Another dog kills. When is something going to be done?

[ofwarren]

AIBU to think that there needs to be a dog licence or at least SOMETHING put in place to try and prevent deaths by these dogs?
I was not at all surprised to read the breed..
"The dog, a large black XL bully cross cane corso breed, was seized by officers and has been destroyed."

metro.co.uk/2022/12/20/woman-dies-after-being-mauled-in-dog-attack-in-her-own-home-17970433/?ito=socialmetrouktwitter

Thing is if my MIL’s wee Lhasa Apso started to bite a child, a swift kick would get the dog off. You have no chance with an XL Bully. A 6’5 bodybuilder wouldn’t stand a chanceZ

I think it begs the timely question of morality over dog ownership full stop TBH

Why do dogs get euthanised when they bite someone? Genuine question.

My collie is not far off the size of a female Shepard. Labs and retrievers can be huge. Should they all be banned too? Where would you draw the line?

I didn't say anything about your dog. I just said XL bullies. We already have banned breeds... there clearly is a line drawn. Labradors and border collies aren't being trained to attack and don't have a history of being used to take down bears

They don't all the time. Plenty of dogs don't. But if they do it's normally because they are a danger to do it again.

They don’t necessarily - they do when they kill someone, often on the scene because who wouldn’t be scared of a dog that’s just killed someone? Who’s going to go in there and catch it and move it?

Besides, what would you do with it?

I'm going to say it. Prepared for flaming. I don't like dogs. It stemmed from a near miss as a child which started a fear and nowadays I'd go as far to say I actually really dislike them.

I don't see the point of owning these animals. I speak from knowledge, friends and family who have one say that they wouldn't do it again, they are too much work and tie you.
I hate how you're seen as some unloving freak by society when you say you don't like dogs, or why you don't love dogs being off the lead and running towards you.
It's like doggy daycare round here. There's a huge Japanese akita or similar down the road. Sometimes it's walked by a group of teenage girls to show off to local boys. They cannot control the thing and often end up congregating around the children's play area. These dogs are not safe around children!
Also I see loads of idiots walking their staffies drinking cheap lager round ...fair enough if you like that but it's always around children's play grounds. It puts me off going to parks. I do get scared for my daughter when I see these stories.

I definitely would support a ban on certain dog breeds in parks and children's play areas.

You mentioned Shepard's. Not all bull breed are being trained to attack either

If you go down the line of banning breeds though, what stops people from moving on to other breeds and breeding them for more muscle tone, bigger jaws and selectively breeding and training them to be aggressive?...

I'd like to see strict controls on breeding and selling dogs. There are lots of welfare reasons for this as well as the shady people deliberately selling dangerous dogs.

I also think people need to be educated about dog behaviour. Over and over and over again I see "cute" videos online of "loving" interactions between big dogs and very small children. In actual fact the dogs are showing lots of stress signs* and warning signals that people are oblivious to. Then when people comment pointing this out they get jumped on by people saying the owners know their own dogs etc.

• whale eye, lip licking, yawning, looking away, panting, appeasement licking, freezing etc

https://youtube.com/shorts/7esJvJF-_lA?feature=share

@Greenginghamdress
👏🏼well said.

lots of people are apparently suspicious of someone who doesn’t like dogs. Personally I’m suspicious of someone who prefers a creature that is obedient, compliant and doesn’t answer back over that of a human.

@ColinAllOccupantsOfInterplanetaryCraft Ugh sickening. The evil bastards. The people that do that should be treated to the same.

Yes. When are they going to do something about people having animals when they shouldn't. Sounds like her relative owned the dog. The dog was likely neglected. Don't blame an animal for a humans faults. Sad for the woman obviously but I'm sick of the way dogs are treated and when they bite, people are shocked

You mentioned Shepard's. Not all bull breed are being trained to attack either

They can, that's true, In fact it's my point. I don't think it would be popular so it'll never happen. And not all bull breeds are bad sure. XL bullies seem to be bred for one reason only though.

At the end of the day, nobody has a divine right to own a certain type of dog, so if that happens, well... can't say I'm that bothered personally

@LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet Me too!
I don't like the love me love my dog attitude 🤷‍♀️

Not everyone likes dogs, and for good reason. It needs to be more accepted.

Our dog is dog aggressive and cat aggressive, not people aggressive though. Is walked on a harness and a muzzle and only allowed off-lead in our garden (enclosed) or in a rented enclosed field. As a puppy, he was socialised with other dogs and had some dog friends, also went to training with other dogs, but after he was attacked by another dog, he completely changed. He simply couldn't be around other dogs after that.

Breeding is the biggest issue. Any old idiot can breed dogs. The amount of people crossing breeds to make the newest fad is a joke .

