medusa Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I'm sorry, but I'm not prepared to make any generalisations such as 'all dogs that bite should be put down'. We simply don't know enough about the situations to generalise. Should a dog that's been beaten and which bites in self defence be put down? How about a dog who is playing and who mouths a child (inappropriate, but not intended to hurt) but the child gets scared and says that they've been bitten? How about a puppy who hasn't learned not to explore everything with their mouth yet? How about a dog that's defending their owner whilst they're being physically attacked? Who is qualified to decide what constitutes a 'bite' and what is simply a dog exploring the world in a way which is natural to dogs and a human decides that having their hand in a dog's mouth equals being bitten? I've always said that if my dog bit anybody for real (not a nip, not mouthing, not play and not in self defence when being hurt) then I'd be the one to take her to the vets to be put down, and she's fully insured and microchipped and tagged with my full contact details so I'm prepared to take full responsibility for everything she does, but I'm not prepared to take someone else's word that because my dog was in their proximity then that automatically means she is attacking them. A bite is different to mouthing, nipping and self defence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sccsux Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Wrong. However the reason the dog is bad is normally the owners fault and always the owners responsibility. So it's not the dog that is bad, a human has made it act that way. Should keep the dog alive and put the owner down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah-Lacie Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I'm sorry, but I'm not prepared to make any generalisations such as 'all dogs that bite should be put down'. We simply don't know enough about the situations to generalise. Should a dog that's been beaten and which bites in self defence be put down? How about a dog who is playing and who mouths a child (inappropriate, but not intended to hurt) but the child gets scared and says that they've been bitten? How about a puppy who hasn't learned not to explore everything with their mouth yet? How about a dog that's defending their owner whilst they're being physically attacked? Who is qualified to decide what constitutes a 'bite' and what is simply a dog exploring the world in a way which is natural to dogs and a human decides that having their hand in a dog's mouth equals being bitten? I've always said that if my dog bit anybody for real (not a nip, not mouthing, not play and not in self defence when being hurt) then I'd be the one to take her to the vets to be put down, and she's fully insured and microchipped and tagged with my full contact details so I'm prepared to take full responsibility for everything she does, but I'm not prepared to take someone else's word that because my dog was in their proximity then that automatically means she is attacking them. A bite is different to mouthing, nipping and self defence. My 7 year old daughter loves playing with my STAFFY, and she will roll around on the floor with her, or jump around to wind her up... I'm always telling her not to do it, but its like she can't help it. Stella being only 12 months old, is still very excitable and playful, and will roll around with her, and mouth her... She particularly likes to try and eat her hair. Next thing, my daughter will jump up saying "owww shes just scratched me" or "STELLA GET OFF, STOP BITING ME!"... She never has any marks, and it is very, very clear that Stella is only playing with her, she doesn't go near my other daughter, because she doesn't like her to, and tells her to go away. If my eldest didn't wind her up so much, she wouldn't get so playful with her. These 'bites' and 'scratches' though, are nothing but boisterous puppy play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Why do we put up with this? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8556195.stm Its simple a dog bites a human its put down and the owner fined and banned from owning a dog forever. Because it's never the fault of the person that's bitten is it. If only life were as simple and clear cut as you seem to believe. Edit - why are you linking to a story from 18 months ago about a proposal by the previous government? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Biting aside - and the fact that some people do own dogs which are trained to be aggressive - the BBC article mentions requiring dog owners to insure their dogs to provide cover for damages caused by the animals. I don't see a problem with that. - It's not mandatory here (though if your dog causes an accident and you do not have liability insurance, it's going to cost you a lot of money.) My two dogs are very unlikely to bite anybody, so the premium is rather lower than it would be if I had dogs of breeds which are deemed to be high risk, but the premium is still significant. It's one of the costs of having a dog. I also have a personal liability insurance (in case I bite people or cause an accident.) I suppose that's one of the costs of having teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 It's already the same in the UK that if you aren't insured and your dog injures someone they may well cost you a lot in court ordered compensation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crookesey Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Sorry I didn't want to make light of this but it reminded me of the press article that said:- 'In the UK a person is attacked by a dog every other day', and I thought that he/she would be getting very fed up with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex3659 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I went to the doctors and told him the dog had bit me, He said "where did it bite you"?. I said "on the garden". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 My 7 year old daughter loves playing with my STAFFY, and she will roll around on the floor with her, or jump around to wind her up... I'm always telling her not to do it, but its like she can't help it. Stella being only 12 months old, is still very excitable and playful, and will roll around with her, and mouth her... She particularly likes to try and eat her hair. Next thing, my daughter will jump up saying "owww shes just scratched me" or "STELLA GET OFF, STOP BITING ME!"... She never has any marks, and it is very, very clear that Stella is only playing with her, she doesn't go near my other daughter, because she doesn't like her to, and tells her to go away. If my eldest didn't wind her up so much, she wouldn't get so playful with her. These 'bites' and 'scratches' though, are nothing but boisterous puppy play. Exactly! Dogs play with their mouths- after all, they don't have the same level of control of their paws that we have of our hands, so it's natural to use the only method you have of grabbing things in your play. If a dog bites you (and I mean properly bites you) then you have marks left, and not just temporary indentations in the skin which go a bit pink. My dog is not small and according to many sources her breed has the second strongest bite of all dogs, behind Rottweilers. She also has very large teeth and eats bones as part of her diet, so her teeth are strong and healthy, as are her jaw muscles. If she bit someone then there would be big holes left in the skin- if there are no holes or bruises then she didn't bite. She may have mouthed, which is still inappropriate and for which I would still be sorry and blaming myself for letting her scare people, but her intention would not have been to hurt the person she was playing with, and that's not the same thing at all as biting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonjon Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Ok, there are some nasty dogs out there, but I would be more worried with the 960 people hospitalised nationwide a day by human beings, than dog bites. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5194726/Violent-assaults-risen-by-21000-AandE-figures-show.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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