B****y dogs

I'm not sure that Staffies are getting bigger; probably just fatter because the people that own them don't exercise them enough. Every other dog I see is a Staffie [perhaps even more than that] and they were lovely dogs and wonderful family pets. But they are being massively over bred to supply the demand for these protection dogs which are probably a result of all of the knife crime of recent years. Young people have turned from knives [a lot of them realising how easy it is to harm someone when you're carrying one, even as self defence]and use dogs instead. A dog breeder friend told me that the most dangerous dog he's ever come across is the Russian Terrier which shows no emotion but will suddenly just turn on you;he's been attacked himself. Maybe it's because I have them myself but the only dogs I'm never scared of are sighthounds as they've never been popular and over bred, so are bred for temperament and then only when the breeder wants to keep one of the litter, and most ex racing greyhounds are usually kept on the lead.It angers me when dog owners behave in a way that brings dogs and dog owners into disrepute. I hope your little granddaughter doesn't have a fear for life now, but I know so many people that have never got over scary incidents with dogs when young .

Please please...its Bl***y owners.....!!

We have a dogs trust refugee who suits our lifestyle (deep in countryside with access to fields where, with owners permission, she has off lead runs - even then she is trained to come back to a whistle if we see other walkers or animals).

At all other times (except in secure fenced and gated garden) she is on a lead. She can be very 'bouncy' and when the GC first visited she was on a house lead indoors. Now she is acclimatised to them but we never leave her alone with them (they have big dog so are dog savvy also).

Its always up to the owner to train and know their dog and ensure such a thing does not happen.

If such a thing had happened to me I would have been very cold and formal with said owner, and responded in a similar way when you have a driving incident i.e. treat it almost as an offense - ask if they have 3rd party insurance. They need to know its not ok just to treat it as a game...its borderline assault and if any more serious should be reported as a crime.

I am not a dog lover, but would never want to see any harm come to one. The police told me that there was a possibility that the dog who went for me would have to be put down if the owner didn't agree to certain terms. Even though this dog was very fierce and aggressive, I wouldn't have liked it to be put down. I would also add that if anyone admits that they don't like dogs it is seen as almost a hanging offence by some people. I said to someone once 'I don't like dogs' and she replied 'oh and I thought you were a rather nice person'

I do like dogs, but don't want any jumping up at me, even friendly Labradors with muddy feet., and slobbery mouths.leaving aside any danger, and there is always the possibility of that with dogs, it's the licking as well( at the bus stop a strangers dog just would not stop licking my poor grandsons knees! he was wearing shorts.) when I used to own a dog I didn't assume the whole world loved it as lots of dog owners do now," oh he likes you!" They say fondly, well, I may not like him!If you are taking a child out, especially two young children, a dog dancing about next to you is the last thing you want.
It sounds, LuckyGirl , as if this incident with the dog probably won't happen a again, hopefully.

A very silly simplistic view KatyK. I have not been a fan of dogs in the past....much more a cat person....but over they years I had felt myself mellowing towards certain dogs. Its only since we moved to where we were and realised we could give a dog a good home that we finally had a good think, a tour around the local Dogs Trust and et voila...we have Poppy!
I think I did not really understand what dogs were like and its been a steep learning curve helped by an excellent book 'In defence of Dogs'....now finally I sort of 'get' them....but even then I'm still pretty choosy about which dogs I like....am same with people though!

Not a nice experience but I too think the title should be 'B****y dog owner'. The dog probably was playing but does not excuse the owner from keeping it under control.

A very good point *Ginny"

Hilda - DH and I have the same view of dogs but we realise we are the only ones out of step! On holiday recently when we walked around towns and villages and on beaches in Northumberland there weren't many people without dogs, so we do know we are in a minority. I have had a few bad experiences, so maybe that is why I'm not keen. And yes, the owners were at fault for my doggie encounters. I was grabbed by the sleeve by a Rottweiler which was being taken for a walk by a young girl who was too small to control him, he left teeth marks in my coat. A Labrador leapt up at me (it was on a lead but once again it was stronger than the owner) another coat bit the dust as his claws went through my thin jacket (the owner didn't even apologise, she just said 'oh Bertie (or whatever) you are naughty', my brother's unruly dog head butted a cup of coffee I was holding and it went all over my white trousers (this is the same dog that I went with my brother to collect when it was a puppy and it vomited all over me in the car), and then my Staffordshire incident. I totally get that these incidents were down to the owners but they haven't endeared me to dogs.

