Golden Retriever Attacks 4 People

[Inevitablue]

See they reported that the dog and owner had been confronted with a knife and threatened last week.

[MelodysMum]

He looked like a beautiful dog, and happily went on a lead with the guy from the council. Poor Buster! The daughter of the neighbour who was attacked said he had been really spooked by the mugging last week when he and his owner were threatened with a knife, and they don't think he should be put to sleep. I hope they give him a chance and let a behaviourist assess him.

[jackie_a1]

Thankyou Jakemon for answering my question.

If that's the reason then that's justified for an investigation but I don't believe much I see or read anymore.

[Crisovar]

regardless of the breed .... did anyone see the end of the story....? the poor dog was involved in an "incident" last week and was "held" whatever that might mean at knifepoint. What sort of lifestyle have these people got, poor bloody dog is all i can say

Anybody can be mugged are you assuming these people are dodgy because they were?

No wonder the world is screwed.

I actually don't care what breed the dog is ANY dog incident needs to be investigated before a decision is made to end a dogs life.

I have seen many dogs killed through no fault of their own or for retaliation, and yes I do believe that a dog has the right to defend itself. I don't believe that anyone who is not fully aware of the circumstance can make a call.

Those that call for any dog that bites a human under any circumstances to be destroyed as happens every time we have something in the media are unrealistic, we are dealing with animals.

Edited March 25, 2011 by Crisovar

[huski]

I actually don't care what breed the dog is ANY dog incident needs to be investigated before a decision is made to end a dogs life.

I COMPLETELY agree and this is something I feel very strongly about!

Even if the dog does end up being PTS, nothing is learned from the incident if a behaviourial assessment is not done so we can understand why it happened.

Simply having a dog PTS does nothing to prevent future attacks from happening, but if we can learn why they occur in the first place, a lot more can be done prevention wise.

I was talking about this on FB today, Steve from K9 Pro has just said that he has contacted the council and offered a behaviourial assessment on the dog for no cost, link here. Will be interesting to see what comes of this situation.

[spyda62]

I'm actually quite sick of every dog attack thread being taken over by the pitbull media-bias complaint.

I used to have some sympathy for it, but I'm just sick of hearing about it now.

There is no reason pitbulls had to be mentioned in this thread at all.

No wonder people think of them everytime an attack is mentioned, when even their supporters can't let the story be about anythng else.

Flame away, I won't respond, because if that is all the thread is going to be about I'll go read something else.

Ditto

[Trisven13]

I don't normally jump on the bandwagon with these threads but I have to say that all the reporting I've personally seen on this story has been based on the "Wow a golden retriever bit four people, there must be a good reason for it" but I seriously doubt that the same would happen if the dog had been a GSD, a Dobermann, a Rottweiler, an Amstaff, a Mastiff or some other large dog with a more dangerous reputation. The media reports I've seen have all been slanted towards there being a good reason for it happening which is the first time that I've ever seen that in a dog bite story. Call me a cynic but I don't believe the fact that the dog is a golden retriever is unrelated to the way it is being reported.

[newfsie]

He looked like a beautiful dog, and happily went on a lead with the guy from the council. Poor Buster! The daughter of the neighbour who was attacked said he had been really spooked by the mugging last week when he and his owner were threatened with a knife, and they don't think he should be put to sleep. I hope they give him a chance and let a behaviourist assess him.

This is just always sad :(

[Golden Rules]

But because it's a golden retriever it gets the opportunity. Unfair. Biased and ridiculous.

Unfair on who?

[halfthewords]

But because it's a golden retriever it gets the opportunity. Unfair. Biased and ridiculous.

Unfair on who?

On all the breeds that are burned at the stake for the same thing, merely because they aren't fluffy and touted as the perfect family pet.

[Golden Rules]

Does it really matter at all whether the dog was a Goldie, Lab or Goldie Lab cross? I think we can agree that neither breed are vicious monsters who deserve to be PTS wholesale - it's one individual animal who behaved unacceptably in what may have been an extremely stressful situation. It's unfortunate that it occurred, for the people who were bitten and for the dog, who will probably be PTS, but I doubt it will have wider ramifications for anyone.

