Is Britain Becoming Intolerant of Dogs?

Every time a dog attacks a person in the UK, it gets major coverage. Yes, the attack by a dog, if it results in death or injury, is horrible. And it is understandable why people want tighter laws on dogs. The government has clamped down on so-called aggressive dogs like XL bulldogs. However, is it actually the dog's fault?

Dogs are not just some brainless creature with jaws and teeth. Dogs are intelligent and social beings. They react as we react to external stimuli. Dogs, like children, if they are given examples and encouraged to be aggressive, will be. Humans have bred dogs for centuries for a variety of tasks. We have encouraged certain characteristics in dogs to make them suitable for the jobs we want them to do. So, a dog like an XL bulldog is the way it is because we have bred it so. It doesn't help when you have irresponsible owners who should know better.

When the news comes on of a dog attack, it always demonises the dog. When you have so-called respectable news outlets like the BBC lowering themselves to the gutter press of tabloid newspapers with dramatic headlines about "Monster dog" and all the usual crap, that doesn't help. It certainly doesn't benefit the victim of such an attack, and it certainly does not benefit the dog itself. Most reports about dog attacks never question why the owner allowed the dog to get out of control or what people were doing to that dog that made it attack. For example, if children are teasing that dog either physically or verbally or even adults, the dog, like humans in such a situation, is going to react. Dogs are, by and large, very tolerant creatures in my experience of owning dogs, but like us, they have a limit. If you get pushed too far, you lash out, rightly or wrongly, and so it is the same for the dog.

Many Muslims in the UK do not want dogs around them because they are Haram. It's understandable how this came about because in the Middle East, perhaps even to this day, they are seen as dirty creatures, perhaps carrying rabies. This has led some UK Muslims to say dogs and dog walkers should be banned in areas where they are. Well, I'm sorry, no disrespect intended, but British people and dogs go back a long way. We have been having dogs as pets and companions, and walking them long before Islam reached our shores. So my answer to them is "tough", Britain is not and never will be, hopefully, an Islamic state. So, if your faith is intolerant of dogs, maybe you should consider moving elsewhere in the world.

Dogs and humans have enjoyed a relationship going back 11,000 to 15,000 years. Discoveries have been made of early humans in graves, and lying by them are dogs. This shows that even in the most ancient of days, when we were sitting in caves chomping on a banana, our canine companions were with us. It's probable that early humans somehow got hold of wolf puppies. Raised them in their settlements, and that's likely how this symbiotic relationship between humans and canines first came about.

It's also possible that dogs may have chosen us as companions. Smelling us cooking food over open fires. Realising we offered food and shelter, and in return, they guarded our settlements. So, certainly, early humans saw something in wolves (that later became dogs) they could use. The same for dogs, they saw something in us that would benefit them. So, the relationship grew to the point where, in this modern day and age, humans and canines have become inseparable friends.

Sadly, some people use them for nefarious purposes, and that is a stab in the back to the animal that never bears a grudge against us. That is a stain on humanity in how we reward a creature, the dog, that has only ever wanted to be friends with us.