I had this on record, but the recording got cancelled half way through :(

There was a young male Rottie (2 yr old) that had been given over to the RSPCA by the owners brother (owner in prison, brother looking after dog) as the dog had been trained cruelly to attacked policemen/people in unifrom. The brother couldn't look after the dog as he was being evicted and could not take the dog with him. The RSPCA officer attending, used to be a dog handler in the armed forces and got immediately on the 'phone to see if he could get the forces to take the dog. The outcome of the 'phone call was to be disclosed in the second half of the programme - the bit which never recorded

Anybody see what happened?

No sorry, is it not repeated anywhere?

yes caught that bit...they said no to having the dog and unfortunately the dog was euthanised :( 

I think he was pts in the end but don't know why, i presumed they wouldn't take him. The last thing we saw was him being pinned with the dog catcher stick and them trying to sedate him. Very sad as he was a beautiful dog otherwise.
Same with the poor "pitbull" that had a gorgeous temperament. :-(
Posted at the same time as above!

I'm just about to watch it on iPlayer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00rwmbs/Animal_247_Series_6_Episode_12/

Yes I watched the whole episode. Sadly the rottie was pts thearmed forces couldn't have him as he had bitten humans.

The actual scene  of him being pts was so sad it showed what a lovely dog he could of been but also how quickly he changed when stressed.
Unfortnately the pitbull x was also pts later as his wonderful owner (sacasm) and all is attiude of "you cant take my dog" etc to the police couldn't be asked to get the paperwork done and then presumably comply to the rules in the eight weeks he was given. Just shows how much the dog really meant.
I got so cross with the owner just hope he didn't findit easier to get hold of another one instead

Sadly the rottie was pts thearmed forces couldn't have him as he had bitten humans.

I just watched it and was amazed at how ignorant the RSPCA was. A dog they believed to be aggressive, so they reckoned he'd make a good police dog? Such a dog should never be aggressive, quite the opposite, it must be able to walk calmly around any member of the public, including small children, and just respond to commands as and when needed.

just watched it from your link Marianne, it broke my heart to see that poor dog so frightened, i sobbed watching him being put to sleep.

I hope the owner who is in prison (not for what he done to the dog, though it should be)  stays there for a very long time.

A beautiful dog, poor hugo :(

I just watched your link Marianne.

I can't believe that guy who they stopped in the street, didn't fight for his dog.  He yelled that he didn't want them to take her, yet didn't make any effort to ensure that he could have her back.

So she was destroyed.  It was awful.  I know she was a banned breed, but her temperament was lovely, and she had won the hearts of all the people that looked after her.  I can't help it, I really cried at such a waste.

I watched it and was frankly pretty horrified..

That supposedly aggressive Rottie 'trained to go for people in uniform' yet showed NO signs of that whatsoever and ONLY reacted badly when strangled on a grab pole pinned into a corner with two blokes towering over him, one weilding a hypodermic.... and lets face it you can hardly say the poor dog WASNT threatened then, he was about to die!

And that 'pitbull'... how horrific, cornering someone on the street and bullying them - where his full rights actually explained to him, we have no idea. No, he didnt fill out the paperwork but then we also have NO idea if he actually had all the information to hand, and the funds... the fees are not cheap and with only 8 weeks to get the money together... thats IF hed been given all teh correct information which given previous cases, its highly likely he had not..

Unfortunately people dont always know where to get help, the authorities make it extremely difficult and dont pass messages on, send people to the wrong places... some people have turned up to take their dogs home to find their dog has been destroyed..

And that kennels.... if that was a boarding kennels they would be shut down.. filthy, nowhere dry for the dogs to lie down, nothing for them to lie on... most of them seemed to have nothing to play with ...

And the poor dog wasnt remotely dangerous at all... how many of us could have a physical tussel with someon ein the street over our dog and NOT hae the dog bark even once.... i would be three out of my five would go NUTS, one would just growl and one would just pap herself in fear. Yet that supposedly dangerous breed wagged her tail and kissed everyone!

And then that poor dog that had been returned to her owners.... lead out in a Mikki muzzle that is totally unsuitable for exercising a dog in, which the good ole RSPCA chap never said a word about... so thats going to be lovely when that poor dog collapses in summer unable to pant properly and dies of heatstroke or gets seized when the owners take her muzzle off so she can drink....

I think that show really does a lot of damage to dogs and animals in general - although theres a lot of 'its not the dog its the owner' theres still TONS of 'nasty evil dog' 'vicious breeds', etc from both vets and RSPCA officials... and that smug git presenting it, talking utter rubbish...

i couldnt have put it better myself

Thanks for the link, I never even thought of iplayer! I didn't get a chance to watch it but I'm glad I never saw the second half of the show now, sounds very upsetting and madening :(

>I just watched it and was amazed at how ignorant the RSPCA was. A dog they believed to be aggressive, so they reckoned he'd make a good police dog?

Ah, I must have got the wrong end of the stick at the begining, I thought the RSPCA man was trying to get the rottie placed with the army, I thought he may have thought it suitable as a guard dog patrolling secure premesis with a handler or sommething like that? Didn't realise he was trying to get it into the police force!

This programme just showed what hypocrites the BBC and the RSPCA are . on the PDE programme show breeders were critisized for breeding for looks and there was a section about eugenics and compareds breeders to NAZIs getting rid of the Jews.
but this programme showed perfectly nice temperament dogs siezed just because of how they looked compared to an aribitrary written standard  with a tape measure and if they happened to just look a certain way then hard luck, regardless of what a nice dog they are they are condemned to imprisonment in kennels, a life spent muzzled and restricted on a lead or being killed. what its the difference?