As for complaints of breed bias, yep, it's true, had it been a Pitty there would be a whole lot less sympathy for the dog. Unfortunately that's the way the world is, and it's only ever going to change through action, not complaint.

regardless of the breed .... did anyone see the end of the story....? the poor dog was involved in an "incident" last week and was "held" whatever that might mean at knifepoint. What sort of lifestyle have these people got, poor bloody dog is all i can say

I haven't seen or heard any more than the original link but as always there is more to the story.

I hope that K9Pro's offer of an assessment is taken up!

[jackie_a1]

Thankyou half the words, you obviously have more than half a brain

And also to Trisven thankyou. I'm assuming you own a g.r and you still made a very well spoken statement.

Please don't misconstrue my words not all dogs that attack a human should be PTS effing durrrrr? Minus the situations where a dog is provoked (abusively and not just a child pulling a dog's tail) , where a human steps onto a dogs property, where a human threatens a dogs owner, when a dog is protecting a human OBVIOUSLY there is a million and one exceptions within reason. BUT this dog was NOT doing any of these things. I don't trust the news (or its facts) but from the story the family was fighting, the police were called for a domestic disturbance call then something happened to the dog and the dog snapped and attacked. By something I don't necessarily mean someone touched the dog but something happened and the dog turned on it's owner and THREE other people.

The dog attacked four people. That is ground for euthanasia to me? Just because the owner does not want the dog put down it does not mean the dog should not be put down. I understand there MAY be extenuating circumstances but the fact of the matter is. Are these people equipped to now own a dog which if not put down should be declared dangerous? So what if it's not a medical problem? If Steve assess the dog then what? The dog gets rehabilitated or attempted to or given on to another family because the training is to much for the old owners? I am not going to pass judgement or assume to kow the family in anyway so I will not dismiss that they may do all this. But if they don't? Then what? The dog goes to another family to snap again? Or goes to the shelter to be PTS anyway?

[huski]

The dog attacked four people. That is ground for euthanasia to me? Just because the owner does not want the dog put down it does not mean the dog should not be put down. I understand there MAY be extenuating circumstances but the fact of the matter is. Are these people equipped to now own a dog which if not put down should be declared dangerous? So what if it's not a medical problem? If Steve assess the dog then what? The dog gets rehabilitated or attempted to or given on to another family because the training is to much for the old owners? I am not going to pass judgement or assume to kow the family in anyway so I will not dismiss that they may do all this. But if they don't? Then what? The dog goes to another family to snap again? Or goes to the shelter to be PTS anyway?

IMO these are all questions that we can guess the answer to but until the dog has a behaviourial assessment we will not know the answer.

I don't want to speak for K9 Pro, but I am sure he would not rehabilitate and then rehome a dog that would "snap again".

I really hope the dog does get to have a behaviourial assessment even if it is still PTS, simply having it PTS will mean we learn nothing from attacks like these and that we have no knowledge gained on how to prevent them from happening again.

[jackie_a1]

Huski don't get me wrong I am very curious as to why the dog snapped. But I highly doubt that the reason the G.R snapped will be a highly valued revelation to the dog world that will explain dog attacks as a whole. Most of the time we learn from dog attacks but simple things that need reiterating that some people forget.

For example don't make loud intimidating gestures (fighting) around a timid already frightened dog. Maybe that is what happened the g.r got spooked? Maybe Osama told him to do it? I don't know but what we do know is that dog has and is capable of doing serious harm to people. So by putting it down we may not learn the reason to the attack but we will ensure other's safety. You think every dog attack gets investigated? You think every dog is lucky to have a trainer assess them? And do you think most dog attack victims really want to know why the dog attacked them? Us as animal people do. But the general public do not give a rats anus. Not every dog attack is an insight into the realm of wonder. Sometimes it's as simple as socialisation or training etc.

But because it's a GR they want a reason which just proves my point.

Edited March 25, 2011 by jackie_a1

[joelle]

Do we know if this dog will be rehomed? has it been said that the owners dont want to keep him if he is allowed to live.

[Golden Rules]

But because it's a golden retriever it gets the opportunity. Unfair. Biased and ridiculous.

Unfair on who?

On all the breeds that are burned at the stake for the same thing, merely because they aren't fluffy and touted as the perfect family pet.

