That poor boy killed by the dog in Cornwall

[laurac1988]

Absolutely horrendous. I'm sure if the parents could go back in time, they wouldn't have left them together. It's a pain in the ≈≈≈≈ sometimes, but I never leave Eden alone with mine as a rule. Any dog can attack.

[Sue]

Tragic event, I agree with those who say that you can never trust ANY dog. I had the sweetest natured Cairn Terrier once but when my friend came round with her new baby and we put her on a blanket on the floor with some toys, Sparkie never having seen anything like it, immediately started circling the blanket and growling!
I was totally shocked and he was booted out of the room until my friend had gone. It taught me that no matter how well you think you know your dog, you cannot predict it’s behaviour.

[Bats]

Originally Posted by Tinkerbell

With our 65 kilo mastiff the laws here in spain state that she must be on a lead when in a public place. TBH we live so remotely that we walk her across the mountains BUT as we see someone we pop her back on here lead what really gets my goat is people with smaller dogs off lead who allow there dogs just to run up to my dogs when they’re on leads saying. It’s okat p, she’s friendly. Yes he’s might be , but my very large dog sees here as tapas. We have a campaign for different coloured leads in spain can’t remember the actual order but

Red... do not approach my dog
Green. Friendly

Good idea me thinks

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Just playing Devils advocate here ok ...

So, even though it's law to keep your dog on a lead where you live. And even though you readily admit she probably sees small dogs as tapas. You let her off the lead.
So if a small dog/animal was to approach before you had a chance to grab her and put her back on the lead - it could end badly?

Do you see how easy it is to slip into the 'I know it's silly but it'll be ok'?
You'll probably say you can see in all directions and nobody could ever 'creep' up on you and your dog, but it's so easy to become complacent when you're comfy with something.

Please don't take this as an attack on you, I'm just trying to point out how people always think it will be ok until it's not!

Joa

[Tinkerbell]

Originally Posted by Bats

Just playing Devils advocate here ok ...

So, even though it's law to keep your dog on a lead where you live. And even though you readily admit she probably sees small dogs as tapas. You let her off the lead.
So if a small dog/animal was to approach before you had a chance to grab her and put her back on the lead - it could end badly?

Do you see how easy it is to slip into the 'I know it's silly but it'll be ok'?
You'll probably say you can see in all directions and nobody could ever 'creep' up on you and your dog, but it's so easy to become complacent when you're comfy with something.

Please don't take this as an attack on you, I'm just trying to point out how people always think it will be ok until it's not!

Joa

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Play away
I live 10 km away from anyone and in five years I’ve never seen anyone on a walk even if we are walking for two hours. It’s the law to keep a dog on they lead in a public place ie the village or the town, in the countryside it’s not the law as we have many farms with Mastín who act as guardian livestock dogs whom roam freely, which I agree I didn’t make clear.. Unlike most pet dogs, all our dogs are highly trained. The tapas remark was tongue in cheek.

As I said I would not allow my dogs near anyone or anything. On or of the lead.

As I also said. Any dog can turn and in my thirty plus years of theatre nursing every child we sewed up was by a dog who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

[munmun]

This is all terribly sad. For all these people life will never be the same again there are simply no winners in a situation like this.

I can put my hands up and say that in the past I may have done something that could have gone horribly wrong. I remember leaving my children in the bedroom asleep in a small seaside hotel while my husband and I had dinner. We popped back after each course to check on them. That was 35 years ago, would I do it now, definitely not. On reflection our lives could have been altered forever.

As a child I used to be out on my bike, down by a stream playing with my friends. My husband when he was young can remember being out in the fields alone and a strange man taught him how to tie a noose!

A decision made without much thought can change everything.

[Jakey Neverland]

It is just a very sad situation, my heart breaks for him and his family.