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Baby killed by 2 Rottweilers
- Thread starter Caren+Bailey
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Very tragic event. I spent the whole day at the scene yesterday to give some insight to the media as to how and why this might have happened and to try and ensure there was no kneejerk reaction calling for a breed ban. This is, sadly, in my view a people problem rather than a dog problem. The really tragic part is the more this breed is demonised, the more it appeals to the sort of person who absolutely should not own one. I speak as a Rottweiler owner myself. Our magazine (K9 Magazine) has been calling for the UK Government to work with us on better understanding dog breeds and not to enforce breed specific legislation. Sadly it has taken an event of this nature to get them to listen but we finally have some dialogue and hopefully something positive can come from this tragic event.
K9, I read that the dogs were kept on the roof during the day and let loose in the bar at night. I suspected they had the kind of "training" that consists of being taught/encouraged to act aggressively towards everyone (except perhaps their owner.) Any idea if that's true? I'm curious as to how socialized they were.
They were very definitely 'guard dogs'. They lived on the roof of the pub and were used in case of trouble in the pub (it is in a very rough area). What happened was a fire door was accidentally left open giving the dogs access to an unattended baby. Sadly the dogs were in a fairly frenzied state when they were let into the pub as they were usually deployed when trouble occured. On this occasion they met with a small, crying child and the tragedy unfolded. The mother of the baby was living at the pub with her partner who owned the dogs. Even more tragic is the fact that the baby's natural Father, who was not at the pub, discovered that his own father had been stabbed literally within a few hours of his daughter's death in a completely unrelated incident (full story http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006440423,00.html ) - All incredibly sad and tonight we learn that another toddler is in hospital after an attack by another Rottweiler in a completely different part of the country. We are going to have to work hard to educate, especially in view of some extreme views amongst non dog owners.
...Er...or the father? 'Man the protector'? It isn't just one of the couple's responsibility. But...people leave their babies sleeping unattended in rooms all the time (unless they are willing to drive themselves utterly mad) so that by itself doesn't seem criminally irresponsible...
The problem is that these dogs are bred to guard/attack even more than most dogs - and there were two of them, which brings out more instincts - and in this case, given that these people were attacked themselves the next day they probably knew that they were under threat, so got the dogs as guard/intimidation dogs rather than as pets.
D.
The problem is that these dogs are bred to guard/attack even more than most dogs - and there were two of them, which brings out more instincts - and in this case, given that these people were attacked themselves the next day they probably knew that they were under threat, so got the dogs as guard/intimidation dogs rather than as pets.
D.
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Foolish parents, but the dogs were clearly not the nicest animals on the planet. Which, apparently, was just what the adults in the family wanted right up to the moment their flesh and blood became the victim. What a stinking rotten situation. It's what I don't like about guard/fighting dogs, what some people don't like about guns. No matter how intrinsically OK they are, no matter how valuable and useful and noble in the right hands, they are in the wrong hands way, way too often.
urg thats terrible just another reason for everyone to train and socilize their dogs, you dont need to train a rotti to be a gaurd dog, they were bred to do as such and don't need to be taught anymore instinct. They should be socilized well and they will always still protect their master as long as they were brought up well. It's horrible that it could of been so easily prevented on all sides if proper training and diligance had occured.
I have to disagree with you casablanca1 about only gaurddogs/fighting dogs only ending up in bad hands, personally I've been attacked and bitten by a variety of small dogs as well as medium breeds including a Boarder collie and golden retriever. Also fighting dogs were bred to be dog or animal aggressive not human agressive, theirs a huge difference. Any dog can attack and kill a person and statistically, pitties, dobs and rotties are only represent less than 3% of all dog bites and deaths in the united states. Statistically labs and goldens maul and kill more people every year then those groups combined. However its much easier to demonize "scary" dogs then it is to admit that human ignorance is always the cause of any attack not the breed. During the pitbull debate that went on over here in Ontario last year we had a few highly publised attacks on people from pitties (one occured when a newly highered lawn care person went into the backyard unannouced and the dog protected its territory) and at the same time a small boy was attacked and killed by two black labs yet it bearly made the newspaper and was never shown on the news.
Their have been countless cases of small dogs and dogs of all breeds killing people yet its so much more comforting for society to generalize and blame it on the ," stereotypical dangerous breeds" rather then realize our dogs will only turn out as well as we raise them and that's not breed specific.
All of my stats are availble here and a very well done vid by a highschool student last year during the debate to ban pitties
http://www.pitbullproblem.tk/
Cheers
Kayla
I have to disagree with you casablanca1 about only gaurddogs/fighting dogs only ending up in bad hands, personally I've been attacked and bitten by a variety of small dogs as well as medium breeds including a Boarder collie and golden retriever. Also fighting dogs were bred to be dog or animal aggressive not human agressive, theirs a huge difference. Any dog can attack and kill a person and statistically, pitties, dobs and rotties are only represent less than 3% of all dog bites and deaths in the united states. Statistically labs and goldens maul and kill more people every year then those groups combined. However its much easier to demonize "scary" dogs then it is to admit that human ignorance is always the cause of any attack not the breed. During the pitbull debate that went on over here in Ontario last year we had a few highly publised attacks on people from pitties (one occured when a newly highered lawn care person went into the backyard unannouced and the dog protected its territory) and at the same time a small boy was attacked and killed by two black labs yet it bearly made the newspaper and was never shown on the news.
Their have been countless cases of small dogs and dogs of all breeds killing people yet its so much more comforting for society to generalize and blame it on the ," stereotypical dangerous breeds" rather then realize our dogs will only turn out as well as we raise them and that's not breed specific.
All of my stats are availble here and a very well done vid by a highschool student last year during the debate to ban pitties
http://www.pitbullproblem.tk/
Cheers
Kayla
...Er...or the father? 'Man the protector'? It isn't just one of the couple's responsibility. But...people leave their babies sleeping unattended in rooms all the time (unless they are willing to drive themselves utterly mad) so that by itself doesn't seem criminally irresponsible...
The problem is that these dogs are bred to guard/attack even more than most dogs - and there were two of them, which brings out more instincts - and in this case, given that these people were attacked themselves the next day they probably knew that they were under threat, so got the dogs as guard/intimidation dogs rather than as pets.
D.
The problem is that these dogs are bred to guard/attack even more than most dogs - and there were two of them, which brings out more instincts - and in this case, given that these people were attacked themselves the next day they probably knew that they were under threat, so got the dogs as guard/intimidation dogs rather than as pets.
D.
Its horrible that this happened, but there are so many things that could have prevented this. No family should have a pair of brutally untrained, and dangerous dogs, especially with children. The child would have gotten attacked at one point in time. What if as a two year old it opened the door and let the dogs in?
Second, no child should be left home alone, even if you are right next door. It doesnt make sense.