Lexi Hudson RIP

Another tragic waste of a child's life. Lexi was just 4 years of age and she was mauled to death by the family dog.

The dog, a French Mastiff was purchased from a local rescue centre and apparently, the dog had suffered some abuse in the past.

Why on earth would a 10stone dog, with an apparent history of abuse be allowed in the home where a 4 year old child lives? Crazy if you ask me!

Unbelievable naivety on behalf of the parents. Mastiff's have an incredibly powerful bite so what person in their right mind would bring a 4 year old animal of that size into the family home where there are small children?

There was a different article in the Daily Mail yesterday about a dog that mauled the son in the house where the father had given the dog one more chance and now it has mauled him a year later.

Unfortunately I can't find the article now.

Sluffy wrote:

karlypants wrote:There was a different article in the Daily Mail yesterday about a dog that mauled the son in the house where the father had given the dog one more chance and now it has mauled him a year later.

Unfortunately I can't find the article now.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2487697/Father-mauled-familys-bulldog-year-attacked-SON.html

That's the one, cheers Sluffy  

Reebok Trotter wrote:Unbelievable naivety on behalf of the parents. Mastiff's have an incredibly powerful bite so what person in their right mind would bring a 4 year old animal of that size into the family home where there are small children?

Mastiffs are not bred to bite, I dunno where you got thid tit bit of info from, but its wrong.

Mastiff breeds are big and clumsy, but not dangerous. With carful handling and training they can be great dogs.

They are protective and territorial, poeple need to realise this and train accordingly.

Reebok_Rebel wrote:Mastiffs are not bred to bite, I dunno where you got this tit bit of info from, but its wrong.

Mastiff breeds are big and clumsy, but not dangerous. With carful handling and training they can be great dogs.

They are protective and territorial, poeple need to realise this and train accordingly.

Rebel, I never said Mastiffs were born to bite. I had one myself many moons ago and he was a loveable, gentle, slobbering giant. We had him from a pup and he never once gave us any cause for concern. They are a lovable breed but they do have one of the most powerful bites of any dog. Taking one that is 4 years old with a dubious history is asking for trouble imo. A full grown mastiff is very powerful and can be a proper bloody handful if not trained properly. They need plenty of exercise and are not suitable for the environment in which this tragedy occurred.

It looks like the dog that killed the young child wasn't a French Mastiff, but an American Bulldog instead. Both are huge muscular breeds and none of those breeds should have been placed with a 4 year old child.

Pictures I saw on the telly were also of a Bulldog.

fair enough trotter. 

I'm very defensive over certain dogs that people class as dangerous - its disgusting that things like this happen, but 99% of the time, its the stupidity of the owners that is the root cause and not directly the dog. 

For example, all mastiff breeds (Bullmastiff, french/Neapolitan Mastiff, Boxer) are very placid in their nature, they were bred to assist gamekeepers in catching poachers - not to bite or attack them, but to down them and keep them there till the gamekeeper caught up to reprimand them. It is not in the nature of the breed to 'attack', these dogs are very loyal and territorial - thus, they are protective of their environments and close family. The danger comes from them when they detect what they perceive as a threat - such as a child having a paddy or pulling on its neck etc, they do not 'attack' the child through biting - but have a tendency to sit on them  and bite the arms and legs to make the 'threat' submit, the owner should not have attacked the dog with a knife but firmly removed the dog from the child and gave it a fucking good kicking... maybe contemplated getting rid of the dog as well, this could have saved the child's life. 

I've had a bullmastiff for 4 years now, my son is 36 months old and both son and dog have a great relationship - the way to prevent a territorial and protective dog is to allow them both to interact in the family environment, the dog will then become protective as the child as if its part of his 'pack' and does not see the child as a threat to the 'pack' 

issues arise when these dogs are locked away from children and thus perceive them as a threat to the dogs natural 'alpha' status in the home.

You may be right in all you say Rebel. But unfortunately a significant number of mastiff owners clearly don't train their dogs in the right way and as such we get situations like this. Their sale/breeding needs to be controlled or banned IMO.

Sluffy wrote:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2487697/Father-mauled-familys-bulldog-year-attacked-SON.html

The American bulldog should not be confused with the British Bulldog. They are totally different animals. I can't recall one incident where a British Bulldog has ever bitten and injured a child. They have a temperament similar to the Bull Mastiff but they are much smaller and don't require half as much exercise. I wouldn't have any fears whatsoever about introducing a Bulldog pup to a young family. The American Bulldog is a totally different kettle of fish. Cross breeding has created a hybrid breed which I wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

Another true English breed which gets bad publicity is the English Bull Terrier. Because of its appearance, ignorant people tend to think it's one of the dangerous breeds when in fact it isn't dangerous at all. Yes, they will fight with other dogs but they rarely attack humans unless they have been mistreated. It's probably one of my favourite breeds and makes a great family pet just don't be put off by its look. Never judge a book by its cover and do your research before you choose a dog as a pet.



The image is of a brindle dog but the common colour pattern is predominantly white. The white breed can be prone to deafness whereas deafness in brindles is uncommon.[/quote]

Its the parents fault not the dogs, i dont want to seem hard but the mother is going on about her little girl is now a shining star in the sky WTF!! how is that possible, why do they say such stupid things the little girl is dead because of her stupidity in getting that type of dog with a suspect background, if you have small children and want a dog then get a lab for fucks sake and leave these kind of dogs to the right people who can give them the right kind of care.

Angry Dad wrote:Its the parents fault not the dogs, i dont want to seem hard but the mother is going on about her little girl is now a shining star in the sky WTF!! how is that possible, why do they say such stupid things the little girl is dead because of her stupidity in getting that type of dog with a suspect background, if you have small children and want a dog then get a lab for fucks sake and leave these kind of dogs to the right people who can give them the right kind of care.

This.