My dogs dont have full run of the house, we have a huge garden for them to play in and they only come into the livingroom the only reason we got another rotty was coz our jack russel died and Dotty the older one was missing him, she stopped eating and became quite ill so we thought we would get a small breed of rotty.
ok, change prosecuted with persecuted... The Police have obviously come to their senses on this one but the animal activists have yet to declare their interest
Think you should change the title from dangerous dogs to dangerous owners as thats what it realy boils down to, how many times have we seen or heard of this happen more so with certain breeds of dogs yet we still see these said breed roaming freely or without a muzzle, don't get me wrong i'm not saying everyone with a dog is the same but if those 2 guard dogs in question were not free to roam the entire premises or the other that was roaming the street had a muzzle would we still be having this conversation?
I have a dog who is the most gorgeous and soft dog ive ever had, hes a german shepherd and everyone around here knows hes just a big teddy bear. I take him up to school when i take my son to school every day, hes very obedient and he loves kids. He walks off the lead most of the time and i never worry about him biting anyone - its just not in him.
However, my last GSD was a different kettle of fish altogether. He was a nervous dog, very protective and territorial. He was brilliant with my kids tho and i never had a problem with him in that way. But i had to be careful with him when out walking, and i couldnt let anyone in the house with him around - he had to be locked away.
It wasnt anything we did with him, he was just born that way. Im a responsible dog owner and my dog is very much loved by everyone around here. I suppose now tho, ill be getting the strange looks and people crossing over the road to avoid Max.
Hopefully, itll blow over - i must say i do feel extremely upset about the children who have been mauled this week, its just terrible.
Suze xx
I had a 'friend' whose brother had a Rottweiler, I ended up refusing to go and see him when I saw the way they treated the poor dog.
They had it permanently chained up in the garden, would go out and tease it, antagonise it and basically turned it from a very placid dog into something I would be terrified to be anywhere near. When I questioned this 'friend' he laughed it off as a bit of fun, we subsequently fell out over it because I said he had little regard for if the dog got free one day and went for someone.
I think there are certain dogs who are more prone to being aggressive, but I'm not naive to think that it's only these dogs that are likely to attack. I believe the main responsibility has to be with the owners and their way of rearing the dog, it's a natural progression that if you train the dog to be aggressive, it will be that way. Likewise, I think you can never underestimate or second guess what a dog (or any other animal for that matter) is going to do.
My sympathies are with the families who are going through this at the moment....
my mother has a rottweiler crossed with a bullmastive which is now 9 years old and she has had it since it was a pup... i have 3 children that have been brought up with the dog and my eldest is now 13 so was born before my mother got the dog and the dog has never even attempted to go for any of my children or other chilren that have been around it,,,, when they were younger they used to sit on it back and it never bothered the dog also when the dog was younger i used to play in the garden with him as in he used to jump up me and i have put my arm in it mouth in playing and the dog has never bit me....
the dog has got a brillant temperment and would never hurt anyone.... but saying that i would not leave my youngest alone with the dog cause he is only 4 and i no if he was left alone with him he would probally winde the dog up and with all dogs if annoyed to much then theres always that chance of them turning....but as for laeving my other 2 children with him i would have no problem with leaving them in the same house as the dog on there own...
i think rottweillers are loverly dog and as for any dog if brought up right as a family dog then they make great pets
Its a simple fact that out of every thousand dogs or so 999 would never harm a fly let alone a child. It only takes one one second to have instinct kick in and have a go, the owners should bear the responsibility of that at all times no matter how soft and cuddly a dog may seem. never leave them alone together no one ever knows what the dogs really thinking do they!
Before you have a go we have had dogs and children.
Its so sad for these people who have had these attacks, no one is blaming as I don't think for one minute they would do anything to harm either deliberately. They have lost children and pets in one go!
Mike x
I think throughout my life I have been around dogs.
When my firstborn came along, I actually had 4, all different breeds. All of them with different temperaments, all of them with their own personalities.
Of course any dog owner with kids has to accept that there is a risk, but there are also a multitude of rewards. When I was a kid, growing up with my boxer was something I remember with very fond memories indeed.
It does sadden me that certain breeds are picked on by the media, typically the large breeds. It was not that long ago that a study found that Golden Retrievers were accountable for more attacks on people as a percentage than any other breed.
We talk so much about the responsibilities of dog owners, which I agree with. However, parents also have a responsibility. I used to own a Pyrenean Mountain Dog, a huge fluffy white thing. I used to take her to the local pub, sit in the garden and she would sit under the table good as gold and wait patiently for the odd crisp. What annoyed me was the number of kids, especially very young kids, who would come up to her and tease her in full view of the parents. The amount of times I had to have words with the parents to tell their kids to leave the dog alone, I hate to think. All the parents and kids saw was this white cuddly thing that maybe reminded them of a fluffy toy they had at home.
. However, that is not to say that dogs and children do not mix, i grew up with dogs and it never did me any harm :wink: 
.... I think that the way forward is to bring back licensing for dogs and make the sum paid a reasonable one, not the 37p that i recall it used to be! I think the term DANGEROUS DOG for certain breeds is misleading and licensing is needed for ALL dogs. Perhaps anyone keeping a guard dog should be subject to different licensing conditions than those of us keeping pets
:? 
