to be scared of two rottweilers unleashed by my local lake?

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Just as an aside - to all of you that are petrified of big dogs - should you ever get attacked by a big dog like this and have no option then the easiest and most effective way to stop it, is to punch it full force on the nose.

I will stress though that this is a 'last ditch' extreme measure but will work as long as you mean it - their noses are extremely sensitive and it's supposed to be likened to kicking a guy in the balls.

Bring back dog licences

I agree Cam, but for all dogs, not just rotties/ alsatians etc

thought there was a bit more to it than that wii.

but I suppose at least then there is some sort of control and licenses can be removed.

I was imagining vetting a bit like rescue homes do - checking you have enough space etc and a questionnaire on dog care and handling, knowledge of laws etc.

Now I'm naive

Mmmmmm. All breeds of dogs can be unpredictable but Rotties quite often have a totally out of character episode and purely because of their size it usually ends in terrible tragedy.
A lot of Rottie owners are a lot smaller in weight and could not hold or drag off a dog who had suddenly become aggressive and attacked where as a jack russell or smaller dogs are easier to grab hold of when necessary.

I love a certain other largebreed dog which has been known or seen to be a bit 'ard' as it was put and these animals are highly trainable but still often show lead aggression and are better off lead.

Everyone should be able to walk safely in parks and generally from my experience dogs that are off lead are trusted by their owners . Unfortunately there are idiots out there who only own the dog as to give themselves some sort of status.
The number of little staffies who are walked with harnesses covered in brass that probably weigh more that the dogs themselves.
Thus giving the look at me wiv me dog man and we are not to be reckoned with .ok laugh out loud!!!!!

My dog is large and if i see litlle children who appear frightened i offer them to stroke him as he lives with our 5 kids and is so very gentle despite his size.
Its all about being sensible pet owners.
Despite trusting my dog (99%) when we holiday a friend and her little 3 year old stays and i state that she does not leave the two alone ever!!! If the child did somehow accidently or purposely tease or hurt the dog and he out of character did re act i would not want the child scared or hurt in anyway and if we are all honest any dog can be unpredictable.

I don t know how to sort the dog situation out other than to sort ownership out first.

But the thing is , it is impossible to tell if a dog is properly trained or not, from the other side of the park. It is impossible to tell if an owner is sensible or not.

So if we see a dog not properly restrained, what do you suggest we do?

Because I don't think that trying to relax, and hope for the best is going to be the best thing to do.

and FWIW, I'm rather fond of dogs, I just don't see the point of owning one that you couldn't beat in a fight.

@ anti specific breeds attitudes

heartened by the more balanced views of course

I don't know what it's like to be scared of a dog, or any animal really, 2 beautiful long haired GSDs came bounding up to me in a field last week and it was obvious that they were playful and young - they just wanted to say hello and to play with the Old English sheepdog I was walking. They were fantastic dogs, a real joy to see. I had a long chat with the owner who called them away, worried that I was going to be like one of the many people she encounters who disapprove of the dogs running freely. It's a popular spot for dogs of all shapes and sizes to have a good run and scamper about.

Anyway I imagine if you are nervous of a specific breed a good idea is to try to meet as many of them as possible - ask the owners of any you see on your walks if you can say hello to the dog. Rotties, GSDs are highly trainable and they are not chosen by the police because of the damage they can inflict on people - pretty sure we don't have a death-by-dog-penalty-without-charge in the UK, but they can bring people safely under control.

trouble is though, a dog off the leash will often get to you before the owner is within talking distance.

as an aside by ds is very allergic to both cats and dogs, A dog bounding up to him, even in the fresh air, can trigger an asthma attack.

YANBU - totally agree

Actually Dittany far more bites etc are caused by other breeds than rottweilers etc but they don't make the news as they're not sensationalist enough.

I thought i read somewhere that most bites inflicted upon children were by labradors ?

No, they don't make the news because other breeds generally don't kill children. Pit bulls and rottweilers are very powerful dogs and the aggressive ones are bloody dangerous. If an ordinary dog bites, an adult stands a chance of pulling them off.

No, they don't necessarily kill but there are quite high figures for facial plastic surgery for kids due to dog bites.

Is it just a reflection of smaller numbers? I don't know if this has ever been investigated/researched.

Lots of dog breeds aren't use by the police for various reasons. Labroders are assumed to be easy to train as they are used as guide dogs but it takes 2 years to train a guide dog.

Personally I wouldn't have a rottweiler and I don't really understand why anyone would. But I do have dogs that could easily kill as I said earlier if they so wished.

I do know the difference between a bite and being killed.
I still say the stories are sensationalist though.

the only dog owners I consider trustworthy are the ones like Lulah who admit that you can't be 100% sure of a dog's behaviour.

I'm very fond of dogs but very wary of dogs I don't know.

It's pretty ridiculous to claim it is "prejudice" to be more afraid of a large, strong dog than a small dog. By that argument it's prejudice to ever take reasonable precautions based on intelligent assessment of risk.

A good friend of mine who works as a vet tells me that the nastiest breed he deals with are chihuahuas - according to him they are vicious and nasty and bite all the time. However, he doesn't insist that all chihuahuas are muzzled before he treats them. He does insist that Rottweilers are muzzled because if a Rottweiler were to attack him he would be seriously injured. All he's ever had from a chihuahua is a bloody finger.

Being afraid of enormously powerful animals you aren't familiar with is a perfectly rational response and the expectation that strangers should not be scared of large dogs off lead and walking miles away from their owners is arrogant in the extreme.