Dog attacks

My sister was in the street with her large German shepherd when out of nowhere came, at great speed, a staffie-type that attacked the dog. In the melee the poor GS suffered terribly and couldn't fight back because my sister was holding tight onto the lead and trying to beat off the attacker - she then released the lead and her dog was able to defend herself and saw off the staffie. It was a traumatic experience for both sister and dog. People who gathered around said that the dog and the owners 'had form'.

Unbelievably, the police who someone had called, said there was nothing to be done as the dog had not attacked a person but another dog.

I think dogs should always be on a lead, including in the park, and exercised off-lead in designated areas.

Border Collies are lovely dogs, BUT they have boundless energy, are extremely intelligent, and instinctively try to round up other animals and children. They need a lot of time and effort put into training and discipline and will resort to being destructive through boredom and frustration. We had one years ago and despite living in the country with fantastic walks, she was very difficult to keep amused and needed not only exercise but other things to keep her mind occupied. Although she was a lovely dog I'd never have another one as imo they are bred for rounding up sheep and are best on a farm doing just that!
We have a beautiful little cocker spaniel who is 15 months old and an absolute delight, without a bad bone in her body. As Lilyflower said, why do people have these potentially vicious snappy breeds? when you rarely hear of a Lab or Spaniel hurting anyone?

I had a friend who had Irish terriers (not at the same time), both attacked children and were put down immediately.

A few years ago a friend of ours had an 18 month old child who was scarred for life by a (quite old) Labrador. The dog had been a family pet of the mother while she was growing up and when she married she brought the dog to her new home. She was hanging out her washing one day when she heard the child screaming. The dog had savaged the child's face. They suspected the dog was jealous of the attention the child was getting.

I have known of a couple of spaniels that were biters. There was one in the street where I lived and it used to hide behind fences and jump out as children went past. My sister was bitten on the bottom by one of these spaniels, it used to look as if it was laughing when it did it, downright scary.

Should all.dogs have to wear a mussel in public? (Ducks behind the sofa. )

I cannot imagine why people choose these ugly 'killer' breeds. When did a Labrador or a Spaniel hurt a child?

What an awful incident,the children must have been terrified.
As nannypiano says,Staffies were always called nanny dogs because they are so good with children.It is sad that they get such a bad press and a lot of it is due to the evil people who breed/steal/train Staffies for fighting.Not enough is being done to stamp this out in my opinion.

However,there is another side of the coin-this week,a friend of mine was walking his lovely rescue Staffie on the lead when the dog was attacked by an off lead Boxer.My friend was also bitten and injured.The dog nearly lost an eye but thankfully the vet was able to save it.This poor Staffie is now scared to go out.

Claireseptember,I used to have a border collie and they are very intelligent working dogs so need an awful lot of exercise and training.They make great pets but you do need to be able to give them time and effort.I would suggest that your DS enrols the dog in a puppy training class as soon as possible.It must be house trained and taught not to bite.Hopefully,they will soon be able to take it out for training on the lead to run off some energy.

I have always had a cat and am a bit nervous around dogs. However, DS and DIL recently bought a border collie pup from a reputable breeder. I have misgivings as they live in town with only a small garden and I fear that this kind of dog might well turn on my GSs aged 7 and 5 through boredom. At the moment they can't take it out much as it needs injections so it is systematically wrecking the house and using every inch of carpet as its toilet. It has also started to bite in play so they are having to supervise it every minute of the day.
It seems to me that this dog is a very expensive and potentially dangerous mistake. Does anybody here have any knowledge or experience of collies as family pets?

So sad staffies get a bad name. There a lovely dog with the right person they are well behaved it's all about the people who own one. I once saw one at our local park with a young guy who was teaching it to jump up and bite a lump of wood so obviously he wanted him to be vicious.

I have a large Staffie cross, still little more than a puppy. I am also a foster carer. Staffie's have often been referred to as Nanny dogs because they love and care for children. My dog absolutely adores children, although I would never leave a child alone in a room with him, mainly because I wouldn't know how the child might behave if I am not there. .... It's not always the dog at fault, so I am always very careful. I foster children above the age of eight and teach them how to respect an animal, which a lot of them have no understanding. My dog had to be checked out for safety when I got him and the foster company are quite happy that he poses no risk to a child. So many people take these dogs on and don't realise what is involved in proper care. Mine has been to basic training classes, shows no animosity to other dogs, loves people to smothering point and is very well socialised. All this takes a lot of time and patience and love. But at the end of the day the dog knows his place is respectful to everyone and a joy to own.

I agree that it is all down to training. A very dear friend had 2 dobermans which she adopted from a rescue centre. As I have said before I was attacked by a dog when a small child so I am nervous around them. Once she had introduced me to them and they had accepted I was OK then I had no problem visiting her and felt perfectly relaxed with them. The only time they showed any aggression was when my friends ex threatened her, the two dogs immediately placed themselves between her and her ex growling and showing their teeth. Exit the ex in great haste!

Just written a long reply to you f77ms and Iam64 but it has disappeared into the ether. CBA to write it all again

Sweet cakes IMHO it would be batty to send the female owner of the dog to prison. We have far too many people in prison. The women herself is not a danger to anyone. She could be fined, do community service and/ or be banned from having a dog for a certain period. I am sure she is probably horrified by what has happened and that will be punishment in itself.

