Staffie owner mauled to death by own dog during interview?

[telecat]

More of the story coming out. It seems like the Dog revived the owner last year when he had a seizure by nibbling at him. Suggstions are he was trying it again and opened a knife wound on the Guys neck. As the owner was a Drug user we can't rule out that the dog ingested some drugs along the line altering his behaviour.

[PhillipM]

C0ffin D0dger said:

I know they'll be loads of Staffy owners along soon saying what great dogs they are and that this dog was badly treated / handled etc.

But I still don't think they're great pets. Any dog that can do that to it's owner, a member of their family or some other unlucky person in the wrong place, shouldn't be kept as pets. I know all dogs are capable of this but you don't hear so many stories of people being mauled by their labrador let alone a chihuahua or something

I would think it's more that the dogs that have an image for being dangerous are immediately bought by a certain breed of moron who want them for intimidation. And they're not usually the loving, caring type when it comes to dog ownership.

[noway]

This is my boy Bailey,hes approx 25kg (4 stone) of fun and sloppy licks....fortunately most of you seem to realise its the idiot owners who ruin what is in general a loving dog..


Personality:
In its home country of England, the Staffordshire bull terrier is nicknamed the "nanny dog," such is its reputation as a child's playmate and guardian. Despite his fierce appearance, this dog is a lover, not a fighter. The breed is gentle, docile, and always on the look out for fun. Although not looking for trouble, the Staffordshire will not back down to a challenge and is not always agreeable with other dogs.
Obedience training is possible, although it is not the Staffordshire's strong point. Force training methods will lead nowhere, but if training is made into a game, then the Stafford is more than willing to play.



History:
Like all the bull breeds, the Staffordshire bull terrier can trace its heritage back to the ancient Molossian war dogs of the Greeks. The Mollossians in turn gave rise to the great Mastiffs of Europe, and then to the family of dogs bred to bait bulls and other animals.
The Staffordshire bull terrier joined the English Kennel Club in 1935 and the American Kennel Club in 1974. The breed had won over many families who found their courageousness matched only by their faithfulness.

Just to add Staffs have been a passion of mine for some time..


Sam

Edited by noway on Thursday 30th March 16:15

[Glasgowrob]

My girl before I lost her due to a heart defect








staffs are a great breed and fantastic with kids, but like ANY dog if they are not raised correctly or mistreated they can pose a risk

[IroningMan]

Digga said:

My first dog was a rescued Staffie/Doberman cross. Lovely dog. Never known any dog befriend so many random strangers with his earnest and kind eye contact - genuinely was a real people dog and loved attention.

He was also extemely fit and, at the appropriate times, would relish the occasional bit of rough and tumble with people he knew well, but especially me. I was with him in the garden one day and he was swooping around, lunging at me and I was fending him off - a bit like sparring - when he deliberately and extremely carefully jumped and put his jaws over my throat. The touch was barely perceptible and, it prompted a sort of pause or time-out in the game. He never did it again, but he gave me a look, with a big grin on his panting face as if to say "I'm just playing with you, but this is what I could do".

Never underestimate how fast, powerful and effective a predator a dog can be. Any do that can jump to, or get to throat level is theoretically and potentially lethal to a human - you only have to look at how wild dogs kill deer to see how and why.

My inlaws' dog is a Spinone, not an especially large animal but I think he's around 45kg - if he were a cat that would make him a Leopard...

[BigLion]

A bit like petrolheads are not understood by non-petrolheads, the same applies to people who have owned what people perceive to be dangerous dogs.

If I could I would love to own an American Pitbull Terrier as an example - beautiful and magnificent dogs, not too large, short hair, looks to die for, fearless and a pure bundle of fun. I wish they weren't banned and instead maybe legislation was that chavs were not allowed to have them.

[BigLion]

Digga said:

MrBrightSi said:

wc98 said:

i am having trouble understanding how a staffie managed to do this to a grown adult. would be interested to see pics of this "staffie" .
there are a lot of dogs being labeled staffies these days due to the dangerous dogs legislation that are not staffie's at all,but various bull breed crosses.

Seems like he bled out from the throat. I'm sure from a certain size upwards a dog getting a good bite on your throat is going to be serious.

My first dog was a rescued Staffie/Doberman cross. Lovely dog. Never known any dog befriend so many random strangers with his earnest and kind eye contact - genuinely was a real people dog and loved attention.

