[Marc]

This poor girl must have been in so much pain

[Marc]

The news earlier showed/the sound of the dogs being exterminated. I thought that wasn't really needed...

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Marc

The news earlier showed/the sound of the dogs being exterminated. I thought that wasn't really needed...

Yes it was a bit OTT imo,also no one knows yet do they on exactly what happened in there,maybe she was teasing or giving them some of her food and the others got jealous,i guess in time we will find out,poor girl.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Marc

The news earlier showed/the sound of the dogs being exterminated. I thought that wasn't really needed...

Disgusting. I'd like to hear the sound of the dogs' owner having the crap kicked out of him.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Marc

The news earlier showed/the sound of the dogs being exterminated. I thought that wasn't really needed...

Yes its not needed

[Livia]

There needs to be tougher legislation for people who own dogs. Dogs need attention, training and discipline, and by that I don't mean they should be beaten. The more I read stories like this, the more I believe that tougher controls are needed. All dogs are dangerous, it doesn't matter what size they are or what breed, any dog can turn on you if it's not learned how to behave, and dogs learn what is acceptable from their owners.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Livia

There needs to be tougher legislation for people who own dogs. Dogs need attention, training and discipline, and by that I don't mean they should be beaten. The more I read stories like this, the more I believe that tougher controls are needed. All dogs are dangerous, it doesn't matter what size they are or what breed, any dog can turn on you if it's not learned how to behave, and dogs learn what is acceptable from their owners.

I agree although I have to say that yes all dogs can be aggressive but there is a massive difference between an aggressive Pit Bull and an aggressive Chihuahua which is why i think stricter laws should apply to dogs that are considered "dangerous breeds"

[joeysteele]

Clearly not in this case and this is a different situation as this girl clearly knew of these dogs and felt safe enough to go in where they could be whereas others wouldn't have with a beware of the dogs notice, I wouldn't go in anywhere that said beware of the dog/s.
We will have to wait and see what facts emerge as to this tragedy form the piecing together of info etc by the police.

However, you can train your dog to be really good, you can do all you can to ensure it is so in the normal circumstances that will make it act with no aggression whatsoever.
However a dog in its own perceived territory can act differently, I have said I have a dog and he is never really on his own outside,except in the garden we have here where I am at present with an 8 foot fence all round the garden though.

If any strangers that he doesn't know are coming to the house, then he is in another area of the house and until I see he is going to be friendly with the person visiting and more to the point if they are not frightened or unsure of dogs, only then would I bring him where they may be and then only with me there with him.

However no matter how good a dog is, I see further up the road from me, where people have their dog in their garden too but have fences with gaps, I see not only children but teens sticking sticks through and aggravating those dogs.
No matter how good or intense the training they have had or how placid they are, they will still react if someone goads them like that.
You cannot make dogs robots and I wouldn't ever agree they should be.
I don't consider this owner of the dogs that attacked this poor girl as a good owner, it seems she was at the house but the owner, if they were going out too, should have made sure the dogs were secured and that anyone left in the house would be safe.

It is reported, she was at the house and left to get something, clearly the dogs showed no aggression as she went out but for some reason did when she returned.
Hopefully some answers will come in time as to what really set them off to do that.

I certainly don't fear stronger legislation as to being a dog owner, I don't necessarily think it fair on good owners but I wouldn't fear it,or not agree to it.
I do though fear people screaming for certain dogs to be banned in addition to the ones that already are because of a few bad owners.
I would fight hard and oppose any plan to ban Staffies,any dog in the wrong owners hands can become intolerant and aggressive.
I know for sure mine isn't,however that doesn't mean I would ever expose him to situations where he could be.

For instance,even on a harness and lead, when I have him out,I always ask any child or adult for that matter, not to come too close to him and not to pat him or put their hands out to him.
I have been called a meanie for not letting a child pat the dog and say hello to him and had adults saying I was being really cruel to the child too for not letting them.
I prefer to think,in fact, I am not only protecting them but also my dog too.

That is what the owner of these dogs should have done too, made sure anyone at the house was safe and the dogs themselves too were safe by being secured or segregated in their absence for any period of time,short or long.

[bbfan1991]

Poor girl RIP. My condolences are with her loved ones!

Some dogs are vicious when they attack.

[arista]

The owner of the dogs has gone in hiding,
of course he broke no laws.
But locals will will be angry with him.

The Dogs were not in public,
so no law was broken.

[Nedusa]

A friend of mine inherited a Pit/Staff Bull terrier when her daughter emigrated to Australia. He was a very friendly loyal pet...BUT so big and so very strong he could climb trees and jump literally up in the air about 4/5 feet.

My friend tried to keep him as a pet but he demanded so much time and exercise, without which he became more and more excitable. I was sitting in her house one day when my i-phone rang with the duck ring tone and straight away Ben (the Dog) jumped at me to get to my phone. I can assure you having a 5 stone Pitbull jumping on you is quite frightening although Ben meant no harm.

My friend struggled to control Ben and eventually one day he broke away jumped over a 5ft wall and caught and killed a cat. We were all shocked as this cat was playing in its own garden and could just as easily been a young child or baby. The Police got involved and to cut a long story short my friend had to have Ben destroyed.

My view on all of this is that a Dog should never be allowed as a pet if it has the physical strength to overpower an average adult male or female. Now I know many types of Dogs could attack a young child or baby but they should have an adult present to protect them when dogs are present.

But Pitbulls,Staff Bulls, and other Big powerful dogs that can probably overpower an adult should NEVER BE KEPT AS PETS...........

Why take the risk....????

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

A friend of mine inherited a Pit/Staff Bull terrier when her daughter emigrated to Australia. He was a very friendly loyal pet...BUT so big and so very strong he could climb trees and jump literally up in the air about 4/5 feet.

