Should we blame all the owners if a dog goes out of control.?

Question

My heart goes out to the family of the little girl who lost her life in this horrific attack,What should been done about the owners,not the dogs.

Answer 1

I don't know what dog attack you are talking about. But i am sorry to hear about it. I definitely think the owners are to blame. If they had a dog, they should have been able to control their dog, and had it trained and prepared to have a child in it's life. And if they knew that the dog was unpredictable, they should have found a way to correct this, or keep the dog away from the child.

I read the article you sent me. That is such a SAD case, and i am so sorry for the young girl. And I still feel the same way. It said that the owner was proud of his aggressive dog, and trained the dog to be aggressive. This proves that the owner is at fault for having an aggressive dog, and KNOWING that it was aggressive. Even though the owner was not around when the attack happend, he should Not have an aggressive dog in the first place, but if he does, he should always know where it is, and who it is around so this type of thing doesn't happen. Training a dog to be aggressive is like owning a weapon that is capable to kill people. This is such a tragedy, and if this guy didn't train his dog to be aggressive, and if he had control of his dog, this would not have happened.

Answer 2

Generally the owners are at fault for poor training. And my heart goes out to that family...I could never imagine how I would feel if that happened to my child.

The owners should be held liable for their dogs actions and charged accordingly. I am not sure what the law allows, but there should be some sort of criminal charge- and if not perhaps there will be.

Because I do not know the case, the dog should be evaluated by a very qualified animal behavioralist. This would differentiate between a dog that was poorly trained and/or mentally unstable.

That being said, there are instances however where dogs have rage syndrome. In dogs that have rage sydrome, they will for no utter reason go into a state of rage and attack. It's very violent and predicting dogs that have it is very difficult (Spring Spaniels are known for having it and in the 70's when Doberman temperment's were unstable). Dogs who have rage sydrome need to be euthanized because there is no other option. You cannot predict when the next instance will occur and there is no trigger.

A friend of mine who use to breed/show Newfs had that with a Newf. She placed this puppy with very responsible people and he was very well socialized trained etc. At 4 years of age he went into a rage while play fetch with the owner (there was nothing unusual about the fetch as they had been doing this since he was little). When the owner called her about the situation she essentially told them that either they would have the dog euthanized or she would come take him to be. It's a sad thing, but it does exist.

Answer 3

first of all, all owners are responsible for their dogs. and only the dogs that attack and kill some one should be put to sleep' because the chances of this happening again is very likely. and who would want the dog in the family if it killed a family member? l am sad to hear about the little girl but l really do not feel sorry for the family in the way of saving their dog l say put it to sleep and that way they will be protecting some other little child. the owner in this case should be held acountable. even if the dog was around the child a lot of times, it was a aggressive breed. which l mean in the way that it's body weight would add to it being a dangerous dog.

Answer 4

yes i do agree that an owner should b responsible 4 there dog but i own a staffordshire bull terrier and he is big softie what annoyes me is owners of these farty little dogs getting away with it alright they may not cause as much damage but have u ever been in a park where they have a go at big dogs and the owners expect u 2 say sorry even though your dog is leashed iwas bought up with pommerianians and yorkshire terriors and ive got the scars 2 show it all over my hands.i love my dog 2 pieces and i think if we should have 2 watch what our dogs r doing 24/7 then parents should watch there kids 24/7.i was always taught never 2 approach a dog if a dog is on its own property defending its teratory thats different i sleep better knowing my dogs there.my dog would never attack a child or somebody else and i know that 4 a fact but my moms and dads dogs would

Answer 5

It's a very good question which has been met with a lot of good answers. Personally, I feel that dogs that have an inherent tendency to be aggressive should not be allowed to be household pets. I'm aware that a lot of people have said that it's the owners fault and not the dogs and I would agree with that but the fact remains there are still (and always will be) a small minority of idiots who will own this type of dog purely for the macho image.

They're not difficult to spot. They struggle to hold their dogs back and look at you as if to say, "Fancy your chances?"

Inwardly you think "Of course not! You may only be 5'4" but you have no idea what your dogs going to do next!

Whilst I feel sorry for the responsible dog owners who would ensure that this type of of dog is properly trained, the fact remains that while we have such a liberal view on this subject, people with an IQ not dissimilar to their dogs will always pose a threat.

Answer 6

All dogs can be trained. Some breeds have inherent characteristics such as guarding or hunting but they can all be trained to be good pets. Owners should never leave any dog alone with young children as there is always a risk. The issue is if you try to take a bone from a yorkshire terrier he can possibly take off a finger but a pit bull or rottie could kill due to their size. I feel terrible for the parents of that poor girl and the uncle must have that dog destroyed.

Answer 7

I'm not sure what case you're talking about but that is so sad!!! The owners are definately at fault. If the dog had shown aggression in the past, the dog should never have been allowed to be around the child and should have been in a good training program for rehabilitation. I am so sick of the animal being the only one to blame!!!

Answer 8

Basically it all boils down to the owners. The dog in question is a breed which is banned in the UK and the only reason these people have these animals is for fighting...which is illegal here. Since this incident, 8 dogs have been seized by the police on the same estate....6 were puppies who had had their ears clipped, a good indication that they were being bred to fight. The owners and breeders should have the book thrown at them and they should be facing murder charges...

Here is a link for those of you not in the UK who are not familiar with the case...
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=425850&in_page_id=1770&ct=5

Answer 9

i'm not familliar with this particular attack, but i want to contribute anyway.

i think the majority of the responsibility lies with the owner, but some of it is the dogs nature as well. that old nature vs. nurture debate again.

some badly bred dogs are naturally unstable. this could be corrected by concientious training, or exascerbated by lack or training and socialization.

however, if a dog goes crazy and attacks someone the owners would have seen warning signs that they blatantly ignored. dogs are predicatable animals, they don't just "snap". owners who use that excuse were just so neglectful of their dog they didn't even notice warnings in it's behavior. a dog that attacks unprovoked should be put down and the owners should be so severly punished that they will never forget the lesson.

Answer 10

An owner of a dog, any type of dog, is responsible for any type of damage or harm the dog does. PERIOD. I don't care who owns the dog, what type of dog,where the dog was, what the dog was doing etc etc. The owner of the dog is totally responsible for the dog. I am a dog owner and I am responsible for my dog. My home owners insurance policy covers my dog because they asked if I owned a dog and what type. MY dog is a mut,19 years old but if he hurt anyone by biting or attacking I would not hesitate for one moment to put a bullet in him. Dogs are creatures of a pack and look to protect themselves, not a family so to speak. They are looking out for them self not the owner. Don't blame the owner,blame the dog but the owner is responsible because he owns the dog.