B****y dogs

PAT dog helps child

A friend of mine worked with Canine Partners, training dogs to help people with mobility problems. Maybe there is a group in your area Luckygirl and if so, they sometimes hold coffee mornings or show training sessions. Might be worth taking your little gd along to see them? Good luck.
I often take my Gd to a park and hate seeing dogs running loose around the place, not under control. I don't like to let GD run ahead because of this and keep her close by me.
Although I am a cat lover and have always had cats, I also teach Gd not to stroke cats unless a grown up has first, and shown her how to give a small gentle stroke. Any animal can suddenly bite.

"Any animal can suddenlt bite" -
My parents had a border terrier which bit a little girl on the face as she was walking past the house.
It was an awful situation - Dad had the dog put to sleep. Not sure how badly the child was wounded as I was living away at the time.
Dogs are unpredictable, however well trained or apparently placid.

Lucky girl. I had a thought. It might be an idea to leave matters for a few days then have a,chat with your neighbour explaining that your gd had been screaming with nightmares after the incident. A little fib i know but who cares. After all a large dog to a child must seem like the size a horse would be to an adult. You could gently say that maybe other parents would report the dog. It should make her realise that when dogs are not on a lead anything could happen. She might even thank you for this!!!

Tricia your parent's Border Terrier was not 'under control' by the sounds of it. If the child was walking past the house where was the dog? Loose in the front garden? Did the child come into the front or was there a gate open?

It's easy to say 'dog are unpredictable' (so are humans) but some kind of control must have broken down for the dog to have been able to bite a child under those circumstances. And that control rested with its humans. It sounds like another irresponsible owner.

As for telling a 'little fib' - I think you mean lying bramble to make the child's reaction to the regrettable incident sound worse than it is? Why not say it as it is, that this irresponsible dog owner needs to either put her apparently unmanageable beast on a lead or get off her backside and train it to behave.

Another poor child in the news today having had her face ripped apart by a Staffordshire bull terrier. What is the matter with people?

And why does it seem to be lately that it's the grandparent's dogs?

I do think the breed is important though and any dog bred to 'lock on' will not let go once it does attack.

Poor little lass

I guess that it's a combination of so many grandparents looking after their grandchildren and the child not being part of 'their pack' and is probably regarded as subordinate and a threat to their food. My friends child was bitten on the face by a bulldog . I suppose that these breeds go for the throat [other than, say, terriers that are more likely to nip at legs and heels]. Whatever the reason, it's still tragic

I said the same to DH tonight. Grandparents dogs again. Mind you, we knew someone a few years ago who had a Labrador which had been her dog at home. She took the dog with her when she married. The dog was old and placid. The lady had a child and one day when the little girl was about 18 months old the lady was hanging washing out and heard a terrible scream. The dog had the child's face in its mouth. The little girl was scarred for life. I think maybe dogs get jealous.

Jealousy and confusion can be a lethal combination. Dogs understandably get jealous if their adored owner lavishes attention on something or someone else. If they are well trained and confident they are less likely to feel insecure which can have awful consequences.

We are shocked when we hear of these tragedies but we must remember that many dogs are loving and gentle around small children.

Oh dear - I really am so anti-dog. Sorry to all those dog lovers out there, but from my point of view they are a b****y nuisance and a potential danger. I know that some people adore their dogs; but many dog lovers do need to understand that there are those who do not share their views and who are sick and tired of being told "Oh- he's just being friendly" when he humps your leg, licks your face (yuk), covers you in mud, knocks your GD over...... etc. I have very poor balance and hate it when dogs are jumping around.

I cannot bear it when these poor children get mauled by these wretched dogs - it just makes me sick.

I speak as a social worker who did a lot of home visiting and has had it up to here with the wretched things - one even lifted its leg and pissed in my handbag!

I used to contact people before I visited and tell them that I expected them to shut their dogs of of the way when I visited.

Why should other people have to be hassled by other people's pets?

My Sis-IL used to expect us to have her dog in the house when she came to stay - I just said No Way! And would happily have paid for kennels in order to avoid a dog in the house.

Sorry again to the dog lovers - I am sure you are lovely people - it's just your blooming dogs that I don't like!

And I do think that training and socialising a dog which might have aggressive tendencies is best left to fitter younger people.

Dogs do get jealous if they're treated like baby substitutes for years and then their owners have children. The happiest dog is a dog that's treated like a dog and knows it's a dog.

Oh luckygirl I too used to do lots of home visits and particularly enjoyed meeting peoples pets! Many a time I've taken notes with a large creature on my knee. I specially liked it when Border Collies sat next to me and leaned the way they do. I'm a cat person really and lost count of the times I'd be told that the family cat wasn't friendly only for said pet to climb all over me purring. Typical contrary cats!

Each to his own Jane! I couldn't stand it - your description makes me cringe!!

