Dogs capable of sending us to hospital/the morgue need to be banned

[SplishSplashIWasTakingABath]

Yet another serious dog attack.

uknip.co.uk/Breaking/News/breaking/woman-rushed-to-hospital-after-attack-by-dog-in-the-street/?fbclid=IwAR3bVa7T5KdsbfMlHZqg8CjSCFIkSVJtGYjB8iAZJ5_2C2Rv4tomNMO1ask

YANBU - ban these dogs (bully breeds, huskies, Dobermans etc)
YABU - aw, poor pibbles, must have been provoked

The one that stood out for me on that list was the police dog, they have the best training and are not meant to kill, so if a police dog can turn then any dog can.

Sure, they're not that common, but I remember a phase a while back where dogue de Bordeaux were a bit of a thing for trendy people. I know many people with Akitas. The difference is these aren't generally status symbol dogs, owned by idiots who won't bother to control them. Which is probably also why they aren't so popular. Lots of dogs attack people, but not all of them have the strength to do lots of damage, like these breeds. That's not really the dog's fault.

I do agree that it's becoming a bit of a problem but I don't think banning them stops anything. The idiots who own these breeds will just jump to another variety. Just like how many years ago rottweilers were the choice, now it's XL bullies.

I think there should be tighter controls on breeding. Remove the profit breeders and so much would change. Not just for "dangerous dog breeds" but the health of dogs in general.

What do Dobies have to do with this? Have you ever actually met one? Every Dobie I’ve met has tried to climb in my lap like a kitten.

Yes thats why they are used as guard, police and military dogs and their original purpose was as a personal protection dog.

Along with Rottweilers i just can't see any reason for people to have these sorts of breeds.... if you want a medium/large sized dog, get a pointer.

They intimidate people and yes i have met them, we had one for a while as a rescue and my ex neighbour had one.. both destroyed for attacking people but both incredibly friendly to their owners but no one else.

@Icannoteven

Foster carers??? With such a dog?

The thing is I often see a dog I think is Pitbull, but who else would notice with the power to do something?

Maybe the RSPCA could have something to do with it?

@user12345678213

I've been pinned down by a rottweiler.

I am terrified of them.

I see your point but you’ve got the breeds all wrong. When was the last time a Doberman killed somebody?? The breeds of concern are bullies, staffies etc.

Do it's are a really strong dog, I've been pulled down a path by a Doberman and it was no effort at all for the dog. At the time it was hilarious because the bridle path was a mud slick and it was like the damn thing was pulling me like a sled, but I was a size 22 adult so a hefty weight.

I still maintain as I posted earlier that the whole issue of dogs that bite goes back to the owners and the lack of training/control not the breed. But it is absolutely the case that a poorly trained chihuahua can be thrown off, a poorly trained Doberman, not so much.

We had one as little kids. Parents had no dog owning experience so thought getting a Doberman puppy with a toddler and 3 other kids under 10 was a great idea

He was the BEST dog. Tolerant, intelligent, if baby brother poked him in the eyes or pulled his tail he would just remove himself from reach. Intuitive to our feelings, and an excellent guard dog - parents used to send me to the shops at about 8 alone walking through country lanes, with the dog there they knew I would be looked after. I miss him every day, he died 16 years ago and was the canine love of my life!

He also protected my mum one day when a bloke we didn’t know decided to let himself into our house (long story). He was pinned down on the floor and incapacitated within about 3 seconds

I can’t even put it down to training as we didn’t do much with him, like I said my parents were pretty neglectful of us all to be honest. But I can’t listen to the ‘Doberman’s are so aggressive’ without weighing in!

Interesting to see 3 times the number of JRTs have been involved than Doberman..

Yawn! How many more posts on exactly the same topic?

After coming across many dogs, all dogs of various sizes will happily try to bite you, when given the opportunity. Some of the worse ones you would suspect sometimes are the friendliest dogs, it's part the dog, part the upbringing, but I'd never presume all breeds of x dog are Bad etc

Which animals are we feeding to zoo animals? How are those animals killed? Does anyone care about them? Easy solution re dogs, who are no more worthy of life than cows/sheep/goats: feed them all to the lions. Job done.

I don't understand why people say banning them won't help. We have banned guns. Unlike the US, where they have several shootings every day, we hardly have any. And it will be harder to conceal a big dog than a gun. Certainly they won't be out on the streets risking the general public.

Guns aren't banned you just need a licence.

Vet nurse here. Never been bitten by a big breed but I've had a few JRT and Yorkies try a nip, luckily with no contact.

So I think that the way forward is if you have a larger breed you should do your research, choose a breeder responsibly and put in the time and training that breed of choice requires.

I do however think that some dogs, regardless of breed are born "bad," you don't see it often but it does occur.

It's not as simple as saying it is the owner and not the dog.

Dog breeds historically were primarily bred for behavioural traits herding/guarding/fighting/gun dogs/hunting/lap dogs etc. etc. so of course, that is going to influence the way they behave. People failing to realise that is one of the main reasons that people end up with inappropriate dogs in their homes. It's not as simple as big dogs are harder than small dogs. You really have to consider what a dog breed's purpose is or historically was.

