Dangerous Dogs

An American Pitbull, Lisa would like one of these but they are illegal to own in the UK. A walk around Liverpool or London might make you think different.
Wikipedia American Pit Bull

An English Bull Terrier (legal) , the most famous being "Bullseye" in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist.
Wikipedia Bull Terriers

The two photos above of Rude ( name copied from Rude dog and the Dweebs) one of our dogs departed. Favourite pastimes swimming and large sticks. The rope to stop her swimming off. We lost the dog in this river for over an hour once. I had to wade into the sea at Newborough, Angelsey once in my underpants to retrieve the above dog who was not coming out of the water under any circumstances.

Dogs have been in the news these last few weeks. Falling down mine shafts, killing people deliberately or by accident. A woman in Conwy was swept to her death trying to rescue her dog in a swollen ditch. Carl Sargeant AM is calling for all dogs to be chipped. Our's have name tags and one is chipped. The chip moves around and is hard to find.

A drive around some suburbs of Liverpool on a Saturday afternoon reveals the extent to which Pit Bull Terriers have become "pets".

We have two English Bull Terriers. One young and one old, Trollie and Dollie. Trollie was going back to the bull terrier charity for the first three months such was his behaviour. They have had various skirmishes plus the Nokia phone and various shoes destroyed. What people do not realise and something to which I have not being paying attention lately to is they live by hierarchy. My inattention has caused issues in the hierarchy.

I am top dog, this is no ego issue on my behalf but fact. The young dog is number 2 in the hiearchy. Lisa and Dolly are below. Lisa is down the list because she treats the dogs as pets.

The dogs behaviour varies. First thing in the morning they will play fight which is very rough by our standards. This is not training to fight but this is how they are. Play fight involves pulling cheeks with the teeth and biting necks, ears or legs.. By evening Dolly gets upset if the young dog even looks at her. What I have to do is be careful how I deal with the old dog Dolly in front of Trollie the young male who is Number 2. Any preferential treatment to Dollie in front Trollie is duly noted and may lead to a fight at a future date.

This is an issue with children and dogs. Dogs put children in their hierarchy in my opinion. Favouritism and attention above station will be punished.

Dogs should never be left alone with children.

One day a week we go to a small holding. The owners have a Staffordshire Bull Terrier of a similar build and age to Trollie. Our dog runs around the fields for hours with other dog chasing and play fighting until he can no longer stand up. It takes him more than a day to recover.

Why have dogs of this nature? They are Lisa's dogs not mine, she has always wanted English Bull Terriers. They are loyal and very protective and guard the house well. Also good for excercise I walk in excess of 20 miles a week.
Wikipedia Quote " Bull terriers are known to be courageous, scrappy, fun-loving, active, clownish and fearless. The Bull Terrier is a loyal and polite dog. They become very attached to their owners. The Bull Terrier thrives on firm, consistent leadership and affection and makes a fine family pet."

A tip if dogs are fighting. Don't go near the business end. Pull the dogs backlegs off the ground. You need someone else doing the same to the other dog (s). They do not need to be pulled apart with force as this may increase the vet's fees. I have used a car key in the past to lever open a terriers jaw that was locked on to another dog which was small. All good fun not..........

Yesterday we were on a mountain at the back of Llanfynydd talking to a local who has two 80 year old sheep dogs off the lead who were up for a fight with two healthy strong bull terriers on the lead. To be fair we were somewhere where few people go and we had a low sun behind us so he didn't see us to the last second, but there you go.

At the end of the day you have your hierarchy, rules and forethought and everything should be alright. Most dog issues are down the the owner...................

COMPETITION. It is illegal to own a pitbull in the UK. Below is a link to a site with pictures of 25 dogs only one of them is a pitbull. Try your luck to see if you can spot it.

Link Find the Pitbull

keyword North Wales Police