The latest dog killing

I can't pretend to have risen above the commercialisation of pet ownership, even at one remove. I have just bought advent calendars for my children's dogs at the ridiculous price of £10 each 🙄.

I don't think that contradicts what I said upthread though. I love my 'grand-dogs', but as dogs. I don't see them as substitute grandchildren, or even as family members. I'm not sure that my children would agree though - they are guilty of taking them to places I consider unsuitable, and of treating them as their babies. I think that in these days of high rents and insane house prices, starting a family is so expensive that many people put off for longer than previous generations, and young couples sometimes satisfy their parenting instincts by including pets into their 'family'.

murraymints65

I went to an out of town shopping centre last week, what puzzles me is people even take dogs to those places why ! Surely it can't be much fun for a dog. I would of thought it kinder to leave the dog at home plus it might be easier to go into shops and look at items without dragging a dog along .

I think what people are missing here is that dogs are now part of a commercial industry. There is a lot of money to be made out of their owners, who will spend their money on things dogs have never needed because they treat them like children.

You don't have to go far to see this commercialisation in cafes and public places as well as shopping centres.

There just isn't the will to stop this humanising of animals because humans have money to spend.

I have nothing against pets of any kind, but treating any of them like people is disrespectful to their nature.

Yes, there are some who think the life of a child means less than the life of their dog...

I went to an out of town shopping centre last week, what puzzles me is people even take dogs to those places why ! Surely it can't be much fun for a dog. I would of thought it kinder to leave the dog at home plus it might be easier to go into shops and look at items without dragging a dog along .

@ Doodledog. Well said .

It’s really not about that though it should go without saying you don’t leave children and babies alone with ANY dog even a lapdog but it’s much more than that, it’s about these particular breeds.
The question is a simple one
Should they be allowed ? My answer is a resounding NO
It’s not even a recognised breed it’s a mash up of breeding for strength size and power it’s breeding for status, for a ‘look at me I can control this big dog’ not only men wanting to look tough and in control but women who want to be different, have oohs and ahhhs, boost their small egos with something powerful Why else you want to walk a ‘wild tiger’ on a lead but for status and power

Every breed of dog was bred for a specific purpose, mainly hunting and killing. Too many owners are complacent and disregard that fact. You only have to look at the size of the head and jaws to see what a dog is capable of. I don't know the facts of this case but a 10 month old baby would be crawling and could well have annoyed the dog. A dog and baby should never be left alone.

As Gransnet is made up of mainly a mature group of the population,I don't want to be any where dogs nowadays.

If I am on a pavement,I try and give dogs a very a wide berth.
Don't see many dogs on bus's and trains these days,which is good news,at least with a train you can move to another coach As we all get older toppling over becomes more of an issue,
just look after your heads.

We've had labradors for years. All well trained. Our current lab we adopted at 8 months from a rescue centre. 2 years on she is still frightened of the world around her. Her training has been intensive and largely successful but the damage done in her formative puppy months is, I think permanent. It makes me so angry when I see people buying puppies who have no clue how to properly care for their needs and are unwilling to put in the hours and hours needed to nuture that pup into a confident, socialised adult.

I do appreciate that not all dogs can reach the standard of guide dogs (we have a guide dog user in our extended family and another amongst friends) but virtually all dogs are capable of training to a level that means they wouldn't be a nuisance to others. Yes there's a reason the majority of guide dogs for the blind are labradors, cross breeds of labradors or german shepherds: all intelligent breeds that are very trainable and exhibit reliable temperaments.

Rosie51

Just last week I was in a café with a friend having lunch and there were two fair sized dogs at the next table. Perfectly behaved, lying as close as possible under the table. One was a guide dog, the other a puppy in training to be a guide dog. They were both in 'working mode' ie in harness and training vest and attempted no interaction with other diners. If guide dogs can be trained to this standard so can other dogs.

I can't have a dog or cat anymore because one of my adult children is so severely allergic they'd never be able to enter my house as the allergic reaction is potentially life threatening. Too often lately I see inadequately trained 'emotional support dogs' in eating areas which is unacceptable.

Not all dogs can reach the standard of training required in guide dogs. Not even, all dogs selected for training , make it to graduate as guide dogs.

Guide dogs are selected from a very limited range of breeds, ( (for temperament and intelligence)

Shel1951

The argument that all dogs can bite goes over my head, I would rather take my chances of survival with a jack Russell or labrador rather than an X L bully

I love dogs and all mine are trained and obedient. But I would never leave them, or any dog, alone in a room with a baby. dogs brains are wired to pounce on, bite and shake anything that squeaks, smells and wriggles. Most dog toys are designed to appeal to exactly that instinct.

In fact, in UK several very small babies have been killed at home by Jack Russells.

I've been a dog owner in the past and love dogs. One thing that does annoy me is when dogs off lead run up to you, especially when you have a toddler or young child with you, and the owners say the dog won't hurt you and it only wants to play/have some fuss. They need to understand that this can be frightening for a child (never mind an adult) having a dog run at you - even more so when the small child is at the same height level as the dog or below. As much as I trusted my dog, he was never left alone in a room with a child.

