To think something needs to be done about all these dog attacks?

[BattIestar]

And if so, what? What is the solution? My kids witnessed an attack recently, it hasn't yet made the news, and it wasn't deadly nor did the victims require overnighting at hospital, but my children are now wary of walking to school, and being in the playpark. I hate that we are living in fear of dangerous dogs, and really think it is high time something proper was done about it.

https://www.warwickshireworld.com/community/several-dangerously-out-of-control-animals-seized-and-man-arrested-after-dog-and-walker-attacked-4996021?fbclid=IwY2xjawIrCq1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHa1YUA3bHzoq_pxI7TwdO4w9hshfrow9PxUD0VpJG1LbgSkwc4JPRA0euw_aem_JMCCUtSRtxMqwxBAThDhBQ

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/herne-bay/news/teen-injured-in-dog-attack-in-residential-street-320351/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIrC0tleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHTWY4zAPIYc8FEZfB9beTtbmrCASCSz_xUnQVseSIC2sDP3eKSeXP06AAg_aem_BA0Cw6SxxhlAErwSGsGZBA

https://yourherefordshire.co.uk/all/news/breaking-police-would-like-to-speak-to-a-man-following-a-dog-attack-in-herefordshire/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIrC1pleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHXq3Pnj9d5fXTDfAXCDes_X_9Hk7-CnsblXBfc4lQXCcvvLqwLGgAh4QzA_aem_N61Z-O4i2e6VG67vPLaQkA

https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/24960445.armed-police-bardsley-avenue-bewsey-xl-bully-dog-attack/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIrC2hleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRHREId8LTMtQgHjS8JVw9q7gVYWWakhqlKayXA5e-fuBkMMicfFfjsvVg_aem_HYpvfZuhY_Iq_EMgSlGrIQ

The above are all very recent incidents, which I found when I was looking to see if the one my kids and I saw had made the news. I bet there are many more thst don't get reported too. And then we have the crazies spouting "it's the owner not the breed", or "something must have provoked it". In the incident we saw, the dog bolted out of its owner's front door and jumped up at a stranger walking along, knocking them over and mouthing their sleeve - I think the only reason it wasn't worse than it was is because the guy had a very thick coat on. If that had been my kids in their thin blazer uniform, I dread to think.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/two-attacked-family-dog-after-31015876?fbclid=IwY2xjawIrDB1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVBbWJkkOJJ_O5mEFgA-RfzzPiud9QsanPcMUQ2HkKpScEqfubC4X1eSbg_aem_WkZXswfnJpUMgERlgNERRg#amp-readmore-target

https://www.wigantoday.net/news/crime/wigan-dog-attack-police-issue-picture-of-pet-owner-4960583?fbclid=IwY2xjawIrDDNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZ9q6tFB-TD2O-mqoHbZkh7kN_JpCyESva9LgrhtWlRto5ExCTUbHAxh3g_aem_gC6a5KoO1hOuXYBQ01w1jQ#w2e4b783th709kb31uiwoxny8q94akg

I think we need to get tougher on owners - any dog bites anyone, the owner goes to jail as if it were them who directly caused the injury.

I also think we need to actually properly ban the top dangerous breeds (we all know which they are).

Neither. If a dog shows ANY inclination of biting a human it should be put down. Whether it is rat sized or tiger sized shouldn't matter.

You do realise that dogs are animals, with a mind of their own.

If your child attacked someone, should you be held responsible and banned from having children?

Ultimately, a dog will decide what it is going to do, not the owner.

Another pearl-clutching "something must be done" post without actually having thinking about what can be done.
Blah, blah, blah....

Because dogs are animals with a mind of their own.

Why do you think you can control what an animal decides to do.

Even the best trained dogs are only about 70% obedient.

Exactly.

You would not be allowed (in the UK) to have a pet tiger - even if you promised they were completely tame and would always stay in your fenced garden - because the risk is just too high.

Actually you would if you had the required facilities and got a Dangerous Wild Animals Licence (which you'll only get if you can show you have the appropriate housing/caging etc)... then yes, you can have a pet tiger, or lion, or wolf or.. whatever, theres not that many animals you can't own in the UK, and many of those have nothing to do with whether they're dangerous to humans or not.

You're not allowed to own a genetically modified GloFish though - thats a black widow tetra or one of various other commonly owned tiny tropical fish species, thats been GM to glow in the dark. No licencing scheme for them exists, just an out right total ban.

Many missing the point, it isn't the size of the dog, it's the strength of the jaw that's the problem. A Bernese mountain dog has less bite force than a staffy. An XL bully is bred from 2 (or more) dogs with an incredibly strong jaw.

Natural Temperament matters too, so simply comparing other breeds is a false equivalence.

The current ban isn't a ban in any actual sense. What is the point of an exemption certificate - the dog won't decide not to go a'mauling just because their owner got an exemption.

I agree. And it makes no sense at all to me that these dogs are deemed too dangerous to be out in public without a muzzle, and yet they can legally be in a house with small children. I think that if the ban has to have exemption certificates (which I don't like, but appreciate it would be hard to not have them because people would whine too much about their fluffy little darlings who wouldn't hurt a fly), then they shouldn't be available to people who live with children. Those dogs should be removed.

Of course any dog can bite but it's the large powerful dogs who have the ability to easily overpower and kill humans.
Any feline can bite but there's a huge difference in the damage that can be done by domestic cat versus a panther.
These Pitbull type dogs (and some other breeds) are not pets, they are weapons.

I like the idea of the chip scanner @WiddlinDiddlin

I'm incredibly passionate about animal rights, and anti-speciesist. I believe humans and nonhuman animals are of equal worth.

