And if people like that were the only ones place to buy a dog, only those who really wanted one would get one.

I've been following this thread for a while and stayed out of until now but some things you say garydogz really confuse me. Please correct me if I am wrong but.......

I think that is completely backwards. The only dog I've ever been bitten by is a English Springer Spaniel, I've seen all sorts of breeds of dog snap all too easily but never in my life have a seen a nasty or snappy Staffordshire Bull Terrier. My dogs regularly play with a Staff on the park and they are far from gentle when playing, he takes it on the chin and keeps on playing. Milo is a rescue Lab/Staff and he has more patience than any other dog I have ever known. The fact you are laying these claims against specific breeds suggests to me you know very little about the subject you preach about.

How can you liken groceries to a dog? Milk and bread hardly come with the same responsibilities, they don't need time or attention, walking or feeding. If they are left all day they don't crap all over your house and chew the sofa to bits because they are bored. Definatly not the same thing and I don't see how you can liken them at all?

Why? Responsible breeders don't want their pups ending up in a rescue centre or being beaten by some maniac, they want to ensure they go to a responsible, loving home. Do you really think that is a bad thing? I can't imagine why that would put anyone off unless they had something to hide.

I was so impressed when Jayjay's breeder quizzed me on what I did and how often I was out, my past experience with dogs, etc and even delivered the pup to me to ensure he was going to a safe environment and that he settled down okay. I would rather know my pup was coming from someone like that than someone who appears not to care where their pups end up.

I can't say any breed is quicker to turn that any other, I've always found Bully breeds infact the complete opposite...

Whenever there is a mention of a dog attack the press never make public the kind of homes the dogs are from (something that really gets my back up!) for instance some people assume that it's actually okay to tease a dog for example and think it's funny when their children are seen to be doing the same I would say that this would be more than likely be probable for 50% of dog attacks on children, attacks where it never gets a mention what the child was doing before the dog bit them, I firmly believe most if not all dog attacks are purely down to bad ownership/poor socialisation cases of people not being fully aware of what they have on the other end of the lead.
There is ALWAYS a reason why a dog chooses to bite any dog that is and its not about singleing out specific breeds because they happen to meet the press's critera of selling a piece of rubbish that belongs in the bin.

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Totally Agree Nicci,
I've owned SBT's for nearly 20 yrs and in this time never once have they shown any aggression towards my kids,myself,hubby or any person.

My two boys have both been bitten,one by a german shepherd and one by a bullmastiff,I was also bitten by a Lab Cross.The Bullmastiff was a rescue dog,we owned him and he was supposed to be good with kids.He was pts,totally out of character for him and our vet suspected he had a brain tumor.

If stats are anything to go by Labs,spaniels and collies are the worst offenders at biting people.Funny how these never make the press.

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Rooney Rumpus DNA Tested L2/HC Clear

Ellies Babe Genetically L2/HC Clear

ruardeanstaffords

Are there actually any stats for dog bites though? The KC told me there weren't.

I do agree though that there are possibl;y more instances of bites from the breeds you mentioned, but I wonder if that is because more people own them in general, more people with children own them, and people are complacent with them because they expect them to be placid/biddable.

I've had a phone call from a woman who had had a Bull Mastiff PTS as it had bitten her children. Because of that, she wanted a Golden Retriever puppy. Maybe her dog didnt' bite her children because of anything they had done, but I doubt it, and I wasn't prepared to take the risk with one of my pups.

I was bitten quite badly as a teenager by a Springer Spaniel called 'Boomer' who was a latchkey dog, his owners used to let him out to roam all day when they went to work, walking one of my Grandfathers puppies one morning we both encountered Boomer trying to defend the puppy who I had scooped up into my arms, my hands arms and legs were badly bitten and scratched one area on my leg needed skin grafts..thats how bad it was.
Years later I re-homed a Springer out of rescue (I've always liked them, even after being badly bitten) was told she was great with kids and okay with other dogs we had her a few months and one morning she decided to launch herself at next door nieghbours three year old again whilst trying to stop the attack I again for the second time got badly bitten by a Springer (the baby wasn't hurt, just shook up) I decided it would be kinder to have her put to sleep seeing her reaction to the baby that day it also scared the hell out of me because we ourselves had a daughter, the vet suspected 'rage' syndrome but we didn't get a definate diagnosis.

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The uk doesn't keep stats but the USA does,personally I think they are unreliable.
The press here very rarely get the breed correct.

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Rooney Rumpus DNA Tested L2/HC Clear

Ellies Babe Genetically L2/HC Clear

ruardeanstaffords

That is why I would never get a rescue dog. I have children and you can never be sure of the history.

Thankyou. The press here rarely get anything correct!

Jackson there is a bit of a misconception with regard to rescue dogs. A lot of dogs DO come into rescue through no fault of their own and you do get history with them. If you go to a responsible, thorough rescue then the dogs would be fully assessed. I adopted a 4 1/2 year old Rottie Male - some people would think I was totally round the bend. However, Benson came from a very loving home and the reason he was being rehomed was because they were emigrating and he doesnt do hot weather. He is a well trained, gentle, loving dog and has been with us for just over a year and we adore him. I understand where kids are involved they should and must be your number one priority but I do wish more people looking for dogs would look at rescue first.
Back to the biting bit - I had a conversation with my vet the other week when Benson was in for his eye op and he said that the largest number of bites that they experienced was from Border Collies. I have seen some stats re bites - dont know who compiled them (i'll try find link) and it said Spaniels were the biggest offenders - however it did say that Spaniels was a broad term to cover - Cavs, Springers, Clumbers, Cockers etc etc etc

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