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

Martian, I'm with you. It strikes me as similar to the tigers escaping from the zoo where they are investigating why they went on the prowl and killed two people... er, because they are ANIMALS.

I don't blame dogs for acting like dogs but I could never forget that they are just animals and therefore will apply animal logic. Would definitely only have a pet I could 'overpower' in this instance.

The French woman whose dog attacked her was unconscious, and it was presumably trying desperately to wake her up.

NUts, if breed is irrelevant and a retriever is naturally just as vicious and aggressive as a Rottie/Dobermann/German Shepherd, why are they not trained and used as guard dogs to the same extent?

Also, link to the killer chihuahua please?

As far as a vicious collie is concerned, the Lassie-type collie is closely related to the German Shepherd.

All most of us are saying is that a large dog is potentially much more of a threat to a child than a small dog and surely nobody can argue with that?

Imo though people will often apply their own experiences to a breed. E.g. some of the nastiest dogs I have ever come across have been staffies, they are notoriously aggressive towards other dogs and there?s no way I would ever own one, and yet there are people on here that will defend them to the hilt saying that they?re ?the nanny dog? because of how good they are with children . Any dog that will rip the throat out of another dog would do the same to a child that got in between it and its victim and IMO anyone who thinks these dogs are safe to have around young children are hugely irresponsible. But that is my opinion. Similarly someone else may have had a bad experience with a lab/retriever/german shepherd/poodle and may hold a similar view about that particular breed.

And because more rotweiler attacks are reported than other dog bites, and because the outcome of those attacks is often so horrendous, more people hold the view that these dogs are dangerous and should be banned.

And of course there will also be those that think that their rotty is soft as and that may well be true.

Just because one dog bites doesn?t mean the rest are evil, but by the same token people really should be aware of the strength of such a dog before they buy one, but too often people don?t see past the cute puppy, and by the time they realize they have a 10 stone dog it?s too late to change your mind.

It is ridiculous to argue that all dogs can be equally as dangerous.

My MIL has a very snappy cocky little Jack Russell. It snapped at ds and his cousins when they were toddlers so we never left the dog alone with the kids. However, if anything were to happen, a hard kick from an adult would have kicked teh dog into submission.

You cant kick a Rotweiiler into submission, once it decides to attack it will not give up.

All dogs can be potentialy vicious, though some (rotweillers etc) will maim and kill.

Labradors etc tend to snap when provoked, scared, guarding property etc but the Rotweiller in the instance took this poor baby for no apparant reason.

could read it but reallypoor little tot

Wasn't a chihuahua, sorry it was a pomeranian see here

I grew up with proper guard dogs - Dobermanns. They were beautiful and devoted dogs, and I can say with certainty that they would never, under any circumstances, even extreme provocation have hurt my siblings or me. We used climb on their backs, pull their ears etc as toddlers and never had the slightest growl directed at us.

But they were very dangerous dogs. While they would never have hurt other members of their own pack, they would have been quite capable of attacking other people, who seemed to threaten one of us or to invade our territory without permission. Their job was to be guard dogs. As children we understood this, and never let our friends or relatives near the dogs unless we were with them and in control of the situation.

All these tragic stories involve a dog that belonged to a grandparent or other member of an extended family. They would not have seen these children as part of their pack. Maybe some sort of public information is in order?

zctually I find this comment interesting "The French woman whose dog attacked her was unconscious, and it was presumably trying desperately to wake her up.". no-one would have assumed that if it had been a rotweiler so why assume that of a retriever?

had that woman not taken an overdose?

The question is not so much why people keep dogs, but why people leave a teenager alone at home with a rottweiler and 3 young children to care for....

The question is not so much why people keep dogs, but why people leave a teenager alone at home with a rottweiler and 3 young children to care for....

If it had been a rottweiler it probably would have killed her.

Why aren't rotties used as guide dogs, I wonder...?

