To want a ban on dangerous dogs as pets?

[humanity15]

I feel this is a matter of public safety and people need to be informed.

Whilst working for a well known dog rescue charity I was attacked by a breed banned in many countries, but not here.
Because it was not banned it was taken in just like any other dog.

My story can be found on youtube.

With many years of experience in the dog sector what I see happening on our streets right now is frightening.

Those advising the government on dangerous dogs are giving bad advice and as a result putting people's lives at risk.

People do not understand dogs, especially genetics. Because of this attacks will keep happening and people are going to get killed.

All dogs have inherited characteristics. Certain ones are stronger in certain breeds depending on what they were originally bred for.

Although all dogs can bite, there is a huge difference in why they bite and this unless understood could prove fatal.

To communicate a dog will often give signals. So if it feels uncomfortable with someone coming too close it may put its ears back, cower, tuck its tail in etc.
If these signs are ignored the dog may resort to biting as a last resort.
Once it has effectively communicated, with the person moving away it will stop.

This is totally different to a dog biting because it has been bred to fight and has a strong drive to do so.

This drive has been bred into certain breeds of dogs on purpose. How strong that drive will be different for every individual dog depending on what has been passed down.
No amount of good will is going to change this.
This is your starting point before any external influences.

Instead of breeding that instinct out what we are now seeing is the result of the opposite having been done.
Individual dogs that have shown high aggression have been bred from resulting in literally ticking timebombs now out on our streets.

No amount of cute photos or affection will change this.
No dog trainer or behaviourist no matter how good can do anything because this is in the dogs genes.
All that can be done is for this instinct to be surpressed, it cannot be removed.
At some point under certain circumstances it will come out.

If you have a dog with a high drive to fight you could be in serious trouble and so can anyone who encounters that dog.

When it takes sometimes five people and tazers to get a dog off someone that is serious.

• This is what people are not being told but what they need to know.

Dogs are not good or bad, they just are.

Just because a dog brings you something because it was bred to retrieve does not make it bad.
This is the same for a dog bred to fight. It is doing what we have basically programmed it to do.
The fact we see one instinct as acceptable and one not is not the dogs fault, it is ours.
We are the ones who have brought both these dogs into our homes and labelled them as pets.
Certain dogs should never have been expected to fulfil this role.

Dogs are not morally driven, they will not sit and contemplate what they are about to do they just react.

They have the mental age of a toddler, a young child at best.

It is so important we understand and remember this to keep everyone safe.

Banning breeds doesn’t work. Not with the current legislation. Dog attacks/fatalities have increased since the formation of the Dangerous Dogs Act and the 4 banned breeds. The statistics don’t lie.

All that’s happened after the formation of the banned list is that a)people naively think that other breeds are safe as they aren’t on the list and b) the popular breed changes (ie to XL bullies currently). After they are banned, it will probably be the cane corso that becomes the dog of choice.

I agree that most bull breeds are unsuitable as pets as they are genetically prone to aggression, and their size means attacks are severe.

But banning breeds doesn’t work. Mostly because identifying ‘pitbull’ types from staffie crosses and XL bullies is almost impossible.

Perhaps something as extreme as Ireland where certain breeds (including popular ones such as GSDs, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Ridgebacks) have to be muzzled and on lead at all times in public.

I thought the Dangerous Dogs Act already did ban dangerous breeds. And any dog can be dangerous under the Act.

https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/dangerous-dog-offences

But where do you stop? Xl bullies, ok, but will you also ban huskies because one killed the baby? A greyhound killed a dog here a while back. Will you ban that breed? An Akita attacked another dog in my local park then ripped open the owner’s arm as he tried to get it off. You going to ban akitas? It isn’t just bull breeds that attack. The worst most vicious dog I’ve met was a Labrador-weak, clueless owner.

I would like to see the banning of selling or rehoming ANY dog unless via a registered method. I would make the passing on of any dog illegal unless via a proper channel, for example an assessed and registered breeder or a rescue centre where the dogs have been assessed and matched by a qualified behaviourist. Maybe if the clueless couldn’t go onto gumtree on a whim and buy some hideous untrained and unsocialised XL bully or deformed frog looking dog with its ears chopped off the problem wouldn’t exist.

Some dogs are just genetically prone to be aggressive, people deny it but it’s true. Maybe if people did acknowledge this then they would be more sensible with the type of dog they own and the situation they put it in. Any dog bred for ‘game’ I.e a dog bred to fight and never back down under any circumstances should not be available as a pet.

I don't think a blanket breed ban is the answer because as you stated in your OP, people breed for aggression from aggressive dogs - and aggression can occur in many breeds. Plus where does a breed ban stop, how are cross breeds treated?

