Hello; The responses have been much as expected. Some how it is not the dog that is doing the attacking, it is the owners fault.
The great dane that attacked a child was able to get out of a fenced yard because the fence was damaged during one of the recent severe storms. The owner had made arrangments to get the fence fixed but had not taken any further precautions such as putting the dog on a stout chain. The owner was not acting in a responsible manner, but the dog did the attack.
Of all the dog owners I have known, only a very few take the time to train their dogs or have them trained. Nor do most dog owners keep them in a secure manner. They simply allow the dogs to run the neighborhoods. Several have said to me that they cannot stand the thought of have their dog penned up or chained. Some how it is OK, by their thinking, to let their dogs use everyone elses yard as a bathroom and tear up stuff in addition to the attacks on people and other pets. These owners are often sorry when their dog bites someone, but in some cases do not take any additional preccautions after the fact. Some owners have been known to try to place the blame for an attack on the person or other pet being attacked, even thou it is clearly their responibility to keep their pet under control.
We are indeed fortunate that most dogs are not aggressive by their nature. However it is clear from the number of reported attacks that large dogs do attack people quite often. Even if it is only a small percentage of the total dog population, it is too many.
It seems clear that some folks cannot see the potential danger from a large animal with sharp teeth. You will be suprised when your beloved pet bites someone. You will say something like it had never done anything like that before. I have known dog owners who got away with a few incidents because the early attacks were not too serious or a friend decided not to make a big deal out of it, only later to have the same animal do some real damage. You will search for ways to shift the blame away from your pet and yourself. May I suggest that you do a search for dog attacks and if possible take a good look at the ones with pictures. Perhaps when at the vet, ask for comments from the folks who deal with these attacks. Even if somehow the majority of attacks can be laid on the irresponsibility of owners, the dogs are still doing the attacks and the owners will not suddenly become responsible.
Dog owners should keep their dogs secure on their property in some fashion so that the animal cannot roam freely. When away from home the animal should be secure at all times in some manner. I was at a car show in Townsend TN recently. Several people had dogs with them, they were all on leads and some of the larger dogs had muzzels in place. I was able to relax around these dogs that were strange to me.
All that being said, let me again remind those that want a warm and fuzzy response to your pets, folks like myself are suspicious of any strange dog and are preparred to take what action is felt needed to protect ourselves, our family and our friends. Up to and including killing any animal that appears to present a threat. Do everyone a favor and make it so folks like me do not have any thing to be concerned about and keep you dogs under strict control.
