Comments on: Dog Bite & Dog Attack Statistics

By: tony

tony — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:18:42 +0000

i have recently been researching dog(bites or attacks)and although we have the dangerous dogs act ,wich in my oppinion is a ridiculous law as there are only four dog breeds on it.i am a true dog person in my eyes its not the breed its self its the dogs temprement.i have been bitten twice by dogs a collie and an alsation not realy dangerous breeds but still bite,ive read about many different breeds biting or attacking personally i think the dangerous dogs act should cover any breed that bites ie a law wich covers problem dogs that have been reported or taken because of illegal use.media hysteria about certain breeds is wrong there should be a public debate on the subject with educated people involved not people that know little or ever owned a dog

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 23:49:02 +0000

Yes, its a shame that your child was injuried especially after being told not to go over the fence and I hope he gets well soon and the psychological affects aren’t lasting. Its even worse that the next door neighbour had a fence low enough for your child to get over…let alone keep 2 hunting dogs loose in the back garden without supervision.
Either of which is why I am here…I am here because our local paper decided to print a story about “status” and “dangerous” dogs and they have used a police GSD photo of it snarling. Now I’ve had GSD’s most of my life..never hurt anyone and have never snarled or growled at another dog unless provoked..in which case this is self defence. What bothers me is that GSD’s are not used as “status” dogs nor are they classified as “dangerous” dogs as yet. The bigger issue is the owners who are not fit to look after dogs yet are allowed to have them. And then there’s the point that Staffies are supposed to be on leads at all times..and my experiences have proved otherwise,yet nothing is done about it! The owner of a dog that attacks..well what happens to him..slap wrist in court and fined..and yet the dog suffers by being put down..how is that fair? It isn’t!!! Pit bulls have been banned from the uk and yet they are still being bred,why hasn’t there been enforcement of this..if a law is created it needs to be followed surely? I have a GSD cross Husky gorgeous dog,well mannered and on the whole socialable..within the first 2 weeks of having him a staffy not on a lead got in his face..and like humans it reacted I ended up bleeding and my leg quite seriously scratched stopping the staffy from attacking. 5 months ago a GSD decided that chasing a ball wasn’t good enough and came flying at my dog..I got the blame for this? and 3 months ago a bull mastif(not on the lead) sniffed my dogs backside and then went and sunk its teeth into my dogs throat. Now thankfully due to my dog having a neck like geoff capes and 2 coats of fur to boot,no damage was done.Although,the bull mastif decided to do a runner when my dog stood his ground beared his teeth and said “get off me or suffer”(thats metaphoric,we all know dogs cant speak english) My dog is always on a lead and has a great deal many “doggy” friends. I do however know what my dog is capable of especially when he is crossed with husky. People are no different..if you got in someones face,you feel threatened,if someone punches you the automatic reaction is to punch back in self defence. I just don’t agree on owners being allowed to keep dogs that they can’t control!! These people are scum and they give the responsible dog owners a bad name!

By: Dean

Dean — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:55:26 +0000

@Angela – Dogs and people have been mixing for over 10,000 years. In fact dogs only exist as a separate species due to mixing with humans. If dogs and people didn’t mix there would be no dogs, only wolves.

It is unfortunate that some owners do not educate themselves about dog behaviour. Ultimately it is people that cause dangerous dogs irrespective of breed. If the fashion for certain types of breeds favoured by idiots changed to West Highland Terrriers for example, it wouldn’t be long before they gained notoriety.

Sorry to hear about your boy but please don’t let this cloud your objective reasoning.

By: Angela Cunningham

Angela Cunningham — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 05:19:54 +0000

dogs and people just dont mix, and people r kidding their self, i might be a bit emotional about this at the moment..my 8yr old son jumped our back fence, to get his ball that had fallen over there, and yes he was told not to go on or over the fence, as we could hear this roaring dogs bark….but he climbed up..looked about told himself, dogs not there..could see the ball…well im sure u can guess the rest…he spent two nights in hospital…operation on his leg..and more ops next week, the owner has hunting dogs…wat the hell is that about…

By: MzTx

MzTx — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 22:55:56 +0000

With there being more than 53 Million Registered dogs & an Unkown # of UnRegistered Dogs, 25 Deaths a Year is Rare. All Dog Attacks & Fatalities can be Prevented. Why do you blame a dog for what is Natural ? Lab, Pit, GS, or Chi, they all have the same 3 Instinctual Behaviors- To Live, Hunt & Breed. Those r the 3 things u will never have to teach ur dog. You Blame the dog for Attacking the Child, I Blame the Human for Allowing it to happen. We are the Stronger being & it is Our Responsibility. Decreasing dog bites requires active & on-going community involvement; periodic attention will Not solve this Problem.

By: Rupert Thurgood

Rupert Thurgood — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:12:08 +0000

Just read Andrea Mainwarings comment; What a load of total cods wallop…. no one should need to start comparing deaths for deaths where children are concerned, I’m staggered at your ignorance, it’s just that blind naivety that keeps totally unsuitable dogs owned by totally unsuitable people on the street or in the home to kill at will. The list of suspect breeds of dogs that are known to be dangerous should be extended and any violation punished. People, particularly parents have to be made aware that children and dogs don’t mix… the most timid of dog can turn at any point, anybody who doesn’t believe that is kidding themselves. If you don’t believe me, put your own child in a room with a dog you don’t know of any breed and see how comfortable you feel… keep it on a lead at all times irrespective of the breed, child protection should be top of all our priorities…

By: Sally

Sally — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:54:55 +0000

I quite agree with Andrea, these figures should be published. I own a Rotti, he is 3 years old, ten stone and has been trained to be loving and gentle. Over the years I have had many breeds and can say he has been my best dog.
And I am fed up of people stopping me and saying he should be locked up and not allowed to run free on the forest.

By: claire

claire — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:21:47 +0000

here here andrea.
plus i would like to point out that most of the family pets had been guard trained and used for intimidation

By: Andrea Mainwaring

Andrea Mainwaring — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:57:35 +0000

5 children killed by dogs, 1 child killed every 10 days in the uk by their own parents, over 3000 children killed on the road every year! Surely this puts into perspective how dangerous dogs really are. I expect a similar number of children have been killed by bee stings!

Dogs are and have always been mans best friend, yes a badly brought up dog may possibly bite but the same goes for badly brought up children but there again I think you’ll find that statistics for injury and death caused by badly brought up children massively exceeds any trouble caused by dogs (and no I’m not for criminalizing teenagers despite the efforts of the media on this subject as well)

Lets just all use our own brains and stop behaving like sheep being rounded up by the media.

By: Ryan O'Meara

Ryan O'Meara — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:34:48 +0000

They were all family dogs.