Whats happening at the station?

[KidKruger]

So we have an indicator of where to apply the controls then, don't we.

Who cares about the size of the animal that can cause the damage, I don't, the key thing is people's safety surely.

[first mate]

KK,

I'm interested to know what you have in mind? Ban the breed type and people will move on to the next best thing,it used to be GSD and Rottweilers. A cranky collie can be scary. Or are you suggesting that we remove dogs altogether? I know some will applaud this idea.

Ban dogs, ban cars, ban guns, ban knives......er what else can hurt people...oh yes, other people.

[Damian H]

From WIki:

"Although individual differences in personality exist, common traits exist throughout the Staffords. Due to its breeding, the modern dog is known for its character of indomitable courage, high intelligence, and tenacity. This, coupled with its affection for its friends, its off-duty quietness and trustworthy stability, make it a foremost all-purpose dog.[3] It has been said that "No breed is more loving with its family"[4] It is the only breed to have the words 'totally reliable' in its breed standard. Furthermore, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is one of only two breeds from over 190 recognized by the UK Kennel Club to have a mention of the breed's suitability with children.[5][citation needed]

The breed is naturally muscular and may appear intimidating; however, because of their natural fondness for people, most Staffords are temperamentally ill-suited for guard or attack-dog training. Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppies are very easy to house train.[6]"

Information only - I have no personal opinion.

[Earl Aelfheah]

there is no place for dogs in a civilised society.

[first mate]

Dogs and humans have a shared history- at what point did human society, in its myriad forms, become civilised?

[Jeremy]

pommie Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> i just wanted to say that i had a mongrel dog

> years ago, soppy as can be but he got spooked by a

> firework one bonfire night and actually bit me on

> the face so its not necessarily the breed. if a

> dog feels intimidated or scared it can turn

That's exactly my point, all animals are unpredictable to a certain extent. If your dog had been a bull terrier and it bit your face, the result may have been a lot worse!

I hope you recovered OK from the incident.

[first mate]

Jeremy,

As I said before, the force of a dog bite in reality is not so much dictated by head or jaw size but by intent. Anyone who has owned a puppy before it learns to inhibit its bite will know what I mean- those bites can really hurt.

Obviously a large dog can bite harder than a small dog and a large dog intent on hurting you will do more damage than a small dog- but dogs have become domesticated animals because, for the most part, they do not go around with the intention to bite humans really hard.

[bonniebird]

Its not actually that often that I see a "Staffie" when I go about my business. A lot of the dogs people think are Staffs are usually crossed with something else. I remember in the past as others have said, when the GSD was a popular breed as Bullbreeds are now. Its so sad that they have become too popular amongst the wrong type of people. They are born with nothing wrong with them on the whole, its the way they are brought up, sometimes very badly that has made a few of them not good with people. Its the idiots that buy them, usually cheaply from Back Yard Breeders, make them "hard" by abusing them, that give these dogs a bad name. To be honest, with the amount of bad owners in certain areas, I'm surprised that we don't hear of more attacks/bites more often than we are now.

Its not surprising with the gang/knife culture that has sprung up over the years. The law in this country is an ass. If nothing is done about these people, its only gonna get worse :'(

[RoseJadeH]

I think you need to do some research Louisa as you are actually wrong in what you have stated. This is a small piece of info for you

However any dog can bite, especially if it is not trained or socialised properly, isolated, neglected or encouraged to behave aggressively. Allowing a dog to behave aggressively makes the dog think that this is appropriate behaviour, and if it gets attention on demand it believes that it is the top dog. If a dog thinks that it is at the top of the hierarchy then it may become aggressive if its status is challenged, such as being given a command: it believes that it is the top dog so it should demand attention not the other way around; or if another member of the family receives more attention than it.

The problem is that current bite statistics can be misleading because many dog bites go unreported and only bites that require medical attention are taken into account for these statistics. This means that dogs that have specific fighting qualities from when they were used as fighting dogs or hunters, or larger dogs with more strength appear to be more aggressive than they actually are. When a pit bull terrier attacks it is more likely to have serious consequences, but some breeds from the toy group can be just as aggressive but their bites have little effect so the incidence isn?t reported and a distorted image is presented about aggressive dogs.

A recent study carried out on 6,000 dogs and their owners found out 33 of the most aggressive dogs, and also those which have good temperaments. The study involved collecting data from two different groups. The first group consisted of 11 different breeds and the second was an online survey mainly involving owners, including 33 breeds. The conclusions from both groups were similar. It looked at the different types of aggression such as towards other dogs, towards strangers and towards owners. Some of the results were surprising, below are the top ten most aggressive breed:

Dachshunds

Chihuahua

Jack Russell

Australian Cattle Dog

Cocker Spaniel

Beagle

Border Collie

Pit Bull Terrier

Great Dane

English Springer Spaniel

The Dachshund, otherwise known as the Sausage dog, was originally bred to hunt badgers. They came out as the most aggressive breed with 1 in 5 reported to have bitten or tried to bite a stranger and 1 in 12 snapping at their owners.

