Another child killed by a dog...

[tnorfotkcab]

Another poor child is killed by a dog.... We already know this is an XL Bully, don't even have to wait for confirmation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce35zkl9dg3o

The mastiff that lived next door to me almost killed his owner and got into my garden to try and attack my DH. He certainly wasn’t a ‘gentle giant’ !!

A colleague was attacked by her own lab when she returned home unexpectedly. She had severe damage to her face,so yes, quite possible

Goodness, you are quite stupid

And you are quite rude and uninformed!

It's possible of course, but it's also relatively rare. We need to look at the ratio of attacks when compared to the prevalence of the breed. Labs are the most common breed in the UK and have consistently been so for decades and decades. The odd incident is inevitable, yet still not common.

Possibly, just surprised in recent months really how many 'german shepherds' I keep seeing when I dont remember seeing that many for many years. So perhaps.

I once had a painter and decorator who had two bull mastiffs which he liked to tell me proudly weighed 9 stone each and were so strong he couldn't hold them if they decided to bolt. He described how scary it was when they got into a fight with one another over food, and how it was dangerous for him to try to separate them so he'd have to wait it out until they'd finished.

I had two largish dogs myself at the time. They never, in the 12 years I had them both together, had a fight. Not one.

That's a very simplistic way to look at it. We also need to consider the owner and their ability or willingness to manage the dog.

Your average family, which researches breed traits, attends training classes, and consumes appropriate literature to educate themselves, is unlikely to go out and purchase an XL Bully, not least because they are not a breed and therefore cannot be bred responsibly.

Your average drug dealer who wants a dog to protect his stash/protect him from opposing gangs is unlikely to go out and buy a golden retriever from a responsible breeder.

Certain breeds are overrepresented in bite stats because they are overrepresented within certain social groups and subcultures. You can guarantee that if those subgroups ever turn their attention to retrievers, it won't be long before they are the breed in the headlines.

Ive just googled that breed and tons of ads come up for litters, they're around 1700 quid each

Should be banned, there should be no dog breeding unless you can prove you need them for farming or guide dogs or similar.

That’s like saying people who’ve passed their driving tests aren’t the ones driving dangerously, exceeding speed limits, using their phones while driving, having one drink too many.

We need a ban for the sub groups and any dog of a certain criteria which should cover potential adult size and power etc. Cane Corsos, Rottweiler types should not be allowed as family pets. There is just no need for them in society, there are scores of other breeds to choose from.

edit to add the dogs such as Rottweiler’s will be the next choice of the morons who want a status ‘aggressive’ dog if the other breeds are banned.

My dad has been a vet for 45 years I’d say I am pretty well informed. Do you have links to articles about labradors killing peoples?

Certain breeds are overrepresented in bite stats because they are overrepresented within certain social groups and subcultures. You can guarantee that if those subgroups ever turn their attention to retrievers, it won't be long before they are the breed in the headlines.

💯

I’m old enough to remember Rottweiler’s and Doberman’s being the dangerous dog of the era and that’s because they are bloody dangerous dogs.

There’s just not so many of them around now. In my childhood and adolescence I witnessed a Rottweiler disable some farmyard animals and a totally different Rottweiler get hold of a woman’s arm and tear it down to the muscle. One minute they were okay and the next they turned. I’m just extremely lucky I grew up with dogs and knew what to do with my body language. The woman I was with however obviously had no clue.

I agree, the law makers need to weigh up the risks of other breeds of dogs and draw a line as to what is an acceptable level of risk for a family pet.

Or we could focus on education and incentivising responsible ownership, as this has proven to be effective whereas banning breeds has failed in every single country that has tried it.

Indeed. Some parts of the USA have repealed pit bull bans on the basis of that unpopular thing called evidence.

https://www.shootinguk.co.uk/gundogs/dog-attacks-by-labradors/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dog-breed-most-likely-to-attack-bite-you-revealed-a7166296.html#

Huge companies like Nestle Purina & Mars Petcare.

Just saying to the previous rude poster that it is possible, not common, but not rare either!

I agreed with everything you said up until the last bit about Retrievers. These people pick specific breeds or carefully selected cross breeds as weapon dogs precisely because they make good weapons. Retriever breeds are almost certainly not going to be chosen by these people in the first place because they lack any of the desired characteristics. However, in a hypothetical scenario where they were being chosen, yes of course they would eventually become known as more aggressive, due to their treatment in the wrong hands.

But it's highly unlikely they'd ever become as aggressive and fighty as the dogs whose breed exists purely to be aggressive and fighty.

What do you think these article are proving?

You replied to a post asking for article evidence of labs killing people. Neither article says a single thing about Labrador related human fatalities.

(edited for both articles, only initially read the shooting one)

I’m in favour of an IQ test for owners 😄

I don't think labs are the most likely to bite; I think there are just more of them. If I had to guess the breed most likely to bite my money would be firmly on chihuahuas, followed by dacshunds and JRTs. Labs would be down at the bottom with Staffords.

Either way, it's largely irrelevant as husbandry and the circumstances at the time of the bite play a far bigger role in the likelihood of a bite occurring than breed does, hence why education works and banning breeds doesn't.

How ridiculous. It doesn't make you a vet.