To breed a dog you should need a licence, the dogs should have to be fully health and genetic tested and crossbreeding should be regulated. Often you get the worst parts of two breeds stuck together.

True mongrels hardly exists anymore . It's just people crossing two breeds thinking they are getting a healthier dog because it's not pedigree but i fact there getting unreliable temperaments bred in .

I also think there should be restrictions on the weight of the dog anything over 25kg should have licensing laws.

I don't care if it's a Labrador or a bully if its a certain weight and decides to attack it's going to be a struggle to stop purely due to its weight.

None of this is ever going to happen though unfortunately and people are going to keep breeding all manner of rubbish for money.

Apologies if it's already been use. This recent Guardian article on dogs attacks makes interesting reading.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/12/lockdown-bad-breeds-or-just-poor-training-why-are-dog-bites-on-the-rise-in-britain

Like what exactly? People who train dogs to be aggressive and/or abuse them aren’t going to buy a dog licence or obey rules.
most dogs aren’t dangerous, those that are or that you think are can be reported.

This is daft. Any dog over about 10lbs could harm a child, and a Labrador could take out an adult. What are we left with? Yorkshire terriers?

I often wonder why aggressive dogs are not considered weapons. Surely if they were it would be easier to Perdue criminal convictions for idiot owners

I take your point, but that's a bit like saying we shouldn't have gun laws because criminals are already breaking the law and would carry guns anyway. Or saying we shouldn't have drivers' licences because people who drive dangerously won't pay attention to the rules.

The fact is that it'd tamp down on the breeding and ownership of dangerous dogs, and it would mean that those who didn't license them properly would find themselves in danger of criminal prosecution. Of course it wouldn't fully fix the problem, but it would certainly help--just like gun laws and drivers licences do already.

Not all dogs that bite are euthanaised. When they are, there are two reasons it happens - owner decision (sometimes with a bit of encouragement from the police), or court order.

The courts only really tend to get involved when it's a dog that has done serious damage. They don't tend to get involved for a nip.

Dogs bite for all sorts of reasons, and whether or not they present an ongoing danger is hugely context dependent. Mouthing is a completely normal stage of puppy development, and sometimes they accidentally draw blood. A large proportion of family dogs will snap and possibly bite if startled awake (hence the saying "let sleeping dogs lie"). If someone walks up to a dog and kicks them, frankly they deserve to be bitten. A dog with resource guarding issues might be safe enough with a dog savvy adult household but dangerous in a household with young children. A dog with issues around visitors can be fantastic with the owners but a danger to visitors, and in such circumstances people often just don't have visitors at all.

Most dogs with behaviour issues, including those that have bitten, can make vast improvements with help from a clinical animal behaviourist and a suitably committed, sensible owner.

There are a small number of dogs who are so psychologically damaged that they are genuinely dangerous and can't be helped to an adequate extent by a behaviourist, but this is a small minority of the dogs with a bite history.

Of course everyone should have a dog licence but dogs aren't born aggressive it's completely down to their owners and how they're trained.
People buying dogs because they think they look good and can't/won't meet their needs so the dogs are frustrated and can become aggressive.
People should be vetted before getting a dog 🥴

ive got a jack russel terrier. hes bred for ratting and its instinctive in him as evidenced by the rat that he despatched when it made an appearance int he garden the other month. otherwise hes the softest baby but i know if he was ignored or mistreated he could turn. i have young nieces and nephews who visit and they play with him but im always watching for signs hes had enough. as his owner its my job to remove the stress for him when he needs me to. hes only off lead in enclosed spaces as hes a runner and he barks a lot when he wants to play so its not fair to let him go stress other dogs int he park. i purposely have a smaller breed because thats what i can manage, i wouldnt have picked a bigger dog becaus ei know i dont have the capacity to give a bigger dog the kind fo play, stimulation and exercise theyd need.

I love dogs. I’ve owned big breeds before, last beloved dog was a German Shepard mix. I’m mad about all dogs but these XL bullies scare the bejesus out of me. Usually I cross a road to go pet a dog (with owners permission of course) but I’ll detour to get away from one of them. They’re bred to look terrifying. Even my big German Shepard I think I’d have had a chance of getting away from if needed, I could just about lift her, but one of those?! No way!

I think there needs to be much tighter control over breeding. Dogs should only be bred by a licensed and vetted breeder. The selling of dogs on that godawful pets for homes website and others should be banned too. You don’t want your dog anymore? Should have to surrender it to a rescue that can behaviour test it before rehoming it to a suitable vetted family. Where all the money comes from to do this I do not know. Potentially dog licenses could raise enough revenue?