Victim, who was in her 50s, pronounced dead at scene in Hornchurch and the animals seized
    • AutomatedPossum [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
      55·
      6 months ago

      Every time i could read closer into a story like this, it turned out there was some form of animal abuse going on. Keeping the dogs caged, beating them, training them for aggression, stuff like that. This isn’t behavior you see with a dog socialized to be a family dog and emotional companion, this is behavior you see with an animal that had the misfortune of ending up with humans that wanted to turn them into a weapon.

    • RION [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
      28·
      6 months ago

      Our dog is normally a sweet little dude but has a resource guarding problem we haven’t managed to train out of him. He’ll snap and/or nip at me if I try to get him to drop something he picked up on a walk, if I walk too close to a meal he doesn’t want but also doesn’t want me to have, if I hand my mom something when they’re on the couch together (she is apparently a resource)

      But he’s a dinky little toy mix and weighs 25 pounds max, so the worst it ever gets is a little nick on my toe. Scale that up to a dog twice that weight at minimum and a big bite and what would be annoying in my case is life threatening in hers.

        • RION [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
          14·
          6 months ago

          Yeah they probably wouldn’t go for the kill on purpose, but again, when it’s a 50-150lbs dog with a wide jaw and a lot of force behind it, what might’ve been a wash and neosporin situation with a smaller dog could be lethal.

    • Maoo [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
      6·
      5 months ago

      Some dogs are very reactive and no matter how good you are with them they are still a risk for biting. Sometimes they’re reactive due to earlier maltreatment, sometimes it’s something they were born with. Unlike with people, dogs don’t have the higher reasoning or communication skills to control a reactive tendency nor do they have mental health support options. And when the dog is large and strong, this is a very dangerous situation.

    • itappearsthat@hexbear.netEnglish
      21·
      6 months ago

      Personally I think all dog ownership should be banned. For evidence I point to the unbelievable quantity of dogs foisted on animal shelters who then live bad lives likely ending in euthanasia, and the sheer quantity of literal dog shit I see just going on simple walks around the city. “oh well I’m a responsible dog owner” idgaf I’ve been around for a bit, I’ve seen more than a few self-described “responsible” dog owners give their dogs up to a shelter because they couldn’t handle them. People are terrible at predicting where their lives will take them in even a year or two, let alone a whole decade which is how long these animals live.

      • huf [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        25·
        6 months ago

        this is mostly unrelated but it is possible to eliminate the dogshit all over the city problem. i dont know how it was done, but i’ve seen it happen. when i was a kid, the city i live in was full of dogshit. on the sidewalks. hiding in the grass. by the time i was a teen, i basically never walked on grass if i could help it and if i did, i wasnt even surprised if i stepped in dogshit.

        i have no idea what changed. there was no public awareness campaign. there was no new law, no change in policing. poor public park maintainers didnt suddenly start having to pick up after us. yet somehow, there’s basically no dogshit on the ground anymore. not anywhere. people just pick it up. a real actual improvement in society that happened right before my eyes, roughly between 2000 and 2010, and i have absolutely no clue how it happened. nobody talks about it that i can see. i’m the only one who keeps bringing it up.

          • huf [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
            4·
            6 months ago

            those came years later and there are precious few of them. nah, dog owners started carrying bags and picking it up. maybe people just shamed each other into it? but how does such a mysterious movement start? why didnt it start decades before? why not decades later?

            • MattsAlt [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
              5·
              6 months ago

              Interesting, I daydream about making it to retirement and being a crotchety old person who harasses people in the neighborhood who don’t pick up their dog’s poop on my numerous daily walks. Perhaps someone like that appeared in your town

    • Mog_Pharou [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
      13·
      6 months ago

      party-parrot-popcorn

      I have no opinion. I am here to watch until one side emerges bloody and victorious, and the losers are shamed and banned. And then I will know the correct opinion and I will champion it with the zeal of a new convert. So continues my hexbear education.

  • GrouchyGrouse [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    23·
    6 months ago

    For starters having a dog that can’t physically overpower you is probably a good idea. Training a dog is a lot easier if they aren’t going to yank you off your feet when responding naturally to seeing a squirrel while going for a walk. I have a big dog but if she started to maul another dog I could physically pick her up and carry her away. It’s called being responsible. I also maintain her training and give her lots of love and little treats when she follows the rules. If she starts barking at the garbage man I start with a stern “no bark” to break her concentration and follow immediately with lots of pets and hugs, soothing affirmations, and lots of ear rubbing (this also helps cover up the sound of the big scary truck and helps her calm down.) It’s fairly easy to build a good rapport with a dog but it definitely helps that I can physically control her in an extreme situation. It hasn’t happened yet, because I trained my dog the moment i brought her home from the shelter and maintain the rules/training so that there is consistency in her life, but it’s an undeniable “safety dynamic” in our relationship.

    • BountifulEggnog [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
      10·
      6 months ago

      It’s wild to me how many people do this. There’s a woman near me who walks multiple (big breed) dogs. They (combined) weigh more then she does and are strong. They’ve hurt multiple people/animals.

      I just can’t imagine wanting to own and walk double my body weight of dog. How could I possibly control that much? Even walking a dog half my weight and I just can feel how powerful they are. But three or four of them? No chance.

      • GrouchyGrouse [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        8·
        6 months ago

        It’s extremely irresponsible. A lot of dogs have a pack mentality and if one bolts the other(s) will chase too. Also the dogs will benefit from 1 on 1 time with their human companion and the human can give the dog undivided attention to correct bad behavior. That woman is playing with fire and one day a real tragedy could happen.