I was just wondering if anybody lived in sheffield or the surrounding areas and have heard about the latest dog attacks (2 with akitas and 2 with rotties) in the space of a week, three of these where against children.Since this people are trying to get the two breeds under the dangerous dogs act. I own two rotties and are both brilliant in temprement and have been raised with children and i trust them 100%. I personally think the owners should get done for this not the dogs as these type of people are giving these dogs a bad name and reputation.

haven't heard about the attacks but I agree with you regarding dealing with the owners, I too have rotties although 1 is only a half pint pup so he's no threat to anyone but himself!! We're not sure of the background of the older bitch as she's a rescue but she is an absolute angel with my 2 kids and any others we've ever met, infact she's usually better behaved than the kids! :) I never leave them all alone together though not because I don't trust the dogs but because Lucy is more likely to hurt them trying to give them a cuddle

With the rottie attack the father of the girl doesn't want the owners prosecuted, but the dog was destroyed. There weren't many details on the teletext news I read it on.
LynnT

what i know of through the papers and news the girl went up to the rottie it growled at her then got her with the head and ragged her about,the pictures were on the news and i felt so sorry for her ,the owners took the dog to be destroyed straight away. The other sttacks where from akitas the first jumped out of a car and bit a young boy taking a chunk out of his neck and causing a lot of damage to his face and the second a man was stood in his own garden with his akita and it just turned on him.

You are always left wondering what the whole story is with these reports. A five year old was "attacked" in the local park a few weeks back, but what one local rag reported was different from another!

I realize you're just reporting it....but the concept that a dog just turned for no reason and attacked his own owner should be raising some eyebrows. What the heck was the owner doing during the dog's life that it felt biting was the correct or possibly panicked response??? That's when I start wondering how much harsh treatment has that dog put up with before this.

Biting is a stressful reaction and the majority of family pets do not automatically resort to it when something is going on. Hmm.
Just makes me want to ask more questions and find out what really happened :(

I disagree eog...in my experience it is usually a family pet that turns on its owner simply because it feels superior to its human family due to its lack of discipline. I know of at least 5 dogs that have bitten their owners multiple times because they are basically "spoilt brats" and have never been properly disciplined. They bite if their dinner bowl is approached, if they are "asked" to get off the sofa and so on. It is nothing to do with being treated harshly.....in fact totally the opposite.

The article in Dog World re the attacks say that a 7 year old needed 33 stitches to her face after being attacked by a staffie cross, the dog pulled away from the handler and bit the girl. A 6 year old was attacked by an Akita which tore part of the boys cheek and chin off. The dog was tied to a car in a car park by someone looking after the dog. A 5 year old by two cross breeds. A 10 year old by a Rottie, apparently the girl was playing near her home when the dog knocked her to the ground after breaking free from the owners, she needed skin grafts and a 4 year old has been attacked by a Rottie while playing in a neighbours garden.

I'm sure I saw it somewhere that the Akita happened in a pub car park- but like everything else- there's 10 different stories- chinese whispers

Stacey x x x

I see what you're talking about, Sam. I've seen the other side of the fence (no pun) where families were brutalized by one individual and either the dog was protecting a person, or the dog had enough of the maltreatment to snap.

Thanks for the info. ...it's still demonstrating that "something's not right" in the household. There's a reason....but never reported to the public. It's just excused away as "evil/aggressive dog" stories which create fear and panic :(

a friend of mine bought a dog at about 1 year old it was a lovely dog and very friendly then one day it just turned on her for no reason and left quite a nasty mark on her arm, after that she was scared of it and as her boyfriend had just left her she couldent really cope with it but nobody would take the dog as all of a sudden it no longer liked men and if it saw one would try to attack.She eventually took it to a rescue centre.She later found out her ex-boyfriend had been seen beating the dog for no apparent reason (pity nobody could have told her this at the time) so it was no wonder this dog got so aggressive with men.I just wish before she got rid of the dog it had bit her ex right where it hurt and give him a taste of his own medican

One of my GSD's was given to rescue because of his aggression problem. Even 9 years later he won't tolerate a man smelling of beer near him without growling and showing his teeth!
I do hope that the scars he carries on his mind are suitably reflected on someone's body!!

I couldn't agree more Lara:(

I wouldn't mind lending him though to get me through this world cup;)

Stacey x x x

Sorry Stacey - All those years ago when Mum and Dad taught me to share - I made some exceptions! :)

Hi Sam

I agree withyou and also it could be that some dogs have some unknown illness (brain disease etc) which makes them turn and this wouldnt be known before their change in behaviour?

