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

unbearable sad

I cant bear to think about what the baby went through

so sad

I love dogs but children have no defence against big dogs if they attack. Hopefully there'll be some tougher laws surrounding dog ownership now.

Very . But tbh I don?t think banning rotweilers would really achieve anything. Yes that particular breed would be banned, but the types of people that keep that kind of dog would move on to a different breed and give it the same status. Any dog has the ability to bite, no not all dogs have the ability to kill, but most dogs have the ability to inflict serious injury, esp to a young child. I read somewhere that more people are bitten by golden retrievers than any other large breed, and yet I don?t hear calls for them to be banned, but two children die as a result of bites from rotweilers in the space of a year and we should now ban the breed?

Imo what is required is greater education of dog owners, and licencing of breeding of all dogs, not just the ?dangerous? ones. All breeders would have to be kc registered, and would have to vet new owners of their puppies. If the owner of the puppy hadn?t registered as a breeder (for which they should have to sit an exam re care/training/vetting of potential new owners of puppies) by the time the puppy is 6 months old then that puppy should have to be newtered. It would also outlaw the puppy farms where people do buy their puppies as they are so much cheaper.

The prices of puppies would rise as a result, but then only dedicated owners would pay those prices, and the amounts of unwanted puppies in rescue centres would decrease hugely. Works on so many levels.

Nab, rotties will never be banned because as well as being beloved of yobbos, they are also working dogs on places like farms and guard dogs, as in that pub where that terrible story about the guard dogs attacking the baby happened. When the dangerous dogs act was passed, there was a suggestion that rottweilers be included on the list, but because respectable people (like Alan Clarke for instance) had them, that suggestion was very quickly quelled.

Golden Retrievers may bite more often, wannabe, but a) I bet there are 1000s more of them and b) have they savaged any children to death?

But I've never read a case of a golden retriever killing a child or inflicting lasting damage. Have there been any? They may bite, but I think there's a difference between a bite and a series of bites as part of a sustained attack.

I imagine that more people get bitten by GR's because there are more of them. It would be interesting to see if there is a breakdown of how many of each breed there is in the country, versus how many attacks are reported per breed. But with no dog licence, I suppose that kind of information is not available?

A chihuahua has mauled a baby to death before.

Blame the deed not the breed.

So sad, I don't trust any dog. I like them, used to have one, but I don't trust them near children. People treat them too much like humans and forget that at the end of the day they are animals and have instincts.

I hate to think of the nightmares that family will have . What a horrible way to die.

But you'd stand a damn sight better chance of fighting a chihuahua than a rottweiler. I'm a shed load stronger than the one and weaker than the other.

It isn't rocket science. Why have a pet stonger than yourself that has teeth like a dog?

I did once come across a collie who had mauled the two year old child in the family.

But I don't think that "blame the breed, not the deed" is valid, if one breed is disproportionately more likely to attack. I think the difficulty is, that because attacks by poodles/ chihuahuas/ collies etc. are not reported in the media (as they generally don't lead to death/ lasting injury) and these figures are presumably not collected (which actually seems extraordinary, surely there must be a body which does collect this data?) we don't know if there is a good sound reason for fearing a particular breed and if the reason for the damage is the size itself of the animal, or their propensity to attack. I think that's quite an important distinction.

its so sad.horrible

Yes, but what I'm saying is before we all dive in proclaiming how evil rottweillers are, stop and blame what happened as an evil thing, blame the individual dog, blame the parents, but don't tar all rottweillers with the same brush. Yes, they all have the potential to kill you, but 99% of them won't, and wouldn't dream of doing so.

We don't blame all men for the random rapists/murderers that occur, so try not to blame all rottweillers for the things that happen cause of a few of them.

And I know I'm going to get loads of comments for comparing a rapist to a rottweiller but as a dog person this infuriates me.

But why take the small risk?

Why not have a dog that doesn't come with the same level of risk, or if it does is at least small enough for you to fight off?

Why is this sort of dog so attractive?

No breed is more likely to attack then another.

You could argue a rottie will do more damage (and I won't argue you that) but they are no more likely to attack then any other breed (I will argue that a dog kept as a guard dog is LIKELY to be more unstable/unpredictable then a family pet, not because of the kind of dog it is, but because someone who wants a guard dog isn't going to spend time teaching said dog manners and getting them used to the world then someone who wants a family pet)

More papers will be sold with a headline about a killer rottie then about a retriever thats bitten someone.

Rotties/dobes are given the big bad wolf personality in the papers and its largely unjustified.

How do you know that NutterlyUts? Does the Kennel Club collect figures on this type of thing?

Some people like the look of the dog, some like the general breed personality, others like the status it brings. A well bred rottie is friendly, socialable and good with humans, not the unstable vicious dog the papers make out.

If someone wants a status dog they're not going to bother teaching manners etc as I said in my above post.

I believe so.

I have worked with and spoken to many behaviourists and they always say no dog is more likely then another, but I have no figures to back this up.

"More papers will be sold with a headline about a killer rottie then about a retriever thats bitten someone.

Rotties/dobes are given the big bad wolf personality in the papers and its largely unjustified."

Er, yes, because a baby being KILLED by a dog is slightly worse than someone receiving a bite, fgs!

I'm not saying the death of the baby is not bad.

What I'm saying is if a retriever killed a baby it would be reported as a tragic accident, not turned into "look what the big bad retriever has done now" like it is with rottweilers. If more then one retriever killed someone over time, I bet it would still be reported as a tragic accident each time. This is what I'm saying is the difference.

I know I'm never going to get my point across so I'm bowing out. All I'll say is anyone who is a "dog person" (not a ness a dog owner) will know exactly what I'm trying to say.

but retrievers don't kill, that's the difference!

I think if there were more than 3 attacks in a row, there would be comment about the breed tbh and concern voiced.

Retrievers DO kill, its just not reported in the same light. The woman who's face was eaten off in france - that was a retriever. If she hadn't woken up in time, that would be have been a death right there.

Was she asleep when the attack happened?

Terribly sad.

The whole situation with banning dogs is so difficult. I do not think that any dog owner could say with certainty that their dog would not attack someone. I was bitten by a neighbours Golden Retriever when I was younger. Luckily it did no lasting damage (I have a tiny scar but it has almost faded away now).

I do agree with MB's point about the size and strength of a dog being crucial. Anyone who keeps a doberman as a pet should be aware of the dangers and know not to leave children alone with the dog.