Another child killed in dog attack

Yes. My first instinct was to laugh or think that poor dog but who knows?

people who adore dogs but know little about them and have little common sense about how to look after them
That is a good description BlueBelle and I am ashamed to say that that was DH and me with our first dog. (When I am wrong, I will say I am wrong!)
We had never had dogs as children, recently married, living in London and for some reason unable to conceive. Off to the pet shop to buy a tiny 6 week puppy, a cute border collie from goodness knows which farm in Wales. Took it to training classes but it became apparent the dog needed a job in the fields not just herding the washing indoors. We stuck with it, but when we moved house it got stressed and went for my husband badly on the arm. Because that would have been the height of our then children's faces we had to have it pts. We were devastated.

After that we researched and researched and ended up with a pedigree golden retriever from a reputable breeder. We are now on our 5th one and our DD & DS have them in their family too. No dog is ever 100% reliable, but there are breeds which are more suitable for children than others and a handful which are totally incompatible and dangerous.
If dog owners had to have a licence, how can we even check that people actually have the type of dog they say on the form?

I think it is a myth that rescue dogs are dangerous and rescue centres not stringent on rules, it is quite the opposite

We have always had rescues too and you do have to work harder at training but you are given support or understand the breed in the first place

This is tragic for the family. I don't know what to say really. Responsible dog owners don't really leave dogs alone with small children, a bit like parents with log burners/open fires put guards up when they have small children. It's just common sense. I'm not blaming the parents though

I don’t think making dog ownership more expensive and creating extra legislation for responsible dog owners is fair or the answer to this problem. Being able to have own dog should be accessible to pensioners or families on a low income. It is right that rescue centres carefully vet applicants who wish to adopt a dog and make sure that dogs go to appropriate homes and banning all animal sales on Gumtree, Facebook marketplace is also sensible.

Information should be issued by the heath visitor, on a first visit, of the danger of dogs with babies and small children perhaps with a booklet making them aware of warning signs that the dog isn’t happy. That said, I think all but the most stupid among us are aware of the danger but think that it’s something that happens to other people.

escape to the country yesterday. A middle aged couple wanted a house for them and their 6 enormous irish wolf hounds, they wanted to be somewhere in sussex, with areas where the dogs could run loose.

There should be a limit to dog ownership, as in western australia. They were all over the living room, the place must stink and look out sussex, all that dog poo!!

Well said, rescues are very careful about rehomjng with children and have strict vetting policies. I have visiting grandchildren and it took me a long time to find a suitable dog.
About time they stopped the small ads for rehoming, I'm sure that unsuitable dogs are given to unsuitable homes

Germanshepherdsmum

It’s all very well to suggest these things BlueBelle but how is it to be policed? And by whom?

So we do nothing and let it get worse then GSM
There has to be answers
How does anything get changed we can t drive a car without a seat belt or a motorbike without a helmet these never happened before but because of constant advertising and fines they are second natured to the vast majority of people

1 Start with breeders and make it much, much harder to be a breeder, licence them, visit them, you ll say who, well I don’t know ….dog wardens, RSPCA perhaps councils need a new person with more powers, they certainly do that with cars you can’t stop anywhere for ten minutes without a uniformed man with his camera being by your car

2 Owning a dog should be licensed and every new owner should have to pay for the license and the chip and 5 or 10 lessons in training and in the common sense of living with dogs

3 The banned list should be renewed added to and strictly adhered to

4 We should stop importing dogs I wasn’t against this at first but now I see we have so many problems already here I ve changed my mind

5 There should be public health adverts on the TV with warnings and advice, I d much rather see them than women peeing their pants

That poor wee child, what a way to lose your life.

Regarding dogs, a friend of mine floods her Facebook with ads for rehoming dogs from overseas. That shouldn’t be happening, it’s exporting their problem out of their country and will do nothing to improve the welfare of their own dogs.

I think it’s time to bring in dog licences. I don’t think being difficult to police is a reason not to act, where there’s a will, there’s a way. The dog licence fees should go to funding that. Dog walkers should be licenced, too, and a limit imposed.

Perhaps there’s also a case for all dogs having to be neutered unless they are part of a specific breeding programme. Are these killer dogs usually male dogs?

Rescue centres require you to your neuter your dog or spay your bitch and they home check thoroughly and do follow ups
I agree that all dogs that aren;t for breeding get spayed/neutered. I despite all this my dog deserves to be a mother or father business too

despise not despite

We have never bred from any of our Labs (all male), but none have ever been castrated. Unless there is a valid health reason to do so, I'm not putting any of my dogs through an operation (and I used to work in a vet surgery). Castration/neutering isn't a magic cure for behavioural issues in dogs.

no, but it stops them breeding

As I said, we have never bred from any of our dogs nor do we have any intention of doing so.