That's not to say that owners are not responsible, of course. If you have a more challenging or potentially dangerous breed of dog then you need to put extra effort into socialising, training and managing them to reduce risk. Obviously, all dogs need some effort.

It is both the owner and the dog that matter in combination. Nature and nurture. You cannot put it all on one or the other.

Given that there are relatively few XL Bullys compared to other breeds, the statistics below are pretty damming. I would not be comfortable with my children going to a house with one and I'm wary when I see them out and about. Fortunately, they are not at all common where I am.

Fatal dog attacks 2020-2023

29 January 2020 Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Mastiff cross

13 September 2020 Chow Chow-German Shepherd cross

5 February 2021 Staffordshire cross

2 April 2021 American Bulldogs (2)

8 November 2021 American Bully XL

22 December 2021 American Bully XL

10 January 2022 3 British bulldogs

6 March 2022 Husky[105]

21 March 2022 American Bully XL

28 March 2022 Rottweiler

15 May 2022 Cane Corso[111]

23 May 2022 American Bully XL

15 July 2022 American Bully XL

10 August 2022 American Bully XL

3 October 2022 American Bulldogs

3 December 2022 American Bully XL and Cane Corso cross

12 January 2023 Unknown Unknown,

Are you serious? Some of the posts on here are so batshit I suppose you might be.

So op, you want to ban all dogs? Because I don’t think there’s any breed that’s incapable of seriously hurting or maiming people.

I was about to say my Yorkie could savage your hand off IF he wanted to.

He is well trained, daily. Firm boundaries. I've invested time, effort and money to make sure he's not an arsehole.

People comment on how well mannered he is, how well behaved he is. I'm proud I've achieved this and he has a good life for it.

Yorkies can be snappy and aggressive, it's in their DNA.

Oh and @Ludo19 just because a Yorkie is a small breed doesn't mean they don't need training like a large breed

He thinks he's massive!

I vote we feed safari park animals with the people that come up with bat shit suggestions.

Especially when you look at 9 deaths by American or XL American Bullies in the last 3 years

Full disclosure: I've got a German shepherd.

I think rather than sweeping bans we've got a few things to consider when it comes to dogs, biting etc.

1. Poor breeding. I did my research, purchased a dog from a breeder who breeds for temperament rather than build. I've got a dog who is not scared of stuff, who is intelligent enough to remove itself from situations. A poorly bred German shepherd can be high drive and neurotic. Breeding needs to be controlled properly. I would LOVE to see statistics on origin of a dog Vs it's bite history.

1. Poor understanding of dogs. Owners think Fido is a lovely misunderstood floof. And he is. They misunderstand his stress signals, they misread his bite warnings. If they exist, because the dog in #1 might not give off those warnings. They treat their dog like a person, allow it to swing the lead. I often walk along and my dog gets barked/frothed at by a smaller dog dancing on the end of its lead with its owner saying "oh love 'im, he finks he's a rottweiler". And I'm thinking fuck that, all the rotties I've known their owners teach their dog some fucking manners. If my dog was doing that to their dog I'd be strung up! Dogs are a bit like kids- don't exercise them, they'll climb the walls, don't feed them right (bakers, I'm looking at you!) they won't behave right

We can ban breeds as much as we like, but honestly the dogs I'm most concerned at out and about on a daily are the fat-barrel collies and labs walked slowly by little old ladies, bored shitless and fed on a diet of digestive biscuits, the small white fluffy things neurotic over a football because they're ratters without a job.

At least one person made a flippant comment about banning men, given they're also capable of violence. But I think there's a point there. Any race of man and any breed of dog can kill us. It doesn't matter which ones you think are more dangerous based on what you've seen or read or any inherent prejudices - they're all capable of it.

Most grown dogs and grown men who attack do so because they were failed in their upbringing. When it comes to humans, we have social services who can intervene at an early stage if a medical professional tips them off during the initial pregnancy, or a teacher notices something troubling during their initial schooling.

Why don't we have an equivalent for dogs? I mean, we treat them as people a lot of the time - when we call them 'fur babies', we're only half joking. They're a part of the family.

Dogs, like little boys, can turn violent if they're mistreated. Or sometimes just if basic boundaries aren't taught.

Now, some dog owners know what they're doing, and if they attracted any brief attention, it would go away. But for the dog owners who don't know what they're doing, there should be more funded support to either working with them to train their dogs or to remove their dogs if they're not coping. Basically the equivalent of parenting classes, taking a child into care and respite care.

I've never seen a dog warden in my life, or heard of a positive intervention led by the RSPCA, but the RSPCA is a charity anyway, and this kind of activity should be led by the State.

People who shouldn't have babies and shouldn't own dogs will always find a way to get them. Licensing won't stop them. So we have to work to identity those at risk of becoming violent before they do, and to intervene.

Everything to do with dogs seems to be on a reactive basis rather than a proactive basis. It's sad to put down a dog when it only became a danger because a human taught it to be dangerous. (It's generally the only option at that stage, but if someone had taken the dog away from a bad owner when it was still a pup, it could have had a very different and more peaceful life.)

It doesn't make sense that the police are forced to intervene with violent dogs when there's a possibility for dogs to not become violent in the first place, thanks to intervention by dog specialists (who the police often aren't).