Yet another child mauled to death.

[lazybloke]

Please, let's not let this descend into another anti-dog thread.

Please, let's not forget the tragic events in which are the topic of this thread.
(Link to original story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-60829837)

I won't speculate on what happened in St Helens, so nothing that follows is linked to the above.


But in response to your quote, I'll say that next to nobody has a problem with legal breeds that are well-kept, well-trained, and are under the control of a loving and responsible owner. I've just described the vast majority of dogs.

So it follows that any anti-dog comments are most likely a commentary on the small or tiny minority of owners & breeders who are irresponsible or "bad". Surely they deserve some ire, or would you find that tiresome in some way?


Two observations:
1) Walk any pavement, alleyway, footpath, etc, and you will see varying degrees of dog fouling, plus bags of the stuff hanging from trees.
2) Visit various local National Trust sites eg my local heathland, and you'll see the overwhelming majority of dogs off leads, despite this being banned due to ground-nesting birds for 5 months of the year (early March to end of July).

Okay, those are trivial breaking of rules compared to the horrific dog attacks we hear of in the news, but it is acceptable that so many dog owners are quite literally prepared to "look the other way" so often? And at what point does a responsible dog-owner become an irresponsible dog-owner; where do you draw the line?

"I didn't see my dog crapping there" is, arguably, an admission that your dog is not under your control. Ditto for letting your dog run through the habitat of endangered nesting birds.

It's not the dogs I blame.

 

[postman]

i am not going to comment on the tragic story,but an observation of Leeds.We seem to have a certain class of person who likes short muscle bound hard ugly looking dogs,they themselves can be seen wearing trackies oversized trainers and small man bags across their chests and they have a very strange gait.Its as thought the dog gives them some power.

 

[DRM]

i am not going to comment on the tragic story,but an observation of Leeds.We seem to have a certain class of person who likes short muscle bound hard ugly looking dogs,they themselves can be seen wearing trackies oversized trainers and small man bags across their chests and they have a very strange gait.Its as thought the dog gives them some power.

And now the sun is out they’re seen swaggering round in a “wife beater” vest showing off their tattoos

 

[KnittyNorah]

i am not going to comment on the tragic story,but an observation of Leeds.We seem to have a certain class of person who likes short muscle bound hard ugly looking dogs,they themselves can be seen wearing trackies oversized trainers and small man bags across their chests and they have a very strange gait.Its as thought the dog gives them some power.

I think that 'class' exists everywhere - and probably always has done.

Well over 30 years ago, there was a man in his 30s in my village who used to walk his two rottweilers on what looked like the stuff that is used to tow jumbo jets around airports. Straining on the aircraft cables, he would 'show off' as they walked him round the childrens play park. There was also a man of similar age who helped out his elderly neighbour by walking her toy white maltese for her every evening after work, and in the afternoons at weekends, since she had become housebound. She loved that dog and delighted in getting Pooky 'dressed up to go out' with a bow or two in its hair ready for when Jim called round.
I know which man most of us in the village thought was the most genuinely 'manly' and I also know which one had a drink ready and waiting him when he called into the pub on a nice afternoon with canine in tow ... hint - neither of those were the rotty walker ...

 

[bagpuss]

My 4 GSD's from over the last 38 years .
Bad owners yes, which can lead to a bad dog .

Rebal . Given to me when he was about 17 months old .
Rebal 1985 1995 by rebalrid, on Flickr

GSD Audax & yours t .Bundle of fun from 8 weeks old .

Us Two by rebalrid, on Flickr

Big Dog Dane . Adopted at about 2 years old . Hard work to start with, but we both got there , Dane aka Dave had ,had a ruff start to his life
Chillin out by rebalrid, on Flickr

Big Dog Dane .Plays Bach by rebalrid, on Flickr

Zeus . Our last GSD . Gone now but like the last 3 never forgotten . Zeus from the age of 8 weeks just "got it"
Zeus now 8 1/2 years of age . by rebalrid, on Flickr

"Working Dog Champ"

Working GSD "Champ" by rebalrid, on Flickr

 

[SpokeyDokey]

My 4 GSD's from over the last 38 years .
Bad owners yes, which can lead to a bad dog .

