Another fatal dog attack

[SilverLinings]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GC2aekMXoAAXJmv?format=png&name=small

Where was that report from @skinnydipper? It sounds like a really unpleasant experience, but sadly very similar to the attacks reported by other owners where the dog objects to it's behaviour or dominance being challenged.

I think I've managed to copy and paste it below for anyone who can't see your link:

 

[Goldenstar]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GC2aekMXoAAXJmv?format=png&name=small

Sad , so sad however she’s alive and so is her child .

 

[CorvusCorax]

A lot of comments on socials are like 'oh it's only when nasty people are cruel to them/train them to fight/be aggressive that they go like this' which just is not true.

 

[skinnydipper]

From a post on fb. The original post had photos of her injuries and the dog, an XLB

 

[Cortez]

Never mind the people who deliberately got a "tough" dog to fulfil whatever hardman fantasies they have, it's the people who were sold the "nanny dog", "just a big softy" idea that I feel (almost) sorry for.

 

[skinnydipper]

Looked like a nice family.

 

[cauda equina]

And again 'he was the most loving pet' until suddenly he wasn't

 

[SilverLinings]

A lot of comments on socials are like 'oh it's only when nasty people are cruel to them/train them to fight/be aggressive that they go like this' which just is not true.

Yup, that seems to be the common defence of the dogs when attacks happen. There are a lot of bad, inadequate dog owners of all breeds; those who don't exercise their dog enough, don't give it adequate human or dog company, don't feed it properly, shout and smack the dog when they are 'naughty', don't train their dog etc, but it is only the XLBs that are attacking people in such large numbers.

If the attacks were due to bad owners then there would be a lot of attacks by labs, cockerpoos, collies GSDs etc, all breeds which have much larger UK populations. And they may be less powerful than XLBs but they could kill a small child or cause enough damage to an adult that the press would be reporting it (and be more inclined to report it as there are far more cockerpoos etc so the press could whip up a frenzy of paranoia).

 

[Clodagh]

I bet in 95% cases people would see the dog giving off ‘I’m not happy’ vibes and signals. I wonder if they are so CONVINCED that their dog would never attack that they are blind to them? Like brainwashing.
I mean my Ffee is a squishmallow of a dog but equally she’d be the one most likely to bite someone. I’m not explaining very well but ‘there’s none so blind as them that don’t want to see’

 

[CorvusCorax]

Do they though? Like I say I was standing beside (well, edging away from) a renowned breeder and judge of many years as their new dog (acquired because it bit someone) was giving off 'Ima bite everyone' vibes and they didn't even know or notice.

 

[BallyRoanBaubles]

I bet in 95% cases people would see the dog giving off ‘I’m not happy’ vibes and signals. I wonder if they are so CONVINCED that their dog would never attack that they are blind to them? Like brainwashing.
I mean my Ffee is a squishmallow of a dog but equally she’d be the one most likely to bite someone. I’m not explaining very well but ‘there’s none so blind as them that don’t want to see’

Ffee sounds exactly like my Zazu

 

[Smitty]

I can't do the link sadly, but on Protect our pets on Facebook a bloke has gone to the pub with his XL Bully muzzled and is wearing a muzzle himself to show solidarity with the dog. The comments are hilarious

 

[JoannaC]

Walked somewhere i haven't been for a while today and there were two women with two XL bullies off lead and unmuzzled, even if they were the best behaved dogs in the world why would you risk it. This was a very busy track with a housing estate either side where I wouldn't have a dog off lead anyway, lots of children and dog walkers about.

 

[bonny]

I can't do the link sadly, but on Protect our pets on Facebook a bloke has gone to the pub with his XL Bully muzzled and is wearing a muzzle himself to show solidarity with the dog. The comments are hilarious

I’m sure the dog feels better knowing that he’s not alone with his muzzle

 

[SilverLinings]

Walked somewhere i haven't been for a while today and there were two women with two XL bullies off lead and unmuzzled, even if they were the best behaved dogs in the world why would you risk it. This was a very busy track with a housing estate either side where I wouldn't have a dog off lead anyway, lots of children and dog walkers about.

A lot of the owners of XLBs aren't really helping the reputation of the breed (and the owners) are they? I appreciate that their dogs may never go on to be aggressive, but now they don't need to attack anyone to be reported to the police for breaching the rules. I'm not sure it's going to get the general public on side if there are lots of news reports of XLB owners ignoring the law.

 

[Smitty]

Deadly attacks by dogs in Britain soar to record high

Exclusive: Numbers killed double in just a year – fuelled by massive surge in post-Covid pet ownership

www.independent.co.uk

 

[skinnydipper]

I can't do the link sadly, but on Protect our pets on Facebook a bloke has gone to the pub with his XL Bully muzzled and is wearing a muzzle himself to show solidarity with the dog. The comments are hilarious

Dad wears muzzle in solidarity with his XL bully as he protests new laws

Eamonn Mcgeady sipped pints using a straw through the muzzle

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

 

[JoannaC]

A lot of the owners of XLBs aren't really helping the reputation of the breed (and the owners) are they? I appreciate that their dogs may never go on to be aggressive, but now they don't need to attack anyone to be reported to the police for breaching the rules. I'm not sure it's going to get the general public on side if there are lots of news reports of XLB owners ignoring the law.

