This may have been brought up before - but I think your thoughts will be interesting!...

The DDA bans these four dogs:

The Pit Bull Terrier
The Dogo Argentino
The Fila Brasiliero
The Japenese Tosa

Now as far as I can remember the dogs that were always on the news in the press (following an actual attack) were Dobes, Rotties and Alsatians! Was I dreaming?

[My point is..] Did any of the above four 'banned' dogs actually attack anyone?

Yes there were particulaly in the case of the APBT type, but think the dogs that were banded were those who were breed for dog fighting or as attack dogs. Not very logical but no one asked my opinion.

PS - don't recall Dobes or GSD's being in the news for serious attack but do recall a couple of Rotties who went into a school playground, but the wounds looked like scratches more than bites but I was not there.

Hiya
Round here, never heard of a shepherd or dobe attacking. Only a rottie and a staffie X. But it's not the breed of dog it is how they are brought up, how well socialised they have been, how they are kept etc etc that makes them like that.
Gina

Hello. I am from Brazil and only ever saw 2 or 3 Filas out in the streets, because they are such dangerous dogs, people have them as guard dogs, in farms, holliday homes, building sites, etc. Those dogs attack to kill.
Val xxxx

those 4 dogs were banned as a safeguard (according to the government) as they were seen as likely replacement for the APBT once it had been erradicated. if memory serves correctly (which it usually doesnt) lol there was only 1 tosa in the country and none of the no filas and no dogo. just a pathetic publicity stunt to re-gain the favor of the brainless general public. there are probably more attacks from mongrels than any of the dogs listed. is another one of those pathetic knee jerk decisions made to keep stupid people happy.

my favorite saying at the momen :

You cant teach things to stupid people - just give them a lolly and they'll be happy.

andy

lol Andy!

Well said.

The DDA was a stupid publicity stunt that punished breeds and not the idiots who abused these beautiful animals and got them the bad name in the first place.

In saying that... some dogs can be particularly aggressive by nature and should maybe require a special licience or other means of monitoring ownership/breeding etc

Wishfairy - which dogs do you think are particularly aggressive by nature?

Azz
I dont think you have to be a particular breed . Dogs have temperaments just like people some meaner than others

LOL - I'm not going to start a war by naming specific breeds.

I know it's not always the ones you expect it to be though - I'm a big fan of all things mastiff, ISBT's etc. I used to work in a vets and handled some very distressed dogs (a bullmastiff with a broken leg looks mean as hell) but to be honest the only dogs that have ever really frightened me were terriers, not staffords but Jack Russells.

I'm not qualified to name 'dangerous' and 'safe' but nor were those who brought about the DDA (IMO)

My husband is terrieraphobic!!!!!
Give him the biggest, meanest looking dog going and he has no fear. Anything smaller than a goldie he's on his guard!
The DDA is a load of rubbish. Exactly how many of the dogs listed were ever in the Uk? Okay the bull was very popular but the Tosa Etc???
Its a farce!
Any old dog can turn, its natures way! Humans cannot dictate to an animal how to feel or react to situations.

Tongue in cheek Azz, I think my Border Terrier is particularly aggressive by nature but I would hope no one would ever call him a dangerous dog! BT hates anything with a tail and four legs, 2 legs and wings etc etc. It seems its just his way as he is perfect in all other respects. Up to me as an owner to avoid any disasters and I'm learning - fast!! Saying that, there are one or two Rottie owners on my estate that the owners seem to want the dogs to be aggressive - but unfortunately its the owners at fault here and not the dog. Ned culture.

CG

I agree that a lot of the time it's the breeder's or owner's fault. But the Fila seems to be born this way and just hate any stranger that comes near it's family, ever the less agressive ones are like that, it's a fact.

personally, as an ISBT owner i wouldnt mind if i had to license Kara. she has no nasty tendencies and isnt a threat to anyone - nor am i therefore have nothing to hide. licensing would deter the idiot eliemnt while still allowing the breed to thrive and improve

For us ignorant people, what is an ISBT?

Hi Jacky - ISBT = Irish Staffordshire Bull Terrier :-)

i just want to ask out of curiosty :rolleyes: if one of the banned dogs was crossed with a mongrel or another breed would it still be banned? :)

Rotties were in the spot light not too long ago. 3 rotties got loose and killed i boy and a man, the injured this other man in america,there was tv show that showed the man who lived. the police officers had to shoot the things.
and then another case with a rottie mauled a small girl , she fortunaly lived but her face is scared badly :(the rottie had jumpted the fence into another garden with the girl playing outside a wendy house:( so sad.

P.s i would rather these brainless people be safe before the sake of having a pitbull running about.
who would like 2 see a pitbull lockjawed on someone huh?
now use ur commen sence .ok so some people might not be able to train these dogs very well , but innocent people get bitten .
Im sorry but i feel 1 or 2 of you are putting lives before animals!
I know some of u wont like how i feel , but its tough id rather everyone be safe then sorry .

yes better safe than sorry - dogs bite people, lets ban them all! someone got nocked over by a car yesterday - no more of them then - girl got trampled by a horse bye horse - cat clawed a kid - no more of them either.

i think you get the idea.

sorry to rant but better safe than sorry is a really silly attitude in my opinion - every situtation is different and should be judged as such!

ps.

would u like a lolly?

Yes, the DDA covers the dogs mentioned as well as crosses and dogs who appear to look like the banned dogs. I believe there was a case involving a staff who was seized as it looked like an APBT and later died in kennels :(

Just a little off the point, but is it true that certain breeds such as pitbulls jaws actually 'Lock' when they bite? I seem to remember reading recently that this is actually a myth and their bite is no different to any other dogs. Can anyone put me straight out of interest?

