Dangerous Dogs

[kmacgr65]

Dangerous dogs are not by size

 

it could be 3 feet high but be a softy

 

it could be 1 foot high and be vicious

 

i think its all down to the owners a responsible owner will treat there dog well care for it give it the love and attention it needs.

 

were unresponsible owners will not care for it. i have seen people who try and act hard because they have a dog beside them. Dogs are pets not hired muscle.

 

You give it suffencient care and the dog will be happy

[highlandlady]

I think we need to worry about the number of young people who seem to be getting Staffie's they can be a dangerous dog same as the Pit it depends on who is bringing up the dog, while out walking my dog not any breed I met this guy with a staffie and it growled and showed it's teeth at my dog the guy just kept on walking pulling the dog this guy didn't seem bothered as if he seemed to enjoy the fact that his dog was aggresive. To many people are walking Staffie's without leads which should't be allowed if there dog tends to be aggresive also a person walking there dog had someone with a Staffie saying my dog could beat your dog. This is not what you get a dog for it is a pet and should not be aggresive. If a dog is brought up properly they will not be aggresive even Pitt's are the most affectionate dogs if they are brought up as a pet not a fighting dog. I also heard the rumour that a lot of these Staffie's are staffie crossed with Pitt.

[Para Handy]

A dog is a dog.

With no sense of response ability at either end.

Just the same as babys.

 

It's the Dangerous Dog owners who have no idea how to, train a dog.

That should be banned, from keeping one.

 

There is more than given it a bisket. And saying no little fluffy foo foo to it.

[EM]

Dangerous dogs are not by size

 

it could be 3 feet high but be a softy

 

it could be 1 foot high and be vicious

You make the mistake of equating dangerous with vicious. Small and vicious is nothing like as dangerous as large and vicious. A terrier can be as vicious as it wants, but simply does not have the size and strength to rip peoples faces off in the way large dogs do. Consequently, as all dogs are prone to personality change in old age and when ill, large dogs are inherently more dangerous, whatever their nature when young.

[unlinkedstudent]

You make the mistake of equating dangerous with vicious. Small and vicious is nothing like as dangerous as large and vicious. A terrier can be as vicious as it wants, but simply does not have the size and strength to rip peoples faces off in the way large dogs do. Consequently, as all dogs are prone to personality change in old age and when ill, large dogs are inherently more dangerous, whatever their nature when young.

 

I think that is a tad unfair. The larger the dog, then usually the larger the brain and hence the ability to "think/be trained" to a better standard than small dogs. I've seen the damage a Yorkshire terrier did to my son's ear at a registered childminder when he was young; in fact, the A&E Consultant said it appeared to have inflicted just as much damage in several nips that a larger dog would have done in one nip.

 

Many smaller dogs tend to "rip" whereas larger dogs tend to apply jaw/muscle pressure hence leading to more crush-type injuries. Granted, neither are nice.

 

Tis a bit like comparing moggies with foxes - ooh on second thoughts, let's not go there! Both can inflict injury basically.

[EM]

... in fact, the A&E Consultant said it appeared to have inflicted just as much damage in several nips that a larger dog would have done in one nip.

Which would, in turn, be less than the damage done by several nips from the larger dog.

 

Both can inflict injury basically.

Clearly so, the issue being addressed is not just injury, but level of injury.

 

Given the choice would you honestly say that you would not prefer to be savaged by a small dog compared to a large one? I have had a large husky spring at me and sink its teeth right into my chest. It really was no fun at all.

 

The larger the dog, then usually the larger the brain and hence the ability to "think/be trained" to a better standard than small dogs.

I can quite believe this. But, as has been mentioned several times, even the best trained and best natured dogs often suddenly become aggressive when old and ill. Whether that development poses a danger or not is very dependent on the attitude of the owner. Those who smugly believe that their pet is safe, and will always be safe, because it is well trained and has never been aggressive are dangerous owners.

 

Just to be clear, personally I have much more interest in larger dogs. They can be quite impressive beasts. The small things strike me as being neurotic, a development I presume to have arisen due to selective breeding (the "wolf's personality in a toy body" hypothesis). Nevertheless, the big ones are dangerous weapons and should always be treated as such.

[Guest posiedon]

Seeing as this is developing into a "big dog" "small dog" comparison, I'll put in my twopenny worth.

As a postman for ten years the most aggressive dogs I encountered were Border collies, and West highland Whites.

 

How often do you hear of someone being mauled by a Great Dane? A Labrador? An Airedale Terrier? A St Bernard? Et al,

I know German Shepherds and Rottweilers get a bad press but you can't judge all dogs merely on their size.

 

I have two dogs, a very small but powerful one, and a big very powerful one, I have 100% confidence in them, both around other dogs and around people, including bairns.

It's all down to how you bring em up.

