Dagnerous Dogs off the leash w/o muzzle

Langerland

I have seen a man walking a large white pitbull terrier off the leash and without a muzzle in Charlesland 2 times in the last week. I am not sure if he is from the area or just using the green to let the dog run. However, these dogs are lethal!

ciaran67

Langerland wrote: »

I have seen a man walking a large white pitbull terrier off the leash and without a muzzle in Charlesland 2 times in the last week. I am not sure if he is from the area or just using the green to let the dog run. However, these dogs are lethal!

Saw on the BBC yesterday that Battersea Dogs home is now overwhelmed with Staff Bull Terriers. 7 out of 10 dogs brought in are Staffs. WTH is wrong with people?

run_Forrest_run

I've often seen a pitbull roaming the main green in the mornings in my housing estate. Perhaps its owner is engaging in the popular yet irresponsible act of using public green areas for their dogs morning dump. I've seen the same dog later on a lead in public areas.
Once again folks, if the law isn't enforced then owners of these dogs will flout it, so have the number of the local dog warden (they are rare I know) on your mobile and report these incidents.

Bill2673

What will a dog warden do if an owner is walking a dog off a leash?

cyrusdvirus

Langerland wrote: »

I have seen a man walking a large white pitbull terrier off the leash and without a muzzle in Charlesland 2 times in the last week. I am not sure if he is from the area or just using the green to let the dog run. However, these dogs are lethal!

I suggest you post this over on the animals and pet issues forum.... you coukld do with re-education

There is no such thing as a bad dog, just a bad owner

Langerland

Without getting into a childish dogs are good, dogs are bad argument, this is an issue for this forum as this dog has obviously been seen numerous times in the area off a leash and unmuzzled. I have kids who play outside, I'm not going to take a chance and hope he or she has a good owner.

cyrusdvirus

Langerland wrote: »

Without getting into a childish dogs are good, dogs are bad argument, this is an issue for this forum as this dog has obviously been seen numerous times in the area off a leash and unmuzzled. I have kids who play outside, I'm not going to take a chance and hope he or she has a good owner.

Ok, fair point about you not wanting to take a risk on whether or not someone is a good owner, but you made a generalisation about all dogs of this breed which is unfair. They are NOT all lethal, i was just pulling you up on that point

Tranceypoo

The law says you have to have 'control of your dog' it does not state you have to have your dog on a lead so in theory he is not breaking the law. The dog warden, if you manage to get hold of him, could do nothing, however under some ridiculous 'restricted breed' or 'dangerous dogs' act certain breeds have to be muzzled in public and on a lead, however, this dog may not necessarily be a full pedigree but just have the look of one, if you look closely at my dog he has the face of a Staffy but is a mutt, yet my ignorant cousin still calls him a pitbull.
Please educate yourself about dogs and breeds, pitbulls are not agressive dogs, they are sometimes owned by ignorant thick stupid people who think they make them look 'hard', they don't socialise or train them (which you should do with every dog, regardless of their breed), Staffordshire Bull Terriers are ideal family pets but also suffer from the same narrowminded 'mob mentality' that they are a dangerous dog. I would suggest a visit over to Animals and Pet Issues as there is a post about 'why people own Rottweillers, Pit Bulls' etc (posted by a troll methinks but there are some informative replies)

ciaran67

gatecrash wrote: »

but you made a generalisation about all dogs of this breed which is unfair.

Well obviously it is unfair on the breed but there is no smoke without fire. If I had kids on the green and a staff or pitbull were running around i would be concerned. Its a mistake that would be pretty awful rather than... oops i knew i should told them to stick the lead on.

cyrusdvirus

Staffies make great family pets...... If the dog has been socialised, as tranceypoo referred to, then about the only danger you would be in is the kids begging you for a staffie for themselves!!

And if this dog is one of the dogs that has ended up with one of the 'well hard' members of our society and is an extension of that persons idiotic personality, then it would be on a short chain anyway, cos that enhances their toughness.

Tranceypoo

ciaran67 wrote: »

Well obviously it is unfair on the breed but there is no smoke without fire. If I had kids on the green and a staff or pitbull were running around i would be concerned. Its a mistake that would be pretty awful rather than... oops i knew i should told them to stick the lead on.

Would you be concerned if a Lab or a JRT or any other dog were running around without a lead on? Because Labs have a higher percentage of so called 'unprovoked attacks' than any of the pit bull breeds.

Langerland

Previous to seeing this dog running around unleashed, I did see it leashed with the owner....on a short chain...should we be more concerned with that?

I am equally concerned with dogs running off the lead for any large breed...this case just happens to be a pit-bull.

kayman78

I saw that dog yesterday! It came right up to our apartment window and had a stand-off with our Cat (which thank god was inside). Scared the S**t out of me! A vicious looking thing. Just as well the cat was inside or he was a goner I reckon. And what if the door was open? Would the dog have come in? Our newborn baby was in the same room? Really concerned me yesterday. The owner came and put his chain on and apologised that he just loses her sometimes.

