Media's new plaything - Dog attacks

[Jesterarts]

Just been reading all of the recent stories about dog attacks and I have to say I'm a bit over it.

Essentially the stories always place the blame on the dogs, as does the law apparently since it's the animals that get put down.

Now, this is bullshit in my opinion since the dog doesn't know that it bites someone it will result in it being executed. Lets not sugar coat it by saying "put down" because it's an execution for a crime.

The other issue is branding animals as dangerous by breed. This is a massive load of **** because while genetics play a part in behavioural tendancies, the final say is upbringing. If this wasn't the case then we wouldn't have dogs because man would have never domesticated wolves to start with.

Now, latest article I read was this:
Another dog attack in Melbourne

Now, this muppet had it coming. Who in their right mind calls over a strange dog to pat it? As far as I'm concerned this was the dog acting in self defence.

Basic rules around animals, don't pat them unless you know them AND the owner is around AND you ask permission. This used to piss me off all the time when we had the Rotti. Most people where not retards and if they so desperately wanted a pat they would ask, ensure the dog was aware of them, give a hand for a sniff and then if the dog didn't show any signs of tension go for it. But on several occasions we had people walk up to the dog abd start patting it out of the blue.

The dog was surprised and so was I. **** if someone came up to me and started patting my head without warning I was clock them one.

We even had a woman once actually squat down so her face was level with the dogs. This is a Rottiweiler she did not know. WTF?

Luckily, the dog had been raised properly and while somewhat confused he didn't react.

Anyway, moral of that rant is that people are ####ing stupid when it comes to dogs.

Then, I was reading this:
Council shocked as dog owners offer pit bulls for death

I was disgusted to heard all those dogs have been put down. THEY HAVEN"T DONE ANYTHING WRONG.

Should be start executing people because they come from a family that has a criminal or violent history? Or because they look dangerous?

The ONLY thing I agreed with in that article was that dog attacks will potentially become a criminal offence. Love it, owners need to be responsible for their animals.

BUT, so long as it's equalo punishment for all. If some yappy white mop bites someone the punishment should be the same as if a "dangerous" dog bites someone or another dog.

Because it's usually the little yappy shits that are the most aggressive.

Another situation; I was walking our Rotti and some old timers with a mop on one of those retractable leash things were walking the other way. I tightened my grip on the leash of my dog and gave the oldies some space. They did nothing. Their little white mop ran over to my dog and attacked it. My dog refrained from reaction until the mop bit him on the leg. At this point he basically picked up the mop and tossed it about 2 meters. Damage to the mop was minimal, it got off lightely because my dog would have been more than capable of ripping it in half (A cat that got into our backyward can vouch for this... err... rather not). Then the oldies had a go at me because my dog was vicious, etc.

Err? What? If I punch someone in the face I can expect to be punched back in self defence. Technically, as far as I'm concerned, the mop should have been put down because it was a vicious dog.

I'm going to end on this article, which backs my "blame the owner not the dog" view:
Blame owners, not pit bull breed: dog behaviour specialist

Sorry for the morning rant but I'm a bit over this sort of bullshit.

 

[Rufys]

Bottom line here is it's the OWNER'S fault 100% for having a vicious or out of control dog. I feel sorry for the dogs as they know no better.

If you raise, train and love ANY breed of dog properly, they will be a devoted and loyal companion, and you will have control over them 100% of the time. The only time they could possibly cause harm is when defending themselves, or their owner.

The government should also "put down" any owner that is irresponsible enough to have a dog that's a threat to anyone. I mean, have a look at the sort of people they are - the world would be a better place.

End of argument!

 

[GAMBLR]

Totally agree, you don't hear in how many of those stories how the people provoked the dogs. And not just to cause an attack, how many years of torment has that dog had to put up with from these individuals before they snap.
And who in their right mind would leave a child alone with any dog, considering children make up a significant number of victims?

Yes the upbringing of the dog needs to be taken into account, but for example, my mum's slipper is a great little dog, great temprament, playful. But once it was mauled (somewhat lovingly) by our baby cousins, and since then will not go near young children. Gets very upset and angry, and we've learnt to keep an eye on him around kids.

Most dogs are not vicious and angry by nature; the people who surround it are responsible for how the dog turns out. Whether that's owners or total strangers, we're responsible for what a dog does, not the dog itself.

 

[Rufys]

Yes the upbringing of the dog needs to be taken into account, but for example, my mum's slipper is a great little dog, great temprament, playful. But once it was mauled (somewhat lovingly) by our baby cousins, and since then will not go near young children. Gets very upset and angry, and we've learnt to keep an eye on him around kids.

Completely 100% NOT the dog's fault. Feral kids need to be controlled by their parents more than dogs. Dogs are NOT fluffy toys!!! Jesus!!!

 

[Jesterarts]

Something else that pisses me off, I saw this in one of the articles:

Restricted breeds include pit bulls and pit bull-cross breeds that match a visual standard guideline released by the state government last week.

Anyone hear about or been able to find these guidelines?

Just just to confirm, in human terms this would be on par with racial discrimination. So why is it not acceptable for people but fine for animals?

Dog hasn't done anything wrong but it looks like it might.

 

[some_guy]

I plan on getting a rotti. And I know that if it bites someone, that is a direct relation to how I have raised it and I will take full responsiblity. None if this, "it was the dogs fault, it wasn't me who raised him to be agressive towards people and neglect to inforce proper discipline". Bloody rediculous how some peoples minds work. Bunch of muppets

 

[pjdm1980]

Animals are animals and you can never predict what they are going to do 100% of the time just as you cannot predict what a human will do 100% of the time, but if you train your animal obviously reduce the chance of a attack.
As for the laws if you cannot contain or control your animal then you should loose it.

 

[discomat]

I love how the first two post's agree but completely contradict each other. The first poster believes it's sometimes the owners fault, but often the victims fault for being so stupid. Then the second post says yep, 100% owners fault lol. However both are correct. Common sense and caution are needed for some (not all) victims, and people who buy potentially 'dangerous' dogs because they are masculine are often unaware of the attention and training these dogs require.

 

[nathanVY]

Surely there are bigger issues going on! This entire thing is a 100% waste of time.

How narrow minded and thick have we become if we are bitching on national media about each other's dogs.
When I was a kid if you played up, you didn't get rewarded for it, and definitely didn't get attention for it.

The media in this country is like a set of really bad (or should I say unintelligent) parents.

People playing up are now deciding to bitch and moan about it AND are being given the time of day and all the attention they so desire.
It's been getting worse and worse, I think it's safe to say that the average maturity level has dropped - some people have gone backwards.


Let's take jesters scenario for example and consider two outcomes.


Idiot person decides to come over and start molesting his dog without warning or introduction.
Idiot person gets bitten / attacked
Idiot person has a whinge, decides to kill all dogs of that breed, etc etc.
Media publicises this persons rant, people jump on the bandwagon and start worry about things that will never happen.
Childish mindset is adopted. Repeat.

OR

Idiot person decides to come over and start molesting his dog without warning or introduction.
Idiot person gets bitten / attacked
Idiot person learns from the experience and moves on.


Has anyone noticed that the news is almost 100% negative? There is barely ever a shred of encouragement or positivity in the media - perhaps this is partially to blame for the media's current state. I'm not saying we should sugarcoat everything far from it - imagine if the media changed its perspective and introduced this foreign concept known as balance - how rapidly would the world change I wonder...

 

[monkeys437]

I think the owner should be held criminally responsible if their dog attacks a person. This would strongly encourage owners of potentially dangerous dogs to train them properly, keep them in an appropriate environment at home etc.