Guide dog attack prompts Staffordshire Bull terrier ban plea

First topic message reminder :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-18022431

it doesn't matter how many staffy owners there are if public demand them to be banned they going be banned like what happen to pitbulls.

Steve wrote:it doesn't matter how many staffy owners there are if public demand them to be banned they going be banned like what happen to pitbulls.

Sorry but don't agree with this, people have wanted a vote on the European union for years, we were promised one by conservatives, not seeing us having a vote on that any time soon.

They will do whatever helps them, they couldn't care less about the general public.

Its been proved that dog bans don't work, so they aren't going to rush into doing more.

Plus every time I see one of these story's that allow comments you will have one or two people saying how vicious staffys are followed by 20 people telling them how wrong they are.

The "general" public isn't demanding a ban, and wont in the future either.

Diwrnach wrote:The "general" public isn't demanding a ban, and wont in the future either.

no one say they was! but if they was the staffy will be banned don't matter the other people say like what happen to the pitbull.

there will be point when the government say enough is enough... ban allt bully breed and any other breed that can do damage and nothing what we say or do will change it.

when my girl was a puppy she repeatedly got attacked by the jrt it was always off lead and the womans excuse was "my dog is attacking in self defense attack is the best form of defense" i don't know what planet she was on but mine was always on the lead luckily so i could fend this dog off not once did she go for this dog or the woman or the womans child yet i was the one who got shouted at i was the one who had screams of pitbull as i witnessed mothers picking up children and dog owners taking their dogs away even though my precious lil girl was the one actually being attacked.nothing was ever done about this dog even though i reported her to the dog warden but i bet if it were the other way around a reporter would have been there in seconds.

lolabon wrote:when my girl was a puppy she repeatedly got attacked by the jrt it was always off lead and the womans excuse was "my dog is attacking in self defense attack is the best form of defense" i don't know what planet she was on but mine was always on the lead luckily so i could fend this dog off not once did she go for this dog or the woman or the womans child yet i was the one who got shouted at i was the one who had screams of pitbull as i witnessed mothers picking up children and dog owners taking their dogs away even though my precious lil girl was the one actually being attacked.nothing was ever done about this dog even though i reported her to the dog warden but i bet if it were the other way around a reporter would have been there in seconds.

Yes, I totally agree. But we're not talking about the same sort of thing here. We're talking about a stafford, on its own, 'attacking' a guide dog. How is a blind man supposed to know that the dog is playing (if he was)? How is he supposed to cope with getting the dog away from his guide dog?

I know staffs get a raw deal, but things like this really don't help.

Caryll wrote:

lolabon wrote:when my girl was a puppy she repeatedly got attacked by the jrt it was always off lead and the womans excuse was "my dog is attacking in self defense attack is the best form of defense" i don't know what planet she was on but mine was always on the lead luckily so i could fend this dog off not once did she go for this dog or the woman or the womans child yet i was the one who got shouted at i was the one who had screams of pitbull as i witnessed mothers picking up children and dog owners taking their dogs away even though my precious lil girl was the one actually being attacked.nothing was ever done about this dog even though i reported her to the dog warden but i bet if it were the other way around a reporter would have been there in seconds.

Yes, I totally agree. But we're not talking about the same sort of thing here. We're talking about a stafford, on its own, 'attacking' a guide dog. How is a blind man supposed to know that the dog is playing (if he was)? How is he supposed to cope with getting the dog away from his guide dog?

I know staffs get a raw deal, but things like this really don't help.

I'm on Caryll's side here 100% and believe everyone else is , all you need to do is close your eyes and put yourself in this blind man's place , we must not forget this poor guy can't see, and his guide dog is his best help in the world and all he knows form his other senses is that he is under attack and you can't be much more defenceless than he is.
For once we should be putting our bad rep for the staffs feelings to one side , though yes I agree if it was another labrador or something it would not have been sensationalised by the press but that is a cross we have to bear at the moment and there is no getting away from that.
The owner should not be on here bleating about being judged , he should be on here apologising for letting his dog get out , for the dog scaring a blind man witless, and lastly doing the breed a further injustice, the phrase was used "whilst I was at school" . A schoolchild should not be in sole control of a dog and it should always be with major responsibility on the parents of the child.

Dave, I've removed your post cause Alicia is too young to be on the forum, and things were getting a bit dodgy. Her posts, unfortunately, have had to be deleted & moved to garbage.

Fine Caryll, just dissapointed as I cam home , saw all these posts and thought what have I missed , did my calming essay and it had all gone

Thought it was best. She wasn't listening or taking responsibility, and was quite abusive at times, especially as she was only 11 years old.

It was going nowhere.

Well if its all true , it sort of backs up what we have been saying all along about irresponsible ownership !!