Pitbulls are the softest, daftest dogs out there. It's the owner not the breed. They were actually bred as nanny dogs cos they're so great with kids! Any time one of them has hurt someone it was because that person did something wrong, or the dog had been tormented in private until they snapped. The person either gave the dog too much attention or not enough. Was too lax with their upbringing or too strict. They're fantastic family dogs. Obviously though you should never leave a child alone with them. With the nanny.

JK.

I want all pitbulls, especially the XL variant, to be euthanised.

We cannot have these dogs, bred for centuries for gameness, muscles, fighting temperament (not giving any 'tells' until they maul, and then not giving up regardless of what anyone does) walking around. The risk to everyone is too dear.

Anyone who falls for the pro-pitbull lobby needs to watch the ring cam footage of Nicole Morey being eaten by her beloved dogs. And then the footage of Ian Price, helplessly sitting on the grass not even able to move away, grunting at passers by 'get me a f-ing knife' while two of them ate him alive. The uncensored footage, that shows them biting and eating chunks out of his chest, arms, and legs, devouring him in broad daylight in front of people who could do absolutely nothing to stop them. Or read the story of little Bella Rae whose parents didn't leave her alone with the dog, the dog snatched her out of her parents' arms and ate her in front of them.

It's too late imo to just sit around now waiting for XLs to slowly die out. The deaths keep on happening.

If you asked me to put my small child in a room with a pitbull or a room with a loaded gun on the table, I'd pick the gun. At least the gun can't autonomously go off and murder him. The pitbull can.

It's a major safeguarding issue, and one which social services can do very little about. If the dog is 'exempt', the parents aren't committing a crime. Meaning many innocent children are being made to live with these beasts, because their parents are too thick or selfish to realise the harm they're putting them in.

Small breeds can and have killed babies and children.

And all cane corsos and XL bullies should be put down.
there are many other powerful breeds.
I owned a corso , sadly passed away, he was very gentle, good temperament and very well trained.
Breed ban have never been successful as another breed takes their place.
Restrictions around dog ownership should be implemented. You see people on here constantly moaning that rescues are very strict, this so to ensure the correct person for the dog, whereas any idiot can buy from a 'breeder'

You shouldn’t trust any dog completely. They are dogs, they don’t think human and biting is a form of communication. If we all start on that footing, we can help mitigate risks.

All dogs can bite. I have a tiny scar to prove that, just above my eye from an attack when I was two. Had it been a bully, I think the story would have been a lot different don’t you?

To add; exemption is a step towards responsible ownership and those who are will abide by the conditions.
Most of the idiots who have XLs for status won't have exempted them.
The DDA costs police forces millions to size and kennel dogs and is also cruel in the way many of the dogs are treated/neglected in police kennels as cases can take years.

People become very emotionally attached to their dogs, like a person who is in love with an abusive partner who can never see them for what they really are.

Exactly. Add also severe fines for letting dogs crap/ leaving doggy bags out (it’s like walking a bloody honour guard of poop bags down my local canal walk) and for having them off lead if you can’t stop them jumping/sniffing at people and the world would be a much happier place!

I’ve previously owned dogs so am not a dog hater. However, enough is enough. There needs to be a nationwide cull of this breed and anyone found with one after that gets an automatic massive fine or jail.

All dogs in public should be on a lead and muzzled full stop be that the nippy sod chi or the fuck off XL.

Proper enclosed dog walking areas for that off lead run.

License with a high fee with proof of vets and insurance and training scheme.

Dog bites, it’s put to sleep.

Caught with dog fowling and not being picked up, licence fee increases yearly.

Don’t pay the fee dogs removed.

Tell me you don't know anything about dogs, without telling me you don't know anything about dogs.

Why can dogs not be walked muzzled then… I’ll wait. Because they can.

Why can they not be walked on lead and let off in dedicated fenced areas. Again they can.

No reason not too apart from lazy owners.

Why can dogs not be walked muzzled then… I’ll wait. Because they can.

They could be, but particularly for older dogs, the training would be difficult and stressful for them. It's also a sledgehammer to crack a nut. There really isn't a need to muzzle every single dog.

Why can they not be walked on lead and let off in dedicated fenced areas. Again they can.

I agree with this. It should be law that all dogs in public spaces where people are, need to be on a lead. Mine is only ever off lead where she can run about and won't be a nuisance to anyone. It's not difficult.

Dogs can be walked with a muzzle on but it does make training and enrichment much harder.

I'd be happy with dogs on leads IF there were provision for suitable fenced in dog exercise areas... and there currently isn't nor will there likely ever be. What would be provided by local authorities would be the nasty tiny patches of waste ground in awkward spots no one wants to be in alone/after dark, too small for dogs to actually run around and interact or avoid one another, and a breeding ground for aggression and fights.

Which is exactly what many 'dog parks' in the US are.

A healthy, useful dog park would be several acres, 'air lock' gates, landscaped terrain to break up lines of sight, planting, benches, paths, various surfaces so its all-weather, poo-bins that are emptied often and a regular dog warden or similar presence to ensure it is not being dominated by owners of dog-aggressive or people-aggressive dogs.

All that requires money and land that the UK simply does not have.

So the result would be an increase in dog-dog and dog- people aggression as dogs have a lower quality of life and fewer needs met, plus a higher incidence of attacks.

people seem unaware of the breed traits of small dogs. Daschunds were bred to go down badger setts and are utterly fearless. As pets they can be very demanding of attention, stubborn and difficult to train by novice owners.
Frenchies sound cute but they are a bull terrier breed, stubborn and difficult for a novice owner to train.
Whilst I agree that generally, XL bullies present a far greater danger, owners should be aware of their dogs behaviours and PROTECT babies and children. Adults too.