Having said all this about children not being 'part of the pack' there are many, many foster carers who have dogs which cope admirably with different children coming in and out of their lives. The dogs are subject to assessment from the very start, but I have assessed families with German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and the much maligned Staffies, all of which have gone on to live with strange children and be an important part of those children's lives. I would go so far as to say that the right dog has sometimes been a lifeline to a child who has had damaging and dysfunctional relationships and has learnt to relate to the dog before building trust with adults. So I guess this brings us back to the starting point which is good owners make good dogs, whereas bad owners can do the opposite.

That's interesting Nightowl as we only know the dogs in our lives - our own, our friends' and family dogs.

I was brought up with dogs, but find myself increasingly wary of them now when I have my DGC with me. We have a boxer here that roams the street - just let out "to play" by its owner and popping up in gardens uninvited after crashing through hedges. It's a big, powerful thing and scared my DGS1 the other day racing into our garden with another dog it had picked up somewhere. Fortunately DS was holding DGS at the time - he's a slight 2 year old, and would have been bowled over at least. The majority of our neighbours are indulgent dog lovers who all think it's a lovely dog. Well, it growls at me every time I look its way - obviously reading my mind! Nobody wants to be the old misery that reports the owner, who when spoken to has trotted out the "only playing, wouldn't hurt a fly" reply, but I think the time is approaching.

Oh yes. Dogs definitely shouldn't be allowed to just roam around or burst into other peoples gardens. Its quite true good owners have good dogs. Mind you I can remember startling the children when they were young and we came upon a steaming mound of something that shouldn't have been there. I foolishly said 'thats not the dogs fault its the owner's'. The children were horrified -could hardly believe the owner had done it!

If every dog [or pet] that turned round a childs life made the headlines it would be headline news every day. But I do hope that all of these cases are being analysed in some way to find out what triggers it. Good dog breeders breed for temperament and they do so to eliminate those dogs with a bad temperament. When I bred a few litters of cocker spaniels, everyone wanted golden ones...one in fourteen of which were being euthanised because they bit people [that didn't include the ones whose owners were bitten but ignored it]. It was because they were being mated daughter to father etc to obtain the correct colour. No matter how good and knowledgeable the owner, these dogs would snap out without warning. I even had people phoning me up wanting a golden coloured dog even though their last one had been dangerous. Thankfully, as far as I know, that is no longer the case.

All this in-breeding truly gives me the creeps - it is just a power trip really; as it is for those people who own a vicious dog. Creepy stuff.

I'was brought up with a Staffie (which looked more like a pit bull 60 years ago) and my parents had Staffies all their lives. They aren't naturally vicious dogs - unless you're a rat! Mum said they were known as the Nanny Dog because they were/are so protective of their family and children. However, this means that they can mistake the intentions of visitors which, having been bred with such strong jaws can lead to horrendous results. I believe Jack Russells are the dogs most likely to bite, but the damage done is far less as they tend to go for ankles.

My parents aquired their last Staffie when dad was 78 and suffering from cancer. They wanted a dog which would make mum feel safe and be good company. She certainly fulfilled this role. However, living a sheltered life alone with mum she was timid around children. I used to walk her and once on the beach I struggled to calm her when a boy turned a cartwheel really close by. She was terrified. Children are such unpredictable creatures!

When mum had to go into a care home I refused to take her on. I'd always made it clear I wouldn't have a Staffie - even if she hadn't been afraid of children. Their bite is too strong - and they only have to do it once - and we have visiting GC.

Luckily the Cinnamon Trust managed to rehome her (bless them) with an experienced family in the Dales with a teenage son and a very shy mongrel. She thought she'd arrived in heaven!

I have an elderly friend who owns an Akita; not a dog for the faint hearted but she knows the breed inside out and he makes her feel very safe. He's so soft he's used as a pat dog. We met a Staffie when we were on holiday the other week and, although the owners assured me she was very sweet she growled at me a few times and barked quite a lot in the pub when she saw other dogs so I felt quite nervous around her. I think I'm a lot more nervous of dogs than I used to be [also with cats as my daughter had one that used to lash out for no reason].

I've said this further up the thread so I'm repeating myself but I really can't see the sense in elderly people having dogs that are known for boisterous behaviour and dodgy temperaments. It's highly likely that someone else will have to pick up the pieces when it all goes wrong and it's just not fair on the dog.

I'm 68 now and I made the decision four years ago not to have another large dog. I was fitter then could easily have been tempted but none of us knows what's around the corner health wise and a dog is a long term commitment.

Very true Merlotgran....our dog was given to a rather quiet couple in their 70s and they tried very hard to enjoy her but she was just too much of a handful. Her breed was wrong for them and also their home was too confining. After the lady was pulled over several times when trying to walk her they handed her over to Dogs Trust. It was all very sad because they adored her but just could not cope with the day to day demands of a very bouncy half Springer.
We are both fit and able to exercise her as she needs, we are also off the beaten track so she has access to open countryside as her breed demands
Would have been so much better if they had re-homed an older quieter dog if they had wanted a pet for a few more years.
Once again its about that rather old fashioned word...'Responsibility' so many people fail to truly accept what they have to do, expect others to pick up the pieces when it goes wrong, and sometimes it ends tragically....and the dogs are seen as the sole culprits.