Can we muzzle all dogs in public yet (warning, graphic image of mauled hand)

[lfYouLikePinaCoIadas]

“Whilst out walking a route that Tom has been on numerous times, he was the victim of an unprovoked attack by an unleashed dog. The dog attacked Tom multiple times as he tried to protect his puppy from being mauled by the dog and was left with horrific injuries. What is more horrifying, however, is that the owners of the dog didn’t try to help and fled the scene leaving Tom bleeding from his artery on his wrist.

Wife Katy recalls the moment that she opened the door to find her husband standing there after the attack: ‘‘Tom managed to get home where I had to tourniquet, to try to stem the bleeding, while waiting for 999. He lost several litres of blood in the short time until the ambulance arrived. Our two children were at home at the time and were woken up by the commotion. My 7-year-old was terrified and thought that her dad was doing to die from the blood loss.’’

https://www.familiesonline.co.uk/news/dad-of-2-viciously-mauled-by-dog-trying-to-protect-family-puppy

Imagine it had been a child’s face, or neck, or little body, instead of an adult’s hand.

Absolutely sick of nothing being done to protect the public.

YABU - dogs are man’s best friend
YANBU - something needs to be done

But @VincentVaguer why should anyone have to put up with other people's dogs? Keep them to yourself. I have no interest in your dog, friendly or not. It's your job as an owner to keep it under control.

You don't have to have an interest. Just ignore them and get on with your life.

Lets be honest here, Dog owners are a very vocal part of the electorate, more akin to the NRA in America and their opposition to gun restrictions, than genuinely interested in restrictions such as licencing and training, their needs to have a dog and let it do whatever it likes will always override anyone else's rights.

So we will not get any meaningful controls on dogs and attacks will continue unabated.

Muzzling all dogs for the very few that attack is cruel, it would be like locking up all men and only allowing them out when accompanied by a responsible person just because some of them rape. How about the government takes responsibility and ensures there is appropriate laws and consequences in place for irresponsible owners that abuse and harm their dogs to the point they do attack.

It’s as much a part of British culture as mass shootings and gun ownership in the States.
If a dog bites a human, enough to require stitches, there ought to be an automatic death sentence for the dog, a large fine and the owner banned from dog ownership for life.
Farmers should shoot dogs running free on their land with livestock.
If the penalties for having a reactive, uncontrolled dog were terrifying, the owners would be more responsible. And all the owners with fur babies they were absolutely sure of need not worry about restrictions, because of course their dog is different.

...and along comes @VincentVaguer to support what i just wrote.

As is the case for people and their unruly children, and is exactly what I mean. Not everyone in the park wants a dog running up to them or their dog in the park, nor should it happen. No doubt it will be suggested that you shouldn’t go to the park! Entitlement at its best.

Yep, as I said, dog owners are happier and healthier than non dog owners.

Comparing dog owners to the NRA is batshit. You need to put the internet down and go for a walk.

Compulsory dog training is the answer alongside off leash areas most people don't have dogs that obey commands doesn't matter if it's cat sized or horse sized

Nope the comparison of entitlement is valid.

Just been for a walk with my GSP thankyou very much.

If some of the posts on the Relationships board are anything to go by that might be a popular policy.

Here we go, a small dog has disfigured a child.
On private property.

Dogs just aren’t a good risk:

“Child victim of bulldog attack sues over failure to prosecute ownerMother told it was not a criminal matter as incident happened on private property”

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2023/04/18/child-victim-of-bulldog-attack-sues-over-failure-to-prosecute-owner/?fbclid=IwAR0gpQ3RLP0MG1AkS_jTbTpp5HxVEm3y6bcLg1Ckjpg2IHdZhH9CQBmJTso&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Dogs do need to run many breeds need the opportunity to sniff out prey and to retrieve you would cause mental and physical harm not to allow them to do so.
Most dogs do not attack people, I would imagine more attacks happen by teenagers but we don't cage them.

Absolutely true. My mother had the sweetest (small, think cairn terrier type of dog but we were never quite sure what the mix was) who was a dream. Then one day out of nowhere she bit my brother quite badly and subsequently a couple of other people. Turns out she had a brain tumour and that had basically changed her overnight. All this rubbish about my dog wouldn’t ever bite anyone, I am sorry but you just never really know with an animal. Pain and illness or even a strange circumstance can change them quite dramatically.

Precisely.

