Dog attack on teenage girl

[sparkle_1979]

I'm just listening to the news about the dog attack on this poor young girl

Why on earth do people want packs of these types of dogs amazes me. I'm also sick of the "labs bite more each year" crap I keep hearing too, rubbish you do not hear of a pack of labs killing.

Something has to be done about who can own these breeds

 

[special_kala]

Its hard to punish and restrict those who cant handle these types of dogs without punishing the responsible owners.

There are 2 dogs in the next street over that i know would attack if they could. The owner is a young asian lad and around here there is a small sub culture of young asian men who own these dogs as some kind of status symbol. The dogs live in the garden in a large enclosure. The lengths they have had to go to to secure it makes me very very wary about the dogs behavior.

The police are at their house alot and the dogs have been taken away a few times. Its a attack waiting to happen!

This lad obviously thinks hes a big man by owning these dogs and ive seen him letting them go at each other on walks but not all owners of these large breeds are like that.

How do you restrict owners like this? They wont listen to any rules put in place anyway

 

[sweetlullaby]

I read that this morning as well on bbc Absolutely heartbreaking. That poor poor girl thoughts are with her family.

 

[sparkle_1979]

There should be rules like having a weapon, you break them you go to jail...I'm sick of walking around seeing young lads and girls strutting around with these dogs. They have no idea how to bring up these dogs.

I think they should just stop breeding them. I know that's going to o down like a lead balloon but I just think its happening too often to babies and children

 

[special_kala]

They are trying to make it so that if a dog attacks in a home the owner can still be prosecuted. As it stands i think when on private land there isnt much the police can do but obviously that is too late for the victim.

If every dog owner regardless of breed had to have a licence and the police were given the power to seize any dogs without a licence i think the amount if attacks would drop over time.

 

[blaze777]

From the Kennel Club Website

The Staffordshire is one of the most popular of all the terriers. With the human race, he is kindness itself, and his genuine love of children is well known. He is descended from a cross between the Bulldog and a terrier, and thus combines the temperaments of the two breeds.

Sadly with these dogs, it's more to do with the owners, than the dogs. It's "almost" like having another child. If you don't train it properly to how to behave, then it won't. 9 times out of 10 these lads that own them want them as a status symbol as they look "hard." However if trained properly from day one, they are the most loving and loyal dogs! If I could have a dog in my place, I would get a staffy when the kids were slightly older.

I used to foster dogs for a rescue agency and the amount of staffies we got in was ridiculous! I fostered 7-8 different staffies and all of them were just cuddle monsters.

Don't get me wrong, as with any breed you can get a bad penny. But it's few and far between. I agree with PP that something has to be done about the people that own them, but not only that - they need to look at the breeders who are just out for the money and not caring who they sell dogs to!

 

[sparkle_1979]

Yes I'm sure it would. It's shocking to think the person who owned these dogs is probably going to walk away. I hope justice is served cold to her. What on earth was she thinking having five of these dogs around young kids, its madness it really is

 

[Katerz]

It really annoys me that these dogs have become status dogs and 'protection'.

Some stupid woman had her staffy off the lead whilst walking past my house once, I was stood at the front door talking to my sister when the dog saw my cat and ran straight in my house and chased the cat around. I ran after them to find the dog had pinned my cat to the bathroom floor, I had to drag this dog off my cat whilst the stupid owner stood at my front door wondering what to do!

I dread to think what would have happened had there have been a baby in the house playing on the floor. Ridiculous!

 

[sparkle_1979]

Kate that's awful.

I had a Doberman who I stupidly used to treat as my baby. When I had my girls we had problems the dog was jealous so we had to re home her. You just can't risk it. It was bloody awful and heartbreaking but it just was not an option to have large aggressive dogs around children

 

[special_kala]

Whilst i do think that blaming a whole breed is unfair people also need to remember that breeds do have certain characteristics which we have bred into them.

Alot of behavior is genetic now because we selectively bred the Labradors that were best at retrieving and staff/pitbull type dogs were used for hunting/guarding and bullfighting. Certainly with bullfighting only the strongest and most aggressive would survive which has been passed down the line.

