Its all over the news about the poor girl thats been killed by a pack of dogs, not far from where I live. As usual when something like this happens, the media have a field day in naming these breeds of dogs and branding them DANGEROUS. I'm a dog lover, and in my experience encountered a wide range of breeds from when I've worked in vets/kennels/dog grooming and can safely say there is no such thing as a 'dangerous breed'. There is such thing, however as a dangerous human.
The dogs in question are the breeds that always get the blame and therefore encourage these horrible people to aquire one. The breeds that I find are discriminated against most are staffys, bull mastiffs, rotweilers, dog du bordeuxs, pitbulls, dobermans and german shepards. I have been bitten numerous times throughout my years working in the animal industry, and not once have I been bitten by one of these breeds. I have found that its been mostly smaller dogs that are more likely to snap, which I suppose is better as they are easier to handle. Large dogs with strength and willpower like the breeds above can be fatal if they decide to attack you, which is why is important they dont get into the wrong hands. Unfortuanlty, this seems to be what happened in this young girls case.
There is not enough education on dog breeds, and I think its too easy for a dog to end up in the wrong hands. As an example, I would never activly seek to own a dog du bordeux. This isnt because I dont like the breed, its simply due to the fact I know I would not be capable in training and looking after a dog so big and so strong willed. Dont get me wrong, I know alot about dogs and like a challenge when it comes to training and what not, but getting myself a dog that big would be unfair to the dog as he would require my undivided attention and I just wouldnt be strong enough to handle one. Whereas, there are people who see a large dog like this and immediatly jump at the chance to own one because it will make them look 'tough' and 'hard'. They will not research the breed or its requirements, nor divide a significant amount of time to training the dog to be wellbehaved- they just love the way it look swaggering down the road with a large dog thinking they are 'untouchable'. These kinds of people I despise. They also encourage aggressive behaviour, willing the dog to growl at visitors, and enjoying using them as a 'gaurd dog'. Its sad because these dogs will hardly ever end up having a happy ending. The owners will either bored looking after them and try to rehome, but the chances of a dog with issues getting a new home are slim to none. On the other hand, the dog may attack someone and this would probably result in the dog being put down. It annoys me because its so avoidable, I know its hard to check out everybody who wants to buy a dog but the guidelines need to be stricter to ensure these dogs dont get into the wrong hands. These 'status' breeds make absolutly great pets when brought up in the correct, loving home and trained by someone who has done their research and is ready to commit to the dog. I know this first hand as my aunty has a staffy cross and he is the most softest, gentle dog in the world. He loves people, great with other dogs and has never shown any sign of agression. This is because he has been brought up in the right enviroment and its just proof that people need to think carefully before they get a dog on a whim, as in the end it really is the dog that suffers.
Its such a shame what happened to that girl, though we dont know the facts, apprently the owner was notoriously known for owning unruly dogs. I really hope something will be done about this, and that the media go about it in the correct way. Instead of branding 'dangerous' dogs and calling for laws to be made to ban breeds, we should be banning dangerous people from owning any breed of dog as this really is where the problem starts.
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