Dog Attacks, Restricted Breed or not

adser53 · 10-05-2010 1:27pm #1

Hi all, there have been a lot of conversations lately about dog attacks, which inevitably brings up restricted breeds etc etc and I'm posting this poll out of curiosity.

Simply put, if you or a family member or your pets have ever been attacked by a dog, was it a restricted breed that was involved?

The reason I ask is that I'm tired of defending "Restricted Breeds" and the media hyped nonsense that they're the cause of all dog attacks. I'm not asking for specifics here, just whether or not it was a restricted breed or not. I'm of the opinion that any dog is capable of snapping and to not respect all dogs the same is foolhardy. I love my dogs and trust them as much as is humanly possible. That being said, I still wouldn't leave them alone with a young child and that goes for my cavs aswell as my akitas.

There are no accurate statistics available for this and I realise the pool of boards users won't give an accurate result but I'm confident that the result would show that non-restricted breeds are just as likely to be involved in an incident than one of the "Devil Dogs"

Can I ask that people don't use this as a way to condemn one breed or another, start trolling and arguing about whether or not they agree with the restricted list or not.

I'd also ask that if you're not sure of the breed, don't vote. Any statistics that are available are clouded by the fact that the crossbreeds are often mislabled as generic "pitbull cross", "akita cross", "rottie cross" etc when they clearly aren't even closely related to these breeds.

I'm hoping this doesn't descend into anarchy......:o

For those unsure of the restricted breeds, see the following:

* American Pit Bull Terrier
* English Bull Terrier
* Staffordshire Bull Terrier
* Bull Mastiff
* Doberman Pinscher
* German Shepherd (Alsatian)
* Rhodesian Ridgeback
* Rottweiler
* Japanese Akita
* Japanese Tosa

And to every dog of the type commonly known as a Ban Dog (or Bandog), and to every other strain or cross of every breed or type of dog described above.

fatmammycat · 10-05-2010 1:34pm

I was bitten quite badly by a collie when I was young. I have been chased and snapped at by westies and JRTs while out running and I was stopped while running by a dogue de bordeaux and was forced to stand my ground for a number of minutes until the idiot owner appeared and hauled the dog back onto the property.
Of all of these the collie was the most traumatic, though if the dogue had charged me I was in big trouble.

cynder · 10-05-2010 1:36pm

I got bit by 2 collie's (the lassie dog) and chased home from school everyday by a terrier. I grew up with alsatians (German Shepard's).

I visit a friend who has a doberman and an alsatian but i don't let the kids out on their own with the dogs and im always standing between the dogs and my kids age 3,4 and 10. i do ask for them to be put out if we are in and to be put in if we are out. I will never trust the dogs.

The alsatian is a big softy and the doberman is too but can get dominate if a male is around. The alsatian is happy if the kids are throwing rocks into the lake, he loves it.

Kids are never safe around dogs regardless of the breed.

My cousin had a bull mastif and the 3 year old used to hit it with the telephone and the dog didnt even blink at him, the dog died 2 years later.

stimpson · 10-05-2010 1:37pm

My dog was attacked while I was walking him on a lead. Very very scary. Even when the other dogs owner came along he couldn't get him to let go of my dog.

I don't blame the dog though - I think the owner should have been destroyed.

kylith · 10-05-2010 1:40pm

Myself, my brother, my Nan and my niece have all been bitten by terriers or terrier crosses.

The AM Bulldog on my street often tries to mug me for kisses.

seamus · 10-05-2010 1:44pm

Just to help, here are images of each of the restricted breeds. I know a lot of people simply have no idea what many of these dogs look like.

American Pit Bull Terrier
English Bull Terrier (Bullie)
Staffordshire Bull Terrier (Staffie)
Bull Mastiff
Doberman Pinscher
German Shepherd (Alasation)
Rhodesian Ridgeback
Rottweiler
Japanese Akita
Japanese Tosa

Whispered · 10-05-2010 1:45pm

In the last 2 years, 2 attacks by different dogs, both unrestricted (a JRT and a red setter) on two different restricted breeds (both staff x's). On both occasions the RB did not fight back. But looked to me to sort the situation. I would expect this from my own dog, but the one attacked by the setter was not mine and had only been with me 12 hours.

