Are people who love pitties actually helping BSL spread?

ORIGINAL: Bobsk8
If the person that was bitten was a 2-3 year old toddler that got away from it's parents for a moment ( and if you say that can't happen, you have never raised kids) , would you explain to this child at the time  that it was "their fault" , or would you wait another year or two so that they could better comprehend what you were trying  to explain to them ? [&:]

Just to be clear, dog owners are responsible for the dog's actions.  That's why god gave us the ability to walk on 2 legs, and to deep-fry twinkies. 

But as a parent and a dog owner, I have worked my tush off to make sure the child-dog interactions were supervised and respectful.  Always.  I slept through a child intrusion ONCE, and the child was given a much deserved warning snap.  From a dog who would gladly lay down her life for my kid.  So if I can manage 3 years and ONE mistake, the average parent can haul rear end and keep their 2 year old from harrassing strange dogs. My daughter is 3.5 now, and she lectures her friends on dog safety. 

Kids can get away, good dogs can react - life is full of "oh sh*t" moments.  There are no promises.  I have been hardcore about my child's interactions with dogs.  My dog, and other people's.  I see it as both a matter of respect for the dog, AND for the safety of my child. I'm generally laid back, but dogs and street safety bring out my "oh no you WON'T."  In my experience, very few parents teach their children proper respect for dogs, and this reflects their own lack of respect.  It is expected that a "good" dog will take abuse and mistreatment without protest.  I say hooey. 

As I said before, who's fault it is doesn't matter much when a kid's face is missing.  Parents need to take dogs seriously.

ORIGINAL: Dog_ma

Just to be clear, dog owners are responsible for the dog's actions.  That's why god gave us the ability to walk on 2 legs, and to deep-fry twinkies. 

But as a parent and a dog owner, I have worked my tush off to make sure the child-dog interactions were supervised and respectful.  Always.  I slept through a child intrusion ONCE, and the child was given a much deserved warning snap.  From a dog who would gladly lay down her life for my kid.  So if I can manage 3 years and ONE mistake, the average parent can haul rear end and keep their 2 year old from harrassing strange dogs. My daughter is 3.5 now, and she lectures her friends on dog safety. 

Kids can get away, good dogs can react - life is full of "oh sh*t" moments.  There are no promises.  I have been hardcore about my child's interactions with dogs.  My dog, and other people's.  I see it as both a matter of respect for the dog, AND for the safety of my child. I'm generally laid back, but dogs and street safety bring out my "oh no you WON'T."  In my experience, very few parents teach their children proper respect for dogs, and this reflects their own lack of respect.  It is expected that a "good" dog will take abuse and mistreatment without protest.  I say hooey. 

As I said before, who's fault it is doesn't matter much when a kid's face is missing.  Parents need to take dogs seriously.

 
[sm=bravo.gif]
 
I think this says it all...
 
BTW: Twinkies?![sm=rotfl.gif]
 
 

As I said during the BSL meeting here in LR, if any of my dogs attacked anyone for no reason whatsoever, they would be euthanized. I love my dogs very much but aggression can not be tolerated for any breed. I dont own a pit bull either, I have two Dalmatians (which I am told by everyone that breed is also "aggressive") and a GSD mix.
 
I can tell you though here in the news it is only pit bull attacks that make the cut. I heard of an attack in a town that is about 2 hours away on the news, yet I knew of a SERIOUS attack that happened here in the city that was never televised or in the paper.
 
The media seems to want you to be scared of everything. It is how they stay in buisness, if they wernt there to tell you what is bad, and what to be afraid of, fewer people would watch it or read it.
 
The only dog I was ever bitten by was a shepherd mix puppy. That dog terrified me and it was only a puppy.
 
 

ORIGINAL: cyclefiend2000
in the article in question, it wasnt a kid. it was an adult. i have to say if an adult invades my personal space, i will being by nicely asking the to step back, but will escalate to the point to shoving or hitting to get them removed from my personal space. do we expect a dog to do differently?

But in the original post, the dog didn't do the doggy equivalent of shoving or even hitting. If the dog had snapped/nipped at the woman, perhaps even broken skin and then backed off we wouldn't be having this discussion. If a person invades my space, I might eventually resort to shoving, but I wouldn't be repeatedly stabbing the person or shooting him in the face simply because he was being annoying. The law allows people to respond to threats with equivalent force, not force that greatly exceeds the level of threat. In the original post, the dog immediately escalated from a vocalized warning to the canine equivalent of shooting the pesky but harmless person in the face. That's not acceptable for any dog, regardless of breed. Of course the owners were idiots for allowing a dangerous dog to be walked by a 12 year old, but ultimately the point is that the dog was dangerous, and unsuitable as a family pet.

ORIGINAL: polarexpress
And back to the original elderly woman who bent to pet what she thought was a friendly dog and was only told as she bent to pet the dog that she shouldn't. BTW I am still un-convinced that she heard the growl which could have been very low-pitched...

If the dog had bitten her hand once that would have been doggie self-defense and reasonable. Pulling back and "muscling" out of his collar to jump on her and bite her arm, face and head repeatedly until he was hauled off her by a neighbor and then attacking other neighbors who fought him off with shovels and sticks is completely UNREASONABLE.

[sm=backtotopic.gif] My point was---and continues to be---that defending the dog's actions by focusing on the victim and failing to condemn the behavior of the dog's owner and the dog makes it sound as though what the dog did was an acceptable reaction.

If someone tells me that it WAS a reasonable and acceptable thing for the dog to do, then I wonder where they draw the line. If trying to pet him means he can do this, then what if she tried to take a bone away from him? If she stepped on his foot? What it she deliberately slapped him? Is killing her for one slap acceptable?

Excellent post, Polarexpress. The original question wasn't about a startled dog nipping lightly at a child. It wasn't about a dog protecting itself from harassment by children (or adults). It was about a dog attacking and severely injuring a person who attempted to touch it. And just as the original poster predicted, several people in this thread have jumped in to blame the victim for being uneducated rather than address the issue that the dog was indeed dangerous. Yes, it's stupid to approach a strange dog without permission, even more so if the dog is vocalizing a warning. But, in my opinion, that doesn't excuse the dog from launching a potentially lethal attack, regardless of breed. And making excuses for dangerous behavior does fuel the flames of antidog legislation.