Montreal woman fatally attacked by dog in her backyard

[welsh]

I see it's silly season here again.

Fact: certain breeds are provably more inclined to aggressive behavior than others. The dogma that all breeds are the same is not supported by evidence.

Fact: the probability of serious injury or death in any given dog attack correlates with the size of the dog involved.

Posting a list of dog-related fatalities compiled from open news sources doesn't change these facts, particularly when that list includes as "dog-attack-related" deaths from other causes arising out of a dog bite incident. There is a significant difference between an attack in which a dog mauls the victim to death, and an attack in which the victim dies of a head injury caused when he falls from his bicycle after a dog inflicts a superficial bite.

That list includes:
- an elderly woman who died of complications from a broken hip caused when an Airedale knocked her down. There is no evidence the Airedale was acting aggressively.
- a child who died of strangulation caused by a beagle pulling on a leash wrapped around the child's neck. There is no evidence the beagle was acting aggressively.
- a man who died of injuries he received after he collided with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel while riding his bike. There is no evidence the spaniel was acting aggressively.
- a child who died of injuries after falling from his bike after suffering a superficial bite from a chihuahua.
- a man who died of an infection caused by a bite from a coonhound.
- a man who died of a heart attack following an unspecified incident involving an East Highland terrier.
- a woman who died of a heart attack after being bitten by a West Highland terrier. Apparently, highland terriers are a serious risk factor in fatal heart attacks.
- a child who died of strangulation caused by a Golden Retriever pulling on a scarf. No evidence the dog was being aggressive.
- a man who died of infection following a superficial bite from a JRT.
- a man who died after tripping over an old English sheepdog and being bitten; it is not established whether he died from the bite, the fall, or the cardiac event he suffered just before he fell.

These are not maulings. There is a significant difference not only in the number of fatalities and serious injuries caused by "[COLOR=#333333]chiiuawawas, daschunds and more" and those caused by large dogs, but also in the nature of the incidents. It is obvious that all dogs do not, in fact, present an equal risk, and the report you posted does not pretend this is true.

Indeed, if you proceed to read the analysis that follows, you'll run into this remark: "it is sheer foolishness to encourage people to regard pit bull terriers and Rottweilers as just dogs like any other, no matter how much they may behave like other dogs under ordinary circumstances ... Pit bulls and Rottweilers ... must be regulated with special requirements appropriate to the risk they may pose to the public and other animals, if they are to be kept at all."

When we have one breed group (pit bulls) behind 82% of fatal dog attacks in a given year (2015), and when adding just two more breeds accounts for 97% of fatal dog attacks, it is not too difficult to determine where the problem lies, and it's disingenuous to pretend that it's a complicated question.

The far more difficult question is what steps might be taken to deal with that problem.

[vom Dufenshmirtz]

Thank you, welsh, I knew you'd chime in

[skypilot]

A terrible and preventable death.

Hog hunt with them one time and nobody would own "pet" PBs.

That doesn't infer that government should dictate property ownership........

[Big Gunner]

That was perfect Welsh. Very well said

[JBen]

Lol, except Welsh, you could have saved yourself a lot typing, and a lot superiority complex, if you had simply read the links. Which you obviously didn't in your haste to prove nothing. because at the bottom, it basically says many of the same things. In fact goes further than your expert analysis and looks at some trends with respect to ages of victims. Well you did but
/whoosh

And the fact that the same link shows the cold hard stats that in ways resembles gun deaths in the U.S. (Aka PBTs are leaps and bounds). Aka not sure how anyone can defend such cold hard statistics...both links actually....however that said all dogs are quite capable (even labs are kinda up there) and the most common victims...the elderly and the very young...so your "size" arguement loses some traction. Doesn't take a large dog to do serious harm to toddlers, again if you weren't in such a haste to show your "expertise"...

show ow me for example one instance where it was suggested as you said in your diatribe to exert your intelligence and expertise (lol) that "present an equal risk". That was never even remotely suggested. Quite the leap that.

lmao at you. If that were the case why the hell would I put up stats that blow a mile wide hole in any such suggestion.....
.
if you go back I suggested people should google it to see that many breeds including lap dogs have ...someone was too lazy and accused me of "exaggerating". Clearly I wasn't

yes silly (you) season indeed.

/boggle

[JBen]

Oh and just on the off chance.
1) what's the response when a dog (any breed) bites people.
2) especially children.
3) what didn't this owner do

4) read the analysis on why GS aren't as high any more. Then ask yourself if we want to profile. What kind of people "typically" get PBTs. So it's a bit of a slippery slope, but ultimately is it the dog, or the owner.

[welsh]

Lol, except Welsh, you could have saved yourself a lot typing, and a lot superiority complex, if you had simply read the links. Which you obviously didn't in your haste to prove nothing. because at the bottom, it basically says many of the same things.

I actually quoted the last paragraph. All the examples I cited were drawn from your links. I guess you didn't read my post, or the document you linked, with sufficient care to notice that.

The bottom line is, the documents you link to clearly suggest that there is a problem related to specific breeds.

...however that said all dogs are quite capable (even labs are kinda up there)...

The articles you link to actually suggest that all dogs are not quite capable, else we would see mauling deaths involving chihuahuas and Cavalier King Charles spaniels, which we do not.

...and the most common victims...[the elderly and the very young...so your "size" arguement loses some traction.

I didn't make a "size argument." I cited a fact: that the severity of injury and the probability of death correlates with the size of the dog involved in the attack. That a small dog is capable of injuring a small child does not affect this correlation in the least.

Have you said that all dogs present an equal risk? Not explicitly. However, you have consistently exaggerated the risks presented by small dogs while downplaying the risks posed by pit bulls. You are making a disingenuous argument.

[MikePal]

What are the options when it comes to regulating dogs?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-pit-bull-dangerous-dog-law-1.3630979

[JBen]

Typical welsh, in your rush to be God and demonstrate your superiority complex.
/whoosh



and further too "smart" cough cough to know when your in the wrong and not man enough to say "oops" my bad. For putting words in people's mouths, taking tones "silly season" and more . Even to dumb to realize as I said "why the hell would I use stats that...... For such a smart person you are often way off base, and looking rather not.

Not defending the breed, though I blame people more.
go through the list, look at some of the more common breeds. As I said to the same person. Are we only counting attacks that end in fatalities. Tell that to the parents of young kids........and my first post was to the effect of people might be surprised at how many breeds..and yes even "lap dogs"....if you want to make a fool of yourself even further and argue that small dogs, or lap dogs are incapable of seriously harming toddlers and more. Nothing I can say.

not so smart after all Welsh.

[terrym]

I would pass a law where owners are legally responsible for any and all expense related to an attack from their dogs. This would include paramedics, police, animal control, everything. If people got handed a $18k bill because their wonderful family dog decided to jump the fence and viciously attack a person or animal they might rethink their choice of pets. You can't fix stupid but even they understand money.