bad dogs or bad owners??

Both. People aren't going to like my answer, but certain breeds just aren't for some owners. Certain personality types shouldn't own potentially dangerous and/or powerful breeds.

And this is from the owner of a potentially dangerous and powerful breed. Unlike many other owners, I AM aware that my dog is potentially dangerous under certain circumstances. I know that although it appears that I have firm verbal control over him, that he is an animal with free will and could make an animal decision at any time. I DON'T let him run free. I DON'T let children around him without supervision--no climbing all over him or other action that he can perceive as a threat and NEVER strange children. I muzzle him when he's around the general public.

He's a GREAT dog...a working dog...but a DOG and I'm very aware of that fact. Just because he is "socialized" doesn't mean he is no longer an animal and that he's harmless. Too bad many owners continue to think that their dogs become anything other than dogs and then when "snookers" snaps out with one bite and tears the face off a trusting child because he "reacts" when the child unconciously hurts him or scares him----they act surprised and drag out all the pictures of the same child crawling all over the dog. How could this happen? Because it's a dog. Wise up.

When I was younger, I watched a very sweet beloved beagle that loved my brother and slept with him every night put my brother into the emergency room because it bit him in the face when he unconciously startled it . Being a beagle, the damage wasn't anywhere what it would have been with a different type of dog, but was severe nevertheless. I learned from that even as a child. Dogs are dogs and react like dogs. No child is ever completely safe with any dog.

The owners make bad dogs, ok some dogs can be bad anyway but its the owners job to control it if this situation was to arise. All dogs no matter what the breed can be trained to be obedient and safe around people, with early socialisation to Adults, children and other animals specially dogs then the animals will feel no need to be threatened by this and therefore not need to be aggressive.

The dog learns from the owner and most bad dogs are the ones that are used for fighting, guarding and making people "look good or tough".

The dogs will do anything to please their owner so if allowed to show agression and not get told off just praised then this is DEFINETLY the owners fault.....people like this should be ashamed for taking advantage of dogs, that want nothing more than to please their owners even if it means risking their own lives.

Unfortunately it's the owners not the dogs but try convincing the powers that be of that. There should be some sort of control on dog ownership but not on the breeds people own. Perhaps compulsary dog training, but that would be hard to police. I don't know what the answer is but breed specific legislation isn't the way. The people who own/breed banned dogs for illegal purposes aren't going to take any notice of the ban. It is the responsible breeders/owners who suffer. If they did then there wouldn't be a problem.

I have had giant breed dogs for years and had no problems with other people avoiding them or making comments apart from 'you could put a saddle on him/her'. With my current dog, a Spinone, people just want to stroke or cuddle him and he loves it. I think the country is different to the town, more people in the country are used to dogs and so don't worry about them whereas in the town they probably don't have much contact with dogs and therefore listen to the media and panic.

Off the subject but a funny story: Walking through town on Tuesday there was a man with a Samoyed, a family walked past and said 'oh look, a real Husky'. Doh

There have always been "bad" breeds, like everything it's a fashion. In the 60s & 70s it was the German Shepherd, in the 80s & 90s, the Rottweiler. Now it's the Pit Bull & the poor Staffordshire Bull Terrier which the ignorant cannot distinguish from the Pit Bull.

It's not the breed, it's the image which the lowlifes think they are projecting by owning whichever "hard" breed is the flavour of the month.

It's already been proved that breed specific legislation doesn't work, it's the irresponsible owners who should be punished.

Somebody just said as their answer that people who own pitbulls or staffies only own them to look big. Thats ridiculous, it is true that certain breeds have different temperments however each dog will have its own personality. My friend owns a staffie and he's a little lamb, he would harm a fly. It is all about how the dog was brought up if you ask me. Owners of course should be responsible for their pets' actions. It is never the animals fault, after all it is an animal. A wild, flesh eating animal and we as humans introduced dogs as a species into our habitat as pets. We turned them into pets, so now that we have decided to co-exist with them, we should be responsible for them. If a huge lion attacked someone, you would blame the person who let it run free, not the lion itself...after all it's a wild animal. It annoys me when people try to blame the animal.

Like with most things its the few bad spoiling it for the rest..but some breeds can be more susceptible to becoming dangerous

I think some people should be banned from keeping dogs because its the way they look after them that makes them dangerous...but we don't always know this until an attack has taken place.

So perhaps some breeds need more constraints on who can own them?

But then how do you police it? It seems people have to get hurt before an unresponsible owner is found to be so!

I think that the over zelous press whips the public into a frenzy,making mountains out of molehills.Honestly when was the last time we read about a poodle bite,or other harmless breed biting a child?I want to know where the kids parents are and why they were even allowed to be unsupervised with any dog.I hope that the public is smart enough to realize that no animal is born mean or agressive and that all animals including human beings,learn to be afraid,or agressive.Animals act out of natural instinct...fight or flight...it is almost too simple.Hopefully informed and educated voters will help keep people responsible for their actions in causing or allowing terrible accidents from happening by thinking first and preventing rather than having to react.Dogs don't want to kill,bite or mame.But a dog that is taught to be afraid or left to mature without attention and guidance is like an abused child that lives with inner issues.

Yes, there are bad dogs. There are more bad owners though. BSL is wrong and ineffective. Any outlawed breed will simply be replaced by other legal ones. The most dangerous part of a dog is its owner. Breed has little to do with it. Anyone that feels different about that is misinformed or a bigot. BSL is racism. I have met a few truly bad dogs and none where of breeds targeted by BSL. Some of the worst happened to be of much more popular breeds, like border collies and Labs. BSL is supported by media hype not actual statistics.

I think It's the owners. I have a beautiful 7 month old, red nosed pit. But when I first got her (she was 4 months) she was afraid of everyone and everything thanks to her previous owners. She was constantly shaking, and was completely terrified of males. She never snapped but I never gave her the chance either. That would be my fault if I did, not my dogs. She would only be reacting based on instinct and from the abuse of her last owners. Thanks to a lot of socialisation she is a normal, happy, trouble making puppy now :)

Its irresponsible people who don't understand the different needs of the different breeds that give some dogs such a bad rep! Can't anyone do some research before making a decision on what breed they want for a life long companion?

Dogs are bad when they are trained to be that way, Period.

Well i think its a little of both! I know 2 Rots and 2 boxers, they play all the time! they are teddy bears!!!! but they have been raised correctly! i also think that some dogs are just too much for the owner to handle, so the dog begins to "run a muck" and do whatever it pleases. Also some dogs are bread and trained to fight, and it is a hard task to try and tame a dog who has been in the type of environment! as for people asking you if it is legal to have a WOLF!!! they are just stupid! people just don’t understand that dogs are like people not one is the same! The 2 boxer and rots i know live in our neighborhood, Friendliest dogs you could ever meet, but one of our neighbors has a huge fear of dogs, and calls the police when the dogs play in the yard! its a shame now because now the owners need to keep the dogs cooped up, and they don’t get to play with each other anymore! its just people who don’t know dogs! the don’t realize that all dogs are different, and if you see a bunch of people outside petting the dogs, kids running around the dogs i can guarantee they are good dogs!