Dog Attacks, Restricted Breed or not

adser53

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 staffies attacked my dog at the same time.

mymo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Xiney

We had a labrador who was basically the poster child against backyard (irresponsible) breeders.

His mother, it turned out, was a submissive widdler. In him this genetic predisposition to submissive behaviour translated into being a "fear biter" and being food agressive. I have yet to encounter a dog who was as food agressive as him.

He bit my mother when she was putting the food down for him. Literally biting the hand that fed him.

He bit my father when he held him on the chin. He growled, and my dad checked to see if his tail was wagging :rolleyes: and in that moment he bit him. I was quite young at the time and it took me years before I'd even touch a dog's chin after.

He bit my sister twice - first time I forget why but we figured it was provoked in some way and it wasn't a serious bite. Second time it was completely unprovoked and he went through her hand. She was 7 years old.


I'm actually the only member of the family he didn't get around to biting before he had to be pts. We were living in a rural area with no dog behaviourists - he was already on the dog version of prozac to try and calm him down.


Still, he should have never been bred from that bitch.

morganafay

TooManyDogs wrote: »

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 think it's a little to do with the breed. Some breeds are just more snappy than others. I know that's generalising, but it's basically true. Some have a higher chance of being aggressive if they're not socialised right. It's the owner's fault though. I'm not talking about restricted breeds specifically, but other breeds too. All breeds have their "expected temperament" and you'll get some that are like that, and some that are different.

The same way as some breeds are more playful, some more loyal, lazy, bossy, stubborn, shy, loud, quiet, or whatever.

morganafay

TooManyDogs wrote: »

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

Lol, no it's just from doing dog grooming in college! See we'd only charge 5-10 euro, so people would bring dogs that have never been groomed before and they'd get stressed out. And a lot of them were pretty matted and you have to try to brush the matts out if you can, and that must hurt them and piss them off. And we got quite a few unsocialised nervous farm dogs. And there would be about 6 dogs getting groomed in one room, so it'd be really noisy and some of the dogs would be really nervous.

My dogs must have targets painted on them though! Cavaliers are too friendly for their own good and I guess they look like easy targets, because dogs love attacking them !

imom922

Hi i'm the owner of a Dogue de Bordeaux(french mastiff). At nearly 10st he aint a small dog but smallish for his breed. Twice he has been set upon by Scotch Terrier twice ive told the owner of the terrier to keep the thing on a lead. My Dog is no way aggresive plays/runs with anything when i let him off the lead. The owner of the terrier laughed at me saying "jaysus would ya look at the size o the thing yer protecting". Now if i let my dog sort out the issue i'm at fault. The owner would be screaming for mine to be put down. It aint the dogs its the stupid owners who are to blame for 99% of all dog agression.

getz

morganafay wrote: »

Lol, no it's just from doing dog grooming in college! See we'd only charge 5-10 euro, so people would bring dogs that have never been groomed before and they'd get stressed out. And a lot of them were pretty matted and you have to try to brush the matts out if you can, and that must hurt them and piss them off. And we got quite a few unsocialised nervous farm dogs. And there would be about 6 dogs getting groomed in one room, so it'd be really noisy and some of the dogs would be really nervous.

My dogs must have targets painted on them though! Cavaliers are too friendly for their own good and I guess they look like easy targets, because dogs love attacking them !

dogs will attack other dogs if they show weakness,but they dont attack a calm/submissive dog, cavaliers are a shy nervous breed

arybvtcw0eolkf

I've been bitte by a Westie, a Yorkie and a JRT.

My dogs (a Pitbull & a Staffie) are regularly set upon by JRT's, my Staffie is a softie but my Pit' is very restrained but know's his position (ie Topdog!) and recently I've been giving him a lot more leeway in regards to his reactions to being attacked.. Believe me there's only so many times you can tell JRT owner's to control their dogs before it wear's thin!.

Maybe the reason why we're finding a higher incidence of Labs, Collies, JRT's etc attacking is that owner's of these dogs are legally allowed to exercise less control over their dogs than those owner's of RB dogs.

