Another dog attack, man killed, can this just go on?

[IthinkIamAnAlien]

Just on the news - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-66817795

Week after week, there is something wrong with dogs (and the owners) today, I grew up with them and this never, ever happened. Maybe because dogs were treated as dogs and not trophy animals. Awful for everyone.

Like many others I’m glad the government is taking action on XL bully dogs. I’ve just read on FB someone advising an XL bully owner to say it’s an assistance dog so it’ll be safe from the authorities 🙄 Absolute madness!

The "it wouldn't stop every attack" argument is a daft reason for not bothering to implement any rules / laws.

Gun control hasn't stopped every gun death. But the laws did reduce deaths and injuries and made it easier to prosecute when something goes wrong.

Similarly driving licences and mandatory insurance. There are, no doubt, some people who drive without a licence and / or insurance. But there are plenty of terrible drivers who don't drive because they are banned and it is much easier to ban people when we have a easy access to their previous infringements.

And the owner was only cautioned.

Thankfully the dog was put down.

@Iheartpizza im not a wimp but I was really scared-the owners couldn’t even catch their attention, people were scooping up their toddlers and others getting up and walking away. These two cane corsos were walking and running in absolute sync. They were huge, muscular dogs. The people trying to catch them, shouting their names, running after them were early twenties and slightly built-if the two dogs decided to attack there’d be no way they could’ve pulled them off a person or animal.

Another couple did the same as us-scooped their small dog up and left.
The attacks I’ve seen recently on people and animals is horrendous and I really can’t see any appeal in owning such huge, powerhouses of dogs.

These news stories are really starting to play up my anxiety about walking my large but timid boy. He's never off lead as it feels safer to have him close. When walking, I'm keeping to areas close to home too and avoiding the local fields/woodlands unless my partner is with me. Thinking worse case scenario, he is too big to lift but the two of us can do a better job at trying to protect him.

I am considering walking my small dog with a weapon so that I could hit a dog if attacked. Like a rounders bat or something.

Report from yesterday about an XL bully mauling a small dog
Sickening footage shows XL Bully savaging a small dog as its owner struggles to get it under control when it breaks out of its collar | Daily Mail Online

These need to be off our streets now. The govt. must not fuck around.

Agreed as a dog owner, my dog is:
chipped
neutered
collar with tag
insured
trained and continuing with training

would be quite happy to get a license.

The problem is the majority of these dog owners causing this problem will no more adhere to any of the above than they do to any other laws, including drug running and people trafficking. We all know the problem, governments, politicians, and legal know the problem, but there are far easier targets and no appetite to deal with societies dross.

It's terrifying. People should not have to put up with this shit!

I really don't know what the answer is or how they are going to enforce it.

I can only suggest hiring a secure dog walking field for your peace of mind

I've started getting nervous walking my 3 year old when a large dog is approaching.. They should all be muzzled out and about sorry.

@Iheartpizza agree with everything you’ve said. My worry with enforcing is they’ll just move on to other dogs to showboat with (cane corsos seem to be on the rise). Like you say, no idea how it could be enforced, when the owners of the two dogs I’ve talked about had absolutely no bother about letting them off-lead with zero recall. I despair that these people own such dangerous dogs 😕

We take our dog to the enclosed fields, which she loves-a five acre field with a mini cavapoo, she loves it! Thank goodness they exist, and if anyone else has payable, secure dog fields nearby I’d really recommend them!

Erm...I was responding to the statement that people who work shouldn't have massive dogs. My comment was nothing to do with dogs attacking people...surely that's obvious?

Exactly, the enforcement is next to impossible. If a mandatory muzzling of certain sizes or breeds was introduced I can't imagine the police being able to respond to many or even any of these calls. They are already so stretched. And even if they did, they'd issue a fine that those people would most likely ignore or dispute. I'm not sure what the answer is - I know something has to be done but it seems hopeless.

So you are suggesting countrywide government issue "dog knives (or guns)" that everyone will carry and you think this will make you feel safer?!?

Plus the government countrywide training scheme in dog defence 😂😂😂😂

Tbh I'm not sure how effective that would be.

That video of the 10 year old being attacked yesterday shows three adults trying to get the dog off him, using things to hit the dog etc and the dog doesn't care.

