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

The vast majority of dogs are harmless.

Fenced off areas for dogs in urban and suburban parks if not on a lead. Big fines if you don't do this.

The people that own dogs like this who bite people or attack should be sent to prison for years. It's a little loophole in the law that effectively allows legal possession of something that can kill you to be brought into the public sphere. If an owner can't be bothered to control the animal then get rid of it and put the owner in a place where they aren't a public danger.

This happened locally where a dog was attacked by a bully breed. The dog was on a lead but the owner couldn't control it and the dog broke away from the owner and attacked another dog.

Leads- yes. Muzzles - no. I don’t agree with blanket muzzling for all dogs, it’s just not necessary. There do need to be harsher penalties and punishments for irresponsible dog owners though.

Not all dogs are dangerous in fact most are not all dogs like all animals should be treated respectfully and everyone should understand how to be around a dog if one approaches you. The classic screaming and waving your hands about is saying come play and makes a dog jump. Picking a dog up makes that dog think the other is scary and reinforces the fear. Two dogs meeting on a lead can be nasty as they get tangled then stressed and can end up fighting.

I’ve been attacked by three different cats in my lifetime, one when I was 3 and the other two in my 20s. Never been attacked by a dog though. Maybe there’s something about me that’s particularly offensive to cats?

I don't agree with muzzles for all either but was bitten on the wrist and hand by a small Jack Russell the other day who was trying to attack my dog, no stitches but plenty of puncture marks and bruises! I dread to think what would have happened if my son had been in the way instead of me.

It's such a tricky issue.

No. Totally disagree with mandatory muzzling and lead-wearing. It won't stop it as arsehole dog owners won't take any notice of the rules anyway.

I have a big, energetic dog and she would be massively impacted by these rules and she has wonderful recall.

This bloke got bit as he defended his pup. The advice is always not to intervene if your dog is being attacked.

I do think dog on dog (or cat) attacks should be reason to euthanise though, as per on human attacks.

Muzzling all dogs is ridiculous. We always had small dogs and they are very friendly. We have a small jack russel mix atm and she is so nice and gentle with kids. The amount of times she hs been touched and even randomly picked up by children when i was distracted is shocking. Should all kids be on leashes because some cant be taught how to approach a dog?
My parents have a pretty big dog and she is such a lamb with everyone. Being big and black doesnt really keep kids away either, the dog is always approached and touched without asking. Shes 12 years old and has never so much as growled or anything. Why on earth should she be muzzled to go out? 🤷🏻‍♀️

the way the owners reacted here is a perfect example of what type of person keeps a dangerous dog. And a general muzzle/leash law wont interest them in the slightest.

There are over 10 million dogs in the uk, a £25-£50 fee each year per dog would fund more dog wardens.

I'd make it more than that. At least £100 - £150. Compulsory chipping. Any dog found out of control, or unchipped is immediately destroyed. No questions asked. Increased licence fees for people wishing to breed their animals. Complete ban on importing problem/abandoned/abused animals from Eastern Europe.

I live on the edge of a town, with miles and miles of bridleways and public footpaths on my doorstep. Half the town seems to exercise their dogs up here, almost all of them off lead, and in 30-odd years I've never heard of anyone getting bitten by any of these unmuzzled, offlead dogs. They're too busy having fun and doing dog stuff - sniffing, chasing, playing etc.

I can't recall ever seeing a serious dog fight, either, now I come to think about it.

Fenced dog parks is what they have in US, they are renowned for dog fights. So, no thanks.

The vast majority of dogs are fine. It's a few that cause these issues.

Agree there should be tougher sentences. Oh and ban big powerful bullys.

There should be a dog licence just like a driving licence, where you have to attend classes and show basic competence. It would stop people getting dogs on a whim and make them think through the decision and what's involved in training, vet care etc.

My dog is 12, very highly trained and never has bitten anyone nor another dog. Why should he be punished for another Doha's crimes? Should we lock up all young men because some are bad?

We need to tighten the regulations on who can breed dogs and ensure every dog is chipped. Training classes and 3rd party insurance should be compulsory. Responsible owners have nothing to fear as we already do this

It's the same where I take my dog lots of dogs off lead bothering nobody. Everybody observes an unwritten rule and leashes their dog when a dog on a leash approaches but mostly the dogs sniff, run and play happily offlead without incident.

I agree, all dogs in public should be on leads unless in a specific dog run area in a park. Safer and less poo everywhere

Attack of the auto correct! Dogs crimes!

Seriously, it's the owners at fault, licencing and training would solve most issues. Illegally held pit bull type dogs are not allowed anyway plus most dog attacks are in the home not on public land

Poor bloke! YANBU. I really wish dog ownership was more heavily regulated.

You do know dogs can still shit when they’re on leads?

My dog is a “well-being” dog for a charity. We visit people in their workplaces, they pet her, have a cuppa and chill. She makes people smile and is as soft as anything. Not a chance in hell would I muzzle her.

She is also a large, bouncy crossbreed who requires an insane amount of walking and could not get the amount of exercise she needs if only ever walked on a lead. We are lucky enough to live rurally and so she spends most of her time off lead. She has excellent recall, doesn’t jump up at people (although she does wag her tail and look hopefully at everyone we meet in case they want to stroke her!) doesn’t chase livestock. I would be firmly against leads being compulsory as it’s penalising the wrong people/animals.

I agree. Even otherwise decent people become utterly selfish and irresponsible about their dogs. I was out with a group where someone commented on how their very large dogs had a lead saying ‘friendly dog’. The owners laughed saying that got that lead after their dogs had chased two small children, cue more laughter from the dog owners. Dogs were subsequently let off lead for rest of the day.

No mate, that must have been utterly terrifying for the children, and could give them a long term fear of dogs. If your dog does that you keep it on the lead at all times. Kids, are not looking g back at the owner dangling the empty ‘friendly’ lead and thinking ‘ that’s all right then’. If your dog chases, it’s on a lead at all times. Stop telling yourself you’ve dealt with the problem of your untrained dog by holding a dogless lead that says ‘friendly’.

' It's a little loophole in the law that effectively allows legal possession of something that can kill you to be brought into the public sphere.'

Oh get a grip, it's a dog not a fecking machete.

No one is saying that only a certain breed of dog bites. But if you look up the statistics, it's not labs, golden retrievers etc causing the large majority of bites.

Until people stop seeing dogs as “fur babies” and treating them like humans .. and understand they are animals than need structure, training and discipline … this problem ain’t going away.

All we can do is to try to restrict the damage, and put stronger controls on certain breeds .. make them unaffordable or undesirable.

Actually, the breed with the highest number of bites is the labrador (followed by the Jack Russell, IIRC). They don't hit the headlines so much, though.