Another thing, and this is just a feeling I get.. On my road children have been bitten by a neighbours Lab, and another neighbours mutt - no legal action were taken (despite the mutt attack resulting in a child having stitches to its mouth.. I wonder if it if things would be different if it was one of my lads!.

morganafay

getz wrote: »

dogs will attack other dogs if they show weakness,but they dont attack a calm/submissive dog, cavaliers are a shy nervous breed

My dogs aren't shy or nervous at all. A Cavalier shouldn't really be shy or nervous. They're friendly and outgoing. They'll calmly walk up to sniff another dog with their tails wagging. Or if I don't let them, which I usually don't anymore, then they'll just walk by with their tails wagging, completely calm and submissive. And they've gotten attacked loads of times when they were acting like that.

Unless it's my fault for acting a little nervous and the dogs can tell.

Either way, it's the owners' faults for letting their dogs go out on the road.

adser53

getz wrote: »

dogs will attack other dogs if they show weakness,but they dont attack a calm/submissive dog, cavaliers are a shy nervous breed

Lol you havn't met mine then. Cavs are known for being too brave for their own good. They certainly aren't shy or nervous

Wibbs

maggie82 wrote: »

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)

I think this is a lot to do with it. Floppy ears, short cute faces, docked tails etc essentially render a dog mute in the canine world. So misunderstandings happen.* If a dog isnt well socialised with other dogs and is treated like people by owners its a recipe for disaster. Plus depending on the natural inclination to pack order of an individual dog that could cause trouble too. Owners are the biggest problem though.

As for personal experiences? Ive never had any issue with the restricted breeds. Quite the opposite actually. I've experience of GSD's Rottweilers, dobermans, malamutes and other huskies, even high content wolf hybrids(the twitchiest of the lot, but the easiest to read in general, though not good pets). Any hassle Ive had have been with the "cuter" breeds, particularly the over cosseted toy dogs.


* EDIT I recall reading about wild domestic dogs in italy where they're a big problem I gather. Italian wolves will sometimes mate with them, but only the "wolfy" looking breeds. Probably because they can understand each others signals. They either avoid the floppy eared types or kill them.

morganafay

That's really interesting.

My dogs can't read a dog's temperament/mood anyway, and will act friendly to a dog that is staring at them about to attack, and I have to drag them away.

But my dogs love other dogs with floppy ears, especially other Spaniel types. I think it'll be interesting if I get another breed of dog, to see if they know it's not a Cavalier. They hate dogs with pointed ears and bull breeds (the racists).

sambuka41

adser53 wrote: »

in 90% of dog attack cases, it's the owner's fault, not the dogs

I think this sums it up perfectly!! Its nearly always the owners fault,

whether thats through neglect (dog not socialised or cared for)
not supervising (imo ALL dogs should be monitored AT ALL times when with children,not stalked but someone should be near by, for sure),
not educated about their dogs behaviour and so not being able to recognise the warning signs,
not educated about the dogs needs (exorcise,discipline regardless of breed)
Their own attitude (or energy as Caesar would say:p) people can end up causing two dogs to fight or attack just by running into the situation all stressed and excitable,screaming like crazy people. (seen that happen so many times)

So I dont think its down to the breed its down to the owner

lrushe

My experience of dog bites on people (none were me thank god!!)

1. Collie
2. Medium sized mongrel type
3. JRT
4. Yorkie (requiring surgery on the top of a finger to reattach:eek:)
5. Westie - v.vicious attack to a childs face and back.

Luckily I've not experienced too much dog to dog aggression. The worst was my own Wire Haired Fox Terrier who was really dog aggressive, he was contantly gunning for a fight!

adser53

I'm delighted I wasn't proven wrong about Restricted breeds!

Whispered

morganafay wrote: »

My dogs can't read a dog's temperament/mood anyway, and will act friendly to a dog that is staring at them about to attack, and I have to drag them away.

I have the same problem with my dog actually. He's a big fool and wont take "no play" signals seriously. :rolleyes: I have to drag him away from any potential play mates.

