AIBU to think dogs should be muzzled in public now?

[TraitorsSandwich]

I’ve just seen the awful news that a man has been killed by a German Shepherd - I can’t even imagine how awful and scary his final moments must have been.

Dog attacks seem to be happening all too often - AIBU to think dogs need to be muzzled outside the home now ?

For too long dogs have been humanised but the bottom line is they are animals.. who are ‘friendly’ until they are not and attack someone.

Dog owners seem to be getting more and more selfish & irresponsible- our local recreation ground has signs up everywhere stating dogs must be on leads but it’s completely ignored despite their being a free and secure dog field 10 minutes walk away. Therefore meaning that no one else is able to enjoy the rec ground.

I see so many adults being dragged around by their dogs and it’s so obvious that they would not have the strength to intervene if their dog did attack.

So surely it’s safer for everyone to muzzle dogs ?

Yes, yes, yes to all this!

Dog licences might put off the irresponsible and feckless owners who get a dog like it is an accessory. Compulsory use of leads on dogs in public places unless a designated area. Heavy fines to the growing number of clueless dog owners who let their dog run riot.

This is not an anti-dog post. Love dogs when they are owned by responsible owners who train them well. Hate the dog owners who do not give a shit about how their dog impacts on others.

Oh my god! Horrendous.

I remember the French lady who had to have a face transplant when her dog attacked her.

So by your logic, we should also ban children, a fashion status/accessory, status symbol, something to cuddle, to vicarously live out our failed dreams.

We should treat injuries/damage caused by children and teenagers as assault/criminal damage by their parents. Hopefully that would concentrate a few minds. Many parents are entitled idiots . . . . .

🙄o

My 3kg toy poodle is smaller than most cats and is missing 16 teeth. If he needs to be muzzled, then it is only reasonable that all cats are muzzled in public too.

You should need a licence to breed dogs.
Too many people breeding dogs unscrupulously for fast cash to subsidise their insta life styles.
No cares as to where the dogs go or how well bred they are, just interested in £££££s.

I often see this argument but have never truly understood it.
To me it would be like saying we shouldn't have laws against murder because bad people will still commit homicide, even if it's against the law, so it will only deter already law-abiding people. Surely we have laws in place so that, if someone does break them, the authorities have the power to sanction the miscreants. Yes, irresponsible dog-owners may fail to comply with legally enforceable measures like muzzles or registration, but if it were required by law then the police would have the powers to sanction law-breakers, including removing their dogs or issuing fines or even custodial sentences in some circumstances. This would surely improve the situation since fear of consequences does act as a deterrent in many cases.
I personally think we should bring back compulsory licenses for all dogs. If called to an incident police could immediately check if a dog was registered and act accordingly if a dog was unregistered. It would also have a beneficial effect on dog welfare since it would beeasier to keep tabs on the home situations of most dogs, their vaccination status, breed, health conditions, etc. and also to keep tabs on potentially dangerous breeds or dogs with any kind of history of aggression since it would be easier to quickly retrieve more coherent and thorough information.