Just last week I was in a café with a friend having lunch and there were two fair sized dogs at the next table. Perfectly behaved, lying as close as possible under the table. One was a guide dog, the other a puppy in training to be a guide dog. They were both in 'working mode' ie in harness and training vest and attempted no interaction with other diners. If guide dogs can be trained to this standard so can other dogs.

I can't have a dog or cat anymore because one of my adult children is so severely allergic they'd never be able to enter my house as the allergic reaction is potentially life threatening. Too often lately I see inadequately trained 'emotional support dogs' in eating areas which is unacceptable.

My 8 year old brother bought me a mongrel puppy the day I was born 😊 He named her Bronco. She was a lovely friend to me. When my Mother bathed me in a little tub, Bronco would lick up all of the splashes

Doodledog I m not anti dog either but they shouldn’t be everywhere ….leave them at home. They have been elevated to human heights They should not be in shops or cafes or places of interest We have a pavilion here where there’s eating/ drinking stalls and it’s used for free music events , craft fairs etc etc dogs are allowed in, they bark at each other, they try to play, eat off saucers put on the floor or worse still sit at the table
Leave your dog at home give it a good walk and leave it to sleep

I don’t care what name you give to Bullies they should not exist
They are a made up breed and a danger to many…. babies children and adults, they can be killing machines not sweet little pooches

I am a dog lover, and would happily have another dog if not for the fact that for health reasons I couldn't walk one regularly.

I'm not sure about banning or euthanising any breeds, as people would just breed slightly different versions to get around the laws, and that could make things worse. I don't think licences would help either.

I do think that people should be encouraged not to keep dogs around young children, and nobody should ever leave any dog and a baby unsupervised - by law. If you go to the loo or to put the kettle on, take the dog out of the room, or take the baby with you. We need a culture change around dogs as 'family members', too.

It feels impossible to go out these days and not have dogs around. I live in a small town with a lot of cafes, and I think the only one not to be 'dog friendly' is Costa, and I suspect that's an HQ policy. Everywhere else has dogs under every table, people feeding them titbits, and water bowls spilt all over the floors. There is no thought for people who might be allergic or are afraid of dogs - it's all about how the owners 'can't leave the dog in the house'. They could if the dog had been properly trained out of separation anxiety.

It's the same in markets and other crowded events. Dogs on leads can feel anxious around other dogs, yet they are crammed into venues with their owners, sometimes snarling at one another. If a dog fight broke out it is quite likely that a passing child would be hurt or traumatised.

I realise that that will sound anti-dog, and I'm really not. I just feel that dogs are not humans, and the idea that they enjoy sitting in a cafe or pub while their owners talk to other people is nonsense, as is the thought of them wanting to go shopping they are dogs, and think like dogs, not like people.

Maybe there should be a ban on bully-type dogs being in the same house as children. I don’t know how you’d police that, but that goes for all restrictions that could be brought in.

Any person whose dog bites another person should have the dog seized and banned from keeping another. No exceptions.

Iam64 if every dog owner was like you, there wouldn't be half the conflict dogs can engender amongst people.

I despair of the videos I've seen on FB or Youtube of a toddler 'cuddling' a large dog and its ears are flat back and its eyes rolling while the parents coo how much they love each other...so frightening, that dog is trying to tell they're stressed and anxious. Imagine that with a dog with the strength of an XL bully...

Such a shame for the dogs. Being all petted and loved and then abandoned.
Someone uothread said the 'internet' was claiming it was the owners' fault.
Technically that is correct.
Their fault for having such a dog.
And their fault for letting it near a baby.

I volunteer for a specific breed charity. We get so many betwee 7-18 months when the stop being cute fluffy pups and the absence of routines and training kicks in.

Owning dogs is very expensive and time consuming.

I understand that about the cost of the licence, and if the charge was high enough to cover the admin, then some ordinary folk would not be able to afford it.
So many dogs in rescue centres just now.

Mermia, I’m not opposed to every dog being registered but the cost of a dog licence wouldn’t cover the admin costs

MOnica might have been tongue in cheek but there’s something to be said for licence/ registration that cracks down on breeders, expects owners to commit to a years training with qualified trainers, registering wuth a vet etc. Owning a dog is a life long, expensive commitment. If you can’t afford it, don’t have the time or think watching the dogfather qualifies you, please get a good fish

My babies grew up around dogs,as I did. Ever had any problems at all. We had a bull mastiff during my toddler to age four years. I rode on his back, snuggled up with him. Then a man came to the door saying he’d been aggressive to him. My dad invited him in, said you must have the wrong dog, our dog called into the hall to demonstrate what a softy he was. He pinned the man against the wall.
Next day, I was told because my dog had been aggressive to the man, it wasn’t safe for him to play out with me. So daddy arranged for him to live on a farm, with kind people and lots of fields to play in
Even at four, I somehow knew my parents weren’t telling the truth. Years later, dad confirmed he’d had the dog pts. He’d shown zero aggression to anyone but that man but my sensible parents knew a huge bull mastiff who’d shown that wasn’t the ideal family pet we’d lived with for over a year

XL bully owners are all over the internet threads on this latest slaughter of a baby, blaming the owners not the dog. There may be a thread if truth in that but, huge powerful dogs bred from a breed linked to a dog called killer isn’t a family doh

Never babies and dogs together.
Should they bring back dog licences?