It was heart breaking to see her look up at me with big scared confused eyes while the setter went for her. The setter also went for his owner when he tried to stop it. It was ridiculous.

I'm so sorry I rehomed her, I wish I had kept her.

A silly question maybe - adser, if this is pulling too off topic for your liking let me know and I'll edit it out, but is there something about certain breeds which make them more likely to BE attacked?

Dubdude · 10-05-2010 1:48pm

2 staffies attacked my dog at the same time.

mymo · 10-05-2010 1:50pm

I have been bitten by a Lab and a miniature poodle hard enough to draw blood.
I have also had nips from several small terriers and a yorkie.
We've always had dogs, although no restricted breeds, some have been large.
I grew up in London and had friends with Rotties, dobermans and staffs, I did once get floored by my friends 8month old Rottie and her doberman friend trying to lick me to death when playing football with them:D They were great dogs and loved nothing more than rolling around with us in the garden, they even got in the paddling pool with us:P
I would love a doberman one day, but I'd need more space first.

maggie82 · 10-05-2010 1:50pm

I've been bitten by a 2 labs and various other small terrier type dogs. Now I forgive the ones I'm trying to give injection to, god knows I've nearly punched the person trying to give me an injection, but as a whole the restricted breeds tend to be much more chilled. I think they get more of the bad press simply because if they bite youre going to be a lot worse off than if a Westie (:mad:) gets you

seamus · 10-05-2010 1:55pm

Whispered wrote: »

but is there something about certain breeds which make them more likely to BE attacked?

I heard recently (dunno where though), that when taking an aggressive or dominant stance, dogs and some other animals tend to approach the other animal "sideways", to make themselves look bigger. That it, they're not actually walking side ways, but they're walking at a bit of an angle so as to appear larger. I've noticed that some of the restriced breeds that I've a small bit of experience with - staffies and rotties - tend to walk "sideways" somewhat naturally, and so this might encourage other dogs to become aggressive in response to what they perceive as aggression.
My staff, having only three legs, walks very much sideways when she's tired - walking like an actual tripod

getz · 10-05-2010 1:57pm

Whispered wrote: »

In the last 2 years, 2 attacks by different dogs, both unrestricted (a JRT and a red setter) on two different restricted breeds (both staff x's). On both occasions the RB did not fight back. But looked to me to sort the situation. I would expect this from my own dog, but the one attacked by the setter was not mine and had only been with me 12 hours.

It was heart breaking to see her look up at me with big scared confused eyes while the setter went for her. The setter also went for his owner when he tried to stop it. It was ridiculous.

I'm so sorry I rehomed her, I wish I had kept her.

A silly question maybe - adser, if this is pulling too off topic for your liking let me know and I'll edit it out, but is there something about certain breeds which make them more likely to BE attacked?

its not a silly question,anyone[like me] who has a english bulldog will tell you, as the bully has a macho walk many dogs get scared when meeting them,even sometimes going into a panic and attacking

adser53 · 10-05-2010 1:57pm

Whispered wrote: »

A silly question maybe - adser, if this is pulling too off topic for your liking let me know and I'll edit it out, but is there something about certain breeds which make them more likely to BE attacked?

Not a silly question at all Whispered, I'd actually like peoples opinions on this too.

I do think some breeds give off an air of "superiority" that some other breeds seem to immediatley dislike and are instantly cagey of. That coupled with small dog syndrome can often lead to attacks and scuffles.

More often than not though I do think that the dogs home environment is the root of this rather than breed. For example, a family get's a small toy dog (for the sake of this discussion, say a Pom) because they assume it's size means low maintenance. The dog isn't socialised or disciplined, excercised or stimulated mentally. We all know this happens. This dog then gets out or is brought on a rare walk because it's a nice day and let off leash. (Again because the owner's are clueless and think it's size means it's harmless.) It goes mad barking at an on leash labrador and is all up in it's face because it knows no-better and the owners don' think anything will happen. The lab snaps and injures the Pom.

How common is this scenario regardless of the breeds I've mentioned?