That’s one of the many dilemmas. My charity like most expects dogs to be neutered. It stops them being sold on for profit or adding to the number of dogs in rescue.
Should responsible owners like you Blondiescott be expected to neuter their dogs.
My dogs have all been neutered. I waited till my young lab was mature enough physically and mentally as I know that’s better for him. I was reluctant to have him off lead because of irresponsible owners walking a bitch in season, even off lead.

There is a maverick streak in our society, a we know best, don’t tell us what to do. It’s at its most noticeable amongst those who know little

DS has two very expensive pedigree dogs (male & female) the breeder insisted they were to be sterilised at the appropriate age, and therefore unable to be used for breeding.

They waited a a year for the first one and immediately put their name down for the second one and waited two years.

There are far more responsible breeders and owners than irresponsible ones but like all things bad news travels much faster than good/no news,

I think you might underestimate how many are breeding under the kitchen table for want of a better way of putting it
Grannygravy
We really shouldn’t be talking about individual responsible owners we should be talking about those that do break all rules both real rules and sensible rules
It s not about pointing the fingers at anyone on here it’s about putting thoughts and ideas together to hopefully one day soon we get some more solid and less wishy washy rules put in place

GrannyGravy, I agree with your suggestion there are more responsible breeders and owners. They’re the properly registered breeders, who don’t want puppies exploited and vet prospective owners to ensure the pups will be properly cared for throughout its life
Then breeders of whichever breed has the misfortune to become either over popular, like doodles, frenchies, pugs, daschunds or, then favoured breed of thugs, which used to be staffies, Doberman’s, Woolf breeds and now XL Bullies are breeding under any radar. They need stopping.

Kate1949 I dislike dogs too but I am in a minority. People think I'm scared of them but I'm not, unless they are clearly large and dangerous. But it is becoming increasing difficult to walk anywhere such as a park, a riverbank or a long distance trail without having them running up. Or worse, coming over when you are sat on a bench.

"It's just being friendly" does not wash with me. I tell the owner I dislike dogs and to get it under control. Some apologise, one shouted at me last week for eating a snack as it was therefore my fault.

I carry an ultrasonic deterrent, a citrus spray, and would use my walking poles in self defence if the dog was in contact with me.

The attitude of some (I did say some) owners is unbelievable. A friend was walking on a cold day with the hood up on her coat. A dog leapt up at her and the owner shouted 'Take your hood down. He doesn't like hoods '. What a bloody cheek.

Are uncontrolled dogs off lead a regional problem? I didn’t encounter it in rural north Essex, nor now in rural north Norfolk. I have never encountered it at all. Ever. Is it more of an urban problem?

Kate1949 I'm with you. You're so right - people are obsessed with dogs. I can't stand them. Why on earth would anyone want them in their homes? When I see them sniffing around other dogs it makes me feel sick.

I've seen a few around here GSM. I heard some shouting one day and looked out of the window. There was a lady across the road with a small dog on a lead. She was shouting to two young men to call their two big dogs which were bounding towards her little dog. These big dogs looked like pedigree, well cared for dogs, maybe Huskies or similar. They were walking down the street with the young men behind them. The dogs had harnesses but no leads.

People want them for the reasons explained above. There’s much truth in the saying ‘the more I see of people, the more I love my dog’. If you don’t understand, you are the poorer.

I suspect it’s an inner city and urban issue mainly gsm. Country and farming folk understand animals. I live in what was a quiet but expanding village over fifty years ago. Children still rode bikes and ponies on our roads. There were a few pet dogs numerous farm working dogs
Since the pandemic the number of pet dogs has multiplied. Many of these first time dog owners either don’t train or they believe yiu can train a dog to do anything if you throw enough treats at it. They’re always surprised when it doesn’t work . They use extendable leads and think dogs are fur babies

The DD of my df was attacked by a dog in front of 4 adults in the living room of their home.
She was aged 3 at the time and made a sudden movement across the dog (a pet belonging to her parents' friends)
Her facial injuries were terrible and she endured skin grafts into adulthood. The scars are now almost unnoticeable thankfully.
It was such a traumatic time resulting in the dog being destroyed and the owner becoming ill and seriously depressed. She died quite soon after.
That was supposed to be a dog who had never bitten anyone.