What a waste of life......

[Guest tigger]

I think you are all missing the point, these dogs, by and large, are owned by youngsters who want to show how 'hard' they are. The Bull terrier breed (regardless about whether what type - Pit, Staffies, Whatever) has got the reputation of being a 'hard' dog!

 

What needs to happen is that these dogs must be owned "on licence" by over 21s ONLY. They can be warned that if there is any trouble (snarling etc) THEY will be held responsible, not only for damage caused, but also for the costs of putting a dangerous down!

 

Staffs and Bull terriers are just about the most loving caring breed of dog there is. Only when abused by scum are there any problems.

Regarding only allowing people over 21 yrs to own one simply wouldn't be fair on the young generation of dog lovers. I own, breed and show my Bullies and there are many youngsters involved in the show scene who love and respect their dogs.

[RobStubbs]

Off topic I know Peter but it's not only reduced ability to report crimes that are lowering the stats. It's also the fact that people are simply not bothering to report crimes that they know the police will do nothing about unless they need to make an insurance claim.

Mobile phone stolen? Not insured? why waste an hour of your time reporting it when the chances of recovering your property are only fractionally better than non-existent ?

 

Lets be honest, having the plod turn up at your door with blues flashing to take a statement after reporting a crime is likely to make you a target for the local yobs and if you were the victim of the crime and happen to know the toerag resposible, having reported it to the police is going to have them knocking on your door should you take the oppertunity for a little private justice present itself at a latter date.

 

Following you off topic but the old bill will not turn up at your door for anything minor. They will take your details and stuff over the phone and just record it on file. They've done that the last couple of times I reported anything. I think you can also report crimes online now (?)

 

Rob.

[chevin]

The snag is, Staffordshire Bull Terriers are like fashion accessories here, and aren't specifically exempt. I don't know a lot about dogs, so I'd never be able to tell the difference between a staff and a pit bull type. Even our dog handlers struggles to say for sure whether dogs are of the prohibited type or not.

 

I have had English bull terriers and now I have a staffy. Both breeds are the best family dogs you could wish to have. Gentle with children, clumsy but loving with adults, mine have been good with other dogs and people; and my staffy kills cats that come into the garden. If you look at statistics, English and staffies are way down the list when it come to dog attacks. In fact I think the dog listed as highest in the "biting" list is the Peke! As has been said, all too often it is the owner that makes a dog dangerous. I have only ever had one dog that displayed aggression - she went the next day!

 

I have to say that if your dog handlers can't tell the difference between a staffy and a pit bull perhaps they should be in a different job! Perhaps you being able to recognise the staffy makes you better qualified!

[cidermonkey]

I knew a guy in about '90 - '91 that bred Pit Bulls. He was always extolling the virtues of them and saying that the only bad ones were brought up wrong by bad handlers/owners. He was no mug when it came to dog training and I met a couple of his dogs that where, indeed, excellent dogs. I bumped into him after my daughter was born in '92 and asked him how the dogs were etc. He said - "I was wrong - I stand corrected". Apparently the majority of his dogs - sometimes up to a dozen - were kennelled outside his home. He had one dog that was his pet - which lived indoors. You may be able to guess what's coming but I swear it is the truth. The house dog attacked his granddaughter (whom the dog had met many times) and ripped a chunk of flesh from her arm. He immediately had the dog destroyed along with all his others and has never owned a dog since.

 

He said that he really did know his dogs but something unexplainable flipped in the dog and it went mental.

 

I think some dogs have the propensity to develop mental problems and if that is coupled with the physical ability to kill or seriously injure someone then it's just a timebomb waiting to go off. I'm not qualified enough to say whether any particular breed has a greater chance of developing these mental problems than another breed - but the stats do seem to suggest that there certainly is a trend among these Pit Bull dogs.

 

My own personal opinion is that the government was right to ban Pit Bulls - but has not succeded in enforcing the ban at all. I have just moved from SE London and there are many of these dogs in the area. Someone is still breeding them and selling them and this is what needs to be eradicated.

 

For the record I am a dog owner and have been on and off since I was 10 years old.

[n4lly]

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