I'm not saying this is always the case but IMO it is quite common and in 90% of dog attack cases, it's the owner's fault, not the dogs

maggie82 · 10-05-2010 1:58pm

Another reason can often be the way they look, not big and scary, but tails may be docked, can be bradycephalic (ie boxer type head) and to a dog with a tail and long muzzle like a GSD they look totally different and cannot use typicaly canine greeting behaviour and body positions effectively so GSD has no idea if its friend or foe. (just using boxer & GSD as example but applies to all)

crotalus667 · 10-05-2010 2:01pm

adser53 wrote: »

There are no accurate statistics available for this :

I dont know about ireland but the uk keep stats on dogs that bite iirc none of the rb's came in the top ten

adser53 · 10-05-2010 2:04pm

crotalus667 wrote: »

I dont know about ireland but the uk keep stats on dogs that bite iirc none of the rb's came in the top ten

Oh really? I didn't know the UK did that....you wouldn't have a link Crotalus would you?

Any of the stats I've ever seen have been a bit sketchy. I can't recall the breeds off the top of my head in the last one I looked at but I did notice that only 1 RB was in the top 10 and I think Dalmation's came in the top 10 in a number of studies I looked at. That was quite a shock :eek:

crotalus667 · 10-05-2010 2:05pm

maggie82 wrote: »

. I think they get more of the bad press simply because if they bite youre going to be a lot worse off than if a Westie (:mad:) gets you

that depends on the dogs bite control a rottie with good bite control can do less damage that a westi with bad bite control

crotalus667 · 10-05-2010 2:08pm

adser53 wrote: »

Oh really? I didn't know the UK did that....you wouldn't have a link Crotalus would you?

no but it was quoted on a bbc docu so if you drop the rspca hq an email they should be able to point you in the right direction

maggie82 · 10-05-2010 2:08pm

crotalus667 wrote: »

that depends on the dogs bite control a rottie with good bite control can do less damage that a westi with bad bite control

obviously, but having been on receiving end of westies on numerous occasions they do damage with repeated repositioning bites, a rottie even on a good day could do a lot with just one bite, just due to size of bite area. i love rottis i was just saying thats why i think they get the bad press.

TooManyDogs · 10-05-2010 2:11pm

My dog got attacked twice, once by 2 JRT and once by a border collie, and to be honest I'd solely blame the owners in both cases. The JRT owner just stood there watching me try to peel her dogs off my dog's throat and did nothing. The second time I was told that my dog got too close to his, and therefore it was justified, but he and his dog were block the only access path so there was no other way for me and my dog to go!

I don't think dog attacks have anything to do with breed, it's more to do with how the owner has brought up their dogs, I really don't believe one breed is any better or worse than another, but the restricted breeds always make the papers, no one cares if a small dog attacks anyone.

getz · 10-05-2010 2:11pm

crotalus667 wrote: »

I dont know about ireland but the uk keep stats on dogs that bite iirc none of the rb's came in the top ten

i dont think the irish restricted breed list had been carefully thought out,on the first list they put the english bulldog as needed to have on a muzzle in public,one wit in dublin tied a muzzle to the dogs backside when walking it down the street,

adser53 · 10-05-2010 2:25pm

TooManyDogs wrote: »

I don't think dog attacks have anything to do with breed, it's more to do with how the owner has brought up their dogs, I really don't believe one breed is any better or worse than another, but the restricted breeds always make the papers, no one cares if a small dog attacks anyone.

+1, my thoughts exactly

DD67 · 10-05-2010 2:32pm

I`ve owned a Alsation and a male and female Doberman in my life and always walked them on a lead and 6 times out of ten while out walking i would have a problem with other dogs off lead been aggressive and the one breed i had the most trouble with were male Labs, one particular attach a lab came full tilt at us and knocked both myself and my dobe off our feet and continued to maul my dog and i am not afraid to say but i gave that lab such a boot i lifted it off the ground. My dog peed himself he got such a fright.

Irishcrx · 10-05-2010 2:34pm

Jack Russells make a large appearance on every list I notice. No offence to anybody who had one of these dogs but they are nasty buggers. Majority of the ones I have met have been aggresive and very snappy. A friend of mine brought his fella down one day and he attacked my Husky, Luckily my guy didn't seem to be too annoyed by it and pawed him off instead of fighting cause he'd have killed the thing if he did in size alone..

