Great Dane now on the attack - please can we do something? *Distressing content warning*

although it looks bad, I wouldn't describe it as 'horror' injuries. Mind you , I do think we need a law re. dogs now. I don't know how it would work though. Ban certain breeds without a muzzle?

This is only going to get more common as more and more places let dogs in and people continue to not treat their dogs as dogs.

It must have felt horrific to him as he's just a young boy and Great Danes are big dogs, plus the pain from the bite.

I regularly express my views regarding dog attacks here, but am always drowned out by the usual 'it's the owner, not the dog' and 'chihuahuas are infinitely more vicious than anything on earth and chomp their way through humans on a regular basis' 🙄

This line from the article:
"One minute she said he was patting the dog and the dog’s tail was wagging and the next, the dog had Mitchell’s head in its jaws."

She also mentions they looked away from the dog & child to look in a freezer.

I am not making excuses for what happened.

But there are about 14 different tail wags and only 2 of them mean a dog is genuinely happy, assuming the rest of the dog's body language is saying the same time. People need to stop focusing on the tail and look at other body language. Don't let your kid stroke dogs they don't know, or approach dogs they don't know, regardless of what the owner says (because 90% of people can't read their own dog).

I feel really terrible for the child that this happened.

It really shocks me how many dog owners are completely unable to read their own dogs. We were on holiday once and in a pub. The owner (of the pub) was telling everyone about his wonderful serbian rescues that were now pub dogs. Both appeared. The MOMENT they looked at my toddler DD (walking about) I told DH (next to her) to pick her up. Everything about their body language said "not happy" and they went straight in to very hard staring, which is just a few steps away from snapping/potentially biting. The second one did the same thing to my dog once he looked at him.
I told the landlord that his dogs were not suitable to roam free in a pub and we promptly left.

Not enough people have any idea how to read dogs. Equally, there needs to be changes to laws around dog control, and how easy it is to have & own dogs.

Not pleasant but I don’t think a Great Dane attack is anywhere near as savage as the Pitt/mastiff/bull type of attacks that kill…

Those dogs are the ones needing clamped down on. Ownership should be registered and costly, with training classes prior to registration mandatory.

Never going to happen though, socioeconomic issues surround it as these dogs are often seen as a status symbol within certain areas… and the poor kids are just collateral damage. Or indeed, adults. Though if they are friends of the owners or owners themselves I have less sympathy as they make their own decisions. Kids can’t.

although it looks bad, I wouldn't describe it as 'horror' injuries. Mind you , I do think we need a law re. dogs now. I don't know how it would work though. Ban certain breeds without a muzzle?

The poor lad is probably going to need plastic surgery and may likely be scarred for life. They are lucky that it missed his eye.

More focus needs to be on educating humans because people get dogs and have zero idea how to actually care for them, read them, prevent conflict, or manage them in a safe way. Stricter licensing for breeders, regulation of the behaviour industry, re-introducing dog licenses and tie them to mandatory training and education for owners.

Strong agree with @Cheapcookies about people not reading the body language of their own dogs. I cringe when I see photos of babies lying with dogs and can spot the dog is tolerating the baby. Accident waiting to happen

A great dane in an average urban setting is probably going out of it's mind with boredom. We have a little dog who needs 1-2 hours a day of exercise not just for physical health but mental well being

I used to have Grate Danes. (k=no dogs now for 10 years)
My thoughts are:

Poor boy firstly, of course.

Secondly; it's very unusual to see a grate dane involved in something like this. But then grate danes are rare.

I think every dog has the potential to bite. It is foolhardy to have a dog available for customers to touch in a shop.

I wonder what the family want done?

They have a pet dog of their own - i hope it doesn't spoil the boy's relationship with his own pet.

Strong agree with @Cheapcookies about people not reading the body language of their own dogs. I cringe when I see photos of babies lying with dogs and can spot the dog is tolerating the baby. Accident waiting to happen

Too many people expect dogs to tolerate and simply aren't open to hearing that their dog is desperately trying to tell them that they aren't happy. I've had family members seriously fall out with me over it, when I say I will not be leaving my child at your house unsupervised because you aren't able to recognise when your own dog is stressed.

