Dangerous Dogs

Cause not all dogs are like the one the radio mentioned, most of them are friend of us... Once they were taken care carefully, they would be not offensive, thought this kind of issue happens just due to they are not treated kindly or trained appropriately...

They had reverted to pack mentality, which any dog can and does do. Tragic case.

One report that I read said that the property is a housing association owned maisonette. I wouldn`t have thought that tenants would be allowed to keep 5 dogs, also, there can`t be much room for them.

I heard about this horrible event late last night on the radio and, not surprisingly, had dreams about big fierce pit bulls, though I don't know if these were implicated this time.

I saw the house on local news. Looks like an ordinary council house with enclosed back garden. I used to work in Atherton about 15 years ago and recognise the estate. Those houses look like they wouldn't have a housing assoc or local authority restriction on pets, although why anyone would choose to have 4 dogs in a small property I don't know, unless they bred them.

Sorry, it was 5 dogs, one of which was not destroyed. 2 staffies and 2 mastiffs were put down in the garden. A needless tragedy all round.

It is a tragedy.

My experience of dogs as a visiting SW has never been good - the most difficult clients always had the most difficult dogs.

Dogs are pack animals - they are not meant to be cooped up in houses. And when one turns on someone the others will follow.

So very sad - and what a terrible way to die.

Horrible story, a young girl just starting her life. Poor girl and her family have to live with it. I am wary of dogs because I have never grown up with them and I am sure they can sense this.

If only the powers that be could realise that the big problem is irresponsible owners. They seem to spend a lot of time minutely examining dogs to see if they are "dangerous" breeds (any dog can be dangerous in the wrong environment) instead of doing something about the idiots who are deliberately keeping them as weapons.

But if you take two breeds of large dog it would be safe to assume that a mastiff would be potentially more dangerous if not correctly handled than, say a St Bernard by their very breeding, even though both dogs are so big and powerful that a person could not control them physically.

Poor little girl.

As an example I was on the beach last week when a young [but fully grown] Bernese Mountain dog bounded up to me and my dog. We greeted him and patted him and laughed at him [he was a big, soft baby]. If that had been a mastiff I would have kept my dog on a short lead and got out of the way as quickly as possible.

I would never leave any dog with any child. I completely blame irresponsible owners. I feel that any dog is dangerous if in a 'pack' which these obviously were. Just my humble opinion.

I agree that a pack of dogs should not be kept in a small terrace. Also that you should never leave a child with a dog even for a minute as that's all it takes.
However the poor girl was a teenager.

She was only 14 though. And on her own in the house with them...

I wonder why she wasn't at school? And before anybody jumos down my throat for being unsympathetic, I am not, but why was she there with apparently unsupervised dogs?

Of course I meant "jumps", fingers all over the place today.

The BBC interviewed a neighbour who said his Japanese Akita cross something else big and fiery was always kept caged and never allowed near children or strangers. I don't think it came in the house either. How pointless. The only reason I can of for keeping that poor animal is as a threat. But to whom? And why?

A neighbour said on tv that she'd been out to buy a meat pie to eat and when she returned with it the dogs attacked her.

A friend of mine has always owned Akitas; she lives alone and feels safer owning one, but she knows the breed inside out and understands how to control them. They were quite fashionable a few years ago; think they're even more dangerous in pairs. Of course, they were bred a fighting dogs, I believe.

Some schools broke up for Easter last Friday, so this poor lass was probably on holiday, not skipping school.
I think Tegan is correct. I have a huge dog, but he's of a breed that was bred to rescue. The chances of him ever going into attack mode is extremely remote. But no dog is 100% safe, but certain breeds can 'turn' more easily than others. Also certain breeds are bred to 'lock on' such as Staffordshire Bull Terriers, which I believe two of the dogs were. Add to that irresponsible owners and you have a recipe for disaster.

Keeping overlarge dogs in small houses is a recipe for disaster. 30 years ago a close friend bought an old English sheepdog. Mainly because she and her husband were enthusiastic walkers and thought nothing at weekends of driving an hour or more to have a good 10 mile or more walk.

The trouble is they lived in a small house with a reasonable garden but my friend didn't really like the dog and kept it in the utility room most of the time. Her DH worked long hours so didn't have time to exercise it mid-week. So the dog got snappy and nippy and barked non-stop so that the neighbours complained so, before it was two years old, it was put down because it was becoming dangerous with the children.

Good point * Flickety*. What a terrible story of a dog being so badly treated it had to be put down.

My dog goes to a doggie daycare/training place twice a week, for a full day (she's there today). She has been going for nearly 3 years, since being 5 months old. She plays with rottweilers, german shepherds, staffies, mastiff, ridgebacks, bull dogs, spaniels....you name it, mongrels, too. They assess the dogs (and owners) first and will not allow any aggression. Puppies are kept separate at first and socialised with well-mannered dogs. The staff are qualified dog behaviourists (or studying for the qualification) and they receive ongoing training. You wouldn't know there were 30 or 40 dogs there most of the time, as the dogs learn the 'no barking' rule. All you hear is the voices of the staff giving instructions and praise.

There are usually at least 4 staff on duty and they structure the day with training/obedience, agility, games, rest, learning the odd trick, manners with food (honestly!) and playing with all the equipment and toys. There's never been an incident of aggression, and the dogs behave like one large happy family. They have birthday parties when it's a dog's birthday - for a reason - to train the dogs to wait for food in the presence of other dogs, and not to react if it is removed when they're eating.

For all their expertise and control over dog behaviour, they would never leave one or more dogs unsupervised with a child of any age, especially if the child had food. My dog has really benefited from going there and is wonderful with children, but I wouldn't leave her unsupervised with my grandchildren, especially when they are eating.