4-year-old-girl mauled, killed by Boxer - Page 2

There was also a female Boxer and 5 puppies inside the house. Could this possibly have affected the behavior of the male tied outside?

host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_e5591fba-b091-11df-8c46-001cc4c03286.html

“It all comes down to socialization of the dog and supervision of children,” he said. “It’s not a breed issue. A well-socialized dog is very unlikely to do something like this.”

Sounds reasonable ,....Right??????
NOT!!!
Not to me at all.
I do not agree with the bit  about the socialization. It is a  gable gook.
Here is a set up to tragedy.
The dog was chained up! That increases tremendously his frustration which then leads to major increase of territoriality . It does not matter how long he was on the chain either. Strange child is " playing" in his territory. That is  in dogs mind ( any dogs) in such situation  a  big NO NO.
 What amazes me is all those expert's blithering crap about socialization and type of dog Boxer is.
But nobody is talking about that this set up ( Strange child in a yard/ territory of a chained up dog) is an obvious tragedy  in the making. Also what about if the 4 years old would wonder into the range of this chained up dog ?!  That is any kind of breed chained up to a post.  I do not care how well socialized dog is!!!!!!!!!!!! Or how friendly and non aggressive the breed is.
The teachable moment for the "experts" and for the TV and news papers was totally wasted.
People, sadly,  do not know any better,...obviously. Thus such horrific tragedy should be used to make people to be aware of dangers.
Prager Hans
http://www.alpinek9.com

From the comment section in the first article, it does appear that they originally called it a Pit Bull.   The article Triod just posted does have a photo of the dog, which appears to be a purebred Boxer, and the article calls him an "AKC boxer", the author doesn't capitalize dog breeds.  Since a litter of Boxer pups were inside, I am assuming this Boxer who attacked is in-tact.

Someone else asked where were the parents,  the medical examiner said "She did receive help fairly quickly, but these were nonsurvivable injuries," which I interpret to mean the dog had severed arteries, since bloodloss was the cause of death.  The dog tore her apart, and I don't see why it shouldn't be euth'd immediately.

Prager, we do not know the specifics of how long the dog was tethered, all we know is that he slipped out of his collar and broke loose before attacking.  I guess there's no anti-tether law in WI?

I agree with that this is not a common thing for the breed, but I believe it's bad genetics in this breeding and the article mentions this family bought a litter of Berners from a puppy mill in MO, so possibly this Boxer is also from a puppy mill.  Those type of breeders don't strive for stable temperament.  Only a reputable breeder who really knows their dogs can boast that.  It's sad, because just a few days ago I had a new client come in with a Boxer puppy purchased from a pet shop here, a pet shop that sells tons of Boxers and two of which I personally trained and were human-aggressive.  She HAD tried good breeders, but this puppy was only $550, and the good breeders were $1,200 and had a waiting list, so to a young person it was easier.  Yes, it's out of breed standard, but there's plenty of aggressive Boxers.  People need to stop buying from BYBs and puppy mills if they want a stable temperament around children.  I'm sure there's people who do everything right-- socialize, train, but STILL have problems due to the bad breeding of the dog.

One of my clients had purchased a GSD pup from a breeder, and they expressed how they felt societal pressured to "adopt", but they plainly said to me "With kids in the house, I just want to know what I'm getting and I don't want someone elses problem," and as harsh as it may sound, I totally respect that!  I know "adopt don't shop" and all this stuff about "don't breed or buy while shelter pets die," it really influences people, but maybe for a family with small children it's better to buy from a reputable breeder.

"Patricia McConnell, an animal behaviorist and adjunct associate professor of zoology at UW-Madison, said dogs kill about 15 people a year in the United States, though others believe that number is higher."  Seems like there's already been THREE deaths of kids just in the past month, so 15 sounds low to me, no?

Doberdoodle
As I said and I stress it again since obviously it is not clear.
1.It does not matter how long the dog was chained up. Read my post above why.
2.It does not matter what breed it is if it is chained up with stranger or even strange kid in his territory.
This is not a matter of breed or training or socialization. 
YOU MUST ASSUME THAT IT IS NATURAL FOR ANY DOG TO ATTACK A STRANGE PERSON IF THE DOG IS ON THE CHAIN.!!!! 
The dog slipped out of the collar for that reason. It is like sticking a hand on a hot plate or playing in the traffic. The consequences are obvious. 
 
 People need to learn what is dangerous and teach their kids the same. Instead most expect that world is safe, warm and fuzzy ball and that every body will remove the danger from their path. Then if they encounter the situation in contrary to such believe system, than they are surprised, get angry and usually sue. Unfortunately someone someone who subscribes to such believe system or their dependents gets injured or die.  I bet you, that the parents of the girl will sue the owners of the dog. AND WIN!!.  However I believe that the parents of the child should have  known better then leave a child with chained up dog  of regardless of what breed , socialization, training, genetics , in the same yard unsupervised. 


Prager Hans
http://www.alpinek9.com
 

Stereotyping any type of dog based on its breed is wrong.This all could have been prevented.  What kind of parent leaves a 4 year old child outside unsupervised!? Now this dog will probably be destroyed for a human's stupidity.  Did anyone ever stop to think that maybe the child provoked or teased the dog?  Guess we'll never know because no one was watching.  If the dog had issues, why was the child left alone with it?  I think the parent was irresponsible for not watching her child and the owner for not confining the dog "if" there was an issue.  Any dog will defend itself when neglected, abused, teased and/or provoked.  I own a 7 year old boxer who I've had since 5 weeks old.  She is very gentle, full of energy, and well trained.  Now I here comments about how she is going to attack based on this other boxer.  Boxers are know to be a great family dog when properly trained.  Stop blaming the male Boxer.  Lay the blame on the owner and the parents for leaving the little girl and Boxer alone together.

@Boxer Owner

I don't think that you read the comments posted prior to yours.

I do not think that a single one of them laid blame on the breed of the dog as being causal in this incident.

Peace,

SteveO

This is in responce to Steve O's comment on my earlier post.  In one of the post's it talks about there being " plenty of agressive Boxers"  Do not tell me I didn't read the comments.  I also never said I based my entire post yesterday on what was in this discussion board.  There is is way too much steroetyping on certain dog breeds.  People cause aggression in dogs due to abuse, in breeding, no socialization, neglect, or lack of training.  I own a Boxer.  I was taking her for a walk two days ago and someone made the comment that I should get rid of her before the dog attacked.   My dog has never shown an sign of being mean.  This is insane.  My dog was on a leash and well under control.  She has also been certified to be non-aggressive. Some communities have banned specific breeds of dogs, which is unfair.  Stop blaming the animal, when it is the owners fault.  I now of several Boxer owners who have gotten rid of thier dogs due to this tragic inccident.  

                I was raised with Boxers as a child and into my adulthood....IMO..perfect family pets....


                                                                                                                   Ruger1

Strange that you say that Ruger.  Just yesterday I had to have a CTJAFR moment with a boxer for snapping at a child.