Agree about the dogs and babies thing, I hate seeing those pictures so much. A friend sent me a video of her dog and toddler once. Toddler was bouncing on the dog. Dog was giving off so many stress signals and then started growling. For some reason, they were shocked when I didn't react well to this.

Yes i'd be interested in how much exercise/stimulation it was getting.

However - that may not be a factor at all in this case.

We live next to miles of countryside so it was easy to give my Dane's loads of exercise - but I must say i had to force them to come out some days. (And if they put their feet either side of the door frame it's hard to get them through it) They hate the rain. That breed doesn't need as much exercise as you'd think. Not as much as, say a border collie IME.

Really? I see many more posts on here saying that dogs should be on leads / with muzzles in public these days

the “dogs are awful because XYZ” threads are weekly atm

All dogs should be muzzled outside their home and in every public space. It doesn’t matter if you are a super vicious chi, or the worlds most laid back mastiff, if you are muzzled, you can’t bite.

This was the rule in the part of France I lived in. The local police enforced it in the Sunday market etc. It made for a much more pleasant and safer environment l

He had a giant dog possibly twice the size of him clamping its jaw around his face! And is now possibly scarred for life.

If that's not the stuff of 7 year old nightmares Idk what is.

I would agree with the need to muzzle any dog when in a situation where they will possibly come into contact with the public.

ie: Out of the boundaries of your property or in a shop/business where members of the public come in.

I would have happily complied with that with my dogs.

What law do you want changed, OP? It’s hard to tell how unreasonable (or not!) you’re being without that information.

yanbu

the law is clear: dogs must be kept under close control at all times.

problem is enforcement and the entitled attitudes of many (not all, of course there are responsible owners around) dog owners/handlers.

it's come to a point where I think that keeping any dog on leads in puplic places should be mandatory. and that dogs should not be within 500m of a play area in a park.

Ridiculous for anyone to own a Great Dane imo, even more ridiculous to parade it around in a shop.

It's disheartening reading about these attacks again and again, and then seeing the inevitable comments:

• It's all about the owner/training
• Children should be taught not to approach
• People need to learn to read a dog's body language

While all of those things may be true to some extent, they are not the most important thing here. The glaringly obvious point is that people are clearly NOT reading dogs well, children ARE approaching, and the owners are either crap or not bothering to train at all. So in that context, something else needs to be done!

I have zero interest in learning to read a dog's body language, I just want them kept away from me and my children. I find it crazy that as a society we're constantly putting the "rights" of people to own massive dogs without any regulation or oversight above our children's right to go about their lives without being attacked or killed.

But the general public shouldn't need to be dog experts.

It doesn't matter how much exercise it had, it doesn't matter how it was wagging its tail, it doesn't matter that it might have been in pain, or whatever excuse people try to justify tis with. Imo, no dog should be able to inflict this kind of injury on a human. I don't think they should be in shops, either.

I know unbelievable! A post already saying that how the dog was wagging it's tail may have been an early warning sign. Absolutely bonkers!

I agree with you. I think we're just discussing the situation re exercise.

I don't think dogs should be allowed in shops (OR cafes and restaurants either) but i think in this case it was the pet shop owner's dog.

The law regarding dogs in ANY public spaces would need to change to avoid this specific situation, as i guess technically the dog was on it's owner's property.

Compulsory muzzling when out of your own home would solve so much of the problems with dogs. It's obvious and very visual so, unlike licenses, easy to see if it's not being complied with.

It doesn't address the jumping up and being off lead in public issues we've got right now, but at least with a muzzle they can't bite!

@greenacrylicpaint

And in the latest events, how would that have helped?

I have zero interest in learning to read a dog's body language, I just want them kept away from me and my children. I find it crazy that as a society we're constantly putting the "rights" of people to own massive dogs without any regulation or oversight above our children's right to go about their lives without being attacked or killed.

absolutely this.
I don't hate dogs for thinking this. I can admire them from afar. but this humanisation of pet animals has to stop. it's ridiculous.