Whats your view on this

Really can't believe people are commenting and defending the dog ??

http://jezebel.com/worlds-most-awesome-cat-rescues-little-boy-from-dog-att-1576276526/all

What a fabulous cat - one in a million and should be rewarded as a hero.

Well my cats don't take nonsense from the dogs.
Years ago I had 2 Siamese x Persian sisters (huge cats) and they were the bane of any dog in sight. They trained my friends JRT to stay in it's yard as they would attack it if it was on the street. When I moved towns they lived with my mum for 3 months, while I was trying to find suitable accommodation, she lived right on a big parking area on the beach. A lady brought her Dalmation for a run and when she opened the car door the dog flew out straight at one of the cats sitting in my mums driveway.
My mum was doing gardening (this is one of her favourite stories) and says the cat just jumped over the gate to her sister then both of them went back over hte wall and chased the yowling dog down the street with it's owner running after them and my mum following everyone laughing.

In the dogs defence: I think it went after the bike and got the boy by mistake BUT if it had been securely in it's yard there wouldn't have been any problem. You can see it fixate on the strange thing by looking under the car.

Glad I'm not the only one who was getting annoyed at that!

Theresa, I totally agree - I think the dog was actually fixated by the bike, but got the boy. No excuse, though, the dog should never have been unsupervised in the first place! Very, very irresponsible!

But what an awesome cat. Well done kitty!

Dave, some people are so up their own a**es that they just can't see that what the dog did was wrong. But once again, not the dog's fault because its owners should have kept it under control in the first place!  

well I would say it was a premeditated attack on a child and unacceptable , but at the end of the day bike or child does not matter in the grand scheme of things as you will always find the 2 together and though I really hate to say it or ever let it cross my mind a reaction like that should only ever have one outcome from the owner........... observation is just not acceptable

That was a nasty injury and the dog's owners should be taken to court. Why on Earth were they letting it out alone?

I understand what you're saying, Dave. It's a disaster waiting to happen, but in that case every dog that has ever bitten a child must be pts?

In my opinion the dog should now be taken away from its owners (let's face it, they obviously can't/won't control it) and temperament tested. If it passes the tests, rehome with someone more responsible. If it fails, well, there's only one outcome.

I think it's very difficult to say exactly why the dog did what he did. It looked like the bike probably aggravated the situation, as that's all he would have been able to see underneath the car. Regardless, the dog would have recognised a child before he reached it and he still attacked.

Feel very sorry for the boy and his mother. Must have been terrifying for both of them!

nope Caryll every dog that bites a child should most certainly not be pts but this was an attack not a bite , sorry but this dog appears to be a loose canon and no amount of video editing could excuse that fact.
There are many reasons a dog may bite but for a dog to attack is putting itself in the situation so only 1 action in this case for me and that would go for my own dogs too I'm afraid, each entitled to our own opinions though

It's so hard to be sure that the dog was actually attacking the child, although since watching the video a few more times, I'm inclined to agree with you Dave.

I read tonight that the dog is an 8 month old puppy and is being held whilst considering whether it should be destroyed.

I don't know what the laws are in California, but imo the dog should not have been allowed to roam around free in a residential area. The dog definitely dragged the child off his bike by the leg (the boy had to have 10 stitches) and it may very well have been over-excitement on the puppy's part.

The dog's owner is liable in all respects. As to whether the puppy should be destroyed it is up to physcological tests, but if the results come back that he was "only playing" then severe restrictions should be placed on his owners before they are allowed to have him back again.

I'm still sending big hoorays to the cat!

I agree with everything Dave said. For my part, I don't allow children near my dogs. I have only ever had two situations where children were near my dogs: one was the child of Gus's ex-family who we came across recently and who Gus was growling at and being very defensive.

The other situation was a learning curve for me. I have a friend with two youngish children, she comes to my house for a drink and some 'me time' a couple of times a month. On one occasion she had rang her husband to pick her up from my house and the children had wanted to come in to see the dogs.

