To think this dog should be destroyed and the owner imprisoned?

[YaWeeFurryBastard]

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/victoria-park-police-horse-dog-attack-crime-london-b1069385.html

Apologies if there’s been another thread on this but I couldn’t see one! A police horse has been attacked an injured by an off-lead dog in London. No prizes for guessing the breed 🙄.

AIBU to think if the dog is capable of attacking a horse (I think we can assume unprovoked) then there is a serious risk of fatal consequences to a human from this dog and therefore it needs to be put down?

The dog is unfortunately a potentially lethal weapon. Muzzles and leads won't help the dog at home.

In most of the recent dog attacks it’s been American bulldogs or these xl bully’s, they really need to get put on the banned dogs list

@YaWeeFurryBastard as below a horse and a human are totally different beings. By this logic dogs who kill rats (that some are bred to do) should be destroyed. But they are not because this behaviour of attacking an animal is totally different to a human.

Not necessarily a correlation between human and animal aggression. My dogs would probably chase and kill small furries if not controlled/trained, like most predators would, however they aren’t remotely human aggressive.

Horses even though they are very large still behave like prey animals. However, the vast majority of dogs would not try and attack a horse due to their size. These bull breeds are bred for their power, strength and terrier like tenacity in a body of the dog that looks like the Hulk. Unless they are kept under very strict control and well trained, the consequences can be disastrous. Unfortunately these dogs attract young men who couldn’t handle a goldfish and use them as a penis extension.

To be fair if a ratting dog such as a jack russell was as large and powerful as a Bully XL I would argue that they’re unsuitable to be kept as pets. It’s the dangerous combination of size/power and aggression that is the problem.

The reality is the dog will probably be put down. Rescues are overflowing with Bull breeds that haven’t tried to savage a horse.

Dog should be destroyed, if it had the nerve to attack a horse for 5 minutes I imagine it could have easily killed a child or another dog.

Owner should be penalised with far more than the smack on the hand fines that are normally handed over for these cases.

I believe also that the Dangerous Act is shite and not fit for purpose, it should penalise irresponsible owners not breeds.

There was a bill proposed a few years ago that allowed for longer sentences for attacking police animals after a number of cases where fleeing suspects attacked police dogs and got derisory sentences/ sentence uplift as a result. It didn't make it to the books but it would've been good if it had. We depend on service and police animals but fail to protect them

Never better said:
“Unfortunately these dogs attract young men who couldn’t handle a goldfish and use them as a penis extension.”

Threads like this strike the fear of god in me. A relative has recently taken in an American "Bully" which apparently had been mistreated in a previous home.

As you say, they're all lovely until they're not. There are kids and other pets in their house and I frankly feel low key stress all the time about the whole situation.

Yes. One of my working GSDs is a petite but very powerful and chase driven 30kgs. She’s well trained but you always need to be aware as prey animals can appear suddenly and their reaction times are incredibly quick. If I doubled her size to a 60-70kg plus XL Bully that isn’t as trainable but has a terrier like tenacity and a high prey drive? Absolutely no chance. The dog would win. This by default makes the dog dangerous as very very few people have the strength and skills to handle that.

Of course and great with the kids!

Honestly, I hate idiot owners that think it’s accepts to allow their dogs off lead when there are livestock or horses about. Even dogs that are genuinely friendly with humans and other dogs can lose their minds at a different animal they are not used to - especially if it runs. I used to walk in an area with lots of sheep roaming on the moors and the amount of twatty owners who let their dogs run out of control to chase and bite the sheep was disgusting. As a pp upthread has mentioned though, not a single bullbreed and entirely what looked like middle class families with their labs and poo crosses.

As always the fault lies entirely with the owners and yet it’s always the dog that ends up suffering.

I am big dog lover but I know that sometimes putting the dog down to sleep may be the kindest thing for them especially this far gone even though it's not theor fault, bit owner's. Owner should absolutely be prosecuted.

The owner should absolutely be jailed. Fucking moron.

I agree that the dog should be destroyed and the owner punished.

I don’t know how my dog feels about horses because he’s never got close enough to one to react. Whenever we walk in the countryside and see horses, I immediately put him on his lead and keep a very wide berth. I can’t predict whether my dog is going to be spooked by the horse or vice versa so it seems like a no-brainer to keep the dog under my control.

Which says it all re the owner in this scenario. ‘No-brainers’ aren’t obvious to people without brains.

Yep - mine would chase and kill a small furry (well, she did get beaten up by a cat at one point - the cat definitely started it) - she can't help it, she has generations of breeding going through her tiny brain telling her "SMALL AND FLUFFY - GET IT" (ex racer greyhound) but I have no concerns with her with kids or people at all. Horses? Well we stay well clear because I'm fucking terrified of them, but I don't know what she actually thinks they ARE to be honest - we've moved and there's a riding stable near here and walking past the fields on the pavement that runs alongside you can almost see her trying to work out if they're extra tall greyhounds or something... wouldn't trust her at all but you can almost see the wheels turning.

We do have a fucking LOT of the XL bully types appearing around here - unfortunately lots of the service users I visit are getting them and expressing that they're going to breed and sell the pups and I'm sat there thinking "oh fuck NOOOOO" so there's a nightmare looming in that respect.

It’s awful but how many horses buck riders off or kick people?

I don’t think they should all be put down even though they can do considerable damage.

The owner should be in trouble and I think we need stricter rules about having dogs on leads. Maybe dogs off leads should all be muzzled.

Why are these XL bully dogs not already banned ?! How many people/animals need to be attacked before this happens.

I read that earlier & was wondering the outcome if any.

Out of control dog, police officers& owner on scene but nothing happened?

Most dogs will also chase, attack or herd other animals, especially prey animals.

It's a horrific and sustained attack. The horse was clearly really suffering and may not make a full recovery in terms of trauma - catastrophic for a police horse. It's scarred for life now which reduces the alternative possible future homes as well. Police and service animals should enjoy special protection - we simply can't afford to run the risk of this happening again with this dog so yes it should be destroyed. The owner should not be allowed to have a dog again. He's also a coward but I guess that's another story.

It’s the dangerous combination of size/power and aggression that is the problem.

Yes and some breeds have been bred over generations for aggression/ fighting/ prey drive.

Once a dog has behaved like this they will likely always be a risk. Even in their domestic situation it could turn on a visitor or even the new owner. In this specific case it’s not worth the risk unfortunately. Neither is it for these breeds in general either.

Of course any dog could be a risk in a bad owner’s hands. But these types are not as predictable/ stable as GSDs. Add to that the size/ power issue. Just no.

I don’t know but could it be that the legislation can’t keep up with the breeding that goes on? Dangerous breeds get put on a banned list but then people pair different combinations of breeds together and create new breeds which are not yet covered by legislation?

No, I’d rehab the dog and destroy the owner!