Jelly2

kayman78 wrote: »

I saw that dog yesterday! It came right up to our apartment window and had a stand-off with our Cat (which thank god was inside). Scared the S**t out of me! A vicious looking thing. Just as well the cat was inside or he was a goner I reckon. And what if the door was open? Would the dog have come in? Our newborn baby was in the same room? Really concerned me yesterday. The owner came and put his chain on and apologised that he just loses her sometimes.

Lucky it wasn't a fox.:rolleyes:

kayman78

Jelly2 wrote: »

Lucky it wasn't a fox.:rolleyes:

Sarcasm doesn't humour me when its my 5 week old son we're talking about. Immature to be honest.

And in case you weren't being a sh*thead, I've never seen a fox come that close to the apartment, or have felt threatened by one. I was as shocked and amazed by that alleged attack in London also.

ciaran67

Tranceypoo wrote: »

Would you be concerned if a Lab or a JRT or any other dog were running around without a lead on? Because Labs have a higher percentage of so called 'unprovoked attacks' than any of the pit bull breeds.

Possibly cos there must be many more Labs around than Pitbulls? Incidentally, i love dogs we always had them growing up.

Jelly2

kayman78 wrote: »

Sarcasm doesn't humour me when its my 5 week old son we're talking about. Immature to be honest.

And in case you weren't being a sh*thead, I've never seen a fox come that close to the apartment, or have felt threatened by one. I was as shocked and amazed by that alleged attack in London also.

I can understand that you might be anxious about the safety of your son generally. But why on earth would you ever leave your front door open so that a dog (or anyone else) could wander in?

ciaran67

kayman78 wrote: »

Sarcasm doesn't humour me when its my 5 week old son we're talking about. Immature to be honest.

And in case you weren't being a sh*thead, I've never seen a fox come that close to the apartment, or have felt threatened by one. I was as shocked and amazed by that alleged attack in London also.

Came home from a club in west end of London one night to find a fox fast asleep on the mat outside my front door. I slowly went up the steps making noise. He looked at me with such contempt, as he passed me by. I used to see him sleeping on the garage out the back on one corner and two cats curled up about 20 feet away. We used to have coyote problems in Vancouver when i lived there aswell. They were nasty buggers.

Anyhooo back on topic.

Jelly2

There seems to be two questions about this particular dog. Is the dog out of control? Is it really a pitbull?

kayman78

Jelly2 wrote: »

I can understand that you might be anxious about the safety of your son generally. But why on earth would you ever leave your front door open so that a dog (or anyone else) could wander in?

Wasn't front door. Was apartment window / sliding door. Sometimes, in Summer and we're at home and in the living room, we might have the door open. Should people stop this practice in case people want to walk dogs off the lead and let them wander up?

Jelly2

kayman78 wrote: »

Wasn't front door. Was apartment window / sliding door. Sometimes, in Summer and we're at home and in the living room, we might have the door open. Should people stop this practice in case people want to walk dogs off the lead and let them wander up?

I see, I guess it faces onto the road, and there is no wall/gate to hinder entry. I didn't learn this in the first post, so it was a bit odd to me. Sorted now though. And no, obviously people shouldn't have to stop this practice etc etc.

cyrusdvirus

Would you be leaving a 5 week old child unattended in a ground floor appt with easy enough access to the public roadway/footpath on a regular basis?

Dogs will chase cats. That fact that this dog is a Pit bull is irrelevant. It could have been one of those horrible yappy designer dogs that escaped from it's owners handbag, it would still have come up barking at the window. Would it have scared the s1ht out of you then??

kayman78

Even though this is getting off the point, our child wasn't unattended at the time, but the door was closed. However, is the argument that you are making, that we should never leave this door opened when we are sitting right inside it, in case an uncontrolled dog chases a cat through it? This is a completely idiotic argument!

On whether the fact this was a put bull or not, I was merely stating that I had a run in with the same dog. If it was a collie or a cocker spaniel, my view would be the same. It's obviously not under control if the owner loses it and it can wander up to peoples windows.

And on whether I would be equally scared if it was a westie or something.....of course not.

Jelly2

kayman78 wrote: »

Even though this is getting off the point, our child wasn't unattended at the time, but the door was closed. However, is the argument that you are making, that we should never leave this door opened when we are sitting right inside it, in case an uncontrolled dog chases a cat through it? This is a completely idiotic argument!

On whether the fact this was a put bull or not, I was merely stating that I had a run in with the same dog. If it was a collie or a cocker spaniel, my view would be the same. It's obviously not under control if the owner loses it and it can wander up to peoples windows.

And on whether I would be equally scared if it was a westie or something.....of course not.

Why would he/she be as scared of a westie? They're much smaller, and can't do as much damage or injury as a big dog. As a dog owner, I have some sympathy with his/her position, which was hypothetically proposed in relation to the child. They are quite right - a loose dog could get into their apartment. Even if it didn't do much damage there, its owner shouldn't allow it into their house (or even into their garden should they have one).

