Nintendogs Blamed for Enticing Real Dog to Attack Child

[Druyn]

BA-HAHAHAHAHA!!

Seriously, I know it makes me a terrible person, but I think thats kind of funny the way this is working out. "Dog attack- video game responsible!" I mean seriously, thats like blaming a tank top for getting a woman killed by radical muslims in iran. Its not the games fault, its the dogs fault. If it attacked at the drop of a hat like that, it was only a matter of time.

Oh old people, you so crazy sometimes.

 

[Vrach]

It's a bull mastiff. Why was it inside with a nine year old child in the first place?

^This. Nothing to do with videogames, could've been TV or something, the dog was obviously not raised/trained properly.

 

[WilliamRLBaker]

Why is the dog called 'Saracen'? :/

Because "Mr Widdle Fluffikins" isn't a name you'd associate with a Bull Mastiff.

Dogs do react to barking sounds, whether they're from dogs outside, on TV/radio etc. But, as has already been said, you shouldn't leave a young child alone with a a big dog.

then one would think the animal would attack the thing the child is holding, dogs have great eye sight beyond their limited color spectrum (they aren't color blind completely) an great hearing, If it had been a tv it would bark at the tv or attack the tv, or grab her DS and chew on it.

when my little dogs bark at the vacuum they try attacking the vacuum not me. The dog was obviously trained, and no one was around to tell it to heel which is a problem in and of it self.

 

[sarahvait]

I'm not a dog owner myself, but why would the dog go for the kid in the first place? If it's the game noise that's bothering the dog, wouldn't it make more sense for the dog to go for the DS? I suppose if you tried to keep the system away from the dog, then you might get hurt as it tries to get at it? But why would a dog get bothered by a noise from one source and then attack a source that's not making the noise? Seems to me maybe this dog had behavior problems to begin with.

Who knows, maybe the kid did play keep away and the whole thing turned into a clusterfuck.

 

[murphy7801]

Why is the dog called 'Saracen'? :/

After a English rugby team.

 

[Avian Fang]

I am not trying to make fun of the girl in this situation but think about the dog. I know at my house if I am sleeping and someone wakes me up because they are playing video games to loud they are going to get smacked. This dog prob just thought the same thing. That bite was probably just his way of saying "Turn you game down and let me sleep!"

 

[Omgsarge]

(Refraining from a "OMG, GAMES ARE TEH INNOCENT!" reaction)
After just checking the wikipedia page of that particular breed, I'm sceptical about the dog attacking the girl just because of some barking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Mastiff
It a a loyal and peacefull animal but when confronted with strangers, can provoked into a defensive action. I guess it was a combination the unfamiliarity with the girl, the dog noises and the lack of supervision that drove it to attack. We also don't know if the girl did anything else to provoke the dog or how the dog was raised.
So yeah. No, the game was almost certantly not the only reason this dog attacked. Honestly, im really sorry for the dog (well, for the girl too). He probably had the best of "intensions".

 

[Megalodon]

I forget, is the breed involved listed under the dangerous dogs act?

No, only four breeds are covered by the dangerous dogs act, Pit Bulls, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro. Plus crossbreeds

Some dogs have violent tendencies and he might have thought another dog was in his home.

The amount of 100% dangerous, beyond help dogs is statistically insignificant. I know of someone who works at the Council animal services, dealing with strays, abandoned pets etc. processing dozens of dogs a week, in over ten years there has only been one dog that was totally beyond help. Not to say that some dogs aren't aggressive or dangerous, but this is the fault of humans nigh on all the time.

They killed the dog for the attack?

Pretty sure there are people sitting in prison for much worse.

You're not wrong, but there simply isn't the will to fix most damaged dogs. Plus the police do not take human actions into account, or the actual temperament of the dog. I could go find a labrador (picking a breed few would regard as "aggressive") kick it and it would be put down when it later went for me. I would of course never do this but this exact circumstance happened to a friend's dog, which I would have left with small children without a second thought.
Another dog I know is a rehabilitated fighting dog, Staffordshire Bull Terrier. This dog has biten its owner, resulting in a hefty number of stiches. But the dog wasn't put down because the owner understands dogs and why it bit him. The dog is one of the friendliest, most timid creatures i have ever met.
The point of this rant, there should be some kind of test before you are allowed to own a dog.
Also, it's unlikely to be the dogs fault when something like this happens. /rant.

