To be so sick of Pitbulls

[Jinnyjoes]

On holidays and DP nearly had his throat ripped out on our walk home tonight, it was terrifying, owner dove in at last minute and pulled dog back. I know many people say they are great dogs, great with children, blah blah blah, but I’m just sick of encountering them and worrying about them attacking my own little dog….and my own little DP 😃

Ffs how pedantic are some people on this thread. It's quite obvious what OP means by pitbull - a bully type dog. Also it's ok if it was standing snarling and nashing, ready to attack, as long as it didn't? That's what I'm getting from some of these replies.

Exactly. Some owners are just utter morons.

When the poster was saying she's instructing her children to run in front of the open gate of a house where she knows there are often loose dogs?

Children shouldn't be running along the pavement, either. Because of cars, largely, whether on the road, crossing the pavement to and from driveways or leaving car parks - and certainly not running directly in front of a location where the absolute worst thing would be to resemble a food source/pull toy bait for an animal.

I wouldn't recommend children running loose on moorland, either. It's damaging vital wildlife habitat, disturbs ground nesting birds and puts them in danger from trips, falls, the occasional mine shaft, human excrement, farming equipment, livestock and mire. Oh, and badly trained dogs who could well see them as an appealing alternative to savaging sheep. And running full belt into a broken branch or falling down a badger sett when not trampling native Bluebells is a pretty poor example of parenting to keep the child safe as well.

Sudden movements trigger the prey response from predators and the flight or fight response from prey animals - running around (shrieking optional) around a horse could just as easily get them injured. And if it's a cow with calf, it's even more likely to get them killed.

Again though, cows and horses are not generally to be found in public parks, playgrounds, on the village green or rec on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Dogs will be in these places- children should still be able to run and play.

People do ride on beaches but I have never known anyone to ride a horse through a crowded beach on a summers day while it’s packed with families- horse people generally have more sense than to subject their horses to that. Bridle ways are not somewhere for children to be running unguardedly because you can expect to meet a horse.

Pavements are also not good places for kids to run around, that’s why they weren’t on my list of places children should be free to run without worrying about dogs.

As for moorland- I was thinking of the moor I was born and brought up on and where I am now raising my family. We know where we can and can’t go, where habitats are, where the old quarries are etc. Ground nesting birds, horses, sheep with lambs, bogs etc are all things to be aware of and take precautions for- children should not have to add badly trained out of control dogs to that list.

Obviously if you encounter one you behave accordingly, but dog owners do not have the right to police other’s behaviour in these spaces for their convenience.

Worryingly many fatalities have been from bully breeds who have been family members, trouble free since puppyhood. The obvious issue that no one with any sense can deny, is that "gameness" is a genetic trait of this type. This means once they attack they generally do not stop & the same cannot be said for other breeds as a "type". This combined with the athleticism, weight and muscularity of the breed makes them inherently dangerous IF they attack. What kind of legislation bans a type "pit bull" but allows them if they are X L. In all countries where these attacks happen they are predominantly in poorer neighbourhoods. This is the reason the legislation has not been updated in my opinion.

Dog warden doesn't understand the law then clearly, or you're not telling the full story.

A dog chasing kids, off lead and not recalling promptly in a public place is very much 'dangerously out of control in a public place'. There is no requirement for an attack to happen before the law is broken, the member of the public need only 'reasonable apprehension of injury'... and I think an XL Bully type chasing kids is pretty reasonable, even if its the friendliest dog in the world and merely clumsy and has no recall, to fear injury from.

As for recent attacks - very few of the dogs involved have been 'nice quiet well trained family pets' prior to the attack. They've almost all (or in fact all...I haven't read up on the latest ones) got a history of multiple owners, prior aggressive incidents, inadequate owners, poor training, poor housing.