Langerland

Well, this is a heated topic. However, whether it was a pitbull or a mongrel pitbul or a labrador or any large dog, they obviously need to be kept under control and the one I mentioned doesn't seem to be.

By the way, dog lovers, you are not doing yourselves any favours by advising people not to leave doors open in case a a dog comes in. People have every right to leave a door open if they are in the room surely?

Foxes and all the rest, we have no control over. Dogs, surely we can at least control them.?

kayman78

Jelly2 wrote: »

Why would he/she be as scared of a westie? They're much smaller, and can't do as much damage or injury as a big dog. As a dog owner, I have some sympathy with his/her position, which was hypothetically proposed in relation to the child. They are quite right - a loose dog could get into their apartment. Even if it didn't do much damage there, its owner shouldn't allow it into their house (or even into their garden should they have one).

That was my point really....I would probably be brave enough to confront a westie. The posters just asked is it was one of those "horrible yappy designer dogs", would I have been as scared by it. Of course not.

However, a pitbull or whatever is very intimidating. And if one really wanted to come through an open door, I am not really sure how I would prevent it.

cyrusdvirus

NO, i'm not making any argument for you not being able to open or close your window/door whatever way you choose. It's not up to me to be even in the slightest bit bothered as to how you ventilate your house.

Nor is it up to me as to whether or not you leave your child unattended. Not my house, not my kid, not my problem.

I was just making the point that the fact that this dog is a Pitbull is irrelevant, a dog will chase a cat.

My dog has fairly good recall (getting better with training) but i'd doubt he'd come back to me if a cat entered the equation. Having said that the only time he's off the lead is when we're walking along the canal that runs near my house, or at the side of the house on a green area doing a bit of training.

Otherwise he is on his lead, and the canal walk is only done once a week, that's his 'treat' walk (plenty of water to go playing in). The other nights of the week it's a lead walk

As a matter of interest, how long did it take the owner to arrive with the lead/chain?

kayman78

gatecrash wrote: »

NO, i'm not making any argument for you not being able to open or close your window/door whatever way you choose. It's not up to me to be even in the slightest bit bothered as to how you ventilate your house.

Nor is it up to me as to whether or not you leave your child unattended. Not my house, not my kid, not my problem.

I was just making the point that the fact that this dog is a Pitbull is irrelevant, a dog will chase a cat.

My dog has fairly good recall (getting better with training) but i'd doubt he'd come back to me if a cat entered the equation. Having said that the only time he's off the lead is when we're walking along the canal that runs near my house, or at the side of the house on a green area doing a bit of training.

Otherwise he is on his lead, and the canal walk is only done once a week, that's his 'treat' walk (plenty of water to go playing in). The other nights of the week it's a lead walk

As a matter of interest, how long did it take the owner to arrive with the lead/chain?

It took about a minute and to be honest he was quite apologetic about it.

As you mentioned, when a cat enters the equation, your dog will not come back to you. Surely, this indicates that you do not have control of that dog in certain cases? Is this not a worry for you? What if a child was outside holding a cat?

Langerland

Bill2673 wrote: »

What will a dog warden do if an owner is walking a dog off a leash?

Getting this back on topic....can you post the number here please? Is there any point in calling them however?

(BTW big dog lovers, not doing yourselves any favours on the PR front with your posts on here)

cyrusdvirus

kayman78 wrote:

As you mentioned, when a cat enters the equation, your dog will not come back to you. Surely, this indicates that you do not have control of that dog in certain cases? Is this not a worry for you? What if a child was outside holding a cat?

Firstly, my dog isn't off his lead unless we are at the side of my house training, or on the walk along the canal.

Secondly, he gets taken out of the house on his lead, and only when i'm happy does he get taken off his lead. By happy i mean that there are no kids around, (holding cats or not ). He's not a huge dog, or a dangerous dog (apart from to your dignity as he says hello!!) but is decent enough sized (boxer-lab cross) but i am aware that to a 5 or 6 year old he would be quite intimidating. Then and only then is he taken off his lead, and he knows that he's 'working' for treats etc.

There is a cat that lives in the house opposite, and while occasionally my fella will bark at my sitting room window to be let out cos he can see the cat, under no circumstances is he.

He's getting better about coming back, but it's a work in progress. As for not feeling in control, all i need to do is squeeze his favourite toy (squeaky ball) and cat or not he comes a running!! I want him to do that with commands, not bribery, that's why i said he might not come back if there was a cat involved. But once i use the ball, that's it, he comes straight back to me.

cyrusdvirus

Langerland wrote: »

Getting this back on topic....can you post the number here please? Is there any point in calling them however?

(BTW big dog lovers, not doing yourselves any favours on the PR front with your posts on here)

Like i said, drop over to the animals and pet issues forum, you might change your mind. As for PR...I'm a techie, not a PR head!!