Whats your opinion about dogs and their owners?

Question

Over the last year there have been countless reports of dogs attacking children. should all dogs have to be health checked before being allowed to live in a family home? Is the dangerous dogs act really enough? The latest incident with that poor little girl shouldn't have happened, and if there was more action taken, such as follow ups to the warning letters sent by the council, maybe that poor girl would still be here?

mrndvs445... GET A GRIP YOU MORON. there is no need to be so callous and nasty when the question I asked is perfectly reasonable.

Answer 1

This is a really good question and I think that you have identified the real problem - that we aren't taking enough action when the warning signs of a dangerous dog have already emerged.

Answer 2

Don't blame the dogs. The problem is that a great many families are problem families. Dogs are pack animals. They need to be trained and they need to know who is the leader of their pack. I've a hunch that the dogs that attack people have been exceptionally badly trained. It's more than likely the owner is a cruel person. Put a dog into a family where the husband comes home every night half drunk and shouts at the kids and batters his wife .. dogs dont understand that type of thing. What they see is the leader of their pack being vicious and they learn to be the same. I was always brought up to be careful when approaching a dog. Always ask the owner if it is safe to pat a dog. The Dangerous Dog Act is more than adequate. We should have a Stupid People Act as well. Some people own dogs that are totally unsuitable for keeping as a pet. If you own a large dog and are unable to give it a lot of regular exercise you should at least own a large property in its own grounds. Buying a licence and being allowed to own a dog is not sufficient. It should be compulsory for dog owners and their dogs to attend dog training classes. If you own a dog and do not attend your classes then your dog should be confiscated. If you are found to own an unregistered dog you should be fined. The armed services and the Customs and Excise have dog units as do the police. The handlers and dogs have to attend lots of special courses so that they are able to do their jobs properly. You'll often see a blind person with a dog. Their dogs are exceptionally well trained. Before a blind person is allowed to have a dog they have to meet an animal which has been trained and go on a getting to know their dog course. At one time German Shepherds had an exceptionally bad name but they are great dogs if well trained. Some people think Labradors are not good dogs. Like the German Shepherd they are also brilliant dogs with the right owner and in the right environment. I'd much rather have a well trained dog than an irresponsible person as a friend.

Answer 3

There are many reasons for a dog to attack a child.
Pets that passed said tests may develop a brain tumor that changes their personality and causes them to snap.
There is also "spaniel rage". A type of epilepsy that causes afflicted dogs to freak out, attack owners one minute, then be the calmest, most loving dogs the next.
There are just too many factors.
Also, it's expensive. Who's gonna pay for the testing? When will the tests be given? As puppies? Puppy personalities change.
As adults? When? How will be sure EVERY dog has been tested? Folks don't always register their dogs, and more folks (that fight the dogs) don't want anyone to know what they're up to.
So how would this even be accomplished?

Shelter dogs are already temperament tested before going to the new family.

The problem is that too many people think that a biting dog can and should be "given another chance".
It's crazy.

Answer 4

I dont know if health checks would work as the dogs may be encouraged to be agressive after moving into new home, although some breeds of dog are more likely to attack than others its the owners that are to blame, i dont know anything about the warning letters in that case the other day but i take it that the dog had already shown some kind of aggression? or was it because it is illegal to keep the pit bull? either way yeah it should have been followed up more closely.

Answer 5

The problems is with owners not dogs.
Some families can take good care of their pets and some can't. It should be harder to own dogs; when I was young you had to have a dog licence but this was abolished because it was never enforced.
When the previous incidents occurred the local authority should have checked what type of dog it was. If that had happened the child would still be alive.
I'm not actually a dog owner but I do like them. It's just some owners I dislike.

Answer 6

The MAIN issue with the whole thing is PARENTS NEED TO WATCH THEIR CHILDREN. Most of the time it is a case where the idiot parents aren't watching thier kid or not using thier heads (like leaving a child alone with ANY dog, no matter what breed or size) and stupid people who either abuse their dog or neglect it and don't train it. The dangerous dogs act or whatever isn't going to do a thing because it is laying blame on a breed and saying certain breeds are more likely to attack than others which is completely untrue. ANY dog can attack and ANY dog can kill, it all depends on who owns them and how they treat them.

Answer 7

To the person who said all Bull Terrier type dogs are dangerous. How can you possibly say that all these dogs are dangerous, what makes that dog more dangerous than say a Labrador or Boxer or St Bernard or Great Dane. In my opinion once a dog gets to a certain size and weight no matter what breed, there is the potential for it to cause more injury but only because of its size and strength. Its just a simple matter of good training and respectful treatment of an animals upbringing.

Answer 8

Not sure what little girl you're talking about...and there really aren't "countless" reports of dogs attacking children. Dog attacks are generally the fault of the owners, not the dogs--leaving children and dogs together unsupervised, not getting proper training for the dog, not getting the right kind of dog for their family, etc. The real answer is better screening of adoptors so that unqualified people don't adopt dogs. And parents need to be sure that their children are taught how to behave and not to behave around dogs as soon as the kids are old enough to understand. Unfortunately there are a lot of people out there who treat dogs as disposable--they'll adopt or give them away to anyone, and some people get a dog when they shouldn't.

Most shelters and rescues do their best to match dogs with the right families--sometimes it doesn't work out.

Answer 9

Not everyone should be allowed to own a dog but then again not everyone should be allowed to have kids. Do you think all dogs should be deemed dangerous to protect everyone?It would not work because people would still find ways of causing harm. Until people start taking responsibility for their own actions nothing will change.

Answer 10

Dogs learn from their owners so if the owner is responsible then the dog will ad-ere to this, although all dogs can be temperamental and you cant always be 100% sure that it wont turn. The pit bull type of dogs are renowned for their aggressive behaviour. My dog is a jack Russell and he is the calmest of dogs but that is the way we have taught him to be, he isn't a snappy dog at all.