I would thoroughly support stricted breeding rules and harsher commercial breeding guidelines and fines for 'backyard' breeders however. I'd even support mandatory dog training classes for all new owners, although I don't know how you'd enforce it.

It bans 4 specific breeds (well 3 breeds and any pitbull type). And even then, you can own them if they are put on a register and kept muzzled in public- so they could still be a danger inside a house, or if they escaped.

and then of course it is illegal for any dog of any breed to be ‘dangerously out of control’ but that is very subjective, some police forces need an injury, others don’t.

@3ormoredogs

When it comes to gumtree, the people who sell dogs AND the ones who buy them should face some sort of punishment. Because there is no excuse for not knowing it is a bad idea any more.

Sadly, with many rescues full to bursting and closing intake, some dogs do end up on Gumtree because there is nowhere else for them to go.

How do you define a 'dangerous dog' ? A dog doesn't have to be one of the four breeds mentioned in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1990 to be considered 'dangerous' - it's not the dogs fault if it turns out the way it does, it's people who've made it that way.
Small dogs can often give people a nasty nip and/or have uncertain temperaments, but does that mean all small dogs should be done away with just because of their breed? I had a Pekingese a few years back who bit me, drew blood and ghe meant to bite, but does that mean all Pekingese can be classed as dangerous dogs that should be exterminated - NO !! My Peke that bit me, by the way, was 12 years of age with a heart condition and he had a brain tumour responsible for his change in temperament - but under no curcumatances do I believe that all dogs of this breed should be put down simp,y because of one biting incident?

This is such nonsense! The Dangerous Dogs Act wouldn't exist if this hadn't been extensively PROVEN to be FACT

You are wrong. As I've just said above, the DDA exists because it has been PROVEN that certain breeds are more susceptible to attack. Proven. Fact.

How many fatalities have been caused by a Pekinese?

No one is denying that all dogs can bite, regardless of breed. The issue is that a bite from a Pekinese is very very different from a bite from an XL bully. And that is what makes them dangerous dogs.

I saw this shared earlier.

Something needs to be done about the rise in dog attacks. I'd like to see compulsory muzzles in public on dogs over a certain weight.

Something needs to be done about the rise in dog attacks. I'd like to see compulsory muzzles in public on dogs over a certain weight.

What weight would that be? Some greyhounds can be almost 40kg.... a breed known to be gentle and not aggressive.

Also a breed known for chasing and killing smaller animals. My friends greyhound killed 3 cats. They're near the top of dogs that should be muzzled.

I love dogs and have nothing against any of them but I do think some dogs should not be bred or sold in this country due to the risk of them attacking/killing, especially one particular breed that seems to be very popular right now and ending up in the wrong hands, deaths from dog attacks have doubles and it’s mainly due to one breed.

Yes any dog can attack but there are some breeds that are more likely to kill due to their size and build.

And yes it’s down to owners and dogs not being trained, some breeds are just popular with the type of person that isn’t going to take their dog to classes or walk it daily.

Racing greyhounds, yes. I had mine from a pup, and she was never raced. But OP is on about dogs that are dangerous to humans. The only danger a greyhound poses to a person is hogging the sofa and making the human sit on the floor.

Jack Russells, a small breed, are bred as ratters. My grandad's own JR killed rats on his farm for him (and a feral kitten).

Muzzling dogs based on weight is nuts.

Agree.

I am horrified by the rise in attacks and can’t stand xl bully dogs and the culture that goes along with them.

I read this last night and couldn’t stop thinking about this poor boy and his Mum. Just horrendous.

Jack Lis: Mother of son killed by dog haunted by last image https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64353711

@XenoBitch

And look what happens. Someone who has never owned so much as a hamster before buys an XL bully off a random stranger on gumtree, thinking it will be a good playmate for their toddler as they grow up. It shouldn't be allowed and part of the reason why rescue centres are so full is because people buy a dog online, realize that while it is cute, it also barks, shits, needs excersize and can't be left to its own devices for 20 hours a day so they give it to a rescue centre.

I don’t get how people can compare a greyhound killing a cat to a XL bully killing a child.

Most deaths from dog attacks in the last year have been from xl bull dogs, not greyhounds or huskies (I’m not a fan of huskies). They are status dogs that are being bred to sell to idiots that just want to look hard. Most of these dogs are kept cooped up in small flats, not being trained or exercised, it’s a recipe for disaster?

This 💯

When you hear places telling you reading a dogs body language will help avoid an attack, that does not work with a dog intent on fighting.

Please notice the speed of the dog and how intent it is. (very distressing images).

