This is an older article but this is solid proof that all breeds are capable of being aggressive and deadly....

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/10/09/pomeranian.kills.ap/

Small dog kills 6-week-old girl in California
October 9, 2000
Web posted at: 6:17 AM EDT (1017 GMT)


LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A small Pomeranian dog killed a 6-week-old baby while the infant's caretaker briefly left the child unattended to warm a bottle of milk, authorities in Los Angeles said.

The relative, who was caring for the infant girl, found her head buried in the dog's mouth Saturday night, sheriff's Deputy Cruz Solis said. The girl died of head trauma at an area hospital, he said.

The baby's name was withheld because her parents were out of the country and had not been notified, Solis said.

The relative has not been charged. Animal control officers took the dog.

Pomeranians are a breed of miniature canines that have a foxlike face, pointy ears and long, fluffy hair. The deputy said Pomeranian attacks are rare.

"Obviously it doesn't take much to kill a 6-week old baby but it's not something that happens with that breed," Solis said.

Yep I believe it. With my neice being attacked and mauled by a chocolate lab I know that all breeds can attack.

Well it could be proof that particular dog was sick, inbred, etc.
I'm sure all breeds are capable of attempting to kill if pushed hard enough, but then again so are all people. It's very unusual for any dog to attack unprovoked.

Well it could be proof that particular dog was sick, inbred, etc.
I'm sure all breeds are capable of attempting to kill if pushed hard enough, but then again so are all people. It's very unusual for any dog to attack unprovoked.

The dog that attacked my neice was not provoked at all. All breeds are capable of it. It is all in ownership. And how the animal was raised. The dog that attacked my neice came from a litter from my brothers dog. SHe was 2 at the time. It tore apart her face, her eye out etc. It was not provoked. Also after working with animals and doing my studies I have learned that animals are that. Animals. Yes they are domesticated but it doesnt mean they dont have the ability to attack. If the animal is raised wrong, not watched etc it can and does happen all too often. Any animal can turn on a dime. And I dont think it has to be sick or inbred etc. I think it can happen just because. All to often we only hear of pits, rotts, dobermans attacking. But in all actually ANY animal can do this. Plain and simple...

edited to add that this is a toucy subject with me as my neice has had 3 plastic surgeries, might need 1 more later and has also had a large amount of psycholgical trauma from the attack. She went thru a phase of tearing pictures off the wall of her, if anyone called her pretty she would scream at them that she wasn't etc. It is really sad. I was one who believe animals didnt attack just because when this happend. That opened my eyes 10 fold.

I agree with Kristi. Any dog at any time can attack. That's why it's so important for people to be educated and to never assume their kids are safe with their pets. My dog is the sweetest dog ever and I don't think she would ever hurt my kids, but at the same time I would never leave them alone together. Anything can cause a dog to snap and attack.

I agree with Kristi. Any dog at any time can attack. That's why it's so important for people to be educated and to never assume their kids are safe with their pets. My dog is the sweetest dog ever and I don't think she would ever hurt my kids, but at the same time I would never leave them alone together. Anything can cause a dog to snap and attack.

I have to agree with you guys, any dog can can attack someone, they don't always have to be provoked. When I was a kid I was attacked by my aunts dog(pit bull) and nearly lost my eye, to this day I have funny looking scars from where they basically pieced my face back together and yet I love my dog Lucy who is half pit.. The dog that attacked me was like my best friend so everyone was shocked when i got attacked. Luckly it let go as soon as it realized what it had done b/c normally bullie breeds hold on to their prey.. something with the taste of blood i've been told... I hate when people say that only dobes rotties or pits "mostly" attack , I don't care if the dog is a little teacup chihuahua if its not properly trained and raised it'll attack just as fast as anything else, it may not do as much damage but it will still do some....

I agree with the fact that any dog can attack, what is really sad is that cats do it too. The fact that they are animals should never be overlooked. The whole issue with dobes, rotties, and pit bulls being the breeds to watch out for the most is sad... people buy certain dogs and train them to be killers and unfortunately it's those breeds that catch the most of the bad reputations. I know first hand that "family" dogs you think would NEVER hurt anyone is horribly miscommunicated. Our lab has snapped at us a couple times over bones that she has... they are hers and we've learned to give them to her and let her be with them. She's really protective of our family too and has gotten REALLY upset at neighbors and things. There is underlying trauma that caused her to do that too though. We had neighbor dogs that were REALLY mean at one point in time and they would fight with her through the fence. Eventually we had to call them into animal control because they almost bit my sister had it not been for Tubby (our lab) coming in and taking the bit to her eye. Her aggression towards unknown people is from those rediculous events with the other dogs. We've had to change the way we have people come over to our house, but it's all in how the owner handles the dog and the way they are raised! People have to be observant when they work with animals. We just have to remember that!!! Good article by the way... very informative!

