Help & advice site...

Found this, which I thought could be good for members........
http://adviceaboutdogs.co.uk/index.htm

And this is what Peter Lewis says about dog attacks......

"Who's responsible for an attack? by Peter Lewis

Another tragic case of a dog savaging a human has recently occurred, as I am sure most of us have read about. This time it was a two-year-old child. Once again it seems that the Dangerous Dogs Act may not contain the powers to deal adequately with what happened. However, that word adequately nor the Act can ever put things back to how they were before an attack takes place.
For years now many have repeatedly told different governments that the 1991 DDA was not suitable for many of the cases where seemingly unprovoked attacks. Indeed the original Act was basically a knee-jerk reaction to public opinion after a series of attacks around that time.
Our Kennel Club and many other organisations have long campaigned for changes, and main thrusts are that legislation should not be breed-specific but rather penalise the deed irrespective of breed. Another of the great problems is that the existing Act only applies to public and not private land or property. I go along with all of this for the DDA is clearly not working as it was intended.
We also have to look at why these incidents occur for they are not all caused by irresponsible dog owners who have not bothered to train their dog. Of course we accept that our police dog units up and down the country train some of their dogs for patrol work which can result in pursuit and detention by the dog. That is an activity where they are using a weapon to deter, detain or pursue a fleeing person strongly suspected of a criminal act. These days most patrol dogs are trained to attack as a game and they can therefore be switched off just as they can be switched on. Their training and use is of course entirely legal.
The most obvious obnoxious and irresponsible reason for owning a dog is the element of society which is using a dog, often force trained to be aggressive, or naturally aggressive, as a weapon. That weapon can be used as a threat or with the intention of causing injury. We can liken it to the use of a knife, for a dog’s teeth are sharp instruments with a power factor when brought together to grip, shake and or tear. That is clearly a criminal act, as is carrying a knife or using it, whether it is on public or private property.
Then there is the accident often where a child, who should be closely supervised, goes towards a dog in all innocence and is attacked by the dog. Now if the dog has not been trained as a weapon it might be an ordinary household dog that is not used to children and feels threatened when the child approaches on hands and knees or foot.
It may not just be children but rather anyone who has not previously proved himself to the dog that he is not a threatening person, in other words the dog has not learned to trust that individual. In such a case the dog may feel threatened and use its teeth to deter the threat. On the other hand it may just bark and back off with no thought of becoming offensive. However, the one being barked at does not necessarily know that.
If the dog’s actions are aggressive, serious injury can be the result and even death. At the time of the offence if a child’s minder is guilty of a lack of supervision of dog and child then complications arise about who is really guilty but of course the dog will also take the blame.
There are also the cases where people do not know how to approach a dog they have never met before and therefore the dog can feel threatened by the approach and take even mild action that may be deemed aggressive. Not many dogs have this mild degree of fear but some do and cannot accept what to us is an obvious sign of friendliness but to the dog is just the opposite.
Four parts of our body can convey fear of threat and they are eyes, body, hands and voice. Without doubt eyes are the biggest culprit for when we look at something or someone we are making it plain that our intention is towards them at that moment. If we are still approaching them at the time then the eye contact is backed up by the bodily approach, and when near enough the whole situation is compounded by the outstretched hand of friendship, usually with supposed vocal friendly support.
This can be big trouble, for everything that person has done in assumed friendship confirms to that dog that they are being threatened. Most likely the dog will back off barking, which clearly means "I don’t trust you, go away”. However it could be worse, particularly if they are backed into a corner, for the more confined space the dog is in the greater the fear of threat. Dogs tied into the back of a parked hatchback or estate car with open tailgate are really confined and such confinement just exacerbates the problem. In such situations a bite or snap might be forthcoming with the dog immediately classed as vicious when in reality it is trying to defend itself from an unwanted approach from strangers. On the other hand someone who the dog has previously trusted, but maybe hasn’t seen for weeks, will be welcomed.
So who is in the wrong? Without doubt people will blame the dog but often it should be a case of blaming the bitten for an irresponsible approach. If it is children then they should be supervised, but so many are not these days.
This type of nature displayed by a dog is thankfully very minimal, but it happens. I have been a dog man all my life but eventually I learned that the best way to approach a dog that has not accepted me as friendly before, is not to approach him. I don’t mean you cannot go near it, for you can, and as long as you treat it as if there is no dog then you won’t make direct eye contact, or attempt to touch it or talk to it. In most such scenarios the dog will have accepted you as harmless within minutes while it sniffs around you, and then gradually you can briefly look at it, maybe gently, and briefly touch it while you speak gently to it. Given a few more minutes and your actions can increase as the dog gains confidence, but softly softly catchee doggie.
As I have said this is always my approach, and if as on most occasions I find that approach to have been unnecessary, I know that when I meet one of those who hate a direct approach from a stranger I will not have a problem. "