Well this one is likely to burn at the stake as well so maybe get off your high horse?

(oh and there's a reason certain breeds of dog are touted as a perfect family pet. Go figure )

[Golden Rules]

But I highly doubt that the reason the G.R snapped will be a highly valued revelation to the dog world that will explain dog attacks as a whole.

Firstly you don't know the reason the dog snapped and secondly even if you did, it could never explain the myriad of reasons there are other dog attacks

[huski]

But I highly doubt that the reason the G.R snapped will be a highly valued revelation to the dog world that will explain dog attacks as a whole.

Firstly you don't know the reason the dog snapped and secondly even if you did, it could never explain the myriad of reasons there are other dog attacks

That's not what I'm saying. It's the bigger picture. If we have every dog involved in an attack like this PTS without a behaviourial assessment, what will we learn? How can we prevent other dogs attacks without examining why the dog behaved in that way in the first place?

[Jumabaar]

Huski don't get me wrong I am very curious as to why the dog snapped. But I highly doubt that the reason the G.R snapped will be a highly valued revelation to the dog world that will explain dog attacks as a whole. Most of the time we learn from dog attacks but simple things that need reiterating that some people forget.

For example don't make loud intimidating gestures (fighting) around a timid already frightened dog. Maybe that is what happened the g.r got spooked? Maybe Osama told him to do it? I don't know but what we do know is that dog has and is capable of doing serious harm to people. So by putting it down we may not learn the reason to the attack but we will ensure other's safety. You think every dog attack gets investigated? You think every dog is lucky to have a trainer assess them? And do you think most dog attack victims really want to know why the dog attacked them? Us as animal people do. But the general public do not give a rats anus. Not every dog attack is an insight into the realm of wonder. Sometimes it's as simple as socialisation or training etc.

But because it's a GR they want a reason which just proves my point.

There are many dogs out there capable of doing serious harm out there. I don't believe they should all be PTS, if you start thinking like that where do you draw the line- a dog that snaps at someone because it has been hit, or a dog that has bitten because stranger has jumped the back fence into its yard?

I believe every case should be assessed before a dog is PTS- no the wider public might not care, but it does give information to the professionals that the public seek out when they realise their dog is capable of doing serious harm to people. I really don't care if this is a Lab, Golden or a flying pig- there are plenty of animals out there that can do a lot of damage and while we live in such close proximity with them we need to look at how we can manage them better through research instead of jumping the gun and euthanising before they can be assessed. Most of these animals will have a reason for their attack, so why shouldn't there be an attempt to find out the motivation and try and eliminate it?

I doubt it is ever as 'simple' as socialisation or training- drive threshold, management, environment, genetics etc all play a part and interact. Instead of trying to stop investigation, we should be encouraging it. I want to know this information not just as an animal person but as a dog owner, dog breeder, veterinary student and as a responsible member of society!!

I am glad Steve has volunteered to look at the dog. I hope his findings can also be publicised so the general public can have a bit of an insight into the dog sitting in their back yard. I am not saying that this dog shouldn't be PTS, I am saying that we should learn from what happened and assess each and every case to see what cause the attack.

Edited March 25, 2011 by ~Woofen~

[halfthewords]

But because it's a golden retriever it gets the opportunity. Unfair. Biased and ridiculous.

Unfair on who?

On all the breeds that are burned at the stake for the same thing, merely because they aren't fluffy and touted as the perfect family pet.

Well this one is likely to burn at the stake as well so maybe get off your high horse?

(oh and there's a reason certain breeds of dog are touted as a perfect family pet. Go figure )

It will burn at the stake for the severity and number of the attacks. If it had bitten a person as a one off, it would probably not be a huge issue - this has happened before with the breeds mentioned and I remember two cases where the dog was not PTS. If it had been a staffy or GSD biting someone as a one off, it would be PTS no question. Breed hysteria at its finest.

The only reason they are the 'perfect family pet' is because of the publicity they receive. A badly raised dog of any breed is just as likely to do what this dog did. I would dare say that bull breeds make just as good family pets, if not better; it is a trait of the breed that they are excellent with kids. Staffies are called the nanny dog after all.