My friend tried to keep him as a pet but he demanded so much time and exercise, without which he became more and more excitable. I was sitting in her house one day when my i-phone rang with the duck ring tone and straight away Ben (the Dog) jumped at me to get to my phone. I can assure you having a 5 stone Pitbull jumping on you is quite frightening although Ben meant no harm.

My friend struggled to control Ben and eventually one day he broke away jumped over a 5ft wall and caught and killed a cat. We were all shocked as this cat was playing in its own garden and could just as easily been a young child or baby. The Police got involved and to cut a long story short my friend had to have Ben destroyed.

My view on all of this is that a Dog should never be allowed as a pet if it has the physical strength to overpower an average adult male or female. Now I know many types of Dogs could attack a young child or baby but they should have an adult present to protect them when dogs are present.

But Pitbulls,Staff Bulls, and other Big powerful dogs that can probably overpower an adult should NEVER BE KEPT AS PETS...........

Why take the risk....????

A Staffordshire Bull Terrier should have a healthy weight of around 14 to 17 kilo's, that is not 5 stone for starters,I know you stated Pit Bulls for that but I wanted to point out that Staffies didn't fit that part of the post.

I also don't agree that dogs of such type should not be kept as pets, my family,I am only 21 but my Parents and also my Brothers have always had Staffies over the decades.
I have known 3 with my Parents in the last 21 years,theone we have now was a Puppy descended from the same line of Staffies from a registered and competent breeder.

We have never had more than one dog at any time though and therein can lie the problem in some circumstances.

I personally will always want a Staffordshire Bull Terrier as a pet and just as I would never agree that such dogs should not be pets and I would go further to say that they should not be on a dangerous dogs list either.

My Staffie is really good and can jump for a ball but I have never seen him achieve 5 feet,in fact mine won't even try to jump a fence,he looks to me to open the gate.

In any event,I would however agree they should have their owner or competent adult with them at all times, I do agree with that.
I am with mine all the time when he's out and he has never been aggressive to anyone ever,other than to bark at times but more in play than aggression.
I hope Staffordshire Bull Terriers are never banned from being kept as pets and I would do all I could to oppose any attempts to make it so.

You also mentioned a cat in your post, I have seen many instances where cats have badly scratched a baby's face or a young toddlers.
A neighbour of ours at home who had a dog,an Alsatian at that, had a cat pounce on it and blind him.
Cats can be rather aggressive animals too and although they may not have the strength to likely kill someone,they can still do damage but I would not advocate that people shouldn't have cats or any types of cats as pets.

[Nedusa]

Originally Posted by joeysteele

A Staffordshire Bull Terrier should have a healthy weight of around 14 to 17 kilo's, that is not 5 stone for starters,I know you stated Pit Bulls for that but I wanted to point out that Staffies didn't fit that part of the post.

I also don't agree that dogs of such type should not be kept as pets, my family,I am only 21 but my Parents and also my Brothers have always had Staffies over the decades.
I have known 3 with my Parents in the last 21 years,theone we have now was a Puppy descended from the same line of Staffies from a registered and competent breeder.

We have never had more than one dog at any time though and therein can lie the problem in some circumstances.

I personally will always want a Staffordshire Bull Terrier as a pet and just as I would never agree that such dogs should not be pets and I would go further to say that they should not be on a dangerous dogs list either.

My Staffie is really good and can jump for a ball but I have never seen him achieve 5 feet,in fact mine won't even try to jump a fence,he looks to me to open the gate.

In any event,I would however agree they should have their owner or competent adult with them at all times, I do agree with that.
I am with mine all the time when he's out and he has never been aggressive to anyone ever,other than to bark at times but more in play than aggression.
I hope Staffordshire Bull Terriers are never banned from being kept as pets and I would do all I could to oppose any attempts to make it so.

You also mentioned a cat in your post, I have seen many instances where cats have badly scratched a baby's face or a young toddlers.
A neighbour of ours at home who had a dog,an Alsatian at that, had a cat pounce on it and blind him.
Cats can be rather aggressive animals too and although they may not have the strength to likely kill someone,they can still do damage but I would not advocate that people shouldn't have cats or any types of cats as pets.

No I was not including normal Staff Bull terriers in my comments in my last post, but was focusing more on the extremely large pit Bull dogs that are cross breed with Staffs to get more height. You end up with a Dog that is much bigger in size than a normal Staff BT much taller ,much heavier with a huge Jaw and most importantly MUCH MUCH stronger. A fully grown young male human adult (weight arond 12 stone) would struggle to deter a maddened Dog of this type.

They are NOT PETS, can never be pets its like keeping a small grizzly bear or a young small lion for a pet. They have the latent power/strength to inflict serious physical damage on any Human being and for that reason must not be looked on as PETS.

How many more times do I have to keep saying this...????

[joeysteele]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

No I was not including normal Staff Bull terriers in my comments in my last post, but was focusing more on the extremely large pit Bull dogs that are cross breed with Staffs to get more height. You end up with a Dog that is much bigger in size than a normal Staff BT much taller ,much heavier with a huge Jaw and most importantly MUCH MUCH stronger. A fully grown young male human adult (weight arond 12 stone) would struggle to deter a maddened Dog of this type.

They are NOT PETS, can never be pets its like keeping a small grizzly bear or a young small lion for a pet. They have the latent power/strength to inflict serious physical damage on any Human being and for that reason must not be looked on as PETS.

How many more times do I have to keep saying this...????

Thank you for clarifying that and in fact I also agree as to the cross breeds, more often than not, it is cross breeds that somehow can be more aggressive,especially when with other dogs too.
I take your point fully on that.
I love Staffies but would not have a Staffie cross.