Swtiched the radio(local Humberside BBC) on whilst cleaning the garage out and over the weekend and the topic was Atack on Guide dogs by other dogs, The presenter was trying his hardest to get the lady from the guide dog association to state which dogs should be named and shamed, her responce was "the only breed that should be considered was the Owners". she also stated that the type of dog was not down to one breed particular breed as reported attacks had involved numerous types of dog.

i thought this was quiet refresing considering all the bad press the SBT is getting of late

Scoobaroo wrote:Swtiched the radio(local Humberside BBC) on whilst cleaning the garage out and over the weekend and the topic was Atack on Guide dogs by other dogs, The presenter was trying his hardest to get the lady from the guide dog association to state which dogs should be named and shamed, her responce was "the only breed that should be considered was the Owners". she also stated that the type of dog was not down to one breed particular breed as reported attacks had involved numerous types of dog.

i thought this was quiet refresing considering all the bad press the SBT is getting of late

Well done, the Guide Dog Assoc!

once again an attack that was down too the owners the last time we had too battle too keep our gorgeous dogs off the dangerous dog act i remember alot of the police crufts and dog breeder associations still backed us, I am sorry i know these posts create alot of passion, but I honestly do not believe it will solve anything too ban staffies as a breed the mindless idiots that have no control over their dogs and allow these kind of attacks too happen will just go out and buy a rottie dobbie mastiff or any other dog and believe me those breeds could do a hell of alot more damage than a staff...!! with staffs now being the most popular dog too own it is not surprising they are in the news so much, the law has too come down firmly on the owners, they are in charge of that animal so it is down too them, you don,t see a horse being shot if it loses controls and kicks someone do you...!! the owners should be put down not the dog!!

crystel wrote: the law has too come down firmly on the owners, they are in charge of that animal so it is down too them, you don,t see a horse being shot if it loses controls and kicks someone do you...!! the owners should be put down not the dog!!

jeremy vine had this topic on his talk show on radio 2 today,he was talking to a blind lady whose guide dog had been attacked 6 times by different dogs ,i was cringing as she was saying what dogs had attacked him,boxer dogs and jack russels were mentioned but yippy no staffys

stella wrote:jeremy vine had this topic on his talk show on radio 2 today,he was talking to a blind lady whose guide dog had been attacked 6 times by different dogs ,i was cringing as she was saying what dogs had attacked him,boxer dogs and jack russels were mentioned but yippy no staffys

I heard some of this too. It sounded to me as if the host was trying to get them to say that Staffies were to blame, so frustrating they were not mentioned though

At the moment, bad staffies = 'good' news
good staffies = no news.

tsk. of cause even though they state it was a bull terrier they bring up every other dog they wanna just cull off. yes, that dog should not have deen running free. is it the dogs fault no! its the owners!
i have seen many mean labs, they are also common bitters of children... i dont hear for them being banned

An ex boyfriend of mine had a labrador which was very huge, but very soft.

Unless there was food around - then he turned into the nastiest, most dangerous dog I've ever seen. Nobody ever reported him or complained to teh police when he bit my ex's baby girl (ex-wife's, not mine!).

what would happen to our staffys if they did get banned

I saw this guy on BBC breakfast and he mentioned nothing about it being a staffy then, just said 'bull terrier type'.

Also, the only thing he was calling for was for attacks on guide dogs to be treated like attacks on people which I think is fair enough.

I notice the article was written a couple of weeks before he appeared on the show so perhaps someone put him right after the article was written...

clioracer wrote:what would happen to our staffys if they did get banned

They would be treated the same as when the pitbull got banned. They would have to have a temperement test, be neutered & microchipped & put on an exempt register. No more breeding, though, so the breed would die out in the UK in a maximum of 15 years.

bad owner n bed traing this make me all these ppl that want staffie but wont put the hard work in n take there dog for walks its a shame for staffie the paper need more good storys than bad i have 4 kids under 5 years n still have all the time for my dog n trust her with all my kids ><

all us owners who have trained our dogs propperly havnt hit them treat them right and love them have amazing pets!!! staffys are nanny dogs, its people who cannot control them or young people who take advantage of there strength. ITS NOT THE BREED ITS THE OWNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it could be the dogs fault, any dog is capable of just "turning" good owner or bad, staffy or poodle.. makes no dif either way

x0gawjus0x wrote:it could be the dogs fault, any dog is capable of just "turning" good owner or bad, staffy or poodle.. makes no dif either way

OK I see your point but without getting into a long and lengthy debate which to be honest the forum doesn't need as there are too many stories floating around about how bad our breed is , the better trained and cared for the animal the far lower chance of the dog just "turning"

x0gawjus0x wrote:it could be the dogs fault, any dog is capable of just "turning" good owner or bad, staffy or poodle.. makes no dif either way

Sorry but I have to disagree. No dog just 'turns' for no reason. There is always a reason

x0gawjus0x wrote:it could be the dogs fault, any dog is capable of just "turning" good owner or bad, staffy or poodle.. makes no dif either way

If an owner is in control of their dog, then even if it decides to 'turn', nothing will happen other than a lot of noise.
Therefore, the owner was at fault.

it's the bad owner's of staffie's that give the good owner's a bad name

Definitely. It's what to do about it that's a bigger problem!

