Your reader Katie Howard (Dogs must be judged for their deeds, not by their breeds, Letters August 21) has contradicted herself as she goes on to attack the dachshund breed.

I have kept these dogs for many years now. I still own two and they have never shown any aggression to anyone, yes they bark and are feisty, but they are loyal, loving and gentle, so therefore I must judge them by their breed and not their deeds.

Ms Howard quotes dogbiteclaims.co.uk and I see where she gets her information from. However, “staffies” do not appear in the list of least aggressive dogs either so that must say something about that breed also.

I do not dislike the staffie, in fact I have a friend who owns one and the dog has a sweet and lovely nature, but I also know from first-hand experience the damage a large and muscular staffie can inflict.

So please can we leave this at the original heading of your letter and not turn it into a slanging match about dog breeds, because, as you rightly point out, all dogs are capable of biting and I fully agree that the owners of aggressive dogs of any breed should be answerable for the actions of their pets. 

ANGELA STEPHENS

Sutton

 



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