Tragic, poor little one year old boy killed by rottweiler at families home...

[ScoobyDoo]

What another tragic loss of life, poor little sole

Link here

so sad that this has happened again, i have the worlds softest dog but would never leave her alone with my toddler. my sister was bitten on the bum as a child by a rottwieler and my friends collie that shes had since a pup recently went ballistic and attacked there next door neighbour in the street. peoeple need to start and realise that all dogs are dangerous if in the wrong situation and its the size of the dog that results in deaths. i know a lady who has two rottwielers and while she would never leave them alone with children she does defend the breed saying that part of the problem is with the breeding. that some people are churning these dogs out, bread for size and as guard dogs. whilst legitamite breeders are choosing dogs for temprement. personally once my dog has gone i wont be getting another one till my children are all in there teens and know how to behave around one.

From the version of the story I heard the child was spending Christmas with Grandparents and it was their dog. A 16 year old Aunt was babysitting, but was upstairs when the 7 year old Aunt brought the toddler out to the dog.

They had only had the dog for about six months so it is not clear that it had been either properly trained or was used to small children.

These cases get a huge amount of publicity, but IIRC close to 200 children are killed on our roads each year. More lives could be saved by increasing awareness of this, I suspect, than clamping down on irresponsible dog owners.

Hmm I don't think the two things are incompatible Upwind. We could clamp down on irresponsible dog-owners and raise awareness of the dangers on the road.

I personally think that the dog-licence should be re-introduced at a significant level (at least as high as the TV licence) and that all owners should have to pass a test of knowledge of their dog and dog behaviour in general.

Lots of bad dog behaviour is because of a lack of awareness by dog-owners of how dogs behave. If they had to know about it in order to get a dog, everyone would be a lot safer.

My brother had a weimarer and he was a beautiful, playful, mad, floppy old thing. He went mad one day and ripped the room he was in apart - bed, sofa, chairs upturned, mattress all over the place - if there had been a human being in the room, he would have seriously injured them. As MB says, if a poodle goes mad, he might inconvenience you. If a big dog goes mad, he might kill you. It's pretty obvious, really.

I still don't really understand the drive to have such large, powerful dogs as family pets.

I fully agree that responsible dog ownership would reduce such incidents, but why have a pat that can do so much damage, so quickly. And to be so strong that you can't pull it away from the victim.

I'm very fond of dogs, we don't have them because ds is allergic to them. But when there are so many other, safer dogs available, why keep a pet that is so dangerous?

Keeping a cat is so much safer than keeping a lion. To my mind a spaniel is so much safer than these large, powerful dogs. Why take the potential risk?

Ok a 16-yr old & a 7 year old are left in care of a baby WITH dogs that are normally kept outside (ie guard dogs NOT fmaily dogs)

and the family are OK with that??!!!

NO dog WHATEVER type is safe alone with a child, the poor animal may be jealous/defensive/have two fingers up it's nostrils................you can NOT take the risk whatever the circumstances. IMHO

But my heartgoes out to them for the loss of the baby.

Terrible, terrible tragedy. Poor family.

I don't know about this particular case so am not commenting on these specific circumstances, but rather am talking about the general dog-owning idea when I say......

The problem is, people do love their pets so much and see them as a family member. I realise that the idea of loving your pet does not instantly appear to be a problem..but if you fuss and slobber over your pet and make it feel top of the pack and don't keep it in its place (the bottom and grateful to be there!), it can create problems.

While there are many very good dog owners, who do everything right, I do think there are also a lot of totally untrained dogs around. I think that really needs addressing. If you are going to have a dog, you should have to ensure it is properly trained, knows its place and is managed properly.

Of course, any dog can turn, but a well trained, well disciplined, properly handled dog is probably less likely to do so.

Was there not a similar incident at this time alst year, a wee girl killed by the family pet?

It's not standard practice unless the dog kills or seriously injures someone Ruby.

That baby was so beautiful.

I wonder are rotties inherently more likely to turn or is it just that they look suitably brutish and are thus popular with idiots who want them as an accessory that will make themselves look hard? Dobermanns are common but I have never heard of one being involved in any such incident. They have a more effeminate appearance so perhaps not the first choice for fools?

I would support the return of the dog licence so anyone who has had a pet confiscated can be barred from owning others. Perhaps it would highlight first-time-owners too, who could be targeted for training schemes etc. IME first time owners are a big problem because they don't really grasp how important it is that a dog knows their place in the pack. They are not people and should not be treated as though they are!