He was also extemely fit and, at the appropriate times, would relish the occasional bit of rough and tumble with people he knew well, but especially me. I was with him in the garden one day and he was swooping around, lunging at me and I was fending him off - a bit like sparring - when he deliberately and extremely carefully jumped and put his jaws over my throat. The touch was barely perceptible and, it prompted a sort of pause or time-out in the game. He never did it again, but he gave me a look, with a big grin on his panting face as if to say "I'm just playing with you, but this is what I could do".

Never underestimate how fast, powerful and effective a predator a dog can be. Any do that can jump to, or get to throat level is theoretically and potentially lethal to a human - you only have to look at how wild dogs kill deer to see how and why.

You should never 'rough and tumble" with powerful breeds as it encourages the wrong behaviour. As to how high the dog can jump, most likely the guy was sitting down and he staffie was on the sofa...

[noway]

BigLion said:

You should never 'rough and tumble" with powerful breeds as it encourages the wrong behaviour. As to how high the dog can jump, most likely the guy was sitting down and he staffie was on the sofa...

Never in 30 yrs of dog training have i heard this,your dog will be part of a pack with you (if it is trained correctly) as the alpha and other members of the family as betas with itself being a omega.Its when the dog believes it has risen the ranks that issues can occur..

"Rough and tumble" is fine as long as you are in control and decide when it is time to end play,i have play fought with many a Doberman and Rottweiler without a scratch and encourage the bonding process this way..

[Glasgowrob]

noway said:

Never in 30 yrs of dog training have i heard this,your dog will be part of a pack with you (if it is trained correctly) as the alpha and other members of the family as betas with itself being a omega.Its when the dog believes it has risen the ranks that issues can occur..

"Rough and tumble" is fine as long as you are in control and decide when it is time to end play,i have play fought with many a Doberman and Rottweiler without a scratch and encourage the bonding process this way..

so true, so many people don't understand about dogs being pack animals and pack orders, really wish they would introduce a minimum training requirement to own a dog

BigLion said:

A bit like petrolheads are not understood by non-petrolheads, the same applies to people who have owned what people perceive to be dangerous dogs.

If I could I would love to own an American Pitbull Terrier as an example - beautiful and magnificent dogs, not too large, short hair, looks to die for, fearless and a pure bundle of fun. I wish they weren't banned and instead maybe legislation was that chavs were not allowed to have them.

gorgeous and loving dogs, would love a dogo argentino but alas not, maybe we could do a swap ban chavs instead. I'm a great believer in there being no bad dogs, just poorly trained and reared dogs and the very rare ones with underlying conditions. we've seen so many breeds demonized over the years, round here its been Dobermans then Rotties, Akitas were the hardman dog of choice for a while before going onto bullies and staffs. Staffies are great family pets IF they are trained and raised correctly. whilst not the biggest of breeds they are solid and muscular and can be very dangerous despite their light weight and small size. that said its all relative, I was raised in a house full of Rotties and have been around them my entire life, they are another breed demonised when they are in actual fact a great family pet. I'd rather have a pack of Rottweilers or staffies but i'm married to a woman with a big passion for bullies

[rallycross]

Reading about it today its a very sad story, poor chap.

I like dogs but I don't see why anyone needs to keep a dog that has the potential to attack.

Drive through any stty area and the chavs will be out with their 'accessory dogs.

Read up on the news stories of vicious dog attacks, usually its from the low life scum households that breed these dogs.

[Tango13]

The reason chavs own Staff's is due to a lack of basic literacy on the chavs part

Chavs want vicious fighting dogs, Staffs tend to be viscous farting dogs...

See the problem?

[Halb]

s3fella said:

Kay Burley...Sadness in his eyes.... (as they dragged him off owner's throat!

[J4CKO]

noway said:

BigLion said:

You should never 'rough and tumble" with powerful breeds as it encourages the wrong behaviour. As to how high the dog can jump, most likely the guy was sitting down and he staffie was on the sofa...

Never in 30 yrs of dog training have i heard this,your dog will be part of a pack with you (if it is trained correctly) as the alpha and other members of the family as betas with itself being a omega.Its when the dog believes it has risen the ranks that issues can occur..

"Rough and tumble" is fine as long as you are in control and decide when it is time to end play,i have play fought with many a Doberman and Rottweiler without a scratch and encourage the bonding process this way..

Indeed, I had my wifes opinionated cat owning mate telling me I shouldnt play rough with the my dog, a small poodle/terrior hybrid called Rambo, "What if he does it to a child", er well, that child will not be hurt but will have dog slobber on them, it is part of the bonding, they love it, we love it, its a bloke thing really, but you need to make it clear you are the boss and are able to dominate.

