Attacks On Guide Dogs

[snave]

The amount of ignorance of dog breeds in this thread is astounding.
.

I've trimmed the quote down due to it's size.

I'm so so happy someone else had the same opinion as me when reading this thread. I can only assume most of the people here have extremely limited experience with dogs and are just reacting to an alarmist, exploitative article clearly designed to inspire fear.

Staffies are not inherently violent dogs. Yes I know they were used for fighting at one point in time but the reason they were so excellent at that role was nothing to do with built in aggression. Staffies have an incredible desire to please and protect their master, that desire is very easily exploitable by those who would want a aggressive dog - they will literally die to please you. They are very durable dogs with a good life span and are generally very healthy. They are eager to please and were at one point called the "nanny dog" due to how great they were around children, so much so nannies would keep one around for protection.

They are popular dogs so you'll see more of them around, this also means the number of attacks will be higher. You need to look at % attack rate to get a true reflection and with the large number of unregistered staffies this number will also be higher than it should.

I have a Jack Russell and a 60kg Dogue De Bordeaux (think hooch from turner and hooch), people are frequently intimidated when they see her because quite frankly she is a bit of a beast but I know fully well I could leave that dog in a room with a baby and nothing bad would happen, and here is the important part - I would also NEVER leave her alone with a child of any kind because it's GROSSLY negligent and I'm not a moron.

I could turn my Jack Russell into an aggressive dog over a fairly short period of time if I chose to, dogs follow their master and people with aggressive dogs should be punished by the law. I fully support a licensing system to even own a dog in the first place, it breaks my heart when I hear about how poorly treated some of these animals are.

I've been to my local rescue centre on two occasions and both times I left with a dog, i'd strongly recommend if you are considering getting a dog you visit yours first.

Rant over.

 

[Meridian]

yup, my next door neighbour has a huge rottweiler, thing scared my senseless a few times but getting to know him, he's as soft as they come, just wanted some loving haha

You know you can seven years in prison for that, right?


M

 

[realBabelfish]

I disagree.....if you licence the entire industry and not only ownership you would have multilayer enforcement and detection meaning less likelihood of dogs being in the wrong hands to begin with, it would also give the authorities more legal powers to actually do something, unlike today when the authorities can rarely remove dogs from irresponsible owners unless the dog has actually bitten someone outside of their home environment or in the cases highlighted in this thread...the young child in Swindon for example, the dog had already bitten a police officer, yet the powers do not exist to do anything about that. The very act of not having a licence would indicate an irresponsible owner.

That needs to change, and licencing and more effective and targeted enforcement can do that.

how are you going to catch the breeders who breed in private? the owners who dont walk their dogs in public (fighting dogs)? do i need to take a dog license with me every time my dog leaves the house?

i think there are too many holes and it would just cost us good owners more.

 

[Narj]

how are you going to catch the breeders who breed in private? the owners who dont walk their dogs in public (fighting dogs)? do i need to take a dog license with me every time my dog leaves the house?

i think there are too many holes and it would just cost us good owners more.

All licensed dogs should be chipped, that would make checking up much easier. No chip = no licence assumed so further investigation needed.

 

[Wossi]

I've got a 2 1/2 year old staffie who has never bitten anyone but me and that was an accident while we were playing. He used to be fine with every dog he met outside the house until a Jack Russell attacked him now he is wary of any dog smaller than him, so I keep him on his lead.

He loves kids and wasn't bothered when a friend brought their small child round my house who proceeded to scream in my dogs face. The kid ran away and my dog looked at me and went to his bed to lie down.

There is no point in banning a specific breed as all that will happen is another breed afterwards will have to be banned and so on. Dog owners just need to train their dogs, or keep them on a lead and away from other dogs.

 

[Phal]

The owners are ALWAYS to blame, no exceptions as far as I'm concerned.

Either they have no clue what to do with a dog and are ignorant of what it needs or they have deliberately taught it to behave that way. Either way, banning certain breeds isn't an answer.

 

[reefoid]

The licensing suggestions seems sensible tbh... though I'd also like to see a law enforcing dog owners to use leads when not in a park/open countryside. I see it quite a lot in London - dog owner with the stereotypical 'bull type dog walking around with it off the lead... no control whatsoever if the dog were to do something unpredictable.

This is something I've been advocating for years. It should made illegal to have your dog off a lead unless you are in an area where local authorities authorise it. My dog (yes, a staffie) has been attacked twice in the past couple of years. Both times he was attacked by dogs that were not on leads, in residential roads and their owners 50 yards down the road. It wouldn't stop attacks on private property, but would massively reduce attacks in public places.

Muzzles are not the answer. They can actually be a health hazard. I lived next door to a guy a few years ago whose dog died wearing a muzzle on a hot day as the poor thing was unable to cool himself.

 

[JDeeLFC]

"Excuse me sir, we're doing spot checks on dog licenses. What address do you have your dog licensed to? I see. And what's your name? I see, I cannot find a license at that address. I'm afraid I have to seize this dog and you will be able to collect it when you bring proof of your license down to the dog pound, you have one week to bring proof or request an extension. If you'd like to accompany us to the station we can get the paperwork filled out. No, I'm afraid I have to insist, I will place you under arrest if you don't comply."