I would also never allow any nervous dog around dc's. Children are unpredictable, especially toddlers, and you never know what they will do to the dog... My parents have a nervous dog right now, who makes a lovely pet, but definitely unpredictable.

It does make me sad reading stories like this. All dogs have the potentional to hurt or kill a person.
It reminds me of a story in a magazine I read about a german shepherd puppy, a very young one. It was owned by a young couple with a tiny baby. They left the puppy alone with the baby in a bouncy chair on the floor. The dog bit the baby on it's private parts and dragged it across the floor. The dog was destroyed. I think it is sad to blame the puppy, it was left alone without supervision.

Dogs need training and the correct care without this they will go wild. I used to own a collie. It needed a muzzle when we went out for walks as it didn't like other male dogs, it was very soft and gentle indoors, like a different dog. I would however not trust it with a baby or young child.

My only comment about the amount of children killed by dogs vs on the roads is that it is very rare for a one year old to die as a result of being hit by a car.

I read this on Yahoo this morning and the news was quite sketchy, I didn't realise it was teenage family looking after the baby, the poor children, what they witnessed and my heart goes out to the family.

I have had several experiences of dogs attacking when I was younger - we had an alsation who jumped up and bit a lady on the arm, my dad was almost bit by a dog that got loose, same dog chased me home, and my granddads dog (soft as anything) jumped up and bit a lady too.

I wouldn't have a dog in my house, partly because I can only just be arsed with the cat, the childminder I use has a dog but it is kept in the kitchen all day and my dd will feed it cheese over the gate, but I personally wouldn't have one

Very for the family.

I was bitten by a big dog a few years ago - completely unprovoked - it just rushed out when I was walking by with my 2 DCs in the double buggie. fortunately it just nipped the back of my leg but left a mark on it through my coat. I was just relieved that it hadn't gone for the children. I reported it to the council dog warden and was assured that "something would be done" but was horrified to find out a few months later that it was still left completely free. If I had my way it would be illegal to keep theses powerful animals.

Upwind, I don't think rotties are more likely to turn than other dogs, but there are 2 problems 1. they don't give any warning - other dogs growl and their hackles rise before they attack, so as the observing human, you have time to back off/ leave the room/ lock the dog up/ whatever and 2. they are so bloody big that when they attack, they will inevitably do a lot of damage. Lots of people get bitten by dogs. Most of them don't make the news because the dogs don't do that much damage.

But yes, I also think rotties are favoured by yobbos who like their vicious image. (Not only by yobbos of course, but they do go in for them, judging by the ones around my way.)

Now read the details of this case, and just like all the other recent high profile dog attacks it was the grandparents dog and the children were left alone with it.

We've just had our ridgeback rehomed because she was jealous of our baby (we only had teenagers when we got her and didn't expect to have any more children).

I don't think dogs should be banned at all, but perhaps more controls are necessary? Don't know how you'd do it though. Everyone knows it isn't safe to leave kids alone with dogs but people keep doing it. You can't legislate against stupidity.

All dogs are dangerous.

It matters not what breed they are.We have a Shar Pei and she lives in her own outbuilding.She NEVER comes into the home.We have her by accident mostly as her owners were moving and could not take her with them.

She is the softest dog by all intents but the moment she saw the new baby(4mths) she was growling, baring teeth and barking.

She will never grow out of this or become used to the baby as she will see baby as a threat on her territory as the rottie did with that poor gorgeous boy.

That poor family.And that poor darling boy

Why have these dogs not been banned yet?

Last new year that little girl died. Both times the dead child had been at grandparents' houses. Seems that out of sight they forgot about the dog.

I heard this story on the radio earlier. How many more times is this going to happen before something is done about it. Surely these dogs should be banned?

This family have payed the ultimate price for the actions of their dog - a dead child. Even a prison sentance is not as harsh, how very very sad and heartbreaking.

Could we start a campaign to get them banned? I am sure MN has acheived other things so why not this??

A friend of mine used to have a Rottie, she had a small baby and when the baby was born I begged her to get rid of the dog. She refused saying the dog was soft as.

Then one day the side gate was left open and the dog attacked the postman in the street outside. Was the scariest thing I've ever seen, postman was hysterical. Luckily it never actually bit him hard enough to go through his jacket. But it could so easily have killed him. They rehomed the dog though personally I think it should have been put down.