The rest of which is here http://www.dogbiteclaims.co.uk/dangerous-breeds.html

The DDA has been around for years and recently because of knee jerk reactions and media scaremongering, Bull Breeds have been made out too be something they are not. If a dog is thought to be of "type" (ie a banned breed) then the police have the right to seize it and take the owner to court who has to agree to muzzle the dog in public and ensure it is neutered. Bare in mind a dog can be seized because of the way it looks ie height, facial features and colour. It does not even had to of looked at someoone in the wrong way or done anything wrong and a majority of dogs seized are innocent family dogs. Millions of pounds of tax payers money was spent last year on trying to enforce this act when infact the answer is simple. Make the owner of the dog liable for a dog that has bitten/attacked or is out of control as opposed to blaming a certain breed of dog. All humans are not perfect the same as certain breeds are not all prone to attack at the drop of a hat. Look at who is at the end of the lead, They are responsible for how their dog behaves and they are the one`s who should be locked up. This article is more in depth so please if you have the time, take a look and tell me if you still feel the same?

http://dangerousdogsact.com/

[Eliza.D]

It was a terrible thing that happened at the Station. I wasn't there, so can not comment on the incident. I am sue that with all the reports of the Police response the dog issue is well taken care of.

We seem to have forgotten the local hero that stopped a bad situation being a lot worse and the lady who got injured.

I hope the both of them are okay considering what they have been through.

[Bony Fido]

It's owners who should be licensed, not dogs.

[grabot]

On a similar note, you are more likely to get shot by an irresponsible person wielding a water pistol than one carrying an AK47.

I think that it is outrageous that a responsible adult cannot walk the streets with an assault rifle, just because ignorant members of the public are incapable of gleaning their personal qualities.

[Jeremy]

RoseJadeH Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> When a pit bull terrier attacks it is more

> likely to have serious consequences, but some

> breeds from the toy group can be just as

> aggressive but their bites have little effect so

> the incidence isn?t reported and a distorted image

> is presented about aggressive dogs.

This just supports what I'm saying. It doesn't matter as much if small dogs get aggressive, they're not going to kill you. The point is that these bull breeds have the capacity to kill or seriously injure.

So... why own one? Whst positive charactersitics do they have that less dangerous dogs don't have? The only good reason I can think of is if it's a rescue dog.

[Mscrawthew]

The point is smaller dogs are more likely to attack but when they do it is brushed under the carpet. It doesn`t make it right though? Full breed Staffords are ideal family dogs as recommended by the kennel club. Is your dislike of them purely because of media reports Jeremy or because of seeing young adults with them and the attitude that comes with it, Maybe you don`t see the many responsible bull breed owners out there because their dogs are well behaved and don`t pose a threat because of who is at the other end of the lead?

I am totally against young people under 18 even being able to own a dog and would love for the government to introduce a law to that effect but until they do something about back street breeders constantly churning out unwanted puppies that end up abused and mistreated by people who are merely thinking of the tax free cash they can earn with no regard to where these dogs will end up, the cycle will carry on. A large percentage of the British public are unaware of the fact`s regarding dogs that are found straying. When they enter a council pound the law states that they have to be held for 7 days by law to see if they are claimed. If they are not they are put to sleep. Perfectly healthy, non aggresive friendly dogs by the hundreds week in and week out. If a dog is handed into the dog warden then they can by law be put to sleep immeadiately. The cost to tax payers is phenomenal but it isn`t highlighted enough to make people want to push for change.

I see a lot of these dogs who have done nothing wrong and end up in a cold kennel frightened and confused, This then leads to death at the end of the week. Banning dogs is not the solution as this merely makes them more attractive to the morons of this world. Even if some of the money spent on policing the DDA was redirected to charities for funding to educate people and encourage neutering (low cost) then it would be a start.

Going back to young adults having dogs, My Son has just turned 18 and has for the last 4 years before school/College/work taken our dog out for 1 of her daily walks. No doubt he has been looked at in the past as just another teenager with a staffie, the difference being she is our family dog and is just that, part of the family. He has purposely got out of bed early to walk her and I am proud to say has also been able to change a few people`s idea`s of this stereotype. So don`t judge everyone who walks a bullbreed with the same contempt. If you look beyond the cover you may just like what you find!

[Frankito]

I can see both sides (well the rational bits at least) of the argument.. I have a one year old Weimaraner and she really is rhe most docile, friendly thing. Why is that? Mostly due to good nurturing and proper, dedicated training.

Would I be happy to hold a licence for owning her? Yes.

Would introducing such a law make a big difference to rhe current situation? I don't honestly think so as that small minority of idiot owners would still continue as they are today.

Do I ever worry about her turning on me? Only as much as I worry about being stabbed by the next person I meet in the street.

[Jeremy]

Mscrawthew, it's nothing to do with media reports. Although the abundance of dodgy individuals who have these dogs for dubious reasons, fail to control them, and let them run around off the leash is a factor. I'm sure there are many responsible owners, but I still don't understand what legitimate advantage these dogs have over other less dangerous breeds.

I don't remember suggesting banning them, although clearly there is a need for greater control. And banning under-18s from owning dogs would be a woefully inadequate measure.

[Polmoche]

I think I'd rather be attacked by a chihuahua rather than a staffi.