Fiona and Saffy

Any breed can and will bite if provoked in any senseless way, its there only weapon.
Apparently most breeds are getting the blame for such attacks, the press can't see the difference between certain breeds i:e crossbreds so they will pick out a type to blame rather than the actual breed it is mixed with.
Unfortuntely people are to blame for the dogs actions, how they are bought up, socialized etc.....anyone with brains will know that dogs won't tolerate any abuse or threats from anyone whatsoever, whether owner or not and the mogority that are bought up around young children nowadays is unbelievable, usually these are the ones who haven't a clue how to bring up a child let alone a dog.
There are also those who buy there infants pets but don't realise how much hard work is involved, children do not know any better of how to treat a puppy/dog but adults do and children get bored so quickly that the poor dog is the one that suffers in the end.
So then the poor dog is passed on from one owner to the next because its either nasty, uncontrollable, or simply just naughty, these are the ones who find it hard to be rehomed..
Eventually when someone comes along who is loving and caring and just wants to put the dog first, that dog will have a happy home because it will be loved, trained, socialized well around animals and people etc. That is how dogs should be bought up to be happy and content.

I wouldn't worry about taking on almost any breed of dog from a well trusted background but that's because I'm confident in my commitment and abilities to train, socialise etc. I also understand that some are a little more prone to fighting (individuals and not just breeds) and that some can be downright vicious when attacking for whatever reason. I'd rather be bitten by a Yourkshire terrier than a Pitbull Terrier ;)

Of course terrible things do happen and we'll not really know the reason why some dogs just 'turn'. It's a bit like finding out somone you knew was an axe murderer... 'well he was such a quiet neighbour'.

Like Andy says tho, if you've nothing to hide what's the problem with licencing people who own certain breeds. Maybe all it would involve in a yearly 'temperment and obedience' test at the local vets, I don't know the answer. But surley there is a compromise?

Fiona
<<<is it true that certain breeds such as pitbulls jaws actually 'Lock' when they bite? >>
It is a myth as far as I am aware .

No the jaw doesnt lock.

they dont actually lock but they can exert some stupidly high amount of pressure

and lets remember people bite people too.

never heard of a DOBE attacking anyone i think SOME of these breeds hsave been given BAD publicity ANY dog could bite if he was provocked ...........{cant spell sorry}

DDA - yet another government act to gain votes and be seen to be doing something at a time when the press were busy alarming the public in order to sell more newspapers. I recall that the rottweiler was the breed getting the majority of the bad press ("devil dog" etc.etc) as well as the pit bull terrier, although in recent times it has been akitas near my neck of the woods. I notice that it wasn't rotties that were banned though(thankfully, as I had a lovely one at the time) - too many politicians probably own them to get rotties banned. Far easier to ban the american pit bull terrier and other so called "fighting dogs" (tosa a fighting dog, dogo a hunting dog, fila a guard dog!) which were not even present in the country at that time. Don't know who decided which breed was to be banned but it seems like a rather random choice to me. At the end of the day these breeds have a lot to recommend them but we will never get the chance to see them in the UK. There are bound to be bad examples of every breed (probably from irresponsible ownership) just as there are bad examples of human beings. Do we not need to examine our own behaviour (violence, murder, genocide, war) before we start judging our canine friends?

I totally agree - any dog can be good or bad. My own dog bit me (unintentionally) while trying to fight with a spaniel. Am I going to march my own dog off to be put down for biting? Nope. I now just take much more care with him because I know he's aggressive. Dobes do bark - so do BTs! And in fact many many breeds I've come across.

CG

The only time that I've ever heard of Rottie's attacking in the papers has nearly always been when someone a child or whoever has climbed over a fence and gone into the garden etc. of the owners of the breed. Unfortunately they are only doing their job and protecting their property and it isn't really the dogs fault, but of course children don't think, there immediate reaction when they lose something is to go and get it, unfortunately it can have severe consequences.

no thanks andy but i really think you need ur nappy changing! your a very rude person!
Im sorry but certain dogs can be more agressive and powerful when they bite .its been bred into them as the pitbull was im sure u know urself the history andy . from being bred to keep bulls in place ;)
and certain dogs like the pit bull can do more damage then say a yorkie. and andy i know u were torn if you should have a pitbull or not so obviously ur just a lover of them standing up for them.
Well i would rather innocent people be safe any of you care to read up on the pit bull ;) here andy take a look at the history of a pitbull if you dont already know what they were bred for...
//webferret.search.com/click?wf,pitbull+terrier+history,,dogs.about.com%2Flibrary%2Fweekly%2Faa011303a.htm,,aol

put that in ur bar and read up on it.
i can roll of plently of adresses with attacks on innocent people who dident do anything . a pit bull got loose and attacked 6 school children in america . heres another one u might like to read

//webferret.search.com/click?
wf,dog+attacks,,www.medicinenet.com%2Fscript%2Fmain%2Fart.asp%3Farticlekey%3D572,,aol

And i looked at all breeds main one reported was bull mastives and pitbulls so ermm i take it there all made up storys.

Im not going to comment any further on this subject. andy you must value dogs above any other thing .
i love dogs but there are breeds that are well known for behavour and its not always just how the dog is trained its a mental thing .
why when breeders bred they try and get a bitch and a dog that have good temps? well in the first place some of these dogs were bred to fight , how do u supose they will breed it out of them?

Not going to post any further on this subject while is a certain person who cant post without being agressive. honistly your comments are very childish ,grow up

There are two sides to every coin - you will find good and bad owners in every breed of dog going :rolleyes:
For those interested in the postive side of pitbulls please have a look at this site
http://www.forpitssake.org/fpspopup.html
:)
Lel

By the way does there have to be an argument on every board/post ?