Dog attacks

I have been a dog lover and owner all my life ,and it is my opinion that any dog off lead is out of control .I become very upset when I hear of dogs being 'put down' because of stupid irresponsible owners .Who knows why a dog should attack 'out of the blue ' ? Does he have a head ache ? Has he been tormented and hurt in the past ? There could be so many reasons -he can't say .Therefore in public places, certainly on a lead and if any tendency to snappiness a muzzle as well .
I know I sound bossy but I become upset when I hear of lovely animals losing their lives through thoughless neglectful owners .

I have had three Yorkies and have one now. My last dog was attacked by Rottweiller which was roaming free. My dog was on the lead. I managed to kick the Rotti up the backside and it dropped my dog which I picked up. The Rotti then jumped up on my shoulders to try and get him. There was no one about and I tried to scream but not a sound would come out. Luckily a man came out of a house and shoved me into a phone box. Thank goodness they still had a phone box to shove me into.

It cost £250 for surgery for my dog. When the owner of the Rotweiller was found he said "it was a softie". I said that It could have been a toddler walking past.

My dog loves children but any dog, especially if provoked, can react so I am always wary.

There was some tale, that the owner had given it away. A friend of hers gave the information to a Newspaper. Supposedly to a young lad. Obviously, if the police have arrested her she is the official owner. You just don't give a dog away to anyone.

Here we go again 'bash the staffie'. They are the best dogs ever. Its the owners who are the problem. I have had 2 staffies for years and 4 small grandchildren. No problem at all. Why do you think they are called the 'nanny dog'.

Marieeliz - your story made me shiver - what a horrible experience, and you were so lucky to escape a major injury.
I've had a few similar, but not so serious, experiences while walking our dogs ( we have a day foster dog too.) Mainly with alsations, and two rottweillers.
Twice one of ours was attacked, and the other times I did what someone suggested (not on here) - turn to face the attacking dog , bend down to its level, lean towards it, and growl as loud as you can.

Yes, owners are to blame! If they know their dog they will know it's temperament. My little dog, who I keep on a lead at all times, admittedly a long lead,plus she gets exercise in the garden, has been attacked lots of times by dogs off a lead. Often the dogs are a long way away from their owners. The owners also don't seemed abashed by it either.

I was discussing this with my daughter yesterday. She and her husband had 2 German Shepherds for years before they died, and now have another, and he`s a big softie. But she admits that any dog can turn, and told me of a method that has, apparently, been tried and tested if a dog digs it`s teeth in and won`t let go, and that is to grab both it`s back legs and lift it bodily off the ground. She says that the dog will let go immediately. It sounds too easy to me, but she swears it works.

I agree that ultimate responsibility rests with the owner, but factors such as the size and strength of the dog have to be taken into consideration too. It isn't a case of demonising certain breeds, as any dog bite can be nasty, but it is obvious that a bite from a big, powerful dog like a Staffie or a Rottweiler is more likely to seriously maim or kill than the bite of, say, a Yorkshire terrier. Personally, I wouldn't choose to own a dog that's stronger than I am!

I see a man has been killed by a Staffie/Pit Bull cross today in Cleator Moor, Cumbria. Early reports suggest it was his own dog that attacked him.

This is what I meant by rather over-sized Staffies in my previous post. It is true that some idiots are attempting to get around the dangerous dogs law by X-breeding.

Nature or nurture? Well sadly a bit of both. Dogs with the propensity to attack and lock onto (originally) bulls (hence the name) bred by those whose aim will not be to produce a friendly pet

The owner of a miniature dachshund muzzles him most of the time when out so that he couldn't accidentally hurt a child as they tend to want to stroke him. In a park near a toddler area he was attacked by a loose larger dog so she picked him up. The owner came over and yelled at her 'You shouldn't pick him up, that will make my dog bite you too!' showing no interest in his injuries. He's been far more timid ever since.
A friend was walking her Yorkie in a quiet road when two mastiffs ran up and used the poor little dog as a toy to fight over with a fatal result. The licensee of a nearby pub who kept two mastiffs insisted to the police that there was no proof that it was their dogs who were involved.
Talk about bad owners.

Why would anyone want to breed a vicious dog, I had dogs for 40 years and all were gentle loving pets,I just cant understand the mentality of those with nasty animals, while I do understand the idea of a guard dog I think a guard dog should be kept as a working dog and not as a pet or near children.

My idea of a dog is a memory of my last Doberman/deerhound a five stone monster with a long beard, I would say 'come to mummy for a cuddle ' and she would jump on my knee (ouch) and curl up for her sleep or spend nights lying beside me on my bed never a cross bark even when 4 cats climbed on her back and stuck their claws in (maybe a slight growl that's all). That's what a dog should be.

Maybe bringing back the dog licence – at a 21st-century rate, not 7/6 – and including compulsory micro-chipping might make people stop and think about whether they really want a dog and whether they are prepared to take on the responsibility. Or maybe not.

In our area, all dogs must be registered with the local council and licensed. To do that, they must be microchipped. Is this not compulsory in England too? I live in dog walking heaven beside a beach and most dog owners are very responsible. We still get the poo problem though ?

I think micro chipping is compulsory now but not her well publicised??

From April 6th this year it became compulsory to microchip all dogs in England, Scotland and Wales. There were adverts on TV running up to this date and posters in vets surgeries, supermarkets, community centres, etc.

The usual irresponsible owners won't microchip. All dogs who go to training classes which are kennel club approved will have immunisation certificates checked and their dogs scanned to ensure they're chipped. I expect small pups will be allowed in as many are chipped at the same time they're spayed or castrated.
So far as I can tell, no other checks are in place so it's only if your dog is reported to the police because of aggression that its microchip will be checked
I'm inclined to agree with introducing some kind of licence or registration of all dogs. I'm a life long dog owner but the numbers of unwanted, untrained dogs is a worry

Sorry to go slightly off topic.
But for me it's the hygiene factor that stops me having any kind of dog ( or pet ) around my GC.
Yes, I know the children have to pick up germs etc to build their immunity but watching a dog lick it's privates and then want to lick.......
Thoughts of course to the poor children attacked.

Our local council says that most of the strays that the dog warden picks up have not been microchipped. Why am I not surprised?

I have a small very cute dog. He is great with us but does not like small children (the vet thinks he has been hurt by a child). He is always on a lead but I often have to warn off children who run up to him. Children should be taught not to approach strange dogs and to ask the owner before trying to stroke them. My dog was attacked by three loose Chihuahuas who were nipping him and continued to try to get him when I picked him up. I dare not kick them away as I could have injured them. The owner tried to call them off but they just ignored him.

Very restrained seasider - I'd have booted them, no problem ???

Another idea is to carry a large stick when walking your dog. That's what some of the local french people do around here. Because as I wrote earlier there are often large aggressive dogs on the farms.
I know where they are now and just avoid those places.