Exactly and someone only has to say they feel threatened and report and they risk losing their dog just bonkers

 

[SilverLinings]

Deadly attacks by dogs in Britain soar to record high

Exclusive: Numbers killed double in just a year – fuelled by massive surge in post-Covid pet ownership

www.independent.co.uk

I was shocked by the amount of dogs that article says were in police custody in just one month:

"The National Police Chiefs’ Council said it was focused on tackling the rise in dog attacks. The body, which represents police forces, said there were 1,200 dogs in custody for attacks in September, with 21 per cent being XL American bullies."

I think that there is a need for a wider discussion about dog ownership and responsibility, but there is no denying that XLBs have been disproportionately responsible for the increase in attacks.

I think society/the law needs to push more responsibility back on individuals (e.g. if your dog is out of control the punishment is severe enough to act as a deterrent), and as we can't outlaw numpties buying dogs there may need to be a discussion around whether or not there needs to be stricter legal requirements if you want to own a dog big and strong enough to kill an adult human.

 

[SilverLinings]

Dad wears muzzle in solidarity with his XL bully as he protests new laws

Eamonn Mcgeady sipped pints using a straw through the muzzle

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

That just looks like a pointless act carried out in order to attract attention. It really doesn't make any kind of valid point about dogs having to wear muzzles.

And again, if he thinks it's that cruel/unnatural/unpleasant for dogs to wear muzzles then why hasn't he been campaigning for greyhounds before now?*

*I accept that he may well have been, but I seriously doubt it.


ETA just to clarify, I don't think muzzle wearing when necessary is cruel for greyhounds or any other type of dog.

 

[fankino04]

I was shocked by the amount of dogs that article says were in police custody in just one month:

"The National Police Chiefs’ Council said it was focused on tackling the rise in dog attacks. The body, which represents police forces, said there were 1,200 dogs in custody for attacks in September, with 21 per cent being XL American bullies."

I think that there is a need for a wider discussion about dog ownership and responsibility, but there is no denying that XLBs have been disproportionately responsible for the increase in attacks.

I think society/the law needs to push more responsibility back on individuals (e.g. if your dog is out of control the punishment is severe enough to act as a deterrent), and as we can't outlaw numpties buying dogs there may need to be a discussion around whether or not there needs to be stricter legal requirements if you want to own a dog big and strong enough to kill an adult human.

And definitely stronger (and enforced) rules about who breeds and from what.

 

[SilverLinings]

And definitely stronger (and enforced) rules about who breeds and from what.

Definitely; the breeding of certain types seems to have become a license to print money (and the less money you spend on good welfare the greater the profits!), and also a means to money launder.

 

[CrunchieBoi]

Dad wears muzzle in solidarity with his XL bully as he protests new laws

Eamonn Mcgeady sipped pints using a straw through the muzzle

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Presumably he's also on a register somewhere (to show solidarity with his dog).

 

[SilverLinings]

Presumably he's also on a register somewhere (to show solidarity with his dog).

At least now he wears a muzzle people will know to avoid him in the street

And where's the lead?*

*actually, don't answer, we're not that sort of forum (need a Frank Spencer 'ooh' face for that one, or perhaps a Carry On emoji!)

 

[Gloi]

Presumably he's also on a register somewhere (to show solidarity with his dog).

Neutered too , I hope.

 

[SilverLinings]

And has he had his ears cropped?

 

[SilverLinings]

Actually, on the subject of cropped ears and the current XLB problem, WHY hasn't importing an ear-cropped dog been outlawed?

I know that it is illegal to crop in the UK but that it still goes on (just isn't done by vets because obviously it's illegal), and that people avoid prosecution by claiming that their dog was imported with it's ears already cropped. There is absolutely no need to allow importation of cropped-ear dogs to continue, so why isn't it made illegal? If the gov't had made it illegal on Jan 1st then in 10-14yrs time there would be no more ear-cropped dogs left in this country, and no awful back-street pseudo-veterinarians would be making money mutilating dogs.*

I appreciate that occasionally there is a medical reason a dog may have deformed ears, but they are unlikely to look like the classical symmetrical crop you see on XLBs, and it would be easy enough for the owner to point the police/RSPCA/etc in the direction of the vet that did it to prove legitimacy. And it isn't likely there would be many of them.

And if foreign breeders wanted to export their puppies to the UK then they would just have to comply with the UK law. The current law surrounding ear-cropping in dogs is just ridiculous, and doing absolutely nothing to protect UK-born dogs from having it done.


*and if AI became a regulated industry then that would cut the revenue streams of such unsavoury characters even further.

 

[twiggy2]

I just want to shout from the rooftops 'if your dog is hiding from the muzzle, you haven't done your muzzle training and conditioning properly so keep training'

 

[Cortez]

I just want to shout from the rooftops 'if your dog is hiding from the muzzle, you haven't done your muzzle training and conditioning properly so keep training'

It's only just been started in a muzzle and doesn't look particularly perturbed in the photos. Greyhounds get used to wearing one, any dog can.

 

[Annette4]

I just want to shout from the rooftops 'if your dog is hiding from the muzzle, you haven't done your muzzle training and conditioning properly so keep training'

This!! Ginny isn't a massive fan if her muzzle (she only wears it for anything that involves someone else touching her as she will bite) and we will keep doing the work until she loves it as much as Dobby does. Dobby knows muzzle = doing fun stuff he loves and he gets so giddy when he sees it, it really didn't take long at all.