My friends in Spain have a Pitbull. They have this dog because of the robbery problems they have had. Their last 2 Doberhams were poisoned. They have had this dog from a puppy and it is so well trained that it won't eat until it's given the nod, it's that well trained. I love dogs but wary of them. But I feel perfectly safe with this one.

Can you not discuss your concerns with your grandaughter's father Bellasnana? It's exciting for her and important she keeps up her relationship with her dad but of course you want her to be safe. One of my children was diagnosed with asthma at about age 8. Our GP recommended we keep our cats, dogs, rabbits and encourage her love of riding ponies. She was fine despite constant exposure to pet hair so I wouldn't worry unless she reacts badly. I hope your daughter is able to talk things through with her ex.

Bellasnana Has the father been to court for access and been granted it ? if not I would try to speak to someone ie a solicitor about the situation , it may be that your Daughter has grounds for not letting her little girl be exposed to the potential risk . I am possibly a bit biased because I am afraid of dogs .

My mil had two staffies one after the other both were rescue dogs both were loving and wouldn't hurt a fly and the kids would Q to give him a pat but she was always aware of what could happen, I also have had dogs and believe me the dog I have now when she was a pup something happened to her by a child being spiteful to her I heard her squeal and cry when I ask the child what he had done to her he shrugged and said nothing it took ages for her to come out from where she had been hiding and even now years later she hides when she see him coming so it's not always the dogs fault there are some nasty people out there I just hope he never gets to own a dog of his own one day.
But yes I agree she should be severely punished for what she caused and banned from owing a dog for life and dare I say it custodial sentence as well

Reading this has made me feel very uneasy. DGD has to spend summer in the USA with her father as he and my DD2 have, sadly, divorced. Since last year, he has acquired no less than NINE animals. Four are German Shepherd/Doberman crosses, plus five cats.

We have huge concerns that DGD will be seen as an impostor to their 'pack' and are very worried that she could be attacked. She has also recently been diagnosed with asthma, so all that pet hair can surely be no good for her.

However, it seems there is little or nothing we can do as her father is entitled to have her there. There is always something to worry about

I am terrified of dogs which are out with no owner around . I live right next to our large local park and often there are dogs roaming free , in fact I won`t take the GC into the park in case there are dogs and they approach me as I wouldn`t know what to do to protect the children . Those poor children will be affected for a long time so I hope the owner is prosecuted .

I always worry when I see people with large dogs and young children. I realise most owners are responsible but there is a family who walk up and down my road who have a baby in a pushchair and a huge dog - are they called Mastiffs? - with big powerful jaws. I'm sure he is a pussy cat but it wouldn't do for me.

There so seem to be a lot of rather large 'staffies' around these days. The true Staffordshire Bull Terrier is not that big a dog as the ones I'm seeing on some streets

As a dog owner I am shocked and disgusted by this. I hope the owner/handler gets the book thrown at them. And I hope this hasn't left those poor children with a fear of dogs.

OMG, that sounds so frightening KatyK. I'm not surprised you have been left with a fear of dogs after your near miss. I've known some lovely, gentle Staffies, but sadly they became very popular with, shall we say, a 'certain type' of person, who bought them as a legal alternative to carrying weapons. Having a Staffie on a lead made them look hard, someone you wouldn't mess with, and of course, they probably treated the dogs badly to make them vicious. So now Staffies have this terrible label, and all of them get tarred with the same brush even though many of them make lovely pets.
But I would never, ever be happy about a Staffie being a pet in a family with small children, no matter what the responsible owners might say, simply because of their iron jaws. Not worth taking that risk.

That's terrible Indinana I had an unfortunate experience with a Staffie last year. It went for my face but fortunately it didn't quite reach me. The police were called as it was going for people in the street. The officer who came to see me said 'do you realise how lucky you were?' I have had a couple of bad experiences with dogs. I am now quite scared of them.
Just this week I was walking back from the shops and there was a dog (again a Staffie I think) running wild in the street. My heart was in my mouth. Its attention was taken by a man with a small dog which he had picked up and this crazy dog was leaping up trying to get its teeth into the little dog.

It's not just about dog handling, though I agree this is the main factor - and certainly in this case if the stupid owner removed the muzzle and let it off the lead. I hope they are banned for life from owning a dog.

But as someone mentioned upthread, some dogs have very, very strong jaws and Staffies are one such breed Once a Staffie sinks its teeth in, it is extremely difficult to get it to let go. I remember many years ago there was a lovely, gentle old German Shepherd who lived opposite us. She used to wander down to the gates at the front of the property and poke her head between the bars so she could have a little nose up and down the street. One day she picked the wrong moment, just as a Staffie was walking past (on a lead). Of course, it spooked the Staffie which then sank its jaws into the GS's neck. I'll never forget the pained screaming from that poor dog as hoards of people tried, unsuccessfully, to prise the Staffie's jaws apart. Eventually someone nearby turned a powerful hose on it and it finally let go, but not before it had done some serious damage, with blood pouring from the GS's wound.