Another tragic death of a young innocent child,

[robotics]

Again another tragic story regarding the death of a young innocent child, I am so upset not only with the owner for allowing a banned breed to be near his niece, but also to the council for not doing something sooner, Had they not warned him twice already, WHY? Had the dog not been removed sooner? With regards to changing the laws I personally don't think any laws will help, changing a piece of legislation is all good and well but how are they going to manage it 100%. I personally think that the laws should be changed that it is compulsory to attend obedience classes and to ban the use of dogs in places where it can be dangerous to the public. We live in the 20th century man has created other means to protect there property/yourself. In some European countries, it is compulsory that anyone who wants a dog over a certain size has to take an assessment regarding their canine knowledge and also attends classes. In Germany, that's any dog over 40cm high and 20 kg body weight , so that's any dog bigger than, say, a Border Collie. If you own a large dog your handling capabilities are reassessed on a regular basis. I also think that the seller/breeder of the dog should also be responsible for making sure that the dogs they sell are going to suitable families and to make sure that home visits prior to the dog being sold to be made compulsory. Given the hysterical nature of the press and public opinion we are currently experiencing, I am extremely concerned that within ten years many different breeds will be permanently banned. It is our job as owners and trainers to educate the general public regarding dogs and not the job of the press, MP's or any other band wagon jumper regarding so called dangerous dogs. It's the owner not the dog!! I could go on and on but I'd better stop

[poopy]

I agree with you. In my area we have recently had a lot of Japanese Akita attacks. I have also noticed these dogs are owned by sum SCRUFF on a council estate with no or little knowledge about the breed and ONLY WANT THE DOG AS A FASHION ACCESSORY. Therefore bringing a dangerous dog into the line of children. Dog Breeders should be more responsible and an assessment & a licence should be sought for any breed bigger than a terrier!

[smudge]

A few more comments relating to this recent tragic story:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question34 2640.html

[smudge]

P.S. Totally agree with you robotics - as you will read on that link.....

[smudge]

Just heard on Radio 2, that two more innocent children have been attacked by a dog/dogs.

Only heard a snippet, so not sure if they were roaming dogs, or with their owners. Will watch the full story on the news later.......

[shaneystar2]

Dogs should be licensed and irresponsible breeders rooted out.In Germany dogs are subject to a "Dog Tax".The bigger the breed the more you pay .In some areas you are also not allowed to take a dog into a public park or playground and owners that have dogs without their tax discs dispalyed on their collars are subject to on the spot fines. They have brought in huge legislation since the same thing happened there ...a young child mauled by a dog.

But of course our government is too busy meddling in things that shouldn't concern them than to sort something like this out .

These bulldogs are dangerous in the wrong hands as seen by this tragic incident .Some people along the road from us had one. .It was an aggressive thing and Shaney and I used to gave it a wide berth.It was a cute pup when they got it but the owner made it aggressive by beating and berating it at every whip and turn because he thought it made him look like a macho man.Until the day it practically ripped his wifes hand off and it had to be put down.
Luckily they managed to reattach her hand !
A lot of people have these type of dogs as some kind of status symbol and have no idea of how to handle or control them.
I have an old pooch myself but would be more than willing to pay for the privilege of owning a dog if it stamped out some of these irresponsible owners and breeders.

[RATTER15]

I agree that it is usually down to bad owners, in the case of a pit-bull it is the owner for being so stupid , owning such a dog in the first place!! I would also state that a pit-bull is not a safe dog in anybodies hands, it is a breed that has been reared for the sole purpose of fighting, fighting has been in its genetic makeup for many years and no matter how well this breed behaves it has the propensity to snap and cause immense damage as has been seen so many times.

I have known these dogs and some of their owners for years, through my work and working dog clubs (not friends of mine I hasten to add) their owners are usually as dense as their dogs and often as vicious.

[Dee Sa]

We have 2 shar peis, one now 8 yrs old from a puppy and one rescue. They are gentle creatures, like being petted, but very protective. I would never ever leave either one alone with a child in my home, one reason is because we are responsible people and secondly they are not used to children. Every dog owner should take responsibilty for their pet, when we go on holiday we put them in wonderful kennels [ believe me we have checked out loads of terrible kennels] rather than leave them with a relative who has little knowledge of our pets.