TooManyDogs · 10-05-2010 2:42pm

Irishcrx wrote: »

Jack Russells make a large appearance on every list I notice. No offence to anybody who had one of these dogs but they are nasty buggers.

I have 2, one is so sweet people ask me if he's really a JRT but the other one can be quick to snap. She's a mini JRT and she's a rescue, also deaf. I'm constantly correcting her when she snips other dogs but come up against resistance from the other dogs owners if you can believe it!!! They tell me that I'm mean, that she didn't hurt their dog, that's she's only little, they feel sorry for her cos she's deaf and laugh cos she's so small and tries to grab dogs much much larger than her. It drives me nuts, she snaps at another dog, I correct her, they pick her up and cuddle her and my correction goes out the window. It doesnt matter to me what size a dog is, they're not allowed snap at another dog if they belong to me but other people are making my job twice as hard. Size shouldn't matter but apparently it does (no jokes now!)

getz · 10-05-2010 2:47pm

TooManyDogs wrote: »

I have 2, one is so sweet people ask me if he's really a JRT but the other one can be quick to snap. She's a mini JRT and she's a rescue, also deaf. I'm constantly correcting her when she snips other dogs but come up against resistance from the other dogs owners if you can believe it!!! They tell me that I'm mean, that she didn't hurt their dog, that's she's only little, they feel sorry for her cos she's deaf and laugh cos she's so small and tries to grab dogs much much larger than her. It drives me nuts, she snaps at another dog, I correct her, they pick her up and cuddle her and my correction goes out the window. It doesnt matter to me what size a dog is, they're not allowed snap at another dog if they belong to me but other people are making my job twice as hard. Size shouldn't matter but apparently it does (no jokes now!)

they shouldent do that because they are rewarding her for attacking other dogs

TooManyDogs · 10-05-2010 2:50pm

getz wrote: »

they shouldent do that because they are rewarding her for attacking other dogs

Exactly! That's why it drives me so nuts!

getz · 10-05-2010 3:00pm

TooManyDogs wrote: »

Exactly! That's why it drives me so nuts!

JRT have so much courage that they often get themselves into trouble,they came from the staffy and a[believed to be the old english white] terrier,there is a nice story behind the breed

kylith · 10-05-2010 3:02pm

TooManyDogs wrote: »

I don't think dog attacks have anything to do with breed, it's more to do with how the owner has brought up their dogs, I really don't believe one breed is any better or worse than another, but the restricted breeds always make the papers, no one cares if a small dog attacks anyone.

I agree! I know a lady who was bitten quite badly. The media was very interested until she told them it was a Lab that bit her. They're just not interested unless it's one of the 'big, bad' dogs.

morganafay · 10-05-2010 3:12pm

I've been bitten by a Staffie cross (I've seen it a few times and am certain it is half Staffie, maybe half some other terrier) and had other dogs snap at me, Westies, Yorkies, Rough Collies, Border Collies, Collie X Retriever, Kerry Blue, Shih-Tzu, Scottie, etc. They were mostly while grooming them and I put muzzles on them. The collies were just nervous, the terriers were just pissed off at having their hair pulled and everything, and some were just not very nice dogs, a bit spoilt and snappy.

My dogs have been attacked by the same Staffie X, JRT's, Yorkies, Westies, Terrier X's, Poms, something like a Norweigian Elkhound maybe (2 different ones), a boxera few times (same one), and more that I don't remember.

I remember when I was 11 and got my first little puppy and used to walk her. I'd get scared passing houses with Rotties and GSDs and pick her up and carry her, but they were always lovely and it was the terriers that'd try to attack her.

TooManyDogs · 10-05-2010 3:13pm

morganafay wrote: »

I've been bitten by a Staffie cross (I've seen it a few times and am certain it is half Staffie, maybe half some other terrier) and had other dogs snap at me, Westies, Yorkies, Rough Collies, Border Collies, Collie X Retriever, Kerry Blue, Shih-Tzu, Scottie, etc.

My dogs have been attacked by the same Staffie X, JRT's, Yorkies, Westies, Terrier X's, Poms, something like a Norweigian Elkhound maybe (2 different ones), a boxera few times (same one), and more that I don't remember.

:eek: You must have a target painted on you!

Dog Attacks, Restricted Breed or not

Dog attack- was it a restricted breed or not? 57 votes

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