Are people too trusting of thier dogs?

Yet another sad story of a child being mauled and killed https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6222689.stm

I was always bought up with the knowledge that a dog is a dog. It is an animal. However much it is a loved family pet, there is always an element of risk.

You cannot tell early stages of senility or personality change in a dog simply because they do not communicate the same way as us. Basicially your pet doggy is also a potential threat to your life.

Luckily most dogs make wonderful pets and a lot of people are brilliant dog handlers.

What makes me go cold is when an owner is 100% trusting of thier pet. When they put a baby on the floor with a giant doberman and go off into the kitchen to make something.

Now i know you all probably have your own stories and some of you have probably been bitten by a dog and some of you will probably swear on your life that your dog wouldnt harm a hair on your head.

Personally i feel people are far too trusting. What do you think?

people get dogs and the good owners do a bit of training and clear their dogs mess up from the street the bad owners dont bother and either mistreat their dog or just boot it outside when it needs a crap.

neither ever actually even consider that a medium sized dog can kill a child in minutes. the woman in france who made the news in 2006 with the first face transplant was attacked by her pet labrador whilst she was asleep im sure she felt she had the perfect pet pooch before it happened.
dogs are unpredictable and it shouldnt be a right to own a dog.
theres a massive increase in the uk at the mo' of 'macho dogs' mostly the bull terrier type and ive no doubt these dogs are used by their owners as intimidation and as a hard man accsessory.
any dog that bites a person should be put down immediatly and any person owning a dog should have to pay a licence fee of at least ?50 per year.
all male dogs should be neutered unless a breeding licence is obtained and a breeding licence should cost thousands.
dogs are great animals and you cant beat taking a happy dog for a walk and doing the whole throwing sticks thing but any dog can be vicious.

I trust my girl with my niece and my life

i can see how you think that kasabian but im sure these people whose kids got attacked by family pets felt the same. im not anti dog but no kid should be left unattended with a dog that can do serious harm and that is really anything bigger than a yorkhire terrier.

its in the blood of a pitbull to be vicious, greyhounds are probably the most placid creatures on the planet.

Many types of dogs have been banned as pets here in Ontario, and many (e.g. the pit bull) are required to wear muzzles whenever they're not being fed or something.

Yes, I think people are too trusting of their dogs. But I think when you love someone that much, you become overprotective of them. A lot of people see dogs as family, and if a stranger came to you and said "Your mum/daughter/sister's crazy, we have to take her away or put her down" I think people would be just as reluctant to accept that reality.

When i was younger my little brother was f***ing about in his high chair and fell backwards, my dog (at the time) ran from our hallway to the kitchen and cushioned his fall... i was amazed and touched... unfortunatly not all animals are as good/stable, as with humans, there will always be a minority who are liable to act completely out of charachter and do something "out of the ordinary". As a race we can either choose to accept that that will always be the case or we can choose to do something about it.
my view is that people (who insist they know thier pets) aren't too trusting, however if it were a member of my family no doubt i would change my opinion.

I trust my dogs. Becaue really their almost pysically incapable of causing anyone any serious physical harm. They're simply far to sall. also I've spent alot of time with them so I know that the worst they would ever do to anyone is bark at them and then run away. they're timid. infact what is far more likely than them barking at a stranger is them wanting to play with them.

my first neighbour when i moved into my flat had a jack russell that was a wick as anything but it never scared me because the worst i knew it could do was give a nasty bite on my ankles. my current neighbour has what you would call a medium sized mongrel its very greyhound like but i know if that bastard ever got off its lead it would do me a serious injury and i dont see why i should have to be scared of going out my front door or having to wait to go into my flat if shes got the dog out. its ok for her to say the dog is just protecting her but it means the rest of us have to be very careful just going in and out of were we live.

I think that some dogs are worth trusting. when I was a kid we used to have this dog. he was like a mix of something, but he followed me everywhere. when I played outside he be about ten feet away watching, or when I started school (even though I had older brothers and a sister) he walk me to the bus stop and wait with me until i got on the bus. and when I came home from school he be waiting for me. and the funny thing is that he wasn't ours. so some dogs are worth trusting. (well in my experience anyway).

It's not just big dogs either, a few years ago I was over at my sister's house babysitting while they were upstairs at their friends apartment and at the time they had a little Jack Russell, always seemed to be the friendliest little thing. Then while I was just sitting there, the dog comes running up to me and attacks the s*** out of me. He wouldn't get off me, he bit me, scratched me and made me bleed. I kept trying to get him off me but I couldn't. Finally about 10 minutes later my sister came down because she heard me yelling, and her then boyfriend finally got the dog off me. They got rid of him soon after that. But yeah you never know what could happen with dogs. They're very unpredictable, even the most trained ones.

i love dogs, but you cant trust them unless you understand them, you might see your self as a big happy family but they see it as a big pack that they want to lead....

your rite greyhounds r so so placid we have 3 and a 10week old pug, was just chating 2 a friend of mine and he has 3 kids and a pit bull he loves the dog but he not taking any chances so he has desided 2 get rid of him.

Simple thing my mum told me when i was knee high to a dog.... she said "dont go near them they'll bite you when you least expect it..."

Never been bitten by a dog once with that advice...

They maybe cute and fury, but deep down there still an animal....

I have a pet dog that is a cross between a Pomerainian and a Jack Russell. Two very crabit wee breeds.

Toby is a very loyal and friendly dog and is well trained.

BUT if a stranger comes about my home he'll go at them like a pit bull and is very fierce. I would never trust any dog with a child or vulnerable person.