license. This can only happen after passing a test on the type of animal they want to own, covering behaviour, training (if applicable), and care.

• make it illegal to sell animals without a license, and to sell to anyone who doesn't have a license...(you get the idea)

• not sure what to do about the "funny" animal abuse videos on social media as it would be down to the companies to want to ban them. But that should be looked into.

• track down the people who are uploading videos of them doing stupid shit with animals. Not sure what should be done then. Name and shame perhaps. Change animal abuse laws if needed, involved social services if children are involved.

I'm sure there will be many people who think that's all OTT, and yes it's a hell of a lot of work, but it's a huge problem and I'm utterly sick of it. It would mean a new governmant department, more police, more social workers, etc. As I said, pie in the sky.

Ive been saying this for ages OP. There are too many dog attacks on young children in this country and too many irresponsible owners. I don’t care what type of dog it is, they should have a licence. I was walking my children home recently and a young lad was walking too very large dogs on leads. One of them looked to be a large bull type - and this animal was pulling at the lead to get to me and my daughter who is only 4 years old. It really scared me. The lad didn’t have proper control over those animals.

One of my relatives has a very large 1 year old staffie who is friendly but because he’s still only a baby is very playful and bounds up to people. I visited them recently and one of my children were terrified. My dad repeatedly kept pressuring my children to stroke the dog which really annoyed me. Why should they if they don’t want too?

Don’t get me wrong the dog didn’t do anything wrong but he is very powerful. No dog is completely predictable. One bite from a big dog to a 4 year old child could be fatal. I’ve reluctantly decided not to take the children there again. I saw a news story online about a girl who visited a relatives house and the ‘friendly’ dog turned on her without warning and bit and ripped off her bottom lip leaving her maimed for life. That did it for me.

I work in dog rescue and at this point, people’s stupidity and cruelty to animals no longer surprises me. Social media just encourages idiots to do ‘funny’ things in desperation for likes, comments and attention, that combined with shit breeders homing dogs to anyone is a disaster for animals. Anyone that comments negatively on platforms like tiktok gets called a Karen. 🙄

I’d like to see laws around animal ownership and breeding get really tough because at the moment the laws are next to useless. The RSPCA powers are a joke. We don’t actually prioritise animal welfare in any meaningful way and animal rescues are just picking up the pieces of a broken system. Oh, and then we get told we’re too ‘fussy‘ who we place a dog with. Damn fucking right we are ‘fussy’.

An American Bulldog killed one of my cats while the owner stood by and did fuck all. He (the fuckwit owner) had a girlfriend with a small toddler. On the FB page was a "cute photo" of the bulldog, off lead no collar, next to the child who was holding a ball up to the dog.

According to the dog warden, this dog had killed various small animals but no one would give evidence as the fucking prick owner was a drug dealer and people were scared of him.

So this prick who is clearly a waste of oxygen and his equally brain dead girlfriend know the dog has killed many small creatures, yet they think it's a good idea to let a toddler hold a ball next to the dog that they have no way of immediately controlling?

I did report to various agencies including Social Services. Not sure if anything happened though. According to one of my neighbours, the dog has been pts now (not because of the animal killing)

I wish our RSPCA/ dog wardens had more powers like in the States. The Animal Cops series is hard to watch at times, but they seem to have far more "teeth" when it comes to animal control.

How are XL bullies not banned?

If they ban them, the dick heads will just move onto another dog breed.

Banning breeds isn't the answer to this as years of the dangers dogs act has proven.

They should be banned, as should American Bulldogs in my opinion.

I did read that they were considering adding Belgian Malinois to the banned breed list

I don't have a dog, but I do have a fairly hefty Maine Coon with sizeable claws and teeth. She ripped the base of my thumb open once with fear when I was holding her and one of the DC's friends thought it would be funny to suddenly pop a balloon right next to us and she tried to jump away. She also hates being combed and will happily try and have your eyes out if you snag a knot.

People need to learn to respect animals. Both my kids have had it drilled into them that you do not approach dogs you see out and about, even if they are straining to come say hello. Both kids have also suffered lessons in respecting personal space at the hands of our cat as well.

I've seen a TikTok trend of barking at your dog and filming the reaction. I wonder how long it will be before someone gets hurt doing that.

YADNBU. We have a new puppy and he is amazing, but I am so scared of other people's dogs.

I honestly don't see the correlation with this.
Mistreated dogs ( or any animal ) is a life long thing.
People either just not training their dogs and understanding body language or purposefully winding the dog up on tic tock FB for likes is all intentional.

Someone cutting through a gas line or a gas leak due to a fault is unintentional/ a accident .

I’ve just reported 2 Rottweiler videos. One was the baby one. Can I urge everyone else to do the same?

Because banning breeds doesn't prevent dog attacks.

There are so many 'cute' animal videos showing dogs and babies cuddling up together or playing. I'm sure most dogs wouldn't attack, but nobody should be taking that kind of risk and social media normalises this behaviour

I've seen videos of dogs getting very possessive of tiny babies, not allowing anyone near the baby, growling/whining when the baby makes a noise and people commenting 'look how protective he's being' 'oh she's a nanny dog' 'good doggy looking after baby'...... No the dog is not being a nanny dog it's not happy and shouldn't be around the baby!!! We need to stop attributing human behaviours and emotions to dogs who don't think the same way humans do! Yes, dogs can be wonderful if they are trained well and looked after properly, that does not mean that they are not still animals with their own instincts and behaviours exclusive to them as a species.

Well that’s the reality and a perfect antidote to people saying that dogs are not the problem, just owners. In reality, the dog becomes the problem when the owners don’t take proper care and responsibility.
Sorry to read you need to leave the profession though.