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Dog attacks: should it be mandatory for all dogs to wear muzzles in public areas?

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The ones you see all over the papers that have a habit of attacking kids and are chosen (for good reason) by the people that organise dog fights would be a good start.

I see what you're saying but there's numerous breeds that attack kids/people, so from your opinion every dog should be muzzled?

It's not about the breed, it's the way they are raised. Maybe they should have stricter laws on who can own dogs.

I have a staffy x boxer and the amount of people who are scared of her just for the way she looks is ridiculous. She's not at all aggressive.

Reply 21

Magdatrix >_<

Perhaps if you know when your dog is likely to bite, it's adviseable to use a muzzle. - especially if I'm going to the vets, or doing public transport with my dog, I know she gets agitated so will muzzle her before I leave the house.

I think many owners can tell when their dog is agitated and most likely to growl or bite, and at least while they're on a lead can do something in the way of preventing anyone getting hurt.

The other side of this is that non-dog-walkers need to realise that they can't just pet any random dog that they see! I get a lot of people (especially kids) who try to stroke my dog without even checking that it's ok first (or they start to ask if it's ok but are then already touching the dog before they've completed the question)

My dog was hit by a car when she was a puppy, and almost 10 years later still has patches of fur where she's sensitive and hates being touched (and will occasionally try to bite if touched there). Obviously having seen her through the vets and life afterwards, I know this and know how to handle her in a way that's comfortable for us both - but other people don't, so I generally ask people not to pet her unless they understand.

At least in cases like this, I think that stopping the dog from biting is more a case of not putting the dog in a situation where she/he is frightened and likely to bite!

Reply 22

russellsteapot

I'm inclined to say yes for all dogs, given that a good number of dog bites are not inflicted by the obvious 'dangerous breeds', and some are arguably inflicted by accident, rather than the dog 'attacking' the person.

However, as that would lead to an outcry from 'responsible' dog owners whose beloved predator-on-a-string is 'just being friendly', maybe just muzzle specific big/nasty/aggressive dogs as a matter of law (as they can generally do more damage), and make dog owners properly responsible for attacks, with very severe penalties.

Hopefully they'd do the muzzling voluntarily if they knew their dog was 'overly excitable'.

Reply 23

Alpha brah

Original post by Reeeeyah

No, that's not what I was arguing. Some breeds do seem naturally more aggressive. E.g. a pitbull terrier v a spaniel. Although I agree that the kind of owners I often see with the former might explain their behaviour to some extent :tongue:

I agree, not all staffies for example are aggressive (I'm sure yours is quite nice :smile:

) but if you look up the most dangerous dog breeds for instance you do get quite a few results and some people say that some breeds are on average more dangerous? I've never seen a pit bull terrier I would trust around a little kid for instance.

http://lifestyle9.com/top-10-most-dangerous-dog-breeds-that-you-should-stay-away-from/

Reply 24

dead101

Original post by Alpha brah

The ones you see all over the papers that have a habit of attacking kids and are chosen (for good reason) by the people that organise dog fights would be a good start.

A lot of small dogs are just as vicious only they're incapable of doing this same damage as they're physically smaller and weaker and so alas they get let off with their biting and stories don't make the news.

The media has always picked a breed, pretty dumb. All dogs are capable of attacking humans though if they're trained effectively then the chance of it happening is smaller.

Why make all dogs suffer for some stupid, incapable owners? Not everybody would buy a muzzle regardless so then your dog is now in danger as it will not be able to defend itself if another dog goes for it - which surprise surprise, happens.

Something about more power to animal authorities to remove dogs from owners and actually follow up on bans for people who are not allowed to own pets would be more effective.

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