Dangerous Dogs - caused by breeding or rearing? - The Results of our Survey

On the 24th December 2007, having read and heard of the horrific dog attacks by so called 'dangerous dogs', I started a poll on this website to gather the real view of the general public about dog breeds that were considered to be dangerous to see if it differed from the view and hype that the news would have you believe. My reason for starting the poll was that I was saddened to hear of the horrific attacks like that of poor Ellie Lawrensen and several others like her. At the time of writing this (Feb 09) I have heard of another child death only the other week and this week a young girl has been horribly disfigured. The issue I have however, is that time and time again it is the dogs who are blamed for these attacks and put to sleep without a second thought as to why they did it. Their owners, who I believe are usually to blame, are never made to be accountable. Worse still, as a consequence of these attacks, happy family pets all over the UK who happen to be of a so called 'dangerous dog' breed were and still are being put down 'just in case'. If they're not being put down, they're often being given up. This not only saddens me, but it infuriates me!! In my view, all dogs act in accordance with their perceived position in the 'pack'. I say perceived because many people think they are 'top dog' in the family when in fact, to their pet dog, they're seen as the sub-ordinate pack member. Dog behaviour  is beyond the scope of this article and I'm not officially qualified to pass advice on it though I have a fair amount of experience having owned three rescued dogs myself. Those of you who are interested, I suggest you read the book by Jan Fennell - The Dog Whisperer and\or watch The Dog Whisperer show on Sky 3. The 'Dangerous Dogs' poll was live on Lost-Doggies UK for one year. In that time, 1197 people cast their votes. Of those, 1090 (91%) believe that so called 'dangerous dogs' are made dangerous by their irresponsible, unreliable and often ill-educated (in the dog behaviour sense) owners. 55 voters (4.6%) believed the reverse is true and they think that a dangerous dog is born dangerous and no amount of training will correct it. The remaining 52 voters (4.4%) were unsure.

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The result of dog attacks on people, commonly young children, have resulted in the government taking what many would consider 'the easy way out' by introducing Breed Specific Legislation. This is legislation that outlaws dog breeds that, throughout history, appear to have shown a tendency of attacking people. Does it ever occur to anyone though that the reason that this is often the case is due to the kind of people who are generally drawn to owning these kinds of dogs and who, consequently, do not give the dogs the training or respect they deserve? I know of many people who own Pit Bull Terriers, Rottweilers and similar breeds and their dogs will lick your face, roll round on their backs, and be fantastic family pets. So why do they differ from the one's you see chained to a massive chain lead with studded collars outside the corner shop with a group of ten thugs whose average age is usually about 15? Because they are treated as proper dogs and trained as such, instead of status symbols used to aggravate gang cultures and scare people. Controversial? Of course. Politically incorrect? Maybe - but it's my site and my view so I'll write it.

The Dangerous Dogs of today are caused by the scum bags and yobs of modern day society who have no respect for anyone and they use dogs like this to strike fear into people. It's often these same dogs who attack young boys and girls. Educate and punish these people, make them accountable for their dogs actions, and maybe your Rottweiler curled up by your fire as you read this won't be the next dog to be needlessly put down 'just in case'.

For more information about Breed Specific Legislation, visit 'Deed not Breed - Fighting Breed Specific Legilsation.

Please comment about this write up in our polls section here. 

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