Most people pick a breed to suit their family based on breed traits and some breeds are going to be more likely to attack and kill.

 

[Missy86]

I really do think it was the owners fault for having so many

Who has a pack, it's just asking for trouble

 

[Rhi_Rhi1]

They should bring back the dog license

I think the reason that certain types of dogs attack more/bite or w.e is because certain types of dog are owned by certain types of people, Staffies for example (whilst just as nice as the next dog) are popular among certain groups of less savoury people or "scumbags" for some reason the Staffy has become the dog of choice for the scum class. If they all suddenly thought it was cool to own Dalmatians then within 5 years I guarantee they would be the dog everyone hates for being violent or w.e. It is always down to culture. I haven't actually read the article yet but I am sure I all ready know what kind of dogs to expect.

It's a shame that good dogs are being ruined by some peoples desire to use them as a status symbol

Just want to say that if anyone thinks I am calling them a "scumbag" because they own a staff then they have missed my point, and no offence was intended unless they are actually a loser haha

 

[babydust1990]

It's awful I'm a believer in its not the breed it's the owner but 5 of a genetically pre-disposed to fight breed is going to cause trouble even with the best owner.

My brother owns a Japanese Akita and people are terrified of it! But, it's one of the best trained dogs I know. He got it from a reputable breeder who vetted him before allowing him to buy the pup as she was so sick of people buying them as a status symbol. More breeders need to be like this! When I bought my cross breed jack russel x poodle, the owner asked us no questions and we walked away with the pup the next day! We got him a couple of days before xmas too, I was surprised she didn't want to know more about us

They really should bring back the dog license.

 

[Noelle610]

Sorry, but I disagree. It's completely the fault of the owner and not the breed.

I adopted an extremely aggressive chihuahua who had been in an abusive home. When I got him, I honestly believe he would have killed someone.... But of course he couldn't because he was like 7 pounds!

I have known extremely aggressive golden retrievers and docile and sweet pit bulls. You don't often hear about incidents with breeds that aren't considered traditionally aggressive because it doesn't make a good news story. If you look at the stats, it's all there.

 

[sparkle_1979]

I agree full responsibility is with the owner but its always the same breed it is not labs and collies that actually kill, they snap, bite and can scar for life but these dogs are killers and something has to be done to stop these type of people being able to own packs like this

 

[lj2245]

I feel so sad for the poor girl and her family, to die in that way must be horrendous and it should never have happened.

I also feel sad for Staffies too though. They are getting such bad press today and it's so unfair. The house the girl was in had 5 dogs all living within a very small house. The article stated that the dogs weren't walked and were kept in the garden as 'guard dogs'. The garden is tiny. It's likely the dogs weren't fed properly and were certainly mistreated. No loved, well cared for, well trained animal would attack like that.

I rescued a 10 year old Staffy girl last year. She's barely got any teeth but she's the most loving, timid animal I have ever known. When we went to the rescue centre we didn't want to get a Staffy purely because of the stigma attached to them. People are scared of them. We fell in love with our Tess though. She was such a sorry looking wee thing. She'd been taken in to the centre at 9 years old and pregnant. The pup died inside her and Tess had had an emergency section. As she'd been bred so many times, she is saggy and has MASSIVE nipples which are a nuisance for her when she's trying to run about (I posted a thread about her in December asking for advice about it). No one wanted to rehome her. We loved her instantly and upon meeting her, were taken by how clever, friendly and well trained she is. We decided she was meant to be part of our family and we took her home the following week. Not many people would have paid £115 for such an old dog but we are so glad every day that we did.

My sister has also rehomed a Staffy, Myles. Myles was used by his former owners in dog fighting and when my sister got him from the SSPCA, he was a quivering wreck. He is such a lovely, friendly wee dog but doesn't like men, can't be anywhere there are other dogs and throws up through sheer fear when he's in a car. Thankfully my sister is able to accommodate his needs fully and he now has a happy life that he deserves. His problems are NOT his fault.