Regards Gina

Very true Gina - and vets don't keep a selection of muzzles in their surgeries for decoration. Some dogs will bite when they are in pain. :(

A dog has to be taught its place in the household and learn that you are the pack leader. But children also have to learn to respect the dog and not tease and torment it. I had a friend whose cross was destroyed for snapping at her little girl, who had a little nip on her face. When asked what had happened she said the child had been nipping the dogs face and the dog had growled a few times before snapping. If the snap had not been a warning and the dog had meant it her face would have been a real mess as the dog was not a small one.
Under the circumstances I personally would not have had the dog destroyed, the little girl had no respect what so ever for the dog and was always tormenting it. The dog had just come to the end of its tether with her and I blame the parents for not teaching her that the dog was not to be treated in the way it was ie pulled about and nipped etc.

We have 2 rotties and one akita, all bitches, IMVHO both breeds are pushy and need to know their place from an early age, unfortunately some people buy them without considering the implications of owning a large strong heavy dog and if they bite someone they do alot of damage. We find people back away from the Rotts but come flying over to try and hug the 'nice big fluffy unusual one'. I get so annoyed at these people who allow their dogs to become a risk to others, I trust my three but would never leave them alone with visitors and when my 6 year old has friends round they all go outside ( the dogs that is !)

That is the only way to go Lorraine , prevention always being better than cure.
I call it the cardinal rule .
I say it day and night to anyone that will listen to me , never ever let a child alone with a dog.
I tell them the childs face is level with the dog and if anything was to happen the childs face is gone .
Some people ask me if I have such worries why do I keep dogs.
I reply it is more important to know that no matter how much you love your dogs they are animals at the end of the day and we do not know for certain how they will react to all situations.They may be ill or have a tumour causing rage . Or be hurt and out of sorts .
I have never had a problem with any of my dogs innearly 36 yrs, that does not mean to say it will never happen .
I prefer to be safe rather than sorry . Mari

Today I had to pop out for a short time, my daughter was at home and saw a movement in the garden, when she looked it was my neighbours 6yo son, who once again had thrown something over the fence and came to collect it, luckily the dogs were in the house, he ran out and left the gate open. Normally the gate is bolted but just for a few minutes it wasn't, had the door to the house been open I could be in the papers tomorrow. This kid torments the dogs though the fence, shouts at me to put them indoors if he is out in his garden because they scare him, and generally causes me problems. Ingrid

I agree with Mari- prevention's better than cure and that's why I've got a padlock on my back gate- so none of the kids round here can come and call for mine, which they do although mine aren't allowed out of the garden, I don't want some kid being nasty to my dog then if she were to snap back before you know it, you've got the kids parents running round screaming that they've been attacked:( Not that I'm saying this is what's hapenned in the above cases but it's true that people do tend to exaggerate situations when it's a large breed of dog involved. Also if they did leave the gate open and Kass got out- I live near a main road what if a car had to swerve for her, causing a massive pile up resulting in god knows how many injured inc my dog:( Ingrid I feel so sorry for you- I've got a 7year old and have seen her working her way round my parents- I know what manipulative little sods they can be;) As for his Mum- fancy just letting him climb over in the first place I wouldn't let my kids approach a strange dog, don't get me wrong I wouldn't usher them away in horror either. Have you tried talking to them about the whole issue?

Stacey x x x

I agree, i have a gorgeous Rotty whom i would trust implicitly. I have raised him from a pup and he knows that humans are well above him in the pecking order. Right from when we got him home he would have to sit and wait before dinner, we would take his bones away, then return them after we had finished with them. He learnt right from the start that's the way it is. Now he is almost a year old and will sit and look at his food bowl but will not consider touching it until he has been given permission to. When one of us gets home he will frantically search for his favourite chew and present it to us with his stump wagging like crazy!
Our pup was born and raised around children, cats, dogs and horses. He goes to dog training and is wonderful with other dogs as well, he was approached by a snarling aggresive retriever a few weeks ago and just walked past it completely ignoring its aggresion. He has got a superb temprement, i stood outside a busy supermarket with him last week and i'm pleased to say that many, many people came to make a fuss of him, which he thoroughly loved, spending ages licking everybody. Not 1 person commented on him being a vicious rottweiler, so hopefully there are still some people sane enough to realise that it is not the breed itself that is dangerous.
I really feel for the poor dogs that have gone from pillar to post, i personally would not take a dog from a rescue charity (i think that those people who do are wonderful and they obviously have more experience and time and skill than i could possibly have) as i wouldn't want to take on a dog with an unknown history.

