I read somethin recently about the breed that is responsible for the largest number of dog bites is Labradors... so there u go

Steve I think it's already started up here, lots of media attention about certain breeds in the papers.
I'm sure most attacks are by labs and x breeds as they are the most common breeds...
It's just awful and does spoil walks for me now as I'm on the look out a lot....
I have no problem with those breeds with a reputation, just feel sorry for them to have that reputation, but I have to admit I'm wary of them when I see them until I clock who they're with...but that's true of any dog I guess....

touch wood neither of my boys have been threatened or attacked by any other dog while out and i hope it stays that way but i do feel for you whos dogs have been attacked in one way or another

I know it dont always work Ailsa,but i always have the assumption that if a dog is off lead-its friendly and round here theres only a few dogs which are not too good with others so we avoid em'.Im not too worried about Vegas being attacked by other dogs because he is more than capable of defending himself and that incident with the Akita a little while ago proves my point excally,but i do understand other people fears when their dog is smaller or not got the will.

I thought the tabloids & tv would start orchestrating a hate campaign against certain breeds cause there only doing it to sell more copies or win additional viewers.All of them are guilty of grossly exagerating stories to benefit themselves in the long run,but unfortunately some people do believe what they see and hear.

Whatever the careful breeding or training certain breeds are more likely to want to fight- Akitas are one...and thats the reason Pitbulls have been banned from being bred in the UK....

I seem to recall reading this somewhere myself but can't remember where. I have a Lab and a Dobe and my Lab's teeth are much bigger than my Dobes, he could probably do as much if not more damage if he decided to bite. A bite is still a bite no matter what the breed, just seems that the press like to give the attention to the so called 'dangerous' breeds. It is the person in charge of the dog that is the problem.

I don't know if this is the most appropraite thread to say it on .. but on my walk with Poppy I met a number of off lead dogs whose owners all called out he/she is friendly despite my sayingthat Poppy was not.. the only person who controlled their dog was a young man with tattoos on his neck and no hair who picked his Staffy up , smiled and said she is still learning her social skills!! He took full responsibility for his pup unlike all the other owners I had seen that day.. its the same old scenario where a few bad owners spoil it for all of the good ones,
Like Steve I assume if a dog is off lead it is freindly .. to all comers dogs and people

Rachel

Yep the owners are the problem not the dogs.....

So true, and you can really see how the problem has come about. I used to live in a pretty rough part of town, where the streets were crawling with nasty little men with big heavy-set dogs, and the scum pride themselves on how aggresive their pets are. I'm not sure how many of them are actually involved with dog fighting, but I think it's significant. You can be sure that b****r all of these dogs have been carefully socialised to minimise the risk of aggression.

Fortunately, things are a lot better here on the Scouse Riviera but I do still take a good look at the owners before trying to guess whether the dogs are likely to be well-adjusted.

It is so sad that there seem to be more dogs which have been attacked than not - Hollie is one of them that has been attacked, so sad as before it happened I could let her off lead to play with other dogs, now I simply don't dare as she has changed since the attack - seems to be a case of "I'll have a go at you before you have a go at me."

There are some owners who think a dog is nothing more than an accessory - so little or no training is done and it is always the dog that suffers.