be aware of dodgy dog in Peckham Rye park

[sunbob]

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,858488,page=1

I just read this on one of the other forum pages and thought other parents of little ones might like to know.

[Marie81]

sunbob: It was a dog on dog attack not an attack on a child. Just because a dog has aggression issues with another dog does not mean they will attack the first child they come across in the park! All parents can do is teach their children how to act around strange dogs, never run over to them and never stroke a dog without the owners permission.

[sunbob]

Ok

[bluesuperted]

Marie81, I absolutely disagree and think it's very relevant to warn people about a dog to keep an eye out for that obviously has some serious aggression issues (thank you sunbob). I am often surrounded by dogs not on leads both in the park and on the street (SE15) and it's a worry to me. There is only so much you can teach a child; I have seen dogs bound over to very young children without the owners doing anything, licking faces and even growling. There are sadly a lot of lovely dog owners but a lot of very inconsiderate ones too (you only gave to count dog poo on any 5 minute walk to see that) meaning we have to do what we can to keep our children safe. If that means giving a warning about a particular dog that has attacked already then so be it. I don't care if a dog had *only* attacked another (much smaller) dog, that's enough for me to want to steer well clear, especially as the owner sounds dangerously ill-equipped to control his pet.

[Marie81]

The dog didn't *only* attack another much smaller dog...he brutally killed the poor dog! I too am sick of irresponsible owners who can't manage their dogs or be bothered to seek help how to and daily I get frustrated with owners letting their dogs run over to mine univited. I was just pointing out that not all dog aggressive dogs are people aggresive that's all.

Sorry sunbob,I just wanted to make a point. It can be hard to get something across on here without sounding like I am telling someone off which is never my intention :).

[bluesuperted]

My 'only' referred to the dog attacking another dog and not a child, not to the scale of the attack. The point is, it's a massive worry for parents regardless of who was (fatally) harmed and it's something I encounter every day living in Peckham. Definitely worthy of inclusion on this board.

[ClareC]

Hmmm I'm with Marie81 on this one.

Totally agree dog owners like this are best avoided, however, this dog is no greater or less risk to people because it attacked (and tragically killed) another dog.

By all means keep an eye on whose around you in the park be it dogs or people! Be careful as you cross the road too and watch out for the large grass cutters, people on bikes, falling tree branches, child attacking foxes..... The list is endless!

Dog attacks on people are thankfully very rare, sadly on the rare occassion it happens the media go to town!

Let's not blow this sad occurrence out of prospective.

[first mate]

bluesupersted,

I guess your real beef is with the owners and we are all with you on that. Dogs should not be offlead on the street at any time - this needs to be made law, which it is not right now.

The park is a different matter though as dogs should be allowed some free running. Nonethless, owners should not allow their dogs to bound up to humans uninvited. I am also in favour of areas of the park where dogs should be on lead but would not wnat this extended to the whole park, but at least this way everyone has the option to avoid off lead dogs.

On another note, I have recently had a succession of little children that have bounded up to my dog in the street and stroked him without asking. Fortunately my dog is reasonably tolerant of this but he does not always enjoy it. Children really must be taught to be more savvy about dogs- I feel it is something we have lost. But modern dog owners seem to be pretty ignorant about dogs too, so we have bad manners all round.

Finally, I understand your fears about the dog 'Blue' and nothing is more important than the safety of your child. But the other posters are right when they say that the behaviour with a dog that went so tragically awry does not mean it would be aggressive with children or humans- the two are not interlinked. I can see how empty this might sound and I agree that the seeming incompetence of the owner is of major concern, but as the poster above says, dog on human attacks are rare.