[smaadrink]

Yet another mauling. I believe there are two of this breed in Shetland.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1342169/Boy-11-savaged-dog-father-rescued-street-days-earlier.html

[unlinkedstudent]

Yet another mauling. I believe there are two of this breed in Shetland.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1342169/Boy-11-savaged-dog-father-rescued-street-days-earlier.html

 

Yes, and I own them. I go to Shetland Dog Club. I did have two brushcoat shar pei and as one sadly had to be PTS and was a rescue dog with a brain tumour, I had to say goodbye in August. She was the most gentle dog you would ever meet.

 

Even though on a previous thread I stated I would never have a horsecoat, I do now, in fact, have a female horsecoat who is an absolute joy to own. Yes, both dogs will bark if they are out in the front garden (naturally accompanied by me) as like many other dogs, they are simply protecting their territory.

 

Buff is the red fawn male and yes, a typical male, he will protect. He is breed standard at 21". Bettie, a black horsecoat, is breed standard at 18" high (just!). Buff's dad is 16 x a champ and Bettie is his niece with her dad getting placed at Crufts when it was only his 6th dog show.

 

The point I'm making is that these particular two shar pei come from outstanding lines, chosen not only for their health but also their temperament. It is important to check out the blood lines as in 1978 when shar pei were nearly extinct, 10 went to USA, 10 to Australia and 10 came here. "Coloured" shar pei (blue, grey, etc.) were crossed with the likes of weirmaraners and other dogs. The dog in the press article is not from the "standard colours" as it is chocolate and hence somewhere in the blood lines, will have had another breed of dog introduced. I note also that the dog in the press article was a stray, they had been playing with it earlier and were also allowing it on the furniture (Thus by doing so letting it think it was on the same level in the pack as the poor boy who had been mauled).

 

I can bore people for hours talking about shar pei. Are they a dog suitable for everyone? No. My pair are always kept on leads and Buff is a handful, being as thick as they come and wanting to chase every seagull in sight. Unlike the stray, I know of their background, how they were raised as pups, what their parents are like, etc.

 

Westside Vets have met them both and thinks they are both extremely healthy and Bettie half licked the vet to death recently when she had her booster.

 

My son was bitten at a childminders when he was three years old by a so called well behaved Yorkshire Terrier - do I hate all Yorkshire Terriers as a result? No.

 

Stuff is hit and miss on the internet regarding shar pei - I know the majority of top breeders in the UK and had the pleasure of representing the breed club some years ago at the Discover Dogs Show manning the rescue side of the stall.

 

Just remember - ALL dogs can bite - whether you know the history or not is another matter.

 

Cheers for mentioning that I have the two only shar pei in Shetland.

[Frances144]

A boy of 11 was savaged by a dog just days after his father had taken the stray in off the street.

 

From The Daily Mail (says it all really).

 

There is so many things wrong with this whole story.

 

1. Who takes a stray off the street and ignores the strict rehoming tests a dog goes through if handed into an animal welfare centre?

 

2. Who trusts a strange unknown dog to have his "territory" on the sofa? Not wise.

 

3. Coronation Street Christmas Special - well, all I can say is that while in hospital the week before, we had the ward telly on full blast all the time (not my choice) and it was a huge intrusion and battering to my ears. Imagine this for a dog who is not used to this. I had a migraine - he bit someone. We all react.

 

4. Was the dog neutered? If not, who takes on an entire large breed and lets it live with their kids?

 

I could go on. That poor dog and that poor lad were both set up to fail dismally imho by a completely ignorant but well-meaning parent.

 

As the mother and a keen animal keeper, that dog would've gone straight to an animal welfare centre or into a quiet room where he could have some peace, warmth and get his bearings rather than plunged into strange environment and noisy family life.

[paulb]

ive met those two dogs and they are well cared for and very well controlled. how many muppets do you see walking around lerwick with pitbull types.

unlink is a very good owner and her dogs are not dangerous unless you break in to her house.

[Guest posiedon]

Well said unlinked and Frances.

 

paulb

how many muppets do you see walking around lerwick with pitbull types.

What's your definition of a "pitbull type"?

I can't say I've ever seen a dog in Lerwick that I would regard as a pitgull type.

[shetlandpeat]

I remember a large "serious" dog very close to Bels Brae School. The poor thing would bark from behind the gate.

The owners had done all they could to hold back such a beast from escaping, but upon passing it does seem a shame that such creatures not be able to be fully worked.

Although in certain areas such an animal would be an extension to the owners nether regions I am also sure that the present owners of any such large fighting type dog are doing so for pity for the dog or bitch and would only see good be done.

[Skunnered]

Well said unlinked and Frances.

 

paulb

how many muppets do you see walking around lerwick with pitbull types.

What's your definition of a "pitbull type"?

More importantly, what's your definition of a "muppet"?

[Muppet]

Yes?