Rebal .
View attachment 636602 Rebal 1985 1995 by rebalrid, on Flickr

GSD Audax & yours t

View attachment 636603 Us Two by rebalrid, on Flickr

Big Dog Dane .
View attachment 636604 Chillin out by rebalrid, on Flickr

View attachment 636605 Big Dog Dane .Plays Bach by rebalrid, on Flickr

Zeus . Our last GSD . Gone now but like the last 3 never forgotten .
View attachment 636606 Zeus now 8 1/2 years of age . by rebalrid, on Flickr

"Working Dog Champ"

View attachment 636607 Working GSD "Champ" by rebalrid, on Flickr

Gorgeous pooches and great pic's - nice memories of happy moments for you.❤️

I still cry when I think of my long dead (2011) Weimeranar - especially when I am in the mountains which he absolutely loved. ☹️

Bit OT - apologies to the OP. 👍

 

[Cycleops]

Sometimes when you buy a dog you don't always get what you bargained for:

View: https://youtu.be/to_iElCxEhQ

 

[presta]

We could all reduce our risk of getting killed on the road by quitting cycling, but we don't because the enjoyment of cycling is worth the risk. The same goes for any other decision, people weigh up costs and benefits. People who like dogs will be prepared to put up with some risk in return for the enjoyment they get from them, people who don't like dogs aren't going to see any benefits to mitigate the risk.

I was born into a household with a dog, and grew up a dog lover whose reaction to any dogs was to make a fuss of them. In my 20s I used to have a girlfriend who was timid of dogs and if we saw a dog I used to try and reassure and cajole her:
"Don't worry, he won't harm you".
"Yes...I know.....but...."

One day in my 30s, I went round to my aunt's when she was looking after a friend's rottweiler, and it went for me. It didn't connect because I managed to dodge into the house just in time and slam the front door in it's face, so I never thought any more about it. It wasn't until some time later when I next saw a harmless looking dog as I was walking down the street, that I went cold with fear. It really shocked me how a lifetime as a dog lover had been overturned in a split instant, and I could see that girlfriends point of view. Fortunately that feeling wore off over the years, but I'm still a lot more picky which dogs I make a fuss of, and I always watch weapon dogs like a hawk and give them a wide berth.

I'm not at all impressed by the sort of people who choose weapon dogs instead of a 'normal' breed, so perhaps they could be restricted in some way, but I'm not convinced it's practical or desirable to treat all dogs like dangerous wild animals just for the few that snap. My cousin used to have a friendly little dog, but it would growl whenever children went near it because it had been teased and tormented by children in its previous home, so she would lock it away if there were any kids about.

 

[MontyVeda]

A dog is a domesticated wild animal ...

so is a human

 

[GuyBoden]

I can never understand why anyone would leave a potentially dangerous animal in the house with a young baby unsupervised.

 

[bagpuss]

My late mil had a cavilier king charles spaniel that had major issues , very snappy & many other health issues due to inbreeding .
I fear the last 2 years that have led to a massive increase in dog ownership will see a lot of problems ahead .
1 A lot of inbreeding to keep up with demand,by unlicenced breeders /greed followed the demand .
2 Dogs that have not aquired social skills & or training.
3 Folk back at work full time = bored dogs.
4 Massive increase in the cost of living = a lot of dogs looking for a new home .
5 The dog will carry the can for human madness .
Rant over .

 

[Accy cyclist]

In my opinion, leaving a baby/toddler/young child in a room with a 'devil dog', even maybe what's seen as a placid dog is like leaving them with a hand grenade with the pin in!!

 

[BoldonLad]

There are too many unknowns to judge but if.... IF someone has left the child alone with a dog they hardly know** then they should be held to account.
**with any dog imo but that is only my opinion.

You are not alone, mine too

 

[SydZ]

Unless I have missed something in the news we don’t know much about what happened but people seem to be jumping on an assumption that the dog was left alone with the child.

That may or may not be true so can we just wait and see?

 

[fossyant]

We could all reduce our risk of getting killed on the road by quitting cycling, but we don't because the enjoyment of cycling is worth the risk. The same goes for any other decision, people weigh up costs and benefits. People who like dogs will be prepared to put up with some risk in return for the enjoyment they get from them, people who don't like dogs aren't going to see any benefits to mitigate the risk.

Just remind 'The Boss' if you would..... Bike vs not fit..

Dog issues, are 100% the Owner. NOT the Dog...