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

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Oh Kimi, don't be ridiculous.

it happens in families
I started babysitting when my cousin was six months old, I'd look after her by myself on saturdays from morning til three in the afternoon, sometimes in the evening if my aunt and uncle went out, and from morning until two on a sunday. I was 14 when I started babysitting.

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When DS2 was born DD1 was 11 and I would nip out to the supermarket leaving her in charge of him and DD2 (8) and DS1 (5).

Families do this all the time. If the younger aunt hadn't taken the baby out the back there would have been no problem.

oops, I think you should change your name to oopz until your keyboard is fixed

WW I don?t necessarily think that the fact rotties aren?t used as guide dogs means anything. There are many, many breeds of dogs that aren?t used as guide dogs, and it?s not necessarily because they?re considered to be too aggressive. Having said that, certain breeds do have a certain reputation and can come across as quite intimidating which is not necessarily the image that guide dogs want to have. But even if rotties weren?t considered among the intimidating breeds they would be unsuitable as guide dogs on their size alone. It can be hard enough to get my 60 lb lab retriever cross under the seat on a buss, try doing that with an 8 stone rotweiler, it would be almost impossible. Also, the theory is that the dog should be of a size/weight that the owner would be able to lift it, ie on/off escalators, (have never had to do this and would avoid doing so but the theory is there ), but I don?t know many people who could lift a dog that size.

I think licencing is all very well, but there would still be those that kept illegal/unlicenced breeds. The dog that killed Ellie Lawrence was an illegal breed, so licencing wouldn?t have prevented that from happening.

I babysat from 14 as well but it just seems that this girl had too much to be responsible for, and is going to be scared for life by this, poor girl.

If the police had to shoot the dog I don't think it would have mad a difference if mike tyson was babysitting, but the poor girl could not watch every one all the time.

You honestly think that's the only reason, wannbe?

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Re the tearing cats apart thing - my dad had a springer spaniel that killed a couple of their new kittens. He was a daft dog just playing with them - but the same thing could have happened to a baby. They re-homed before my sister was born. Doesn't have to be a violent dog to cause harm.

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Ellie Lawrence's Gran was taken to court was she not?
I hate these sort of dogs, I would not get one, I would not leave my children with someone who had one.
My Uncle had a snappy jack Russel though and my dads mother also had a jack russel from hell so small dogs can be as bad.
I have cats, but would not leave a cat and a baby alone in the same room either.

Tbh guide dogs rarely import new breeds because doing so has been so unsuccessful in the past. Guide dogs breed their own dogs in order to breed in certain trates, and their greatest success has been with Labradors/retrievers/a cross of the two. They?ve also used german shepherds in the past but these have become less and less and this has been attributed largely to their size.

There is a guide dog centre in the US though that has recently started training Dobermans, although I don?t know what success they?ve had with this.

This is just so terribly sad.

Why do people seem to forget than dogs are animals, not humans with fur and 4 legs? By their nature they are unpredictable and I don't care how soppy someone claims their dog is, I never want my children left with one. I don't care if it's a Rottweiler or a miniature poodle.

Oh and my heart goes out to the poor girls involved - the 7 year old who was holding the baby will be so traumatised, and the 16 year old who tried to beat off the dog.

As a non-dog owner who has known some very nice dogs, I'd be happy if the authorities just bloody banned Rottweilers. There would be plenty of moaning from the 'my little Fontleroy is a darling who would never hurt a fly' brigade but tough, frankly. It's worth upsetting a few besotted owners to get rid of this breed. Just too powerful, big and unpredictable to be safe. At least other breeds growl or raise their hackles in warning before they attack. And you stand a chance of rescuing someone in trouble with any other type of dog.

I know a couple who keep border collies to show - agility stuff, etc. They've trained them beautifully, they are some of the nicest and most obedient dogs I know - but I wouldn't leave the boys with them because they're dogs.

I think a lot of it is down to how the owners treat and train the dog, although even the best treated dog can turn a dog is after all a animal.
But if you have a dog that is kept outside as a guard dog then it is not a pet and should not be around children.

If the little 7 year old went out to the dog it must have been seen as a pet. Poor little girl.

there is an article on the BBC website about the little boy's mother here and how she had written on a website about how much she adored her son.

It brings across what a tragedy this is, and the heroic actions of the 16 year old auntie.

haven't read the whole thread so not sure if anyone else has mentioned it but there was an animal behaviourist on SKY news yesterday who said they would prefer it if these animals were not killed on the spot (if possible) and were just drugged so that their behaviour could be studied to see if they did show any signs of aggression and help to prevent future attacks. He said they have no idea why animals just turn nasty and want to try and study it.

What edam says.

I saw a documentary about a woman who did the Iditarod (? sp - dog race in Canada). To keep order in her team of huskies she really had to whack them about. She obviously cared deeply about her dogs, but the second they got out of line they'd get a lash of the whip or a kick in the bum (or head).

I think many, if not most, people who keep dogs as pets would have thought she was being cruel and would call the RSPCA if they saw someone in the park treating their dog like that, but she was a professional, the dogs were professionals, and that was clearly the way to keep them disciplined and happy (no confusion about where they stood in the pecking order).

Dogs don't watch Supernanny and they certainly don't get the concept of the naughty step. I HATE it when some dog owner is ineffectually whittering "oh do leave the lady alone, Rover" when it's jumped up and is slobbering on me. Working breeds need quite harsh discipline, not owners who think they're civilised darlings, let them sleep on the bed until the baby arrives and then wonder why the dog is pissed off about being demoted within the pack.