Done this for years and years, every dog should like a rumble, my wife hates it as they never did it.

[pidsy]

My dogs know that I'm for wrestling with, mrs p is for cuddling. They know the difference and it works fine.

Wrestling or rolling round on the floor is part of creating and maintaining the hierarchy of your pack.

(And it's great fun - especially playing hide and seek round the house)

[Digga]

J4CKO said:

noway said:

BigLion said:

You should never 'rough and tumble" with powerful breeds as it encourages the wrong behaviour. As to how high the dog can jump, most likely the guy was sitting down and he staffie was on the sofa...

Never in 30 yrs of dog training have i heard this,your dog will be part of a pack with you (if it is trained correctly) as the alpha and other members of the family as betas with itself being a omega.Its when the dog believes it has risen the ranks that issues can occur..

"Rough and tumble" is fine as long as you are in control and decide when it is time to end play,i have play fought with many a Doberman and Rottweiler without a scratch and encourage the bonding process this way..

Indeed, I had my wifes opinionated cat owning mate telling me I shouldnt play rough with the my dog, a small poodle/terrior hybrid called Rambo, "What if he does it to a child", er well, that child will not be hurt but will have dog slobber on them, it is part of the bonding, they love it, we love it, its a bloke thing really, but you need to make it clear you are the boss and are able to dominate.

Done this for years and years, every dog should like a rumble, my wife hates it as they never did it.

Complete bks. A good, well mannered, well adjusted, well disciplined, well exercise dog will relish an occasional bit of horse play. It does them a world of good and they only do it with their owner and at the appropriate time (no Kato!!!).

When the dogs played with kids - tug of war, catch etc. - you could actually seem them dial-down the aggression and energy levels to suit their opposition. My dog which I'd have a real job to snatch a toy out of his jaws would actually cede ground to small people, in an exemplary demonstration of empathy and understanding that, although he could win the game, it was not fair or considerate.

[BigLion]

Digga said:

J4CKO said:

noway said:

BigLion said:

You should never 'rough and tumble" with powerful breeds as it encourages the wrong behaviour. As to how high the dog can jump, most likely the guy was sitting down and he staffie was on the sofa...

Never in 30 yrs of dog training have i heard this,your dog will be part of a pack with you (if it is trained correctly) as the alpha and other members of the family as betas with itself being a omega.Its when the dog believes it has risen the ranks that issues can occur..

"Rough and tumble" is fine as long as you are in control and decide when it is time to end play,i have play fought with many a Doberman and Rottweiler without a scratch and encourage the bonding process this way..

Indeed, I had my wifes opinionated cat owning mate telling me I shouldnt play rough with the my dog, a small poodle/terrior hybrid called Rambo, "What if he does it to a child", er well, that child will not be hurt but will have dog slobber on them, it is part of the bonding, they love it, we love it, its a bloke thing really, but you need to make it clear you are the boss and are able to dominate.

Done this for years and years, every dog should like a rumble, my wife hates it as they never did it.

Complete bks. A good, well mannered, well adjusted, well disciplined, well exercise dog will relish an occasional bit of horse play. It does them a world of good and they only do it with their owner and at the appropriate time (no Kato!!!).

When the dogs played with kids - tug of war, catch etc. - you could actually seem them dial-down the aggression and energy levels to suit their opposition. My dog which I'd have a real job to snatch a toy out of his jaws would actually cede ground to small people, in an exemplary demonstration of empathy and understanding that, although he could win the game, it was not fair or considerate.

I suspect my understanding of what is 'rough and tumble" is slightly more aggressive play than what you guys are talking about - for example I have seen people put on a bite arm and then fight with their dog whilst encouraging the dog to bite the sleeve or keeping a dog pinned down when quite obviously it wanted to get up...that I don't like - things like tug of war is obviously child's play to a dog.

[Digga]

BigLion said:

I suspect my understanding of what is 'rough and tumble" is slightly more aggressive play than what you guys are talking about - for example I have seen people put on a bite arm and then fight with their dog whilst encouraging the dog to bite the sleeve or keeping a dog pinned down when quite obviously it wanted to get up...that I don't like - things like tug of war is obviously child's play to a dog.

Righto. Yes, you do have a point.

The thing I'd always understood about rough play was, especially when young, it was a very good way to teach your dog bit inhibition - prevent them accidentally harming people or other dogs. The rough idea was to allow play up until or unless they started to hurt and to shout at them to stop or give a gently physical prompt, so they learned the limits.

