6600 dog bites in 2007 Discussions

''I think it is sweeping to say it is mainly collies or JRTs...as bad as saying all staffies are bad.''

It is a problem of mine, and I apologise profusely. Shona has said she sees more lab problems, and I do not, I get the terriers and chihauau (3 in nov. alone!) problems in this neck of the woods, so perhaps it has something to do with location too. Terriers - JRs and Staffords, seem to be very very popular here, labs not so much. I don't mean to make a sweeping statement about any breed, far from it, in fact to me it says more about the owners to me...

Haha we talked about this at work i would rather go in a kennel with a rottie or GSD than a ****zu, j.russel etc any day of the week.
ATD

Haha we talked about this at work i would rather go in a kennel with a rottie or GSD than a shi tzu, j.russel etc any day of the week.
ATD

I agree totally.

Of the 6600 bites; does anyone have the satistics on which breeds?
I also wonder if anyone here would have info on the percentages of different breeds that make up dogs owned in the UK. (I know, I'm being lazy not researching it myself, but it's been a lng day for me! )

''I also wonder if anyone here would have info on the percentages of different breeds that make up dogs owned in the UK. ''

what register are your own dogs on? Mine are not on one, and therefore I am assuming that not everyone in the country is on one either.
I guess you could get a KC reg list, but that wouldn't be too accurate, or you could get a list from dogs that are insured, but again majority are probably not...

I was only asking since the number of bites by different breeds would be reflected in how popular the breed is as a pet. (That's to say you aren't going to have many bite incidents with rare breeds.)

T'was just curiousity on my part, nothing more.

Hay I would love to know too! It would be interesting to say the least.
Having spoken to a few other dog trainers on here, it seems I am wrong in assuming everywhere is like here. More terrier problems are prevalent here, whereas other have said they have bigger breeds (gsds) that are the biggest problem.
I find that interesting in itself. But then a dog is a dog, and there are stupid people everywhere - hehe!

I guess it comes down to what breed/mix of dog is popular with the numpty's in each local area. I dispare of irresponsible owners.

Me three, but there is irresponsible (arguably even I am sometimes) and there is uneducated. I believe we can help out with the education part. Whenever I see someone struggling with their dog I ask them some nice questions first and then if they considered the help of a dog trainer (and then oops what do you know I happen to know a dog trainer, here is her card). 9/10 they have forgotten that the face of the person who mentioned the training is the person that is running the class... hehe.
However it works for others too, my sister is starting to take an interest, for the dog's sakes, as she realises the more educated owners, the better for us all.

I was at a fellow dog trainers class last night, as we are attending each other's classes in disguise to let each other know what we liked/disliked and to get some new ideas. i am the lucky one as she has been doing this for 15+yrs.

Anyway she mentioned that there is in the region of40,000,000 dogs in the world, and there are people out there who would happily like to see every one of them dead.
That will stick in my mind - the more we can prove dogs are brill, the better for our doggers.

In my opinion being uneducated about an animal in your care is a form of irresponsibility. ;-)

I like you tactics in dealing with them though; alot more helpful than giving torrents of abuse as some people do when faced with some such owners. And much more likely to bring about positive results. :smt001

Evie, if dealing with humans and dogs over the years has taught me anything, it would be that kindness, patience and reward will bring about better results than the opposite.

''In my opinion being uneducated about an animal in your care is a form of irresponsibility.''

100% agreed, but not everyone understands that they are uneducated in an area. Perhaps some think that their logic and experience is enough.
Take my arguements for example. I seem to think outside most conventional boxes, I don't vaccinate, I don't feed dog food, I give my pup more walks than the average person, and I don't rely on vets for any sort of advice (although I may seek it, I think that is different than relying on it)

How do you go about trying to educate someone that thinks that she is educated?
Tough one!?