Notice as well like most dog attacks the owner flees the scene.
Not many are caught on camera like this one so there is no way of tracing the attacking dogs owners.

Often when pet dogs are killed and owners are injured the police do not even investigate.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12461755/amp/Shocking-moment-crazed-dog-launches-vicious-attack-pensioner-76-pet-labradoodle-police-launch-hunt-owner.html

I'm really sorry I haven't replied to everyone's comments, for me it is very distressing doing this.
I haven't been able to bring myself to read many of them yet.
I knew the sort of backlash I would get for doing this, but it is something that needs to happen or more people are going to suffer.

A serious dog attack in which you are fearing for your life is something I would not wish on anyone.

When I raised safety concerns at my workplace it was because people were afraid for their safety.
So many of my colleagues were getting injured, some very seriously.
I had a choice to make as I could very clearly see what was wrong.
Had I kept quiet my life would of been very different.
That wasn't the choice I took. It was only a matter of time before something really terrible was going to take place.
For myself I knew I'd would never forgive myself if I'd sat back and let that happen.

The consequences of remaining silent can be devastating.
We each have a voice, but too many of us are afraid to use it. We live in fear and this needs to change.

For the sake of all those who work in the dog sector, especially those working with rescue dogs I have asked my workplace to make public what happened.
I've said I will stand by them.

It is not the charity that did this, but its name is suffering and that of other charities as a result.
This is where individual responsibility comes in.
Most people in the rescue sector know what happened, if they don't other staff soon tell them.
This damages what trust individuals have and as a consequence puts them in danger.

There is so much needs to change. The fact we have so many rescue centres is a terrible reflection on how we treat animals.
Some situations can't be helped, but many people literally use rescue centres as a dumping ground.

The public perception of what a rescue dog is can often be very different to reality.
The media often portray a certain image of rescue dogs, especially on talent shows.
However these dogs are often very straight forward and easy to train.

Many rescue dogs the public will never see because they are often deemed too dangerous and are put to sleep.
For many they come with problems, usually through a lack of early socialisation and habituation.
Staff where I worked were injured by dogs of all breeds, not just certain ones.
We also only used positive reinforcement.

At the moment it is far too easy for anyone to get hold of a dog.
Hopefully the day will come when rescue centres no longer need to exist.

The poor lady from the article in this post was killed having bought two dogs she believed to be gentle giants.

People don't need to be given misleading slogans by charities or a sales pitch by breeders, they need to know the facts before bringing a dog into their household.

Understanding different dog breeds and the individual traits that they are likely to have is so important (a cross breed is also likely to display certain traits of the breeds it originated from).
This information is not only for the owners benefit but also that of the dog.

Rescue centres are overflowing, often full with certain breeds of dogs.
Lack of space leads to dogs being euthanised because there is nowhere for them to go.

Instead of giving the impression that all dogs are the same, if accurate information around breeds was given people could make informed decisions.
The demand for certain breeds would fall especially in households with children.

Less demand would result in fewer dogs being abandoned and ending up in rescue centres.

If charities really want to help save dogs, this is what they need to start doing.

https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/crime/police-concerns-over-xl-bully-dogs-after-south-yorkshire-woman-died-following-attack-by-gentle-giants-4203590Lady killed by dogs she believed to be gentle giants

You're wrong. The idea that dogs can be "nasty" is so childish and misinformed.

As OP says, dogs just "are". There is no moral element to their behaviour. Sharks and crocodiles aren't "bad" because they are apex predators, and blood-sports breeds aren't "bad" because of their potential for severe aggression to other dogs and sometimes humans.

Just a couple of weeks ago when I was in a holiday park, a giant staffie (that I suspect was a pitbull - not an XL bully as it wasn't visibly muscular) killed a little yorkie that was minding its own business in its own front garden. It was so quick and completely unprovoked, and there was so much damage that the yorkie had to be euthanised. After the attack, the staffie/pitbull was extremely calm and normal.

The owners had had the staffie for 6 years, and got it from a rescue at 1 year old. It had never been violent at all, in the whole time they'd had it, and the owners were loving and responsible. It just "turned" that day.

All blood sports breeds have the potential to go on the "turn" like this. And since they typically behave perfectly normally until they do, you have no way of ever knowing if a dog from a bully-family breed will go on the turn one day.

Banning the breed doesn't mean round them up and killing them, it just means banning breeding and selling them.

If we don't we'll end up like America, with shelters full of pitbulls and pit mixes that are basically unadoptable and no one wants. The solution isn't to pretend that bloodsport breeds are suitable for family life, or a "nanny dog", to encourage more unwitting people to adopt these timebombs. The solutions is to stop breeding them in the first place.