Encouraging and teaching dogs to apply potentially harmful or lethal force is another matter entirely, I agree.

[Boring_Chris]

Digga said:

J4CKO said:

noway said:

BigLion said:

You should never 'rough and tumble" with powerful breeds as it encourages the wrong behaviour. As to how high the dog can jump, most likely the guy was sitting down and he staffie was on the sofa...

Never in 30 yrs of dog training have i heard this,your dog will be part of a pack with you (if it is trained correctly) as the alpha and other members of the family as betas with itself being a omega.Its when the dog believes it has risen the ranks that issues can occur..

"Rough and tumble" is fine as long as you are in control and decide when it is time to end play,i have play fought with many a Doberman and Rottweiler without a scratch and encourage the bonding process this way..

Indeed, I had my wifes opinionated cat owning mate telling me I shouldnt play rough with the my dog, a small poodle/terrior hybrid called Rambo, "What if he does it to a child", er well, that child will not be hurt but will have dog slobber on them, it is part of the bonding, they love it, we love it, its a bloke thing really, but you need to make it clear you are the boss and are able to dominate.

Done this for years and years, every dog should like a rumble, my wife hates it as they never did it.

Complete bks. A good, well mannered, well adjusted, well disciplined, well exercise dog will relish an occasional bit of horse play. It does them a world of good and they only do it with their owner and at the appropriate time (no Kato!!!).

When the dogs played with kids - tug of war, catch etc. - you could actually seem them dial-down the aggression and energy levels to suit their opposition. My dog which I'd have a real job to snatch a toy out of his jaws would actually cede ground to small people, in an exemplary demonstration of empathy and understanding that, although he could win the game, it was not fair or considerate.

My parents Shih Tzu is terrified of my 6 month old niece. He just doesn't know what to do around her, presumably because he knows he's clumsy and knows the consequence of getting it wrong. He just sits next to her (he wants to be close) and looks at me (or whoever) with terrified eyes! Poor thing.

Not exactly related, but anyway, my cat (a great big Bengal) will not - under any circumstances - play rough with me. If he's in a boisterous mood (and he does love to through his weight around - he's around 17lbs!) I could push my hand into his belly and he'll just stop instantly. His missus (a comparatively small Egyptian Mau) would grab my hand and do the kick thing, but with her claws retracted. Sometimes she gets it wrong and my arm ends up resembling an Emo bully victim, but it's never deliberate.

Anyway, day before yesterday the big ol' Bengal caught my finger end when playing through a towel and one claw went through my finger tip like a knife through butter. He just split it wide open, about an inch and a half long, with nothing more than a glance. Didn't even notice it happen - just saw the bloody pour out of it! (He knew, as well, as he stopped play and became very meek and affectionate straight after)

Imagine what these animals could do if they had the inclination. We take for granted how well behaved and considerate the vast majority of these creatures are.

[jjlynn27]

Digga said:

ighto. Yes, you do have a point.

The thing I'd always understood about rough play was, especially when young, it was a very good way to teach your dog bit inhibition - prevent them accidentally harming people or other dogs. The rough idea was to allow play up until or unless they started to hurt and to shout at them to stop or give a gently physical prompt, so they learned the limits.

Encouraging and teaching dogs to apply potentially harmful or lethal force is another matter entirely, I agree.

Digga,

Do you have kids? And if you do, do you ever worry about dog attacking them?

[Digga]

jjlynn27 said:

Digga said:

ighto. Yes, you do have a point.

The thing I'd always understood about rough play was, especially when young, it was a very good way to teach your dog bit inhibition - prevent them accidentally harming people or other dogs. The rough idea was to allow play up until or unless they started to hurt and to shout at them to stop or give a gently physical prompt, so they learned the limits.

Encouraging and teaching dogs to apply potentially harmful or lethal force is another matter entirely, I agree.

Digga,

Do you have kids? And if you do, do you ever worry about dog attacking them?

No but nieces and nephews and neighbours kids.

That is the whole point about them learning the limits of play. To minimise the risk the the dog using inappropriate force on humans. All the dogs we've had have been excellent with kids - I really mean that - but I would never leave dogs and young kids unsupervised.

So, in a nutshell yes, it is always a concern and, IMHO always should be to any dog owner.

Good dogs aren't dumb though. They know right from wrong and understand they need to look after old or young people alike. Our first two dogs with my mate's daughter - they actually let her walk them, without pulling. That's about 60kgs of dog there, down country lanes, with interesting scents to nose!