I'm sick of dogs being blamed for attacks.

[Jordan:A]

This isn't a reaction to that other thread, I intended to make this when I heard about that baby on the news the other day.

Right. ANY animal (without being pedantic) can become dangerous in the wrong hands. It's nothing to do with what breed of dog it is, it's to do with the ****** who is supposed to be looking after it. It just so happens that certain breeds are favoured by that type of people which is why the majority of attacks involve said types of dogs. I can understand that at this stage, there may be no choice but to ban some breeds because it has been bred into them through organised fights etc. But in general, if you treat a dog or any animal with respect, it will do the same for you. These people don't know the first thing about dogs, what your body language means to them, how to communicate with them, how to recognise their needs, etc etc.

The government needs to somehow crack down on this sort of thing so that it doesn't punish the innocent majority. Why do you need to take a test to drive a car? Because it is a potentially fatal weapon. So is a dog. I say something like that needs to be done to monitor who is keeping what animals because there's far too much animal cruelty in this country.

As for attacks on babies, anyone who leaves a young child alone with anything that has the physical capability to harm or kill it, doesn't deserve the right to have children. End of story.

/rant.

Totally agree with you, people are like "Staffies are dangerous dogs" I was walking home yesterday and two staffies came up and they were so lovely, so really, its not the dog its the way its brought up, enviroment its brought up and the way its treated!

[AgnesIO]

Yes and humans stealing is comparable to animals attacking people.

Although I suppose you have a point, and thats why we invented prisons.

Prisons fail,

[-:Undertaker:-]

Prisons fail,

A prison isn't supposed to 'succeed' whatever you class that as, a prison is to protect people from the dangerous in the same way that we put dogs down who have attacked people because they pose a threat. Therefore they do a pretty sound job in protecting us from the dangerous.

[Wig44.]

I don't get why people are saying 'well if you think the owners should get punished, should parents get punished for what their children do?!!' as if the two situations compare. For a start, humans can think for themselves far far better than dogs can, of course th human mind at a young age is very malleable but then it is the child/teens fault anyway in my opinion. I've known dogs that are raised in a caring environment to have bitten maybe once or twice - my cousins dog for instance - but that dog had never done anything like that before and hasn't yet done that again and I know that in all of the cases the human involved was absolutely terrified of the dogs.

If a dog kills, I agree that it should be put down. I also think the owner should be punished, because 99% of the time the owner is to blame. A dogs killer instinct can never be removed but can be suppressed. It can be conditioned to expect food at a certain time, to not defecate/urinate inside of the house, to wait by the front door at the time they are usually taken for a walk, to guide blind or partially blind people, to sniff out drugs and inversely to take down fleeing criminals - however they don't attack the police officers 'wielding' them, only the suspect fleeing. I don't think, beyond a bite which could even be seen as playful banter by the dog, that a dog could seriously harm a human being without provocation or a neglecting environment.

[StripedTiger]

I think they should bring back dog licenses to be very honest. But I do agree, all animals will genuinely hurt you if you don't treat them properly. I have some guinea pigs and one of them will quite happily lie on her back whilst I cut her claws and check her teeth and give her a health check, because I'm gentle and leave her alone when she gets sick but a few months ago my sister decided to lie her on her back thinking it was "cute" and before anyway could see what was going on my sister had blood gushing out of her finger and guinea pigs are not known for biting. So just shows that even the softest animals will actually retaliate when not dealt with properly. Not as though guinea pigs will do anywhere near as much damage as dogs, but you understand where I'm coming from.

[Swastika]

^^ Guinea pigs aren't known for biting, true, but when they do, its meant to be a very bad bite? Just wondering

Anyway, i think people need to realise that dogs like pitbulls ARE dangerous dogs, hence the fact that you can't own one in the UK. Dogs such as pit bull terriers, Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentinos and Fila Brasileiros are banned in the UK because of idiots making them fight and giving these breeds of dog a bad reputation. I don't feel sorry for anybody who owns a pitbull and the pitbull turns on them, and for the record the dog should be put down when they have attacked humans.

[StripedTiger]

^^ Guinea pigs aren't known for biting, true, but when they do, its meant to be a very bad bite? Just wondering

The one my sister ended up with was nothing more than you'd expect from a hamster or something, it was tiny, just deep so there was a lot more blood but it was fine once it dried up

[Swastika]

The one my sister ended up with was nothing more than you'd expect from a hamster or something, it was tiny, just deep so there was a lot more blood but it was fine once it dried up

Oh, good
I heard they lock on and stuff and are vicious so i've never bothered getting one, ive always got hamsters instead.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Guniea Pigs only bite when they mistake something for food, they'll never attack something with intent - if in danger, they will run though.

[Black_Apalachi]

I don't get why people are saying 'well if you think the owners should get punished, should parents get punished for what their children do?!!' as if the two situations compare. For a start, humans can think for themselves far far better than dogs can, of course th human mind at a young age is very malleable but then it is the child/teens fault anyway in my opinion. I've known dogs that are raised in a caring environment to have bitten maybe once or twice - my cousins dog for instance - but that dog had never done anything like that before and hasn't yet done that again and I know that in all of the cases the human involved was absolutely terrified of the dogs. ...

Therefore humans were once again to blame. Fear is the best way to get attacked by anything.

... If a dog kills, I agree that it should be put down. I also think the owner should be punished, because 99% of the time the owner is to blame. A dogs killer instinct can never be removed but can be suppressed. It can be conditioned to expect food at a certain time, to not defecate/urinate inside of the house, to wait by the front door at the time they are usually taken for a walk, to guide blind or partially blind people, to sniff out drugs and inversely to take down fleeing criminals - however they don't attack the police officers 'wielding' them, only the suspect fleeing. I don't think, beyond a bite which could even be seen as playful banter by the dog, that a dog could seriously harm a human being without provocation or a neglecting environment.

I think they should bring back dog licenses to be very honest. But I do agree, all animals will genuinely hurt you if you don't treat them properly. I have some guinea pigs and one of them will quite happily lie on her back whilst I cut her claws and check her teeth and give her a health check, because I'm gentle and leave her alone when she gets sick but a few months ago my sister decided to lie her on her back thinking it was "cute" and before anyway could see what was going on my sister had blood gushing out of her finger and guinea pigs are not known for biting. So just shows that even the softest animals will actually retaliate when not dealt with properly. Not as though guinea pigs will do anywhere near as much damage as dogs, but you understand where I'm coming from.

Exactly