Oranage2

adser53 wrote: »

I'm delighted I wasn't proven wrong about Restricted breeds!

not sure how much it proves really since most restricted breed attacks end in death so the person can't vote (joke)

but really there are a lot more non-restricted breed dogs and owners of restricted breeds usually take pre-cautions so there dogs dont attack like always keeping on a leash and not leaving it on the treet to wander.

I use to deliever leaflets and the worst dogs by far for agreesion are westies and Labredors . I've never had problems with the restricted breeds.

ghost_ie

adser53 wrote: »

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

I have 3 dogs. The eldest (11) a lab/collie cross has always been a gentle dog. The other two are the problem. They are both JRT crosses - aged 8 and 3 and not related - and when they are on the lead they go demented if they see another dog. Off the lead they either ignore other dogs (if there's a ball to focus on) or interact normally with them (if there's no ball). It's got to the stage where I'm constantly looking ahead for dogs and taking detours or crossing roads to avoid a meeting. If tried smacking noses, telling them they're bold, rewarding the eldest dog for being good and leaving the criminals out - but nothing works. Any suggestions would be welcomed as getting the dogs to and from the park is becoming quite stressful

IvySlayer

I've never really been bitten or attacked by a dog.

One scary encounter was with a Rottweiler who growled at me when I went to stroke him. I lept back but he was just as afraid of me and ran away!

Another incident, probably my fault, there was a chichuahua, I went down to stroke, it was a moody little fecker and and snapped and barked at me!

adser53

Oranage2 wrote: »

not sure how much it proves really since most restricted breed attacks end in death so the person can't vote (joke)

but really there are a lot more non-restricted breed dogs and owners of restricted breeds usually take pre-cautions so there dogs dont attack like always keeping on a leash and not leaving it on the treet to wander.

I use to deliever leaflets and the worst dogs by far for agreesion are westies and Labredors . I've never had problems with the restricted breeds.

I'm glad you finished that opening statement with "(joke)"

As for the numbers of RB vs non-RB that is true. Obviously there are more labs than akitas but if you break it down you could say:

(this is a hypothetical comparison, not fact and is just my own opinion) In dublin there are 10'000 labs (for example) and 100 lab attacks per year. There are 1,000 rotties (again, for example. Pick any breed for this) and 10 rottie attacks per year. The ratio works out the same but the media sensationalises (sp?) the incidents involving RB's giving them a bad name and image.

My point isn't that all RB dogs are innocent and never attack, I'm saying the likelihood of ANY dog attacking is equal and in nearly all cases it's the owners fault. The arguement of bite power, size etc shouldn't come into it as a dog of any size can do horrific damage to someone. There are recorded cases of children being killed by JRT's for example and I believe even a Pomeranian killed a child in the US.

And I do believe that RB owners are GENERALLY more responsable for their dogs and keep them under control because they a)legally have to and b)they know if anything did happen they'd be screwed!we all know this isn't always the case (as I sit in my van here typing this, a GSD is roaming around beside me. The particular area I'm working in today tho, roaming dogs are more common than on leash ones being walked)

The RB list unjustly confines a few dogs to it's rules whereas other dogs (going by this thread alone it'd be collies or labs or JRT's for example) get away scot free. I'm not saying the RB list should be expanded to incorporate them, i'm saying the oppoaite in fact. It should be updated with laws that promote responsible dog ownership and accountability regardless of breed.

Discostuy

Been biten by a narky Collie and a Jack Russell...both were snap bites, warning bites if you will, and not actual maulings (thank god). But still were pretty sore, as i was only young.

I own 2 American Akitas...my brother has a Rottie...and we used to own a Staffie when i was younger (who was rescued from a dog fighting ring...she was in an awful state when we got her...her skin never healed)

I am glad to say there have never been any problems with any of them dogs even so much as barking or growling at a person.

kalie

I got a few snap bites of Yorkie's when i helped out at a bording kennels. There were also a few Collies i avoided because they had bitten people. I find pappered pooches alot worse than restricted breeds because they're not socialised properly.