After just checking the wikipedia page of that particular breed, I'm sceptical about the dog attacking the girl just because of some barking.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Mastiff

Point of technical pedantry, thats not a Bull Mastiff, this is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Mastiff
Everything else you said I agree with 100%.

 

[lilyana60]

Yeah, in my opinion, videogames are just barely coincidentally involved for this act of violence. When my dog hears barking, she doesn't attack, she just barks back until we tell her to shut up. It is ultimately the owner's responsibility, because the dog wasn't trained properly.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Oh, come the fuck on. I wasn't even the slightest bit phased when they said the grandmother blamed the game for it.

I don't think I even need to explain what is wrong with this situation.

 

[Unrulyhandbag]

It's a bull mastiff. Why was it inside with a nine year old child in the first place?

Basically this. While the attack could have been entirely coincidental, having a dog like that around a 9-year old is probably not the best idea.

FYI Bull Mastiffs are usually suuuuuper docile. They make terrible guard dogs for this reason and a kid would have to attack it and damn near draw blood for it to give a retort.

Bullmastiff is a working dog breed. What job was it bred for? Poacher catching. In detail spotting strange noises or objects, finding the owner and pining him down.
They were bred docile to prevent them killing poachers but being grabbed and thrown to the ground may harm them a human in the process, especially a child. And Bullmastiff are FANTASTIC guard dogs, extremely protective of their owners territory. My Mother breeds them for the local farmers.

They are just fantastic around things they've been introduced to but failing to remember a working dogs bred for nature is always going to be trouble.

events in this story:
1)strange noise
2)strange object
3)strange person
4)strange person dragged to floor and held there.

Sounds like bull mastiff behaviour all round.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I'm full-grown and I'm nervous around dogs that physically imposing.

Is it bad that I find that dog adorable?

 

[PurplePlatypus]

Daily Fail.
Why is this being blamed on the game? Unless they are just pointing out the coincidences that she was doing something relating to dogs at the time.
If they are actually blaming the game isn?t it one of the things that should be way down on the list of possibilities. You know, below whether the dog is good around people and/or children, maybe she had been agitating the dog etc...

 

[Sovvolf]

Well, I've had plenty of dog sounds coming from both the T.V and my games and my dog's never went wild. The only time the dogs went wild over a dog is when it caught his own reflection in the mirror and challenged it. Neither dog would back down so he ran head first at the mirror then ran under the bed. Funny times.

So no, it's not the consoles fault. Christ, if that's the typical reaction to the dog hearing a bark.. How in the hell do they still have a T.V. Another family who can't be arsed to supervise their pets and it goes out and hurts some one. Tip one dog owners... You don't leave dogs with kids. I don't even do that with my Tea-cup Terrier never mind a bull mastiff.

Mmm seems the Daily Mail are all aboard the Anti-Game-Train. Third story I've heard from them that's against games. Probably another story that they'll have to pull down too.

I'm full-grown and I'm nervous around dogs that physically imposing.

Is it bad that I find that dog adorable?

No, no it is not... I want a Bull Mastiff. They look so big and dopey.

 

[Keepitclean]

Fuck...
NOT.
THIS.
SHIT.
AGAIN.

I WISH people, especially the media, would stop blaming things on video gaming, when there are other, higher-ranking things related to this.
Dog = FUCKING MASSIVE. Problem 1
Dog = NOT TRAINED AROUND LITTLE KIDS. Problem 2
Parents = NOT WILLING TO TAKE BLAME. Problem 3 (the major one, because that proves the parents are afraid of responsibility)

Ta-DAH.
3 larger problems found.
Anyone wish to contribute to this list?

You can see these three problems in every case where videogames are unjustly blamed eg. The Columbine shootings

Problem 1 = Socially regected, emotionally unsupported teenagers
Problem 2 = Guns and ammunition way too easily available
Problem 3 = No one else is willing to acknowledge that they may have been able to help these kids before they did something dumb.

 

[1avidgamer]

Shit happens. People blame video games.

Why am I not surprised?

 

[DTWolfwood]

arent Bull Mastiff like gentle giants? especially with family?

this is most definitely a coincidence. Grandma probably heard bark from DS and saw dog attacking and equated the 2 as cause and affect.

 

[molester jester]

That's what happens when you leave a nine year old alone with a Bull Mastiff, In fact if you have a young child you probably should not own any big aggressive dog. This entire incident is down to the stupidity and carelessness of the parents.