My sisters boyfriends family has a mutt (mix of god knows what) and it has bitten twice
Sis has told them if the bloody thing goes for her she will have them put it down like a shot... their argument is to get rid of the dog would be far too upsetting for their daughter who has asperges! See how they feel if it ever attacks the daughter.

Why aren't there dog licences any more?

I often think about Kittylette's little nephew and that horrible dog she once posted a pic of.

the problem is you can't possibly tell in advance which rottweiler is going to attack a child. this rottweiler had never shown signs of aggression towards the children before. And there have been so many attacks on children by rottweilers, it seems incredibly foolish and negligent to carry on having them around children. Of course those who own rottweilers, like with any dog, think their dog is 'different' from the rest, but the truth is you just cannot tell.

Terribly sad I really feel for the family, particular the teenage aunt left in charge.

Dogs - whatever breed they are - are pack animals and will behave as such should certain circumstances/situations arise. It's instinctual for them - no matter how much training they've had. Not all dogs will accept that they are bottom of the pack and it is extremely difficult to tell which dogs those will be.

The fact that rottweilers and pitbulls cause more of a problem is the simple fact that it has been bred into them to have the excessive muscle power - particular in the jaw. There is a huge difference between a stroppy yorkshire terrier and a baby, and a stroppy rottweiler and a baby. Surely any idiot can work that one out?

Read this today, interesting take on this news item.

niceglasses - I'd hope the dog was kept away from the children - kennel/different room. I'm sure she and her dog are lovely but any dog can see a child as a plaything and even with the owner present you can't be sure. Better to be safe than sorry.
It's tricky to predict - some breeds are on the dangerous dogs list, but that doesn't mean that those not on the list are 100% safe. It can really depend on the individual animal and circumstances.
I wouldn't expose dd to ny animal larger than her and to the cat under close supervision only. There is a lovely rottweiller that lives across the road - gorgeous creature and beautifully behaved, but I always give a wide berth when I have the pushchair.

The argument that is put forward is that all dogs can turn nasty and may bite.

The argument is also put forward that if dogs are not well controlled they are more likely to attack.

It is also often stated that the unpredictable behaviour of children may trigger a previously well behaved dog, of whatever breed, to attack.

If this is all true, and tbh I don't argue with it, why do people get dogs that do so much damage so quickly and are so large and powerful that an adult cannot fight them off? Why take the risk? Why not have a dog which, if it attacked, god forbid, would tend to wound not kill?

Ruty - I am guessing that in all these cases the grandparents saw the grandchild as part of their immediate family, and knew the dog(s) could be trusted with immediate family.

The trouble is the dogs did not know the babies, did not understand they were family, and possibly misinterpreted normal baby behaviour.

The moral of the story is - toddlers and dogs should be kept apart. And just because the dogs' owners think it is okay for them to mix does not mean it is.

There may not be stats available about the relative safety of breeds but if you google choosing a dog in Google UK you get a number of sites which allow you to input criteria such as amount of exercise, amount of time with children etc, so there MUST be accepted views from the Kennel Club etc about what breed traits suit family life best.
I am sure I read a newspaper article some time ago naming all the "usual suspects" (labrador, retriever, springer spaniel) as being good for families, but a surprise recommendation was a greyhound or whippet, which are extremely gentle around humans.
While I don't hate dogs, I was brought up with a fairly grouchy but much loved terrier, I just don't see how you can stop stupid people mixing big, aggressive breeds with small children, unless you ban the breeds. I mean, what is a Rottweiler for...

MB, if we ever had a dog, unlikely scenario, it would be one small enough for any adult to pick up and chuck out of a window in an emergency, tbh
Or the sort that can't summon up the energy to open its mouth wide and go on the attack, eg a pug

We had a pekingese when I was a child, and a nasty little dog he was too. But if push came to shove I'd have beaten him in a fight. He was a bad tempered ambulatory hearth rug

I find that blog a little on the harsh side.