I couldnt work out where the RSPCA guy was trying to get it a home tbh.. I got the impression he was asking someone who trained guard dogs or similar..

The BBC are a big ole bunch of hypocrites... decrying dog breeders and pedigree dogs in PDE... then showing a character in Eastenders pimping his St Bernard out to make money...

Not showing crufts because it supports cruel practices.... but bigging up the Greyhound racing industry by showing Three Men go to Ireland, featuring Dara OBriains dog Snip Nua, who had in fact died at the race track two weeks before the show aired from a broken leg (well no she died from being put to sleep... not cost effective is it...).

I think one of the bbc radio dj's has got himself a dog and is publicising that on his radio show too... lots more publicity for the flagging greyhound racing industry which is of cours egenerating the government money...

Impartial my wossnames!

I only saw the first part of the show. What I was suprised babout is how the dogs that were taken from one man (one of the dogs was in a wooden kennel as a 'guard' dog) were all thoguht to be of 'pit type'. The one looked completely different to the other, it looked like a bullmastiff cross, very stocky, massive head. Once the dogs were checked by the vet, the vet determined, on physical examination alone that the bigger dog was not of 'pit type' and could go back to the owner, the other 2 were of 'pit type'.

What I am wondering about is HOW can the vet tell that the bigger dog was not crossed with a pit/pit-type? It could have been a bullmastiff x pit bull. Also how can it be determined that the other 2 WERE pit type, they could have been staffy x lab. (I am pleased the dog was goven back to the owner, he seemed like a complete sweetie :) )

I just don't get what constitutes 'pit type' I assumed it was a dog deliberately bred for fighting, but it seems as if it really depends on the examaning vet wheather a dog is of 'type' or not. Very confusing.

> how many of us could have a physical tussel with someon ein the street over our dog and NOT hae the dog bark even once..

My last dog, a lab cross that resembled a cute, fluffy teddy bear more than anything else would have bitten anybody giving me agro and he would not have bothered warning. There is no way he could have been classed as a pit type by the wildest stretch of the imagination, but he was definately a dog that thought he had to protect his people.
I did catch part of it where a man was crowded and being hasseled, I felt so worried that the dog was going to feel threetened and lash out. Can't believe people working with 'dangerous dogs' have such a lack of regard for natural dog behaviour and completely ignore the fact that even a mild-mannered friendly dog could feel forced into biting in that situation :(

I don't think it's the fault of the police or the RSPCA, they are there to enforce a law, but nobody has ensured they know enough about dogs.

> This programme just showed what hypocrites the BBC and the RSPCA are . on the PDE programme show breeders were critisized for breeding for looks and there was a section about eugenics and compareds breeders to NAZIs getting rid of the Jews.
> but this programme showed perfectly nice temperament dogs siezed just because of how they looked compared to an aribitrary written standard  with a tape measure and if they happened to just look a certain way then hard luck, regardless of what a nice dog they are they are condemned to imprisonment in kennels, a life spent muzzled and restricted on a lead or being killed. what its the difference?

Well said!

I watched that episode too and never realised that they classified pit 'type' dogs by just a physical and visual assessment, I suppose I never really thought about it though. Surely that leaves a lot of room for mistakes?
My eldest dog is a spaniel x jack russel but the amount of times I've been asked if she's a staff x!, like Matifflover said those two bitches could have been some other cross and just ended up unfortunately with the 'look'. Poor dogs, I nearly cried for Tequila :(

Gah I thought it was pretty common knowledge by now, but clearly not..

Being 'of pitbull type' doesnt mean the dog has even SEEN a pitbull, let alone is related to one.

It is done entirely on appearance. So get yourself the average council estate mutt... dash of staffie, dash of boxer, bit of labrador, bit of mastiff, bit of rottie, plenty of 'no one will ever know what'..

And it could be a pitbull type.. and whats more you can buy a pup, and have it not be illegal at 6 months and then it grows into an illegal dog ...

All without ever having even sniffed a real pitbulls butt!

If you have something genuinely x with a pitbull.. but it doesnt look like it... thats fine! (If you are wondering what might be and wouldnt look it... try some of the bull x lurchers that are around!)

The older looking RSPCA chap in that programme was Inspector Eachus... Otherwise well known for attending court cases to prove for the prosecution a dog was a pit bull or pit bull type since the early days.... interesting as leopards and spots yet again come to mind...

Interesting they chose to air this programme the day before they announced their false claim that two thirds of dog owners want a dog license! Below are the stats of their telephone poll:

The TNS poll commissioned by the RSPCA asked 1,017 adults between the ages of 16-64 in Great Britain in February 2010.

The poll asked 334 dog owners and 683 non-dog owners for their views.

A total of 771 people asked were in favour of a licence, 145 people asked were against it and 101 people asked did not know.

It doesn't say how many of the people asked were what age group, nor how the 771 people breaks down into dog owner v non dog owner...

How very odd that I know NO ONE who has taken part in this poll, myself included and I am registered with TNS for market research purposes...

> It doesn't say how many of the people asked were what age group, nor how the 771 people breaks down into dog owner v non dog owner...

It also doesn't say how the people were picked. For example, if an RSPCA inspector had given a talk in a school to say 100 16 year olds and put across the RSPCA view that a dog licence is a good thing and then in the next few days they telephoned these same 16 year olds and asked them if they thought dog licensing was a good thing I'd bet almost all 100 would say yes!

Just shows how easy it can be to skew things to their own way of thinking.....