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If all dogs were this dangerous it would happen every minute of every day day. It doesn't and thankfully this is a rare occurrence. Staffy's are not necessarily a dangerous breed but I would say any dog around children can be unpredictable. Children are at the same eye level as dogs and eye contact can be seen as a threat in a dogs world especially if that child is coming towards them. That said, Staffy's are a powerful breed and in the wrong hands can be very dangerous. Our dog was attacked by one and we very nearly lost her, the vets bills came in at around £900. This dog was loose in a park and the owners had this animal as a trophy dog! It took 3 men to get the thing off our dog, 2 of them to prise is't jaws open.
If dog licences were brought back it would have to be a cost that would prevent these people from having access to dogs and also with a course of lessons in training and how to look after a dog properly.
Quote: If dog licenses were brought back it would have to be a cost that would prevent these people from having access to dogs and also with a course of lessons in training and how to look after a dog properly.
I agree, particularly with the course of lessons bit. Sort like a 'dog test' that you need to pass before being able to get a dog license, like driving. Though, thinking it
about it as I type, the sort of people who generally have unruly dogs tend to drive cars with no license / insurance anyway, so I doubt it would have a great impact.
( forgive my blanket generalising, it's Monday morning 
)
Quote: Well, given that some dogs cost £1,000-£2,000 (and sometimes more), it isn't necessarily the case that the licence would cost more than the dog. The licence needn't necessarily be a yearly one - it could be valid for say 5 or 10 years, but yes, I would envisgage it costing several hundred pounds (with some exemptions - e.g. pensioners and those who need their dogs for work)
Not many of the dogs that you see on the street cost £1000-£2000, so yes, a licence costing several hundreds would make dog ownership unrealistic and a 5 or 10 year licence would only make sense if the dog lasted that length of time. What about people taking on an older dog, perhaps a rescue dog? Would they be expected to shell out for the dog; rescue dogs still have a price, then pay through the nose for a licence for a dog that might only last a couple of years?
Making dog ownership prohibitive will just cause more dogs to be abandoned or discarded to rescue centres.
And how would this, or any other form of licence be policed? Even if we're force to put some kind of tag on our dogs' collars, like a road tax disc on a car, how many people would bother?
Would the Police be expected to stop and inspect every dog they see in the street? The Police-bashers on here would have a field day with that.
Quote: Why???
You really dont mean that do you!
Quote: The human race causes far more aggravation than the cannine one, how many muggers, rapists or murderers are there to every dog incident. Therefore, it would make more sense to handcuff and hobble all humans
1) Because dogs are animals not human (although some owners treat them like humans) and its far better to be safe than sorry. Also a dog does not have to bite to be threatening.
2) As much as we would like to muzzle some humans - we cannot intrude on their human rights
I presume you are a dog owner........... ?
Quote: If dog licences were brought back it would have to be a cost that would prevent these people from having access to dogs and also with a course of lessons in training and how to look after a dog properly.
Yeah like they'd buy a licence in the firts place.
Quote: Also a dog does not have to bite to be threatening.
True.
As I said earlier, I have a German Shepherd and sometimes people cross the street to avoid him (I suppose it's him that they're avoiding!) and I don't know how you'd get around that.
Even if I was to put a muzzle on him, which I don't, he would still have that 'presence.' In fact, muzzling a dog, even a dopey one, makes it even more intimidating as people who might not have otherwise been concerned, automatically assume that the dog is dangerous.
My daughter was jumped on and pinned to the ground by a labrador when she was three, since then shes been terrifed of any dogs (although tries not to show it) and she's 16 now. The owners of the dog said she was not harmful, and she wasnt she was just full of energy and fun but she was big and to a 3 year old very frightening and its had lasting effects. So what price can you put on a life, how much is a plastic surgeon and how much is it worth not to live in fear of something for possible the rest of your life?
Quote: You really dont mean that do you!
Yes, I do. I cannot see any reason for such a blanket proposal.
Quote: 1) Because dogs are animals not human
Yes, dogs are animals, but don't forget, so are humans.
Quote: 2) As much as we would like to muzzle some humans - we cannot intrude on their human rights
Absolute tosh. 'Human Rights' along with 'health and safety' will be the cause of the next civil war in this country as we try to recover 'common sense'. All that is wanting is a new 'Oliver Cromwell'.
Quote: I presume you are a dog owner........... ?
Yes, I am. I asssume you are not.
Quote: All dogs should be muzzled
Quote: Yes, I do. I cannot see any reason for such a blanket proposal.
I too would like to know the reasoning behind this, in what instances and why.
Quote: Breeders would have to keep records to show that the person they sold to had a valid licence
That would be hard to get right. Not even when buying a car does the seller have a responsibility to ensure the buyer has all the correct documents.
To some extent, you can blame the dog. Every dog has its breaking point and I remember when they were draughting the dangerous dogs act one GP on the TV pointed out that most dog bites he sees are from labradors so if you were going to put down a dog, or ban a breed, because of its bite record you would see an awful lot of cute labs being put down. The real issue is that labs have a high tolerance, so kids rag them a lot. But eventually theycan lose their temper and bite, but it is usually a 'leave me alone' warning and they settle down again very quickly. The difference with Staffies, rottweilers and others is that, as a breed, once they start they don't stop which means most of the horrendous maulings are from these breeds. In that respect there are significant breed differences and I don't believe you can absolutely say 'it is the owner'.
Quote: in the example given here it would have made no difference as it was in a private garden.
In nearly all the highly publicised cases the problem has come about when the dog was left unattended with a child and either the child or dog were not at their home (often visiting friends/relatives and in unfamiliar surroundings).
And for the record, we own 2 rescue dogs and I would never leave them alone with kids even though both have shown absolutely no aggression to any people at all and one of them is the softest, most submissive pooch you could ever meet. Like owning a car we look on it as a priviledge and a responsibility.
Quote:
You really dont mean that do you!
Yes, I do. I cannot see any reason for such a blanket proposal.There is some logic. All dogs have breaking point (as do humans) but we are used to reading human behaviour and backing off. it is much harder to read dog behaviour and they can escalate much more quickly. Do I understand why people suggest this? Yes. Would I want to muzzle my dog? No.
1) Because dogs are animals not human
Yes, dogs are animals, but don't forget, so are humans. Ridiculous comment that adds nothing to the discussion.
2) As much as we would like to muzzle some humans - we cannot intrude on their human rights
Absolute tosh. 'Human Rights' along with 'health and safety' will be the cause of the next civil war in this country as we try to recover 'common sense'. All that is wanting is a new 'Oliver Cromwell'. Oh, boy. Muzzling dogs and the next revolution...
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