Scrolling through Twitter just now someone posted a (very unpleasant) video of an XL bully attacking what looks like a golden retriever. It has its jaws clamped round the dog's leg and will not let go. There are multiple adult men trying to get it off. They lift the dog's back legs up completely, which does nothing. They can't pull it off because it just won't let go and so pulling only damages the other dog's leg more. The other dog isn't muzzled or anything but can't even begin to fight back and you can see how bloody it's leg is. The men try using a broom to hit the dog - doesn't bother it at all.

I was quoting another person not that the owner shouldn’t be charged do read what is posted before commenting

Done the pet licence it never worked in the 70s and it won;t work now.

The old dog licences were like TV licences, just something you paid for annually.

I think when people are talking about dog licences now, they mean something you have to qualify for (maybe like a driving test theory exam)

Does anywhere do this successfully?

Bad breeders are the biggest problem followed by macho idiot owners.
Unfortunately I reckon that banning breeding XL bullies, a cross breed designed to get around the pit bull legislation, will result in the greedy breeders crossing other breeds.
I don’t know what the answer is and support a ban on the xl bullies for public safety and the fact that many of these dogs have inherent health issues.

I’m glad the government is taking action on XL bully dogs

Again, how would this be enforced when neither councils nor the police will do anything?

I have no idea, I’m just glad they’re doing something! I’m not sure where you live but after one attack in our village the dog warden and police had the dog seized and euthanised.

God I'm bloody livid. The Staffordshire Police FB page giving details on the full grown adult male human savaged to death by two bastard XL bullys and people have actually fucking stated "three innocent lives lost". Comparing dogs that are this aggressive to the full grown innocent man they just killed? WTF are these people on??!! I just wish it was legal to destroy the owners as well as the dogs.

My mum's neighbour is blubbing on FB that her lovely fucking horrible XLbully might have now to be muzzled. Funny how the only person I know that owns one of these bloody things is also the thickest person I know 🙄

It should NEVER have got to the stage that dog attacks are a daily occurrence in this country. I hope dog ownership is made really bloody difficult and I say that as a dog owner.

Like many others I’m glad the government is taking action on XL bully dogs.

Presumably with the the same effect as it's action it is taking on: RAAC, immigration, raw sewage being pumped into our rivers, the housing crisis ...

When I were a lass alert

Let's wind back to the 1960s in South London.

Dog licences were 7s6d which was exactly 3 eighths of £1.0s.0d
Many people didn't bother.
Dogs were routinely let out of the house to roam the nearby streets on their own (or with their doggie friends).
You had to keep a constant lookout for dog shit on the pavement. When I was walking with DM, into my teens, she would routinely warn me that some poo was coming up, so I could avoid it.
It was fairly common to tread in it without realising. The realisation came later, after you'd got back home, when eventually someone would realise by the smell. If you were lucky, this might even be before you had walked across the living room carpet.
There'a an episode in The Royle Family where exactly this happens - and that was set in Manchester some 30 years later.

And now, to the 1950s

When I was primary school age, I was bitten by a terrier or similar dog I approached in the park. The dog gave a reflexive snap which broke the skin and I bled. IIRC the owner was mortified, and it may have been that the dog had a slight injury which made it defensive.

And yes, I was with an adult - my DF. Unfortunately he was hopeless at keeping an eye on me (many other instances of this).

Off we went to A&E to get me a tetanus jab in case the dog's saliva had contained Clostridium tetani, the Lockjaw baccillus.

After that, I knew to ask the owner if I wanted to approach a dog in a friendly way.

Why am I telling you? In hopes what happened in the past might help you younger lot solve the present problem.

It's not PC to say but unfortunately these dogs do appeal to the uneducated and those who want to use them as attack dogs. A quick search through Facebook shows many XL bully owners saying their dogs are harmless with numerous pictures of these giant dogs next to sleeping babies or young children or playing with them. If the dog turns these children have zero chance of survival. They kill grown men ffs.

This sums up the intelligence of most of these owners. They are too thick to be trusted to look after a goldfish safely let alone a 60kg dog.

I think the ban should also cover all crosses of the breed.

That being said, I can't see how something like this will actually be enforced. Shoplifting and so many other "minor" crimes have essentially been decriminalised as no one is there to go after the perpetrators. This will just be another one of those laws that are there but are essentially unenforceable.