nawnim

The difference eludes me. In my book a dog that bites an 8 year old boy is HA whatever the reason. Territorial dogs bark and threaten. They don't necessarily carry through with it. The answer is probably with education. Children need to be taught how to treat dogs. Even when they have dogs of their own often this doesn't happen because the parents don't even know. How many times have children, even with their parents, bowled up to you when you are with your dogs and reached out to pat your dogs without asking.

I'd like to know how high the fence was. If your dog is going to bite off a part of someone's face if they look over the fence into your yard then you need to have a very high fence with no gaps. True. It makes you wonder. I also wonder if he was with his parents or a supervising adult at the time. The boy was 8. Eight year olds often walk to school or go to the park to play with a ball or their friends by themselves. Some even do errands for their parents.

Aussie 3 If my dog bit a kid and took his nose off it would be euthanased. Not only is there the chance that the dog might re-offend, but also what about the neighbours. How would they feel living near this dog? And also the more distant neighbours. The dog has shown itself to be HA. For this dog to be given its wings is the kind thing to do. IMO

Just wondering how Ned is going. Any news?

Hang in there Hankdog. You can make it too.

Hi all It's not that I want to brag (well just a little) but I have just taken my boy, Paddy, to the vet for his annual shots and in the waiting room he was a model canine citizen. Also this morning at the off-lead park we met a dog very similar to the one that attacked him. At first he was stiff legged and keeping his distance but when the other dog ignored him, my dog just got on with what he was doing. I think I have been lucky in that my dog has only recently become reactive, and he has always been good off lead, so his reactivity was a mild case so to speak. I also think it has been important that I have put a lot of his reactivity down to my own anxiety. We all want to keep our dogs safe, and I was worried for a bit. Now if he shows any reactivity I just say "Don't be silly," and laugh gently at him, so that now he knows I am okay with whatever is happening and he takes his cue from me. I think I can now claim that my dog is no longer reactive. So there is light at the end of the tunnel. Keep up your good work all of you. One day your dogs will be okay too. Also I have found this thread very helpful. So thankyou all. I have also learnt tolerance of other people's reactive dogs (which I didn't have before) and I will always keep away if we meet, but at the same time give you a charming smile which will hopefully indicate that I don't disapprove of you or Fido.

Hi Hankdog. My two bobs worth. It sounds as if your dog is in charge. My dogs are not allowed on my bed, and if my dogs don't like the food I provide they go hungry (up to a point.) They get fed once a day outside and in bowls on the ground. I do use food for training but it has to be earned. It is not a bribe or a lure; it is a reward. I encourage with my voice and enthusiastic body language. I'm assuming your dog is a bulldog. You must be much stronger than I am. No way would i be carrying my dog unless it was injured. :)

I have been following this thread with great interest & I too have found that this method you use with Skye is really working for Stella & myself. I am seeing real improvement with her using the "leave it" command when approaching/passing other dogs. She used to go off her nut, lunging, growling & barking but now she is much more settled usually. If she does happen to get upset, she settles much more quickly than she used to. I used to avoid anything that I thought would set her off but when I thought about it all I was doing was feeding her fear so I had to get more confident & tackle some of these situations as her reactions used to really unnerve me & I think in turn making her panic more.So we have been off walking & see an approaching dog on a lead, I just act like it's all o.k. & keep going at a steady pace & I actually find she is looking up at me for direction,I ask her to "leave it" I then treat / praise if she is behaving & the dog has passed us & then we continue on. I am also making sure I take a deep breath, walk confidently & be calm. We aren't ready for any class training just yet but I am hoping some day we may be :) Hi I did post earlier in this thread about my reactive dog Paddy. These days I am doing what BC Crazy is doing and it is working well. We just keep walking when we see another dog on lead and I try to ignore my dog's reactiveness and it is working. Sometimes I say 'leave' depending on how much he is reacting. If I see a loose dog I do a U-turn and get out of there as fast as I can without alarming my dog. I am happy with his progress.

Melbomb My earlier comment referred to the dogs shown on the 7.30 report. In case you did not see the programme towards the end they showed some clips from YouTube where dogs (and I have no idea of their breeding, but they were large and athletic) were shown mauling a pig to death. We were told that sometimes the mauling went on for several hours. These dogs were encouraged to maul and kill and I repeat I would not like to live next door to them especially if I had children.

Sorry about your dog

While the plight of the poor pigs is very disturbing, I am also concerned about what has been done to those dogs. They have been taught to kill and they could end up in the local pound where they could be picked up by some well-meaning rescue group and then rehoused in suburbia where they might live nextdoor to young children.

Totally agree Dogmad.

I never saw him when I was there last weekend.. maybe he just came in. He's on the website with the boy you liked. He's at Sale. Just joking Michelluva. I fall for dogs on websites and in pounds all the time.

Now what about Spike the black terrier. If I lived closer he would be here with me now. He's so gorgeous and I haven't even seen him.

It looks as if this dog will be safe and when you first saw him you thought he was at risk of being put to sleep. He will be okay. Visiting shelters and pounds (even their websites) is something I try to stay away from. After viewing this website I have now seriously fallen for the black terrier, Spike, at Sale. He would fit in so well with my lot. Need a cup of coffee and something to read, or even better take my pair for a walk. :laugh:

So sorry stellnme. I was just responding to another post in this thread. Edited: Really sorry to stellnme this time. I totally misunderstood her post.

can't be bothered posting any more

Deleted because probably not of interest to anybody

This story gets worse every time I look. Those poor dogs, and now the owners too. .

deleted. Posting is just too depressing.

Beautiful story. Made me cry both sad and happy tears. Thanks for sharing

What sort of dropkick people are on this Council? They are trying to justify this appalling behaviour by saying - oh this was in response to a request by a member of the public and there were concerns for the animal's welfare? Well then lets take them to the tip and shoot them - nothing wrong with that is there Well perhaps other "members of the public" could request that Council members until they acquire some compassion for living creatures. In total agreement lavendergirl. Well put

Hi I got my little girl from the RSPCA. The first time I saw her she was not available but I felt drawn to her so strongly. She was so ugly she was gorgeous if you know what I mean. (not saying the dog you like is ugly. He's a handsome fellow.) I went back a few days later and she had become available and I snapped her up at once. It was just the way she looked at me, something clicked in my head. She was between two dogs who were barking their heads off and her eyes were saying, 'please get me out of here' so I did and I have not regretted it. I learnt later that she was not available because she had just been desexed. Good luck with Beau, but make sure your head makes the final decision. PD

My local rescue group has fixed prices for all dogs. $300 for adults, $350(?) for pups which includes training tuition, and $150 for dogs over 8. I think this is a good practice and helps many of these unfortunates find wonderful homes.

This issue is al;so being discussed on the other In The News forum