Another Dog Attack Overnight

[Mum to Emma]

Anyone who has any sympathy for those dogs (or in any way tries to apportion blame to the people who were attacked) should listen to this:

http://podcasts.mrn.com.au.s3.amazonaws.com/steveprice/KylieGillatt.mp3

And I'm sorry - there's no way two golden retrievers, however poorly they were raised - would behave in the way these rottweillers did. And responsible rottweiller breeders, who acknowledge what their breed is capable of, would agree with this. There's a reason why some dog breeds are better suited to first time owners. Not ALL dog breeds are capable of the same level of aggression.

Edited December 5, 2011 by Mum to Emma

[persephone]

That audio sent shivers up my spine .....the poor man at the end of the first part hope they get the help they need.

[JulesP]

Poor little Staffy trying to save his dad

[Scales of Justice]

Bloody irresponsible owners. Some people should not have dogs, let alone dogs that require owners with dedication and maturity.

I agree there are unfit people out there when it comes to owning dogs BUT as breeders we should be sifting out the unsuitable ones BEFORE they get a dog. This is a protection for our respective breeds. No doubt there are always some breeders WHO will sell to the first person who brings the almighty dollar and that is bad for all breeders.

I believe it is up to the breeders who sell the pups to instil in the buyers about their responsibilities of keeping their dogs on their own property and on lead in public.

If people do not have fences or are unwilling to take those responsibilties I deem them unsuitable to own one of my breed.

[KatrinaM]

Mum to Emma, my two young dogs were attacked by a golden on two different occassions, they are now adults and one is crippled for life. My old neighbors golden, a pure bred pedigreed dog has killed two dogs that I know of. He is a male dog and both were bitches, one was an adult cav, the other another adult golden. Neither of these two fit your theory.

[Polecatty]

Anyone who has any sympathy for those dogs (or in any way tries to apportion blame to the people who were attacked) should listen to this:

http://podcasts.mrn.com.au.s3.amazonaws.com/steveprice/KylieGillatt.mp3

And I'm sorry - there's no way two golden retrievers, however poorly they were raised - would behave in the way these rottweillers did. And responsible rottweiller breeders, who acknowledge what their breed is capable of, would agree with this. There's a reason why some dog breeds are better suited to first time owners. Not ALL dog breeds are capable of the same level of aggression.

There's a gr a few streets away who hits the fence screaming and snarling whenever we walk past. Makes the whole fence shake...if he ever gets loose he'll cause trouble. Why do you think that this dog would be safe? Just because it's a gr?

[megan_]

That is not what Mum to Emma said. She said that, when owning a powerful breed with strong guarding insincts you need to be extra careful and responsible. This is because your dog can do a lot more harm than others can and you can damage the entire breed's reputation, leading to more BSL. There are many people out in the community who would now want rotties added to the list. I'm not saying this is right but it is the situation that we're living with.

There might be other dogs out there that aren't good examples of their breed however their attacks don't have the same impact (physical, media, legaslitive etc) that large, powerful dogs have.

(and please, let's refrain from posting about a toy poodle that hurt an elderly lady etc).

[Cosmolo]

I wonder whether a campaign to check fencing would have any impact- seems as though a number of incidents occur due to unsafe fencing.

And i agree- you want to own large powerful dogs of any breed or cross breed - do what needs to be done to ensure their safety and that of the public.

[greytpets]

I am constantly appalled by the number of people that have poor fencing & pets. Most have dogs but I've also seen a couple of houses that have terrible fences & free range chooks. How they keep them safe I have no idea. My little dogs would kill chooks if they got the chance so I'm sure there must be many other dogs out there like them that could get through the broken fences. Same goes for dogs escaping. I take note & try to avoid them if possible.

[aussielover]

That is not what Mum to Emma said. She said that, when owning a powerful breed with strong guarding insincts you need to be extra careful and responsible. This is because your dog can do a lot more harm than others can and you can damage the entire breed's reputation, leading to more BSL. There are many people out in the community who would now want rotties added to the list. I'm not saying this is right but it is the situation that we're living with.

There might be other dogs out there that aren't good examples of their breed however their attacks don't have the same impact (physical, media, legaslitive etc) that large, powerful dogs have.

(and please, let's refrain from posting about a toy poodle that hurt an elderly lady etc).

Actually she said:

there's no way two golden retrievers, however poorly they were raised - would behave in the way these rottweillers did.

Which I think is very misleading.

I've know DA Golden Retrievers, who if escaped from their yard would attack other dogs and probably cause injury.

There is no "perfect" breed and any medium to large DA dog is likely to cause harm if allowed to wander unattended.

Not ALL dog breeds are capable of the same level of aggression

This statement is just plain wrong. ALL dogs are capable of the same level of aggression.

However, some breeds are not as able to inflict the same level of damage, and some breeds may be less prone to showing high levels of aggression.

This in no way excuses the behaviour of the two attacking dogs, however, I feel discussions of specific breeds are generally not useful and can often lead to misleading statements or "urban myths" being perpetuated.

[sandgrubber]

Hey come on guys. We've all heard this 'some breeds more aggressive than others' discussion up the yin yang.

Only individual dogs are aggressive. A breed is a category, an abstraction. It can do nothing, it can't be trained, it can't be owned.

Anyone who denies that there is a stronger tendency for aggression in some breeds than others is an idiot.

But so is anyone who thinks all members of a breed are true to the reputation of their breed is just as stupid.

And anyone who denies that behaviour is influenced by training and upbringing has closed eyes and a closed mind.

[OSoSwift]

Bloody hell, listening to that is just horrifying. And to think people were locking their doors and refusing any help. Such a sad reflection on society.

Those poor poor people and her partner - my heart tore...............