I agree. For no "known" reason and no reason are the same thing. Difference is I'm in America and we don't speak the Queens English but the meaning is the same.

I was more speaking of a dog that is a problem, a known nuisance who attacks people or attemtps to for no reason other than the fact that it's not properly socialized, the dog has a genetic nerve issue, or some other issue that you can't/couldn't control.

Agreed also.

What is it they say? Two nations divided by a single language!

Snorri

I like the way you all speak much better. It sounds more proper

An attack for no reason is an oxymoron. There is always a reason whether it be physiological or psychological. Unfortunately we are not always observant, or smart, enough to discern the reason. If the reasons behind an attack cannot be addressed and remedied then there is no choice but to put the dog down as it would be unfair to muzzle a dog 24/7, which would be required if it was that unpredictable. Also, the dog's life would probably not be a happy one if it was constantly in a state of arousal through fear/aggression/apprehension etc.

The dog that I had in mind which spurned this whole discussion is an unsocialized dog. I am presuming that is the reason it attacks whatever it sees in addition to weak nerves which could be genetic, or just from being unsocialized. I have not observed the dog as I run when I hear it

[The dog that I had in mind which spurned this whole discussion is an unsocialized dog] /quote

Hi Barbara To own a dog like that and worse still to have to decide what to do in that situation is something I pray will never happen to me. I was told by my father that when he was a little boy (early 1900s) my Grandpa had to take his much loved fox terrier into the quarry and shoot it for biting my uncle who was a toddler at the time. Grampa was heartbroken and would never have another dog.

If it was one of my dogs I would be tempted to flee with it to the Shetlands or somewhere remote like that (a carrier pigeon away from Snorri I guess )
Mini.

But after fleeing () wouldn't you take the necessary precautions to see that it never happened again?

Hi Barbara I would not need to that is why I would flee there..to a place with only sheep my dogs and me ..no humans.. in the far away land of the seabirds and the endless sky..

Hi,

we had an English Mastiff (before we had American Bulldogs), we had him from Battersea DH. He growled and snapped at me and my partner for no reason, then one evening my cousin came round, she was fussing him and Phoenix, one minute he was fine then the next he turned and bit my cousin. He gave no warning, didn't growl or snarl, he just bit her then stood there looking at her. I was beside myself, i couldnt apologise enough to my cousin, we were both gobsmacked. So i phoned my vet the next day, told him exactly what had happened, and he said that he was extremely concerned about what had happened because he didn't want him to turn on my son ( who was only 16 months old at the time ). My vet told me to bring him in a.s.a.p so he could examine him. He couldn't find anything wrong with him at all and advised me to have him pts because if he turned on my son he wouldnt stand a chance. There was no way on earth that i was going to put my son at risk, and i couldnt bear the thought of him biting someone else. I know some people may think i am awful for having him pts but i couldn't take the risk of him attacking anyone else, especially because of the size of him, and at the end of the day i had to put my sons safety first.

Ozzy

[quote="Ozzy_AmericanBulldog"]Hi,

[ we had an English Mastiff (before we had American Bulldogs), we had him from Battersea DH. at the end of the day i had to put my sons safety first.]

That must have been a dreadful position for you to be in Ozzy, at least you gave the dog a second chance and in that particular case there was little else you could have done other than PTS. Trouble is you don't know when you take on an older dog what sort of life it has had previously.