Dangerous Dogs Owners

That poor kid in Wexford should have been enough for action to be taken

Yip, outrage at the time, then we moved on to the next bit of news. It'll happen again with this death as well.

You shouldn't be allowed own a dangerous dog for the same reason why you shouldn't be allowed own a gun.

Ban the stupid things, easy win for public safety.

as some have suggested on here, that child should have been trained how to interact with the dangerous dog wandering around his estate

Yeah I get what you’re saying - what hopefully is different now, is the number of XL bully recorded attacks in UK since February 2024 (about 17) - on a per capita basis, were likely to see a few more here in Ireland dependent on ownership numbers - this isn’t going to go away by ignoring it -

I totally agree with this statement however I don't get any kind of pleasure from such news I am sure these people have loved ones who will be devastated.
Stupid people need to be protected from themselves.

I teach my kids to avoid dogs. Easy.

The local radio discussion I heard received numerous texts to say, "no such thing as bad dogs, just bad owners".

This seems to be a mantra peddled by the supporters of owning dangerous breeds.

That young woman in Limerick appeared to be an amazing owner. She molly coddled her dogs, spoiled them, treated them like children, yet they still killed her. And that is someone they should have seen as kind. Imagine what they'd do to someone they got spooked by.

This pretty much nails it

By interacting with dogs - I mean here treating dogs with respect and not approaching them or leaning down on them /encroaching into their personal space without asking. You might call it having manners in general - I call it common sense. As a dog owner, the amount of people who let their children approach strange dogs of all sizes is staggering.

Parents who allow their children to approach strange dogs and lean in to pet them or pull at them or whatever are totally in the wrong.

If a parent/child asks - can he / she pet your dog, the answer is always yes and both dog and child love it.

If a child approaches uninvited and leans over the dog or pulls at him, I will tell them to stop. I will always advocate for my dog.

I might be going off topic as this is a general "dog" conversation rather than an XL Bully one, but same applies.

I've had a lot of dogs since childhood. Big, small,of various breeds . None of them ever bit anyone or hurt another animal. Yet I would never trust any dog not to act out of character. That is where size matters. You can stop a smaller animal however out of control, before much damage is done. I have seen a dog walker kick two Jack Russels to separate them. Not a pretty sight, but it worked and they both emerged uninjured. Nobody should have a dog in a domestic capacity that they cannot physically overpower. RIP the young woman in Limerick.

This is exactly what I was talking about.

Dogs should never be off the lead in places where it says dogs must be on lead and I avoid those places myself. I will never let me dog loose in one of those public "dog parks". He would be terrified.

Some people are afraid of dogs and that is an issue, everyone should be able to enjoy public spaces both dog owners and people.

Not really sure what you mean here by a "mirror."

I am a dog owner and my dog is always on a leash in public. I dont go to places where people let their dogs off leash when they should be on leash - that is not fair on others.

No where in my post have I advocated for "beasts out loose" or dogs who are required by law to have a muzzle and be on a lead -so perhaps lay off the overblown drama.

I reiterate - when I am walking my "small" cute dog, I have been approached by children running up uninvited and just leaning over the the dog, putting their hands into his face and once or twice pulling on his tail. This is irresponsible parenting - and to use your words "stupid and selfish".

A good example to use would be a rescue dog who is reactive and perhaps has not had the best start in life. I often see them wearing a harness with "nervous dog" or "give me space" written on it - that is responsible dog ownership in my view and letting children or adults approach in cases like this is definitely a selfish dummy.

I'm not a child but love dogs and my golden rule is to put out my hand and let the dog have a sniff first. Even sociable dogs can be in a bit of an unsociable mood so I leave the choice up to them whether they want to approach or not.