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

The Dog in this case belongs to the owner and goes to work with them. I buy my dog treats in it occasionally. First I heard about the incident was on the news.

I’ve always had dogs, always taken them to the pub. If I don’t know the pub, I phone before to ask whether it’s okay to bring the dog and have been told several times after arriving “oh, we thought you were bringing a dog” because they were so quiet under the table. I wouldn’t dream of taking my dog to a supermarket but she does occasionally come into appropriate shops with me, usually if I would otherwise be out all day and have to leave her. She’s a Springer and extraordinarily gentle, but I would never leave a child alone with her. I am constantly astounded at the stupidity of parents. I once had a child of about 4 crawl up to her at face level with his teeth bared, making growling noises while she was lying under the table in a pub garden. Fortunately she’s pretty bombproof and I intervened long before he was within range, but I took the child back to his parents and got blank looks when I told them they needed to keep more of an eye before he picked a dog that would do more than look up at its owner for guidance on how to react.

I agree with you.

Given the few dog attack deaths that have been happening, I am not surprised that the press are reporting on lower level stuff like this... that happens all the time.

A bit like then the Smiler ride in Alton Towers had that horrific crash where someone lost a leg.... afterwards, the press was reporting the smallest rollercoaster breakdown.. the sort of stuff that happens all the time.

Not necessarily. One human death by dog mauling is one too many. We could do it humanely.

Do what humanely? Kill all dogs?

What an absolute over reaction! Typical from the MN dog haters. Happens every time on dog threads.

Given the few dog attack deaths that have been happening, I am not surprised that the press are reporting on lower level stuff like this... that happens all the time

I think that’s the problem….in your words ‘it happens all the time’ I love dogs, but it blows my mind how glib and unfeeling people are about kids injuries/allergies/being in fear

Why is it extreme? This country kills millions of animals every day. In worse ways than a shot of pink juice in a syringe. We could easily eradicate the dog problem in a week. They could even be usefully fed to the big cats in the zoos, save a few cows for a change.

Lower level??? If you think a gaping head wound is low level, you’re totally lacking in wisdom.

Exactly. She admits it happens all
the time, yet thinks this is an acceptable way to live, with kids maimed and scarred, day in, day out. I’m appalled with such recklessness and disregard for humans.

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.

I completely agree. I was mauled by a family pet dog as a child and I am open with my children about the scars on my face being a result of that. If she’d latched on to my throat and not my face I may well not be here. I teach them to be wary and not approach dogs or respond to dogs that approach them and I tell owners to get them away from my kids. We don’t owe stranger’s dogs a pat on the head. And I’m not interested in getting to know them. The dogs of friends or family I warmly make a fuss of. We’ve had dogs since and I’ve loved them! But I am terrified of a strange dog attacking one of my children. They’ve been knocked over by them in the woods. It’s not ok. I guess all we can do for now is teach our children the safest rules (don’t run/scream/get in their face/approach etc) until the laws are tightened on this.

Great Danes don't tend to be aggressive normally. They're usually pretty aloof.

@PassTheDuckie @AlloPeciaMam but humans caused the problem, didn’t we? We domesticated dogs. Now you want to solve it? Always address the source!
Perhaps it’s us that need that little syringe you refer to, eh? We kill and abuse so many creatures.

Anyway- killing all dogs isn’t going to happen. What a stupid post 😂are you always prone to THAT type of overreaction.

What a cave man like mentality.
“Me no like it, me kill it and eat it”🤣🤣🤣 these posts are batshit, pointless engaging with you. Silly.

I don’t know anyone in real life who hates dogs. Nobody. 🤷🏼‍♀️But if they did they might support muzzling, leashing, not mass murder- because it’s a disproportionate response to say the least.

One rape is too much, why don't we castrate all men.

One car accident is too much, let's ban all cars.

One chocking on a grape is too much, lets ban grapes.

Loads of people die every year due to alcohol. Ban it? What about all the people dying and displaced due to climate change - are you getting rid of your car and uninstalling your central heating?

Proportionality is key.

I’ve got two Labs. One is 11 and has been a therapy dog at the local children’s hospice. One is a puppy who will also attend therapy dog training.

I love dogs. My 9 year old DS loves dogs. We are a dog family.

Things I would love to see happen:

1. Heavy criminal penalties for dog owners. If your dog injures someone - you should get jail time. Watch how quickly that would solve the lackadaisical attitude some owners have.

2. A licensing and registration programme. If you want a dog, you should register it with the local authority. Prove that it is microchipped, vaccinated, wormed. Prove that it is insured. Attend mandatory training classes. Prove that you have a suitable environment to live in. Prove that you have the finances to provide the right care.

3. Dog parks to exercise dogs away from play parks. Insist all dogs are on lead in any other environment.

4. Ban s/m posts of dogs being crawled on by babies/dressed up like dolls/any other stupid nonsense that makes a dog seem like some benign accessory.

This would make owners far more responsible, reduce the number of people who shouldn’t own a dog in the first place, improve dogs’ lives by ensuring they are cared for properly, remove dogs from spaces where children should be able to run and play uninhibited and hopefully encourage fewer people to see dogs as a fashion item.

“I came under a lot of criticism for suggesting that the dog should not be rehomed at all.
In my opinion once a dog is aggressive to humans it should be PTS immediately”

I’m not surprised you came under fire for your uneducated comment. Guarding behaviour can be managed, many rescues rehome dogs with it. Sometimes it’s humans that have caused the guarding by being abusive to the animal. Of course, common sense is needed (lacking in mn world) and the dog should not be rehomed with children.

@OfTheNight 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻excellent post.

I was on a train a while ago and the face of a young child in a buggy was covered in fading scars. The mother explained to another passenger that the child had been attacked by a dog and she was slowly succeeding in encouraging the child to trust dogs again. I couldn’t believe it.

I am with Op. Something has to be done. I also think dog ownership (or pet ownership of any kind) is cruel. Dogs aren’t meant to be our playmates/family members/Guardians. We have forced them to become so. No wonder we get attacked.

I follow a page on fb about a boy called JJ (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088594890488) - it is astounding how brutal the attack on his face was, and a miracle he survived. I wish people would stop apologising or minimising how horrific and common these attacks really are.

I agree re dogs. They aren’t here to serve us and be our friends, workers or whatever. We separate them from their mothers and litter mates, then force them to
lead unnatural lives. They often can’t breed as nature intended, and they are kept at our whims. I find this very problematic and controlling.

Animals are not bred and killed to feed dogs, don't be ridiculous. Dog food is made out of animal proteins as a by product of human activities. Euthanasing all dogs won't have any impact.

I think some people need to read up about the human-dog relationship. It goes back at least 15,000 years. Humans did not just domesticate them. If that was all there was to it sheep, goats and cows would also be pets rather than farm animals.

I was just typing a post to say the same!
Humans and dogs coevolved
https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/dogs-humans-evolved-together-study-suggests-1c9924394

Ahh the PETA manifesto emerges. Sharing the original story was just to exploit the victim for the opportunity to promote an extremist ideology. Usual tactics too, new account plus a pack of fellow activists to jump in and bias the replies towards the position the OP puts forward as the thread develops. PETA and their ilk regularly troll forums and social media groups with the same thread strategy.

Humans kill other humans. Maybe we should ban humans too?