Nursery World - Beware of the dog (1)

The dogs children meet in books are usually cuddly, but those they encounter in real life may be another story. Eve Boggenpoel hears tips for keeping safe around pet animals The thought of a young child being attacked by a vicious dog is almost too horrific to imagine, but in recent months, a spate of news headlines has brought home just how dangerous some animals can be.

The thought of a young child being attacked by a vicious dog is almost too horrific to imagine, but in recent months, a spate of news headlines has brought home just how dangerous some animals can be.

Five-year-old Leah Preston from Wolverhampton almost died in May from the injuries she suffered when two bull-mastiff crossbreeds broke out of their cage next door to her house. Just a month later, four-year-old Ellie Clarkson from Barnsley needed 17 stitches in her head after being savagely attacked by a Rottweiler while playing in a friend's garden.

So are some dogs more aggressive than others? The Government clearly thinks so. Dogs like the pitbull terrier, Japanese Tosas, Fila Brazilieros and Dogo Argentinos have all been bred specifically for fighting and, after a series of attacks in the 1980s, were put on to the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act list, which bans people from breeding, buying or selling them.

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