There needs to be licencing for breeders. The majority of dogs in rescue centres are Staffies and many of them will never be rehomed because they have been so badly mistreated. Somehow, irresponsible morons with a couple of dogs are still allowed to breed these dogs and sell them for up to £300 each. THAT's the problem. It should be illegal to breed without a licence and breeders should have to undertake expensive and extensive training and vetting before being allowed to have a licence.

 

[Missy86]

Someone made a good point on the daily mail, one of the dogs does look like its got some dogo Argentino in it

 

[Noelle610]

I agree full responsibility is with the owner but its always the same breed it is not labs and collies that actually kill, they snap, bite and can scar for life but these dogs are killers and something has to be done to stop these type of people being able to own packs like this

It's not, though. It's always the same breed in the news, because that's what gets ratings.

This is US-based, but here are some statistics on dog bites from the Humane Society you might find interesting. Most notably,

Approximately 92% of fatal dog attacks involved male dogs, 94% of which were not neutered

I would argue that a campaign to have dogs neutered would be more affective than making it illegal to own certain breeds:

•Any breed of dog can bite, and research suggests BSL does little to protect the community from dog-bite incidents.
•In fact, BSL can often have unintended consequences -- such as black-market interest and indiscriminant breeding practices -- resulting in subsequent breed overpopulation that leads to increases in the number of homeless, stray and euthanized dogs.

https://www.americanhumane.org/animals/stop-animal-abuse/fact-sheets/dog-bites.html

Edited to add: BSL stands for "Breed Specific Legislation"

 

[weewdy]

Any dog can bite and kill. I agree having 4 is silly as dogs are pack animals. I am a licensed dog breeder and more regulations should be in place for breeding. Far to many pups are getting bred for the wrong reasons, some breeding with aggressive dogs which is not a good idea. Owners of these dogs need to take some responibility for training as wgen trained they are as cuddly as your labs etc.

Tougher laws need put in place and quickly.

 

[jay92]

I agree full responsibility is with the owner but its always the same breed it is not labs and collies that actually kill, they snap, bite and can scar for life but these dogs are killers and something has to be done to stop these type of people being able to own packs like this

It's not, though. It's always the same breed in the news, because that's what gets ratings.

Its scary really, how many more children have to be attacked/killed before anything is put in to place to stop this from happening time and time again!

I agree with the press focussing on specific breeds. They just don't get the same reaction if they put a story out about a labrador attack but it most definetly does happen. only a couple of months ago a jack russel killed a week old baby!

We had my boxer out a walk and a little cairn terrier attacked her and was literally dangling from her ear and whilst Roxy could have ate it for breakfast she simply stood there yelping...after getting her ears stitched up and recovering she then had a fear of small dogs....
Also we used to play in our friends back garden years ago and the lady next door had a dulux dog and it mauled one of my friends so yeah defo not just your staffs/rotts etc that attack.

My brother has his own dog business and does security work with his belgian malinois and dutch herder who are both trained to the bite and a springer for drug detection. They are all trained to unbelievably high standards and are wonderful dogs for my brother but for anyone else they are bas***** lol. His partner let them out in the garden not long ago and she stupidly let both males out with the femal herder at the same time ...obviously a fight broke out and unbelievably the springer turned on her, bit her in the head etc... totally diff to this but an example of how it is not specific dogs..any dog can attack.

I live in an area where i cannot let my little girl play in our gardens as there are so many staffs/rotties going around with druggies/ar******* that do no have any control over these dogs whatsoever. And I am constantly picking her up if we are out a walk and carrying her if i spot one of these dogs coming towards us, its hellish.

On the other hand i know several people with rotts and staffs who are lovely. Staffs truley are called nanny dogs for a reason, they dote on children.

As much as i think it would be brilliant for all breeders to have to be licensed and vet people who wants pups i genuinly think its too late now for them to start trying to introduce chipping all dogs and licences as in all honesty there are far too many already in possesion of these dogs who are breeding time and time again and lets face it... how many of these half wits would willingly bring their dog in for chipping / licencse etc.. especially when you look on gumtree and some people are giving their dogs away to free home etc... people dont know the background the dogs are coming from ..hardly suprising how many attacks are happening, but as usual innocent people/dogs will suffer.

E.t.a I really do hope however that they do something to stop attacks on innocent people asap!