Rottybird- I completely agree especially the bit about taking on rescue dogs- Everyone else on here has heard this before but like you I think people who do are wonderful but it's just not for me- I have a German Shepherd pup 11 weeks old- and when I was looking for breeders etc all my colleagues at work thought I was being selfish and stupid wanting a 'designer dog'- but the way I see it I had to get one from a pup as they're such a large breed- I couldn't risk taking one on that may have a history and possibly turn one day, especially not with two children I couldn't!

Stacey x x x

Stacey, I spoke to the mother of the child this morning for the umpteenth time, we had major problems last summer, Oh Dear she hadn't realised the kid had been out, he said he kicked his ball over the fence and had to get it, 8 foot fence/hedge and 6yo old backward kid, and way she told him he was not to come in my garden as the dogs would bite him, I was not impressed, anyway it may work for a while, but no doubt next time the gate is left unbolted he'll be back, I did mention that perhaps the answer would be to lock him in his own garden as he has no road sense either, that idea went down like a lead brick. Ingrid

Ingrid how awful for you:( Fancy the Mother telling him that they WILL bite him though- knowing kids give it time and he'll be telling all his mates about the vicious DOGS next door to him then you'll have them all round sat tormenting them trying to get them to show there teeth all while the kids are sat just out of reach:( Sorry to sound harsh but I think that's where it's going:( When my kids kick the ball over next doors fence- I tell them 'you've lost it now unless they throw it back when they get in- TOUGH', I just don't think it's fair or polite to have them climbing over the fence, I wouldn't like it if I had kids climbing over mine while I was doing the washing up or whatever. When me and my Sister were younger if we wanted to fetch a ball or whatever, no matter how close to us it was in the gardens we had to go round the front and knock on the door to ask for it back- politely- whatever hapenned to doing that What about an overhang on the fence or put that 'trellis' up- it's not very strong that so next time he tries with any luck it'd break and knock some sense into him:) As for a 'lead brick' Ingrid- can't you tie a few to their ankles and chuck them in the nearest river;)- in an ideal world eh;)

Stacey x x x

Oh Stacey you don't know how tempted I am. He hasn't yet climbed the fence but will torment the dogs at any opportunity, it is a fence and a hedge. Sadly he has problems so his mental age is lower then 6 which is why I think they should make more of an effort to keep him contained, with parents like that though what can you expect ??????
Ingrid

With parents like that what chance has the kid got? It must be stressfull for you having to put up with this.

Julieann

Exactly with parents like that- funny enough though they'd probably try and prosecute if the little sod got bit! We've got a 'problem child' living down the road from us- she has a certain disorder that's all initials- HNHD or something like that- I think it's nick named 'naughty kids syndrome'! You should see her Mother (she's an only child by the way) in her Mothers eyes the kid can literally do no wrong- the number of times I've looked like a battleaxe in the street having it out with her is unreal. My kids aren't perfect- far from it- but at least I know what they are and wouldn't argue that black is white over them. The other month she was bugging my kids through the fence and threw a stone over that hit Kane right on the chin- he was heart broke the poor kid and it must have hurt bacause it left a right mark on his chin- what did I do?- I opened my back gate and told him to crack her back! Many might not agree with this but Kane's only 4 and she's 8 or 9. There's just no point anymore complaining to her parents because they refuse to believe anything said to them so I thought I'd let him give her a taste of her own medicine- he picked up a stone and walked casually up to her and threw it at her- she ran off (he missed anyway) ever so upset because Kane had threw a stone at her! She only comes up this end to bug my kids when she's bored and got nothing better to do- they're easy pickings for her because mine aren't allowed out of the garden! So she thinks she can do what she wants and they can't retaliate- quite cunning really because although Shannon's only 7 she's quite a 'big girl' and has quite a nasty side when pushed- the kid knows she's be in for it right if Shannon was allowed out.

Ingrid if it makes you feel any better- I think every street's got one:)

Stacey x x x

Well Stacey I've got two next door, the boy has something called 'fragile X syndrome' & cannot even attend a special school full time cos they can't handle him, there are 5 kids and only 2 are normal ages range from 21 down to the 6 yo, luckily all the girls are pretty good at staying away from the dogs. Ingrid

You'd have thought that even the older one's would try and stop him then too wouldn't you!

Stacey x x x

Ingrid, we used to have the same problem with 2 lads next door climbing over to get their football back, I warned the parents that our two rotts were not vicious but I could not guarantee how they would react if the kids climbed over whilst they were loose, eventually I gave up complaining and put 3' trellis all round the tops of the 6' fencing, worked a treat and have since planted climbers which give more privacy again, pleased to say the neighbours moved in the end, but I do feel alot happier with the trellis up anyway.

Lorraine