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To be honest i cant believe how narrow minded you people are. how dare you generalisie and group off people because of their clothing, do you not realise this is a form of prejudice.would it now be fair for me to say that because and i may be wrong that you are mostly overwieght uneducated people who believe they know it all but really have never listened to learn anything and are just making a judgement on people you have never meet or spoke to. If i was out walking my dog and wearing tracksuit bottoms you would kill my dog but if i was wearing a suit you would tell me how lovely my dog is? come on. or is it that you have to be young aswell? wat if i have just come from the gym. seriously think about what your writing before you make yourself look like an idoit.

- Myles, london

For starters i have to totally disagree with john from london, reason being is that you can train any breed of dog to do what you want it too. banning a certain breed is just like banning a race of human being. its wrong.

I am 20 years old and sometimes on a lazy day will wear tracksuit bottems and a hoodie when i walk my 2 very gorgous and VERY VERY friendly stafforshire bull terrier girls round the local park. i have had both my girls from puppies and the reason i choose that breed of dog to buy was because of friends who had the breed and i instantly fell in love with the loyallty and the manner of the breed. every staffordshire bull terrier i have come across fortunetly have been excellent family pets and very friendly with other dogs and children. there are a large percentage of people and familys with young and older children out in the UK that own staffies and have no problems this is because they are responsible owners. the point i am tryin to make is that because i dress like a 'chav' and walk two staffies round a park doesnt mean they wil attack you or your dog. neither of my dogs have ever bit a human or other animal. the only way i can see that these breeds of dogs can survive without bein banned or injured or fought is to bring in a type of license to own a dog of all breeds. responsiable owners. i dont see why i an many owners have to be sterotyped because of the breed of dog we have.
blame the owner no the dog. all a dog wants to do is please its owner!

- Emma, corby, northants, uk

John R - well said.

John T - Ban all pit bulls?? THEY'RE ALREADY BANNED! For the record, prior to 1991 I'd never seen an APBT. Not one. Now I see at least one, most days. Happily, the ones I do see are *without exception* well socialised, delightful pets.

Neil - how do you legally define a chav? Bring in a law that states you can remove a dog from a person if they're wearing sports clothing (even if that were possible to implement) and the same scum would just wear different clothes.

Roz - I am a *potential* killer. Thankfully I was raised by competent parents in a loving home and have been "well socialised", and as such the general public need not fear me (and I don't even need to be muzzled!). Give me a well socialised pit bull over a poorly socialised dog of *any* other breed/mix.

Have you ever thought to yourselves that by making a fuss about "weapon" dogs (which, by the way I have NEVER seen, despite living in a rough area within an industrial city) you might actually inspire scores of people to get hold of a dog that genuinely IS dangerous? Even innocently, for protection from a threat that barely exists?

- Matthew, Coventry, UK

Sports cars are involved in far, far more deaths each year than dogs of all breeds. Should we ban sport cars? Would it make any sense to ban Porches but allow bad drivers go get another car? Breed bans don't work because they don't address the problem which is bad owners.

Leashing or muzzling dogs in public would result in an increase in dog-related injuries. A safe dog is not a restrained dog. It is a well balanced, well socialised dog. Off-lead play, a healthy release of energy, socialisation and habituation are essential elements in raising a happy and safe dog. Leashing and muzzling would make all this virtually impossible and we would produce a generation of unsocialised, unstable dogs. Sooner or later, we can be sure that one will escape a garden fence or unguarded doorway and then we will have a frightened, unpredictable dog presenting a serious bite risk.

Meanwhile our laws will fail to protect us until they address the real issue of poor ownership rather than focusing on what a dog looks like.

- John R, London

Yesterday I went back to the banks of the Wandle to take some more pictures of some Canadian goslings. I found the mum alone with her brood ( no male ). A resident told me the male had been attacked and killed by a Staff after being goaded by it's owner.

