Does something need to be done about dogs?

I'd probably put the breed/type/size aside and wonder exactly how a 7 month old, was presumably(?) left alone with a dog...

Difficult to comment without knowing more information, but from the sounds of it - somebody seriously messed up..
 
I'd probably put the breed/type/size aside and wonder exactly how a 7 month old, was presumably(?) left alone with a dog...

Difficult to comment without knowing more information, but from the sounds of it - somebody seriously messed up..

Doesn't necessarily have to have been left alone. Report said the baby was bitten on the head. Just takes one moment for a dog to snap.
 
With these cases you never know what's going on.

The parents are never gonna say..

My kid was pulling the dogs tail hitting it and I wasn't bothered.. Then it just snapped.
Or.. The dog was growling but he always does that so I didn't bother to intervene

You're never really going to know what happened to provoke it.
 
Quite a loose description.
That just means it's not on the list right?

Isn't an xl bully classed by measuring? If its 1cm shorter (for example) would it fall into "not a dangerous breed"?

Not saying it is that.. But it could be a technicality

A shorter XL Bully is still a pitbull, so I imagine it's not
 
Dangerous breeds are just the ones that are generally a danger to everyone. A jack russell could kill a baby quite easily. I wouldn't leave my cat in the room with my little ones and she is scared of her own shadow. Its just not worth it.

I mean I grew up with dogs but there's a reason the RSPCA won't house dogs with homes with children. They can mistake babies for prey and young children often hurt dogs, which could provoke the dog to retaliate.
 
2 things I don't want to hear in a pub is barking dogs and screaming kids. Don't mind either being present where appropriate and where well socialised
The problem is that, in order to socialise either of these, you have to take them out and expose them to those environments in the first place.

I mean what type of negligent parent leaves their baby unattended near a dog on it's level?
The kind that usually never gets blamed for the **** up.

Doesn't necessarily have to have been left alone. Report said the baby was bitten on the head. Just takes one moment for a dog to snap.
Studies previously cited have shown that dogs almost never just 'snap'. There will be warning signs, especially from the types known for being more sensitive to trigger stimuli, as they are very expressive. It's on the owner to read those signs and take appropriate action. The very small number that genuinely do snap will be those with existing mental health issues, which the owner should be aware of anyway.

Isn't an xl bully classed by measuring? If its 1cm shorter (for example) would it fall into "not a dangerous breed"?
By the letter of the law, yes.
But this is the problem I've always had with the ridiculous implementation of the ban. It goes by vague appearance only.

A shorter XL Bully is still a pitbull, so I imagine it's not
No, it's still an American Bully, which has now been recognised in law as a separate breed (even though it's not really) and is not on the banned list.
 
2 things I don't want to hear in a pub is barking dogs and screaming kids. Don't mind either being present where appropriate and where well socialised

Can we add "football" and "'adults' who feel the need to swear every other word" to that list? :p
I mean I grew up with dogs but there's a reason the RSPCA won't house dogs with homes with children. They can mistake babies for prey and young children often hurt dogs, which could provoke the dog to retaliate.

I'm pretty sure they do though...
 
The problem is that, in order to socialise either of these, you have to take them out and expose them to those environments in the first place.

No, you don't need to impose your badly behaved dogs and children on patrons of a public house. I know because I have been a child, owned dogs and have a well behaved child. You really don't, and claiming otherwise is part of the problem :cry:
 
Somewhat agree, however there are different venues for different tastes. An estate pub next to a ground, expect it. There are "nicer" places depending upon your preferences.

Exactly, much like a family "pub" with a soft play, you'd expect the sound of kids playing (and sometimes screaming), and a countryside pub next to a walking route in the lake District you'd expect dogs (and the occasional yapping)
 
I'm pretty sure they do though...
Most rescue centres will refuse to home a dog with children under 12, if they do not have a complete history of the dog and confirmation that they've always been well behaved around kids.
Many also apply this to when they don't know if the dog gets on well with other dogs, cats, or other animals.

No, you don't need to impose your badly behaved dogs and children on patrons of a public house. I know because I have been a child, owned dogs and have a well behaved child. You really don't, and claiming otherwise is part of the problem :cry:
If they're too badly behaved, neither should be present yet and you need to work on raising their standards. But at the same time, those receptive enough benefit greatly.

