Hey Woofa’s,

Today’s topic is one very close to my heart.

A few weeks ago all through our news feeds was a tragic story about a little 12 month old girl called Kamillah.   She lost her life after being attacked by a ‘Rottweiler’ dog.  Yes I believe the dog was put down!

This is devastating for any family to go through.

What I want to know as soon as I hear about a dog attack is, what was the situation?   Then I think, could this situation have been avoided had the parties been (dog) educated enough??

So I delved further and from three different media sources I found three VERY different scenarios!!!

Scenario 1 –  says that family were walking little Kamillah in her pram down the street and a Rotti jumped the fence while she was in the pram, and mauled her!

The question I want to know is, what state of mind was the dog in to do this?   I’m betting there were signs way before this incident that the dog was in distress.

Scenario 2 – says that little Kamillah was attacked while visiting at her Grandmother’s house.  Implying that the dog was tied up in the backyard.

If the dog was tied in the backyard, was she out there with the dog on her own, how close was she to the dog, did the dog show signs that it didn’t want her near it etc etc etc?  If it was tied up surely it was showing signs before it attacked.  Was anyone watching the interaction?

Scenario 3 – says a toddler had facial injuries after being bitten by a family Rottweiler!!!!

I’m not sure if this was the same incident or a different one.

Which scenario is the right one?  Could the tragedy have been avoided all together if both dog owner and parents were a little wiser?

Don’t get me wrong no matter what the scenario, the ending is devastating for Kamillah’s family.   I’m not trying to lay blame either but unless you know the exact scenario there’s going to be some judgement and questions for everyone who was there!!

However, reading this article on IT’S TIME TO BAN DANGEROUS DOGS, had me a tad angry!!!!

When said story says –

‘How many deaths will it take before action is taken and these dangerous dogs are banned?’

‘Enough is enough. If the death of a one year old child is not enough for action to be taken, I don’t know what is?’

‘If any breed is powerful enough to kill a person, you shouldn’t have it around a small child at all.  But dog owner’s always ‘know best’ and believe their pet would never, ever harm a human.’

‘Australian’s have been great at banning guns – now it’s time to ban dangerous dogs.’

This is the only comment I mildly agree with –

‘The truth is, though, we don’t really know and no matter how much we love our dogs, all dog owners must put the love of their kids first.’

The love of both should come first so one love doesn’t harm the other.  Kids need to be educated, when old enough, on how to be around dogs.   And Dog Owners need to take responsibility for their dogs by understanding them, reading their body language etc.

Ten Points I Need To Make!!!

Firstly, I’ve been around Staffordshire Bull Terriers all my life.  I grew up around the dog show ring,  litters of puppies to adults and never did I ever feel threatened by one, even as a kid!!!!

Secondly, yes there are big dog breeds out there, that are even bigger than me and I groom them and have never felt threatened by one.

Thirdly, would I let my child stand on the ground so they were face to face with a dog, NO NO and NO!

Fourthly, would I let kids in the yard with Billy unsupervised, NO NO and NO!  He’s never been around kids and I know he likes to jump up on people’s legs for pats.  Knowing this, he would knock a kid flying, so NO I would not let kids outside with Billy without supervision.  Depending on their age and height as to whether he’d be on a lead or not as well.   There are many factors to take into consideration with dogs and kids.

Fifthly, unless there’s inbreeding/medical reasons, dogs are not born aggressive.  They are put into situations by HUMANS that cause all sorts of strains and anxiety on them and if people don’t read these signs then YES YES and YES instability and aggression does occur.

Sixthly, as a dog groomer 99.9% of the time it’s the smaller breed of dog that goes for the attack.    I do know that bigger dog bites pack more punch, however read the situation, know your dog, remove your kid if they are in the dog’s area etc.

Seventhly, you should never leave any child alone with any dog no matter what size because not only do you have to watch the dog and it’s body language, but kids don’t have control over their motor skills.  Kids can get in dog’s faces, pat too hard, pull ears, scream suddenly and pull tails etc and not all dogs like this.   Again it’s dog owner and parent responsibility.

Eighthly, a dog’s goal is not to set out to attack anyone, they don’t plan these things.  If it’s going to happen it happens in the moment.

Ninthly, why do guns and dogs kill, because they’re in the hands of people.  A gun can sit in a cabinet for centuries and be harmful to no-one!  As soon as someone puts a bullet in it and fires it at someone it becomes dangerous.  A dog in the hands of a person can also be dangerous if they don’t understand their dogs behaviour.

Tenthly, no family should have to go through the loss of a child, it’s horrific and devastating.   To know it was because of a dog, breaks my heart because I love both kids and dogs.   However, education has told me not to leave them within too close a proximity to one another.

SHOULD ALL AGGRESSIVE BREEDS BE BANNED?

In my opinion, NO!!!

At 5 Billy still has anxieties that we are working on when out for walks!  He hates skateboards and loves chilling at home with his rubber ball.  He loves car rides and hates potato!!!  He lays on you when on the lounge.

It’s important to know everything about your dog even the little things.

Should people be educated on the breed/s they do have, YES!

Should it be compulsory for every dog owner to have some form of Dog Training, YES!

Should it be compulsory for every dog owner to have their dog trained, YES!

Should parents (with or without dogs) be educated on dog behaviour, YES!  Kids learn how to swim, parents learn how to give CPR to their kids etc, why not educate everyone on dog behaviour?

What are your views?

Cheers