Why do Staffordshire Bull Terrier, English Bull Terrier, Owners allow them...

[Pet 4 Life]

...off the lead in public areas? The reason I ask is that many of the above breed owners are allowing their Bull Terriers to attack other people's pets. This is happening in the street and parks. Many of these owners seem to think they have a dog that won't get hurt, but they don't seem to care about these dogs killing or maiming other people's dogs. So I want to know why? Why do they do this. The government are already thinking of banning all Bull breeds in the new Dangerous dogs act update, so why do these owners not keep their fighting dogs on a lead? Thank you in advance.
Many of you are getting the wrong end of the stick! I am talking about those who do allow there Bull Terriers off leads when they know their dog is aggressive. I am not against Bull Terriers or Bull breeds. I have owned a Bullmastiff and Kerry Blue Terrier in the past. In London where I am there are alot of owners of Bull Terriers, Staffs mainly, who do allow their dogs to atack other peoples pets. It is a serious matter for those "owners", not all, but alot of them. They are helping the UK government to maybe ban these breeds because of the owners allowing off the lead. By the way I do like Bull Terriers.
P.S I am not talking about Pitbulls. I am talking about Staffordshire Bull Terriers and English Bull Terriers, so please read the question.

[Ellie]

Actually, it's not happening in the streets and parks. Rarely, some irresponsible people do allow their bully breed dogs off-leash in public- those owners may be naive, or ignorant, or lazy- but I do not, and I have never met a fellow bully owner that was less then responsible. (And I have met a lot of bully owners, and worked with them.) We have to be. People like you are always breathing down our necks, waiting for the slightest misstep so that you can take up the whole, "A Pit Bull is like a gun!" argument.
My dog is not a fighting dog, and never has been a day in her life. She does show some animal aggression, but has never attacked anything or anyone. (She lives with two people, a male cane corso, and a grey housecat.) Please think before you get on your soapbox and start making hurtful generalizations.

[raven blackwing]

They are bad owners. They would do the same with any large breed of dog they would own. Bans do not work. They punish the wrong side of the leash. Do you think people like this are going to give up a illegal breed. Just makes them want it more. I own a pit bull and at the dog park I let him run, he is perfectly train not dog aggressive. If the dog Whisper owns one of the bullies do you not think they make good pets. Pass all the laws you want will do no good till they start punishing the humans. By the way the last time I had my pit bull at a park a chihuahua bit him so bad he need to go to the vet and have stitches. The owner said he would not pat the vet bill because my dog is a pit bull and I fight him any way, he is my service dog. Hope when I go to Court with him we get one of the judges that owns a pit bull, and there are a lot of judges in this town that dose. Maybe that is why we never have thought about a ban here. In NLas Vegas, one of the worst cities in the US for dog fighting it is the lab that attacks most often, seems strange dose it not.

[magic eight ball]

It's not just those dogs, but they are the ones that make the head lines. My dogs have been attacked by a lab, dachshund, and a greyhound that weren't on leashes.
funny thing was,, i didn't see those attacks splashed across the front page...

[Forsaken]

Not all owners of bully breeds allow their dogs off leash nor do they tolerate aggressive/predatory behavior from them. Blanket statements make people look like idiots so you may want to be more specific. As for those who allow their bully breeds off leash, they do it for the same reason owners of other breeds do, because they think their obedience commands are proofed enough to keep their dog safe, because they are idiots and because they think the leash laws don't apply to them....or any combination of the above.

ETA: That's a good point Bassetnut....I've seen more small dogs allowed to run around off lead and 'attack' other dogs/people than larger breeds and the town I live in is loaded with dog-fighters. My 90lb male was attacked by a Pom who approached to sniff and behaved fine until his 19 yr old owner called him...then he bit my dog 3 times in the face...needless to say my male is now very unhappy when strange, furry, small dogs approach him. I don't support the banning, elimination or restriction of small breeds though, I simply spoke with the owner about leash laws and proper behavior.

ETA: Both English Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Terriers are considered 'pit bulls' by many people and they are classified in the 'pit bull' type that DDOs and BSL are against (at least in the US). As far as the idiots in GB are concerned I have no idea what they are thinking, I would assume that they are just being ignorant and irresponsible like the idiots over here but hey I could be wrong.

[Yo LO! LaLaLaLaLa]

Not *ALL* of them are dangerous....Sounds like you're just trying to promote BSL - You won't find many supporters here.

If you live in an area where people allow their "Fighting Dogs" to run lose on the streets and attack other dogs, you might want to consider moving to a better part of town.

[Sleepy Rottie]

You don't know what the hell your talking about do you ? Yeah, of course you don't. It's statements like that that promote BSL and ignorancy.

Not all bully breed owners are irresponsible and let there dogs roam freely, it's just bad few that give the good owners a bad name. Any dog can go out and attack somebody else's dog. Forget the freaking breed. All dogs should be on leashes at public places. If a Lab attacked my dog on a leash, would I be mad the dog or the owner ? I would be mad the owner because he should've kept the dog on a leash.

Any dog could attack someone elses dog if it's not on a leash.

[Syncasta]

Not all staffordshire owners let theire dogs of leashes, and they arn't dangerous,

would you act the same if i let my collie of the leash, and it attacked another dog? Would you hate collies? And want to ban them?? What if a pomeranian got loose, and it attack someone???



Whats the difference?




ok sorry,well i guess i'm talking about all those OTHER people that want to ban the "dangerous" dogs, not you

[mmcrobinson]

Because they are ignorant..

and they did not train their dogs properly..

EDIT - Not all owners of these breeds are bad owners. just a few

[Kristi]

I understand what you're saying. Its general common sense to have your dog on a lead in public (for any breed) unless otherwise noted.
I always have my american staffordshire on a leash in public except at the beach when I play fetch with her, which is allowed. I still get yelled at though because she is naturally curious and thinks every dog is her friend. She's been kicked, had stuff thrown at her and all that.

This can be hard to fix. I would approach the owners and talk to them.
I would try to strike up a convo with them and ask them things like:
would you please keep your dog on a leash?
if they are concerned about the current legislations that are being considered.
if they are willing to accept that they are contributing to the bad image of bullies because they are not being the responsible owner they should be.
and lastly, if they are willing to lose their companion due to this problem because it could result in just that if they are not willing to be more responsible. (talking about legislations are more likely to be passed, could end up hurting somebody or enough dogs and be euthanized)

[sixirishmen]

i dont know what youre talking about, and it's not fair to generalize. i know a lot of people with MANY different types of breeds that illegally let their dog off the lead, breeds ranging from toy poodles all the way to pitts and great danes. And i've never seen any of them attack anything else

[Basset is BACK!]

That's more an issue of irresponsible ownership than of the breed involved.

For the record, my dogs have been attacked by off lead dogs, but not one of them was a pit bull type.