Negative Dog press

Poodle died after being attacked by a pack of 7 dogs in Wombwell, it is thought that two of the dogs were Greyhounds.

A dog described as a Mastiff (who knows) who attacked a man and a pregnant woman in Derby.

Man charged under the DDA after his dog killed a Yorshire Terrier and injured the owner in Newport.

10 year old boy needed 50 stitches after being attacked by "bull mastiff" near East Lothian, he needed reconstructive surgery after being dragged. Dog has been put down by owner.

All of these are entirely preventable and so shocking.

Sad, just wish there would be more focus on the owners in these cases.

Not to say for one minute that these things are justifiable----but do you think we now have such a good communication system that we hear about it more?

Or do you think that this is something new?

rune

Good question, maybe a bit of both?

I definitely think it's a bit of both. And I agree that the owners need to be held more responsible.
I have 6 dogs and because they are a pack, only 2 of the are off-lead at any one time.
Just a quick question, do you think muzzles should become law when dogs are off-lead? We were talking about this in work today and I was going to put it on here to see what people thought. I'm not sure but it would certainly cut down these terrible incidents. I would be happy to muzzle all my dogs if it was law.

Well obviously if a dog is muzzled it cannot bite, but it can still bully, injure people with it etc.

This is looking at the problem from the wrong end. The dogs will still be out of control.

And, even if it becomes law, what about the people who will "forget" or "lose" the muzzles?

They will be the same people who do not have a legally compliant ID tag etc.

I can see where you are coming from, I just don't think there are any easy answers.

I think eventually the anti-dog brigade will push for dogs to have to be on-lead in public places and this will happen in more and more areas where at present we can have them off-lead and enjoying the freedom to just be dogs.

I do not want to have my dogs muzzled as I do not allow them to be a problem to other dogs/people. I wish other people would control their own dogs then we could have a quieter life!

Because they don't tend to do that I am vigilant when out on walks and aware of strange dogs and I do carry a pet corrector spray and an alarm spray that I would use should my dogs ever (God forbid) be attacked again.

My dogs are highly ball motivated and i use this to keep their attention and they behave well, i would struggle with a muzzle. But conversely because i have dogs that are walked off lead and sometimes in places where children are playing with balls, bikes and toys, i have worked very hard to socialise the dogs with children and people and other dogs, and to desensitise them to the bikes, balls and goings on, so that they are now not interested, they have eyes for us and the ball and will recall from heading towards other dogs. It didnt happen by magic and even with children calling the dogs and running at them etc, they just ignore and carry on.

So i for one would be upset that the few of us that have worked hard to condition our dogs for this type of environment suffer at the hands of others, especially like some you see here that encourage jumping up, thrashing about with children and find it amusing if the dog runs off with a childs ball!

I am not complacent i know they are free running, living dogs with a mind of their own, so we are constantly watching and assessing risk still and will move away etc, obviously you can never say never but I do wonder if there was more research into the owners of these dogs there would be a pattern of owners more so than a pattern of dogs that do these things.

I am sure if i tried i could wreck a spaniel and have it vicious and out of control, it i think is more to do with the owner than the dog in the very vast majority of cases.

I think that sometimes when one incident with a dog involved is reported in the press, then it seems to spark off a whole spate of them - almost as if the reporters are out there hunting for more stories. Whether or not this is true is immaterial though isn't it, and perhaps there are far too many causes of dog attacks, whether they be on humans or other dogs, for any legislation to cover it all.

Sadly not all dog owners embrace the responsibility of their dogs, whether it be through ignorance or lethargy, and not all parents teach their children the correct way to behave around animals. Sometimes, a dog that has been trustworthy for years, turns without apparent reason, and this might be because of some undetected illness. Escapee dogs may find themselves a fellow awol and this can enhance confidence and excitement - such as is sometimes seen in sheep worrying cases.

Muzzling would only be the answer if no dog ever escaped, or was allowed out on it's own, (it would be compulsory if rabies, heaven forbid, ever took hold in this country).........but once again, only the normal law abiding and caring dog owners would abide by the law.

I sometimes think that it is the owners that should be put down, and not the dogs.

It is invariably the owners not the dogs who are originally at fault. I have a pack of seven dogs who are exercised off lead and without muzzles. Because of the number of dogs I own (and because I enjoy getting up early!) I walk my dogs early and rarely see anyone else plus I live in a rural location. However when I do see someone approaching (with or without a dog/s) I put my three boisterous ones on their leads until we have passed. The other 4 will walk past people and dogs without even looking in their direction. If it someone approaching that we have previously met and their dog is friendly I do not leash mine. I have only ever had one incident with a patterdale terrier (on an extending lead) which launched itself at my leashed GSD and took a chunk out of his face whilst the female owner of the terrier screamed and shouted at her dog and generally became hysterical. Helped the situation no end!! She also refused to pay my £84 vet bill.