Anya it would not suprise me at all if some Staffie breeders are using similar, but bigger bull terrier type breeding stock to increase the size of their dogs.

or should that have read 'endeared dogs to me'

Dogs are pack animals programmed to hunt. However good the owner is they cannot negate the basis of a dog's nature. There are bound to be problems. You seem to have had more than your fair share KatyK.

That gene programming dogs to hunt seems to be missing in my little old dog. He won't even fetch a ball back. Sort of looks at me as if to say 'you want it, you go and get it'.

My dogs still have a strong hunting instinct. It seems to kick in when I stagger in the door loaded down with supermarket carrier bags.

Just spoken to my friend, the owner of the dog, and she said she does not normally let the dog off the lead - she always looks to see if there is anyone around. I guess my view would be that if the dog is not safe to be let off when anyone is around, then probably it is not safe to be let off at all!

She also said that the dog often knocked her GC over when they were toddling and did not appear to think that this was a problem - I am not surprised that her son and wife and their children never visit!!

I know that we have some responsible dog owners on here - but it is very hard for non-doggy people to deal with this sort of blinkered approach and I find it very hard to get my mind round it.

Responsible dog owners would be just as angry as you are, Luckygirl. Our dearly loved golden retriever taught DD2 to walk. She would hang on to his tail and when she let go and took a few steps on her own he looked round to see where she was.

We all have these happy memories but I bet we all remember the hard work as well. The training, walking, grooming, cleaning the house, vets bills and finally the heartbreak of saying goodbye.

Irresponsible dog owners are a scourge.

Hear, hear Merlot
My little dog was attacked by a German Shepherd and a Black Labrador. The owner was dismissive and I was hurt when I plunged in to rescue him. So we detest this kind of dog owner

Just a wine addled thought.....they are Irresponsible people full-stop...who just happen to have a dog. Using the term 'Irresponsible dog-owner' somehow muddies the water. People who 'own' a badly trained dog that is not socialised and kept in check ruin it for the rest of us. We know our dog's limitations - she was not socialised as a puppy and is a silly, hopefully never to be repeated, designer cross (Springer spaniel/Viszla) but she lives a happy life here amongst a very dog orientated and tolerant environment. We would not have considered re-homing her if we had lived in a less rural place.
At the moment she is trotting around behind her 'Daddy' a la Monty Don's Nigel whilst he mows the lawn a picture of doggy happiness. However if the average family in a typical urban setting had taken her on it would have been chaotic and quite possibly dangerous.

Owning a dog, of any sort, is a full-time job and you need to understand how a dog sees the world. Its not a four legged child or a animated cuddly toy. Its a full-blooded animal (albeit with a penchant for human company) and it has drives and instincts that are very powerful.

Dismount Soap box and pours another class of rose.

Oh spare me having every word nit-picked.

DD tells me that little GD heard a dog bark today and ran to her Mum to be lifted up. How long will it take I wonder for her to get over this incident? It does make me cross.

Introduce her to a small, fluffy, quiet little dog

Is there such a thing?! I always find that little dogs are worse than big ones - yappy and go for your ankles!

Wash your mouth out lucky my old fellow is child proof and besides he has hardly any teeth left. His bark is pretty pathetic but he does an impressive snore.

Ah yes - maybe that is what I need - a toothless dog!

Seriously though, there are good, calm dogs about and if you are serious about helping your GD get over this quickly, you'd do well to seek one out.

My old fellow was a PAT before he retired due to age and bad breath and some PAT dogs are used to help little ones get over their fear of dogs.