No license? Dog destroyed, owner charged and fined.

There arent enough police to enforce it this way. Its simple as. I agree, licenses need to be brought in but it needs to be done in a different way. A way that pops to mind, somehow potentially unfortunate for the dog if a bad owner though is that of, you cannot register with a vet unless you have a license.

Also, Do you know the costs of confiscating and the upkeep of a dog in a pound. It would be a massive overhead cost for the government.

Dangerous dog cases last around 6-12 months, with the dog being impounded for the process.

 

[Castiel]

how are you going to catch the breeders who breed in private? the owners who dont walk their dogs in public (fighting dogs)? do i need to take a dog license with me every time my dog leaves the house?

i think there are too many holes and it would just cost us good owners more.

You seem more concerned with the cost to you rather than the benefit to both bone fide breeders and owners...

Any dog breeder will have to visit or have a vet at some point, so will the owners, even to get the required vaccinations...this can act as one level of enforcement.....also just the fact that when the Police, RSPCA or LA investigate any allegations or incidents that they have very few powers currently would be different if the subject of any allegation has to have a licence and if not it would give the relevant authority the legal instruments to act sooner.....

and you have a driving licence system, why not a similar system of Dog Ownership.

And, yes it will make dog ownership more expensive, but then owning a dog should be a big commitment and should not be taken lightly and cost plays a large part in the ownership of anything.

 

[JDeeLFC]

This is something I've been advocating for years. It should made illegal to have your dog off a lead unless you are in an area where local authorities authorise it. My dog (yes, a staffie) has been attacked twice in the past couple of years. Both times he was attacked by dogs that were not on leads, in residential roads and their owners 50 yards down the road. It wouldn't stop attacks on private property, but would massively reduce attacks in public places.

Muzzles are not the answer. They can actually be a health hazard. I lived next door to a guy a few years ago whose dog died wearing a muzzle on a hot day as the poor thing was unable to cool himself.

Sorry to hear about your dog. And I agree with your opinion about leads. I see it all the time. The law states that the dog must be under control in a public place but unfortunately that law wont change and unfortunately its so vague no one will ever be prosecuted.

In terms of the muzzle though, sorry to say, your wrong. Muzzles are an immediate resolution to what could be a long term problem.
A responsible dog owner will accept their dog might well be dangerous. They will muzzle a dog (with a caged muzzle with space for opening mouth and panting and NOT a stupid nylon muzzle!) and seek professional help on their issue.

Part of a dogs rehabilitation will be to socialise the dog. Without a muzzle thats impossible for an aggressive dog.

 

[estebanrey]

The licensing suggestions seems sensible tbh... though I'd also like to see a law enforcing dog owners to use leads when not in a park/open countryside. I see it quite a lot in London - dog owner with the stereotypical 'bull type dog walking around with it off the lead... no control whatsoever if the dog were to do something unpredictable.

So no jokes about killing the dogs with anti-freeze then, so no solution to this problem that involves extreme cruelty?

I thought you were a 'joker', that post seems like a rather sensible suggestion for such a 'crazy' humourist like yourself.

 

[JDeeLFC]

Maybe he just likes dogs

 

[shawsy109]

If another dog attacked my dog, and would not let go, id go to town on there head with the all the might i could muster, then proceed to boot the attacking dog so hard in its belly its stomach would come out its eyeballs. If that failed, id just pick up the closest heavy object and pound the living daylights out of it.

 

[snave]

 

[edscdk]

If another dog attacked my dog, and would not let go, id go to town on there head with the all the might i could muster, then proceed to boot the attacking dog so hard in its belly its stomach would come out its eyeballs. If that failed, id just pick up the closest heavy object and pound the living daylights out of it.

after you kicked the dog and depending on what type of dog it was you would likely not be in a position to get any objects....

really only want to take on a dog if you are armed (or its really small compared to you)

 

[webhound]

simple solution, ban chavs.

 

[realBabelfish]

All licensed dogs should be chipped, that would make checking up much easier. No chip = no licence assumed so further investigation needed.

could work. RFID scanner could do it. ours was chipped when we got her so i asked for a new one

hohoho sorry bad pun. she was actually a rescue so they do it as standard and even pay for her to be 'done'

 

[shawsy109]

after you kicked the dog and depending on what type of dog it was you would likely not be in a position to get any objects....

really only want to take on a dog if you are armed (or its really small compared to you)

im 6ft 1" and weigh 250 pounds, after 6 years in the Army, there aint much that scares me. Id strangle it. I would literally squeeze the life out of it. Im kind of a insensitive guy ( im told) but dogs, or any other animal thats hurt or abused makes me rage like the hulk

 

[estebanrey]

after you kicked the dog and depending on what type of dog it was you would likely not be in a position to get any objects....

really only want to take on a dog if you are armed (or its really small compared to you)

Really, I would back myself to beat a dog in a fight if my life depended on it (in reality as an animal lover I wouldn't have the heart to but physically I think I could).

A dog's only weapon is it's mouth, compared my two legs, arms head etc.

 

[shawsy109]

So your dogs getting torn to shreds by a mastiff or whatever, what you gonna do? show it a meme you copied off the interwebs. Sage.