- David, Wallington

My ideas for safer streets:

1: Ban all Pit-bulls, Rottweilers, other breeds of fighting dogs and all their 'derivatives' - ie, any dog which is deemed to bear reasonable characteristics.

There is absolutely NO need for these animals to be kept as domestic pets. You want a dog? Buy a different dog.

2: ALL dogs to be muzzled at ALL times in public places - no exceptions. Ever.

3: Heavy fines and then jail for repeat offenders who break the rules.

I also agree 100% with Philip's point re: bail. It's outrageous that a tiny minority are allowed carte blanche to terrorise and instil fear at will. This process outlined above is but a token gesture - not to blame the police, but rather the MP's and the courts.

Also, on a related issue, I think all Magistrates and Judges should be made to live in social housing for 6 months in the area they are to preside over before being allowed to begin holding court - let them see first hand the realities of their jurisdictions, for which they generally have not a clue.

- John T, London

police should seize all dogs from chavs. chavs then have to show their dogs origins pedigree etc to the police to be reunited with "TYSON" . if not possible to produce the required evidencethen destroy the dog.simple...

- Neil, london

Simple solution (with apologies to the many decent dog owners): all dogs to be muzzled when they are out. And while we're at it, if Magistrates are being re-educated, can they also have a lesson on when bail is inappropriate? -- i.e. any case where violence has been used or threatened, or the accused has a history of violence. Wake up English Legal System and start showing some guts!

- Philip, London, England

I live in the " Black Country " which is the traditional home of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. A pure bred Staffie is much smaller than a Pit Bull which is a different animal altogether. Unfortunately breeders are crossing Pure Bred Staffies with larger dogs of different breeds. This makes it difficult for the authorities to identify Pit Bulls and is a deliberate ploy by the breeders. In general a Staffie is one of the safest breeds, provided it is treated well , to have with children. Unfortunately it can have a tendency to be aggresive towards other dogs and due to it's undershot jaw can produce serious injuries. I am afraid that unless a serious effort is made to rid the streets of Pit Bulls and their derivatives all dogs will need to be muzzled whilst in public places.

- Robin Brittain, Wolverhampton, West Midlands

I was in a pub last night. There was a girl struggling to contain her little horror, on the seat of course, and then it slipped it's lead and ran round the pub.

- Martin H. Watson, Teddington

There are thousands of staffy owners out there who are appalled about the treatment they get from the press because of these groups. tough policies and enforcement would put an end to it. the question is - how on earth have pitbulls found their way onto our streets again. there was a time any dog that was a pitbull was destroyed immediately!!!!!!!!!

- Jonny, London

If I saw either of those dogs in the park, I'd take my little kiddies home. It's not just the dogs: the people who have a deep psychological need to be seen out with one of these animals usually look too physically feable to restrain it should it suddenly take off. These dogs were bred for killing, it is their natural instinct to kill, it cannot be asserted that the poor creature can switch its instinct on and off at the will of its owner. Though it equally cannot be asserted that all other breeds won't turn and attack, statistically there are so many others which are safer from which to choose a pet, I cannot see a reasonable argument for owning a potential killer.

- Roz, France

Well said Helen.

- Ce, London

Frankly, it's hard to tell the difference, if you were to look at the other end of the lead (if indeed there is one) you'd see a world of difference, the dangerous ones generally have owners clad in sports clothing.

- Bob, Cheam

Once again, shutting the stable door after the horse hs bolted. This hateful business of dog fighting and dog attacking has been on the rise for about six years, but because it is mostly confined to black or pakistani groups, has been ignored in case it offended those groups. Now, we are all suffering, not to mention the terrible pain and fear endured by the dogs which are treated as totally disposable and used for 'training' of other dogs if not fierce enough. Further, huge sums of money are made from breeding, training and fighting these poor dogs. None of this is declared to the taxman, with most of the human partipants claiming benefits for themselves and free care for their animals from organisations like the PDSA or RSPCA.

- Helen, norwich

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