Her husband and children came in and the dogs and kids were so excited that we lost a child. We really did lose a child. The 3 adults and the older child looked all over for her and finally, we heard giggling. She was buried underneath Buster and Gus who were sitting on her. Luckily, little Molly ( is not frightened of dogs probably because she has always been surrounded by animals in her home. BUT -if it had been a different child the child may have been very upset about being sat on by two dogs - and one of them weighing 5 stones.

So anyway, I am hyper about children being near my boys.

What I find the most disturbing is that the mother runs away and leaves the child in the driveway... Shouldn't you get your child to safety first? The poor boy then gets up and runs after his mother.

Shisha -somebody commented on these grounds on FB and have to say as a parent then I just put this down to a panic / shellshock reaction , perhaps she was going into the house to find a weapon in case the dog came back etc . Nobody can honestly say how they react to a situation until they are actually in it

Caryll - as I view it the dog either attacked the bike , the kid or " the bike and the kid " , ok I am only viewing the video and commenting but any of these possibilities are not acceptable from the severity of the attack. If the dog had been playful and maybe grabbed the childs trousers or sleeve and played tug and the child got a nip in the chaos then I would tend to agree on assessment , but again going by the evidence presented in the picture then that was far much more than a nip and the dog meant to inflict harm with such an injury.
IMO there is no way a dog would take "play" to such an extent. even with exceedingly poor bite inhibition

If there was a near miss scenario and it is highlighted the dog had a fear of bikes or something then lessons to be learnt and with the right responsible owners then the dog could live a normal life under strict control but I really don't see it as a viable option in this.

The only other comment is that all we can base this on is indeed the evidence in front of us so if it is a very very cleverly cut video then 100% shame on the person that made it to change the course of the dogs life

And last comment for me obviously we do not know whether the dog had a dark side so to speak , whether the owners or a past event promoted this behaviour but as usual it will be the dog that pays the price whatever the history behind it and so regardless of feelings over it and the right and wrong thing to do then I do feel sorry that the dog is where it is today

That's only too true.  

Hmmmm.

http://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/dog-whisperer-cesar-millanwants-to-save-doomed-dog-after-cat-saves-boy-from-attack-051614

I think most people here know my views on CM.

Hmm. Have to wonder just how much good he would do to the dog, as opposed to the bad.

I'm reluctant to comment because personally I don't think any dog should be pts for biting, but then I'm against the death penalty too. It's just so final and I don't agree with it. If a dog attacks it's owners are the ones who have failed and should be punished for not controlling the dog. (unless the dog has some illness that is not a controllable factor) the dog should then be fostered with someone who deals in dogs that bite and see if they need work or just a better owner and more strict control placed on it. Let's face it all dogs are capable of biting and in some cases it is not the dogs fault (but in this one yeah the dog attacked)

The problem with that, Hayley is a simple one - resources. Very few countries would be willing to pay for a dog's rehabilitation, and that's supposing the dog can be rehabilitated.

Cesar Millan trains through force, fear and pain - all of these things a dog can eventually overcome. If it does overcome them then you are faced with an even worse dog than before, because he/she is not afraid any more.

I'm 100% against the death penalty for humans.

However, although most dogs can be helped to overcome aggressive tendencies, the fact remains that a child-biter is a loose canon. I, for one, would not be happy to see fear/force based training fail on a child-biter.

And even a positively trained/rehabilitated dog would have to be rehomed to a family that was aware of its limitations & past, and there are precious few people who are willing or able to take on such dogs.

Yeah in a perfect world and all that don't defend the dog it clearly went for the child but it is the owners fault for not training it well enough and letting it loose. I don't agree tho that kid biters are loose canons, to a dog a kid is not a kid its just a smaller human. I don't think they see things that way so i'm reluctant to place kids in a higher risk category. But then i dont have kids lol

You have to place kids in a higher risk category because they are less able to take care of themselves, and are more likely to be badly hurt!

Not getting too involved in this, as I have mixed feelings and honestly not quite sure what my opinion is on it.

Will say though that most animals can easily recognise infants, regardless of species, and more particularly with mammals.

I don't know what the entire story is behind this attack, in regards to prior incidents, training, etc.. If the dog is truly aggressive towards children, obviously some serious consideration needs to go into this dog's future.

Hayley wrote:but it is the owners fault for not training it well enough and letting it loose.

Now that I totally agree with!