The dog needs to experience the environment and associate it with being well behaved. They do differentiate between the different environments and you have to condition them to it, otherwise the first few times they go somewhere new like that they get overwhelmed by everything and act out.
This conditioning starts in the training classes under controlled conditions, but the groundwork prepares them (and you) for the live environment - You also practice things like road walking, so they don't get startled by cars, and moving through areas such as restaurants, picnic parks etc, so they don't get drawn away by the availability of food. Our instructor even does lessons where they're conditioned to pay no attention to unattended food or food offered to them by someone else (kids like to do this).

With children, it's more about putting them into an adult environment and letting them be led by example. Adult interaction is a very important part of a child's mental and linguistic development, and both my kids have been bumped up a year due to their advancement in communication skills and understanding of the social world around them. They're extremely well behaved, especially compared to those of their peers who spend far less time around adults.
 
Well it happened to us today, a friend was walking him for me, something I feel incredibly guilty about as I should have been there to get in the way. A mastiff looking cross decided to try and take a chunk out of his leg, ended up degloving around the underside of his thigh and where you can see the stiches from surgery today. Fortunately no puncture wounds that could be found, it's all surface. I'm glad he's relatively substantial for his size as it meant he couldn't be ragged.

It's not a fun experience to get a phone call saying your dog has been seriously bitten and to come quick. Thinking the worst the entire way. It's fortunate the wound is more... nasty than it is fatal. I can't imagine the pain that comes from it, but he let me carry him and take him to a closer vet to triage him before I took him to his actual vets, their ability to just deal with the pain is really something.

A small woman walking her sons two year old mastiff cross, or whatever it was. It's crazy how little thought or consideration people just have... for anything. The dog looked like it weighed as much as she did.

We do have access to CCTV from next to where it happened with my dog being the one attacked. The police aren't interested though as it's dog on dog. Have been "promised" they'll reimburse us for his care, but I somehow doubt that will happen with current prices. The pet insurance has made itself useful for once though.

Apologies if the post is a bit disjointed. It has been a bit of a day. At least he is back home zonked out on painkillers now. (The image shouldn't be too much but tell me off if it is, I won't be showing the before photo).

 
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Well it happened to us today, a friend was walking him for me, something I feel incredibly guilty about as I should have been there to get in the way. A mastiff looking cross decided to try and take a chunk out of his leg, ended up degloving around the underside of his thigh and where you can see the stiches from surgery today. Fortunately no puncture wounds that could be found, it's all surface. I'm glad he's relatively substantial for his size as it meant he couldn't be ragged.

It's not a fun experience to get a phone call saying your dog has been seriously bitten and to come quick. Thinking the worst the entire way. It's fortunate the wound is more... nasty than it is fatal. I can't imagine the pain that comes from it, but he let me carry him and take him to close vet to triage him before I took him to his actual vets, their ability to just deal with the pain is really something.

A small woman walking her sons two year old mastiff cross, or whatever it was. It's crazy how little thought or consideration people just have... for anything. The dog looked like it weighed as much as she did.

We do have access to CCTV from next to where it happened with my dog being the one attacked. The police aren't interested though as it's dog on dog. Have been "promised" they'll reimburse us for his care, but I somehow doubt that will happen with current prices. The pet insurance has made itself useful for once though.

Apologies if the post is a bit disjointed. It has been a bit of a day. At least he is back home zonked out on painkillers now. (The image shouldn't be too much but tell me off if it is, I won't be showing the before photo).


Omg so sorry to hear this. Big fear for me too. You just never know!

Genuinely don't know what I'd do if I was there and a dog attacked koda.

One went for him a couple of months back and the owner just managed to pull it away as I was about to give it a boot.
Luckily it was a collie that snaps and doesn't really bite!

Really hope your dog is OK socially going forward!
 
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Omg so sorry to hear this. Big fear for me too. You just never know!

Genuinely don't know what I'd do if I was there and a dog attacked koda.

One went for him a couple of months back and the owner just managed to pull it away as I was about to give it a boot.
Luckily it was a collie that snaps and doesn't really bite!

Really hope your dog is OK socially going forward!

He was already a wary of certain dogs having had a bad experience with another big dog years ago, that one was muzzled though, and he was a rescue with an unknown history on top of that, though I have had him a long time now. I'll see how it goes with him, just happy he seems like he will be ok. Crankiness with other dogs I can deal with. The challenge now will be to stop him tearing his own stitches when he's less dopey and feeling better.

He has taken it very well considering his age. He's tough.

And thanks.
 
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