I'm telling the full story. In Scotland so not sure if the law is the same? His suggestion was that local residents should pay to have the park completely fenced in. The dog that killed a small dog requires to be on a lead at all times and the owner is supposed to only walk one at a time (he has several) He also breeds and there are now around 30 in the area, all from a limited breeding stock. He doesn't obey the rules he's been given either but without folk trying to get photos/ videos etc it's hard for action to be taken. The dogs are fairly similar and owners out walking them are generally young blokes in black sportswear.

I get the impression the wardens are a bit wary of confronting them also.

I don't think Scottish law is different on what constitutes a dangerous dog re control/public places. The potential actions/penalties may differ.

Sounds like the age old issue... some folk/families/groups are so scary even the authorities won't deal with them!

Unfortunately in many areas the dog warden is completely useless.

We had a dog killed here not long ago (by a pack of dogs) and they did absolutely nothing about it. I still see the dogs out and about off their leads - the owner doesn't give a toss.

Only two days ago a dog was nearly killed by a pack of golden retrievers - police/dog warden aren't remotely interested as no humans were hurt. It's shit.

A dog in this country can be a labrador x staffie but can still be deemed as 'pitbull type'. It is all down to looks and measurements.

You can have 6 puppies in a litter and 3 could be 'typed" and the other 3 deemed "not type".

Crossbreed such as XL Bullies are the trendy dog at the moment along with presas and corsos.

It sounds like it was a scary thing to happen but it was very unlikely to have been a Pitbull and it actually didn’t bite anyone

Vets are against Section 1 of the DDA so the dog would be registered as a cross breed and treated the same as any other dog.

By the way the dogs we need to muzzle the most are generally cocker or springer spaniels or spaniel crosses.

If a dog is reported the police come and take the dog to be assessed. The dogs are kept in kennels away from their owners and this can cause behaviour issues.

The owner is also assessed to see if they're deemed to be fit and suitable.

If the dog is deemed perfectly safe then it is added to the index of exempted dogs, tattooed, neutered, chipped and insured. The dog can then return home with certain restrictions such as being on lead and muzzled in public and there are also rules the owner must follow with regards to holiday care and travelling in the car etc.

If a dog is deemed unsafe it is put to sleep.

A dog can be deemed safe but an owner can be deemed unsuitable in which case someone else can come forward to own it but the person must already have a link to the dog.

This all costs court fees which is why there are dedicated charities that help owners through the process.

Was it a Staffy? Staffordshire Bull Terrier, as I highly doubt it was an actual Pitbull if you're in the U.K.

I remember seeing a documentary years ago about pit bull type dogs being seized and assessed. One dog was taken in and assessed to be pit bull type, but was considered safe. The staff at the centre fell in love with her... said she was loving, playful and just loved people. The owner could have her back if they abided by the rules set, and they refused. Poor dog was PTS. I remember the staff being distraught at it all. Was really sad.

Yep, I suggested that the breeders are reported to HMRC/benefits people re the undeclared income.

A bit like Al Capone being done for tax evasion rather than for his violent crimes.

Do you usually have such difficulty with the English language?

Oh the irony ‘So you don’t need reminding’

Another death in America today...pit bull killed the owner, having never shown any previous signs of aggression.

YANBU. They're awful, awful animals.

There are SO many myths out there about them, how they're lovely family dogs, 'nanny dogs' (that one needs to die a swift death), lovely temperament etc. that so many people are utterly clueless about the dangers of having one. Some owners think cos theirs is sweet they all are. Or the old 'well chihuahuas bite more' deflection.

Wrong.
There are plenty of pits and their crosses in UK
Owners proudly announce their dog us a red nosed pit
XL Bullies are crosses of these-
They are a danger to dogs , cats, children, their own owners and others.

Some very human aggressive ( dogs that have killed children) dogs have been bred with
Guardian recently had a very good article about these very recently- including links to the “Killer” bloodlines .

Anyone who says Pitbulls don’t exist in U.K. is delusional.
They are illegal
so is crack cocaine and heroin and other drugs
Plenty of those about.