Dog attacks on guide dogs show marked increase

[Sunlei]

Attacks on guide dogs for the blind by other dogs have increased in recent years, with 180 incidents since 2010 according to the Guide Dogs Association.

BBC Inside Out meets Richard Wise from Coventry and Jemma Brown from Southampton. Both have been subjected to attacks on their guide dogs.

In another incident CCTV footage captures an attack on a guide dog by a 'status' dog whose owner was subsequently prosecuted under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

In 2011 six guide dogs were forced to retire because of the physical and psychological damage caused by attacks. Now the Guide Dogs Association is calling for an urgent change in the law to help stop them.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19968431


I know this is the UK news but we in the USA do have quite a few unprovoked attacks by aggressive dogs while walking or at the dog park. Of course it's the owners fault because they can NOT control their dog. What can be done about this issue without banning breeds or banning dog ownership? Many places in the USA ban specific breeds or outright ban any dog ownership in rental property. Dogs are barred from some public areas aswell. I think a basic obedience class should be a requirement for access to any dog park or public property.

[Taitertots]

1. The problem is that when you ask dog owners, they almost all think their dogs would never attack...

a person or service dog. Despite the fact that dogs attack millions of people every year.

The obvious solution is criminal charges against owners whose dogs attack people.

[hlthe2b]

2. the truth is the majority of dogs would never attack a person or service dog.

No one condones irresponsible owners and the most egregious certainly HAVE faced criminal charges, while others lose their rights to own dogs, lose the dog, or face significant civil penalties or insurance claims.

Blanket statements denouncing all dogs and dog owners-- as your post comes very close to mirroring-- are, however, not at all helpful. It does, however result in indiscriminate breed bans and overwhelming numbers of "look alike" dogs destroyed in shelters, animals targeted for normal 'play' behaviors (including herding type chasing) by those who are totally uneducated about normal dog play behavior, and blanket bans of dogs in housing and nursing homes, where lonely elderly are warehoused in their last days without benefit of their loving pets.

[Taitertots]

3. Your post totally ignores the most fundamental point of my post.

Which is the millions of people who claim their dogs would never attack someone are among the millions of people with dogs that attacked people.

"No one condones irresponsible owners and the most egregious certainly HAVE faced criminal charges, while others lose their rights to own dogs, lose the dog, or face significant civil penalties or insurance claims. "
This statement is correct. But... I think more than the tiny fraction of cases that are "the most egregious" should also face charges.

"Blanket statements denouncing all dogs and dog owners-- as your post comes very close to mirroring-- is, however, not at all helpful."
Your statement is basically saying: Something that you are not doing is not helpful.

"the truth is the majority of dogs would never attack a person or service dog."
I never said that the majority of dogs would attack people or service dogs.

[hlthe2b]

5. in other words, you hate dogs--we get that

Your blanket condemnation underscores that ugly fact.

[Taitertots]

6. Actually, I like dogs and would own one if my life situation made it possible

In other words...
You don't have anything constructive or intelligent to add to the discussion, so you are flipping over the board and giving up.

[Cairycat]

4. Here is a link

to a petition calling for a national law to make owners of dogs who attack service animals legally liable for their animal's actions.

http://www.change.org/petitions/guide-dog-users-inc-working-towards-the-enactment-of-a-national-service-animal-protection-law?share_id=lumeyPBBGW&utm_campaign=mailto_link&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

People who need service animals depend on them to be able to work and for many activities of daily living. Service animals require a lot of expensive training (my sister's dog was trained for two years, and then for a further two months with my sister.) When a service animal is attacked, it is a serious impairment of the service animal's owner to be able to work and carry out many activities of daily living.

[FreeJoe]

7. Surprisingly weak article

180 incidents. OK, but how many guide dogs are there in the covered area? If there are 50, that's outrageous. If there are 10 million, it sounds relatively rare. What constitutes an "incident"? Is that a physical attack? An attempted physical attack? A menacing growl?

Attacks have increased in recent years. OK, at what rate? Were there 179 attacks five years ago, or 50? Are the number of attacks increasing as fast as the number of guide dogs?

I'm not saying that this isn't a serious problem that needs to be addressed. I'm saying that the article provides some scary sound statements without enough information to determine whether they are hype or signs of a serious problem.

[arely staircase]

8. I have no sense of smell.

Hence my need for a beagle everywhere I go.

[mnhtnbb]

9. I have had my dog attacked while out walking in my neighborhood in Chapel Hill, NC

She's a sweet rescue, Golden Retriever/ American Eskimo mix, and her personality changed
after the second attack. She now insists on turning around if there is a dog behind us
when walking. I have to stop and let the dog pass. I think she's afraid of not being able
to see a dog coming up on her. As soon as the other dog is in front of us, she'll return
to walking normally on the leash.

She wasn't bitten during the attacks, but it has traumatized her.
I reported both attacks to the local animal control. It was a dog--off leash--
came running out of its yard and the owner was not able to call it back out
of the public street.

[magical thyme]

10. enforce leash laws, crack down on dog fighting and hold owners responsible for their dog's behavior.

Breed specific legislation will not work, period. Irresponsible owners and breeders will simply pick another large breed to ruin.

Forcing obedience training doesn't seem likely to work for a number of reasons. Not all obedience trainers are necessarily good at what they do, and some people are simply unteachable. Requiring tougher licensing for breeding operations might be a better way to go, by reducing indiscriminate breeding and the homeless dog population.

As far as individual dog parks go, what worked at the dog park I used to take my dog to was social ostracism. If somebody showed up with an unsocialized dog and failed to restrain that dog and leave the moment it misbehaved, the rest of us simply packed up our own dogs and left.