I was 4 our family dog bit me, but it was mainly because I used to pull his tail and I was left alone with him for a minute.

BUT I didn't mean that they HAD to be provoked and that there was no other reason.

Yeah, how you raise a dog is definitely a big factor. Also some dogs (in any breed) have bad temperaments.. Jusdt like people have different personalities and just like kids with bad parents pften turn out bad.

What I meant is that not every breed has even the capability to kill. If that child had been say 10 that dog would not have killed her.

Also, I don't believe all pets are just ticking time bombs waiting to go off. I believe that most attacks are provoked or come from animals that were badly raised or genetically "bad."

I do realize they are animals, though.
My dog is sweet, but just try to take his food away while he's eating and he'll definitely get defensive.

I didn't mean to offend anyone, either. I'm very sorry to hear about your niece, Kristi, that truly is horrible.

I basically agree with a lot of what was said, I was just trying to make a small point.

I didn't mean to offend anyone, either. I'm very sorry to hear about your niece, Kristi, that truly is horrible.



You didn't offend me at all ;) I was just saying it truly is a touchy subject for me because I once did believe animals had to be provoked. That animals just watned to be loved. But after my vet schooling, this attack, and working in a clinic I now see things differently because of it all.

My neice is doing much much better now. She is 7 years old now and alot of the scarring has minimized from the plastic surgeries and age. Which is good. SHe still loves animals. She is cautious of dogs..Even their own (they got a small dog for inside the house) But she still loves them to death.

It's just a touchy subject with me because I hate when people insist only certain breeds attack (which some people do feel this way..not saying you at all ;)) because she wasn't attacked by a pit, nor a rotty, or even a doberman. She was attacked by a chocolate lab. And it pisses me off that news agencys rarely run stoires about stuff like that. Given the chance to run a story about a pittbull attack or a lab attack the news will run the pit story 9 times outta 10. I just think it is really really sad.

I have a small dog that I don't trust around certain people and would never trust around a small child or baby for sure...........BUT it has absolutely nothing to do with his upbringing. I got him at 8 weeks of age and have treated him like a little prince. He's spoiled to say the least!!! He has bit at my sons GF a few times now and when she somes over I have to put him up (even after 2 years of her coming over.......go figure:wow) So my opinion is that dogs are just that, DOGS and can and will bite/attack (even for NO reason at all!)

I think the only reason you hear of the bigger breeds is not to single them out. My feeling on the suject is that those types of breeds that you hear of regularly have more powerful jaws and can and DO cause more permanent and deadly consequences. Even though other breeds attack it's just not news worthy........most of the time:yes

I wonder if that dog "attacked" the baby, or was just not properly trained that the baby was not a toy. I know our little dog used to play with squeeky toys and I got this little baby duck (a real one) that sounded just like one of the dogs toys, and she got ahold of it one day and killed it because she thought the duck was one of her toys. She played so rough with those squeeky toys and she did the same thing with the duck. I'm sure that a little baby is absolutely fascinating to a dog. There's no way to tell if the dog attacked her out of anger/defense or was really just tyring to playing with her. I'm sure all of you have either had a dog or heard of one that killed a puppy when it was just trying to play with it.

But the fact remains you cannot leave a child alone with an animal!!

I didn't mean to offend anyone, either.


Don't worry i don't think anyone was offended, we knew what you were trying to say..:D

i agree that its in the upbringing we have a pit and he is the best dog i have ever had. he saved my life i used to think all pits were bad and blah blah blah but i have raised turk and he is a good dog. not to say he couldnt turn on us though

I wonder if that dog "attacked" the baby, or was just not properly trained that the baby was not a toy.

That's a good point too. Sometimes it's not aggression in cases like that. Babies smell much different than adults and dogs may not realize they are humans.
But people just need to realize you can't leave kids around dogs unsupervised until the child is old enough to know how to control the dog. And if it's not your dog, then it's even more important. Dogs are animals, as much as people like to say they are their babies.

exactly, animals are animals and are unpredictable by nature. that's one thing i learned and always had to keep in mind when dealing with horses. even a horse that was tame as could be and reliable could turn and bite or kick you out of the blue. it's easy to be lax around a pet that you trust because of past behavior and that's when things happen.

i don't think my dog would ever hurt my kids but i don't leave him alone with the baby either. don't want to take the chance.

i definitely believe any dog can attack provoked or unprovoked, my cousin has a chiahau (sp) that she's had since it was 8 weeks old it used to always snap at me and bite my ankles. I never provoked it or anything i have a scare on my calf from where it got me one day. any dog can attack i wouldn't even trust our lab with any kids since he can be rough with me at times

I wonder where the baby was. I mean surely the caretaker did not leave it on the floor with a dog in there. ????