By the same logic, next time I hear about a woman getting rape, I should ask that men be banned from the UK. But no, because that logic is stupid. It amazes me how people forfeit common sense when something bad happens. Like this incident means that Staffs are evil dogs despite all the evidence against it.

Also, if he's completely blind, how did he know it was a Staff?

This sort of bad press really upsets me. The staffi is a wonderful, intelligent and loyal breed. Yes, admittedly, some have issues with other dogs but there isn't a breed of dog that doesn't. It is up to the owner to responsibly care for their dog ensuring that they always have control of their friend to ensure they don't get into trouble.

ANattyRat wrote:Also, if he's completely blind, how did he know it was a Staff?

That's rather a callous thing to say. We know it was a staff because there were witnesses. But put yourself in his position, he's blind & therefore can't help his dog; there's lots of noise from the staff & yelping from his dog. Wouldn't you react badly to that? However, we also know it's a staff because the owner, a young girl of, I believe, 11 years old, came on here to say that it was her dog that 'got out' of the house and was loose. She says he just wanted to play, but that isn't what witnesses report. She blamed the blind man for over reacting.

I'm sorry for the dog, tbh, because he had to be rehomed & muzzled in public due to the fact that he wasn't kept under control. At least he should be kept under control now.

It will have been a horrible experience for the man to have gone through and I imagine he would have felt helpless.
One man, with goodness knows what relevant knowledge and understanding of staffys, calls for them to go on the dangerous dogs list resulting in the attention grabbing heading " Guide Dog attack prompt Staffordshire Bull Terrier ban plea". For me this title insinuates a complaint from a large group of people but it isn't. It's one man (in this case). I feel that the journalist and editors are very irresponsible in letting this article be written and published. They know just what they are doing and I'm so frustrated by this as it's so easy for the general public to read this, be outraged and form uneducated opinions. And what is the definition of attack? It isn't described. We are told the dog had to be removed from the guide dogs neck but what else happened? Was he just latched on? Was he ragging the neck back and forth? Growling? Was the lab yelping? Yes, I understand it's traumatic for the owner but for the article to allow his sweeping generalisations to be published is outrageous. We have been told so little, but enough to be swayed to join the owners point of view.



I have a headline:
Yet another hideous article on STB's prompts newspaper ban plea

Journalists are scum. They ruin so many peoples lives in "public interest"

Should be a law that they can only print about world news not petty little stories like this.

It is a petty little story. A conversation over the fence with your neighbour. It shouldn't get anymore exposure than that.

It makes my blood boil my kaiser gets attacked by all the smaller breed of dogs I find them the worst to be honest if the press started highlighting attacks by another breed of dog people would be calling for them to be banned people to much of what tje papee writes half the time they say staffy type. Ive been bitten by two dogs and they were both small breeda one being a shih tzu which could of blinded me cause it just missed my eye and the othe othere was a cross

Soo... if the dog was a jack russell, would he of gone to the press and demanded a ban?

I think not.

Its so easy to tar every Staff with the same brush, sometimes this brush needs shoving up society's A hole!!

I don't think the victim, tragic though the case is, should have any more of a voice in determining legislation, than say, the victim of a violent crime, who calls for reinstatement of the death penalty. The media love this though and they will always find new ways to scare us. It would be nice if, someday, the public becomes too well-informed to buy their BS any more.

Some of the thugs who used to have real pit bulls (APBT) moved onto Staffies because they were the next best thing. Of course there may even be APBT's being labelled cross-Staffies. If Staffies are banned, they will move onto other breeds. They will never stop. Ever. Playing catch-up by banning one dog breed after another is a ludicrous waste of time and a source of unnecessary distress to dog lovers.

Hopefully with the introduction of the new sentencing guidelines in the UK a few weeks back, evidence will build to help prove that clearer definition of criminal acts, more discretion to police and heavier sentences available to courts, go a long way to solving the problem.

TS06 wrote:I don't think the victim, tragic though the case is, should have any more of a voice in determining legislation, than say, the victim of a violent crime, who calls for reinstatement of the death penalty. The media love this though and they will always find new ways to scare us. It would be nice if, someday, the public becomes too well-informed to buy their BS any more.

Some of the thugs who used to have real pit bulls (APBT) moved onto Staffies because they were the next best thing. Of course there may even be APBT's being labelled cross-Staffies. If Staffies are banned, they will move onto other breeds. They will never stop. Ever. Playing catch-up by banning one dog breed after another is a ludicrous waste of time and a source of unnecessary distress to dog lovers.

Hopefully with the introduction of the new sentencing guidelines in the UK a few weeks back, evidence will build to help prove that clearer definition of criminal acts, more discretion to police and heavier sentences available to courts, go a long way to solving the problem.

Nice post and thanks for the thought going into that but Staffords will never be banned , we as the owners just have to suffer the dog racism of owning one on a daily basis and that's the cross we have to bear for actually being more intelligent than the majority of people out there and knowing what this breed is really capable of