Dogs do need to run many breeds need the opportunity to sniff out prey and to retrieve you would cause mental and physical harm not to allow them to do so.

All fine. And a responsible owner would make sure that their dog has that opportunity in a fenced off area, or at 3am, or somewhere they are not impacting on anyone else. I do ignore dogs which run up to me. Less easy when you have a dog bouncing up at you with muddy paws and an owner 50 feet away feebly calling "Fifi, Fifi, come!" and the dog ignoring them entirely.

Seriously. Just keep your dog to yourself. It's not a difficult concept.

No dog is harmless. Owners that can't grasp that shouldn't have dogs.

The kind of people who own aggressive dogs like this or who leave someone bleeding in the street after an attack are not the kind of people who are going to adhere to rules anyway. They're not going to muzzle it, keep it on a lead or get a licence are they? The same as if more breeds were added to banned lists, backyard breeding would become an even bigger issue and people would just use other ways and means of getting hold of them instead

By bye sniffer dog that rescued the old man in the woods, the ones that sniff out people in earthquakes, drugs, weapons, assistance dogs, pet therapy dogs, companions for the isolated and lonely.
Now the idiots of the world they can go.

'I wonder how a system of compulsory third party insurance and licensing would work? It would likely be more expensive to insure certain types of dog/owner and this could include stipulations like muzzle wearing in public, not in a home with children etc. The license fee would cover the "policing" of this via microchip checks /enforcement.'

Pet insurance - which RESPONSIBLE pet owners get covers animals causing injury or accidents etc as well as vet bills. Responsible owners will also get a license if that came into law.
It's not responsible dog owners who are the issue though is it? And demonising all dog owners because of high profile attacks by dangerous out of control dogs is pointless.
The idea that our placid, sweet and well-trained small terrier needs to be muzzled in public is laughable. And not enforceable.
as for 'dogs can only be off lead in a dog park' - Where? where are these mythical dog parks - not a single one in our city. And I can't imagine parents allowing the green space we do have to be fenced of just for dogs.

'I would literally load every single dog into a series of rockets, and yeet them into the heart of the sun. what is point in dog ?'

I don't know, perhaps ask our school that has 2 therapy dogs for SEN kids? Or the partially deaf teacher who brings his dog to class? Or the single people, the elderly people who rely on them to help combat loneliness?
Or the people who use them to help deal with anxiety?
It's a mystery.
Cats though, they're famously 'useful'.

Bring back dog licenses.
There are over 10 million dogs in the uk, a £25-£50 fee each year per dog would fund more dog wardens.
Dogs should be on leads in public, apart from some approved areas.
Owning, or wanting to own, certain breeds should trigger a need for some sort of competence test (covering socialisation, training, etc) - this should take into account the popular status breeds which tends to change - now it’s cane corsos and XL bullies - which has a fee. Reactive dogs should wear muzzles if possible, but mandatory leads in most areas would help with reactive dog behaviour (in my dog’s case it would - she hates dogs bounding up to her).
Refusal to take the test or pay a license fee means the dog is removed by dog wardens. I believe Switzerland has an approach similar to this, following a fatal attack in the early 2000s.
Since 2020 there have been 18 (according to wiki) deaths in the uk due to dogs. In Switzerland I can’t find any.
Breeding should be more regulated. Too many owners see pound signs and end up with poorly bred, poorly socialised puppies. I swear in a dog training group on FB most problem dogs are poo breeds and dogs that look like cute teddy bears as puppies, all designer dogs, many of them puppy farmed.

'Here we go, a small dog has disfigured a child.
On private property.'

A young child should never be left alone with any dog, but by your own argument what would a muzzle in public or being on the lead in public have done to prevent this baby being bitten at someone's house?

This is obvs a case of the father shouldn't have left the baby with a dog, esp. one he didn't know. Awful though it is, it's got zero to do with muzzling dogs in public.

'BorisisaLune · Today 08:33

Lets be honest here, Dog owners are a very vocal part of the electorate, more akin to the NRA in America and their opposition to gun restrictions, than genuinely interested in restrictions such as licencing and training, their needs to have a dog and let it do whatever it likes will always override anyone else's rights.

So we will not get any meaningful controls on dogs and attacks will continue unabated.'

And the batshit comment of the thread goes to...

Keepingthingsinteresting

“Well aren’t you a charmer. Bet you have cats! They are bloody awful creatures, just like you :-)”

Oi, our cats are lovely, as was our dear old dog 😁