All language subtitles for Pitbull 2018

(music and dogs barking)

Narrator: Pitbulls.
Rottweilers, German Shepherds.

Dogs with a bad name.

Fighting machines, a menace to
society, potential killers.

But they're family pets too

and some people aren't buying
in to their bad reputation.

A lot of folks don't like that
their dog is a branded breed.

Muzzled by law, on a tight
leash, on the fringes.

Maybe they are
misunderstood, maybe

they're the victims
of negative press.

Maybe these deadly dogs
aren't so scary after all.

(music)

C'mon, quickly Butch.

(clicking noise)

Hey c'mon you.

Get out for a minute.

C'mon Elsa.

(dog barking)

Y'alright, y'alright, just
ignore it just ignore it.

She just doesn't know
what the camera is.

Come on, quickly, quickly.

You see, that's why it's so
important that if you're ever

bringing strange people into
your house or strange equipment

you know, you have to
understand from the dog's point

of view that she hasn't a
notion what that camera is.

So, you know

just at that stage I was lucky

enough to have some
food in my hand

I'm not saying anything
would have happened,

she just doesn't know
what the camera is.

To just redirect her
from the camera,

let her eat her food so
she'll be more comfortable.

No just ignore her, you can just
leave the camera rolling on her

but the main thing is like
if she turns around and

looks at you, you just don't
give her any eye contact.

Narrator: This is Lily
and her dog Elsa.

Elsa is one of four
pitbulls that Lily owns.

She's had pitbulls since
she was a young girl.

She's an old girl,
she's probably

just a little bit
nervous you know?

(music)

She's one of me oldest
this little one is.

They're a great dog, they're
very loyal, loving.

They love people, they
crave human attention.

When you own these
dogs there's another

thing that you have
to understand is

the fear the general
public have of these dogs.

And you've got to respect it.

Every dog was bred for
a specific purpose.

The pitbull was bred
for animal combat.

(dog growling)

(laughing)

It's like a rottweiler, it's
like a German Shepherd.

You know, it's like
most of the dogs

that are around
today are not used

for their original
purposes and can easily

settle in to family
homes and be pets.

I'm not saying that

pitbulls haven't attacked
anybody, they have.

When you come to own a stronger
breed such as a pitbull or

a mastiff or a rottweiler or
any of the stronger breeds,

you've more of a responsibility

with a bigger dog. I
suppose it's like

driving a mini car, to
going to a Ferrari.

You know, it's a totally
different ball game.

So, they're not a
breed for everybody.

Narrator: The pitbull
is one of 11 breeds

on the restricted
list in Ireland.

By law, the dogs on this
list must be muzzled

and on a short lead in
public at all times.

Lily: We've got a country
like the UK that have

had these dogs banned
for over 20 years now.

And look at the amount of
attacks that's happening

in that country where
these dogs are banned.

Like we've a simple thing
such as restrictions in

this country, which a lot
of people don't agree with.

We're living in a country
where we've had no children

killed by dogs, there's
been plenty of attacks.

When we take on dogs we have a

responsibility to
keep the public safe.

And that's exactly what we need
to do but in order to keep the

public safe you
gotta realise what

you have on the end of the lead.

(music and dog barking)

This is Shadow and
his owner, Anthony.

Antho got into training dogs a
few years ago. Shadow, a Belgian

Shepherd, keeps watch over Antho
and his family in Blessington.

It takes years to build
up a proper bond with your dog.

Once you have that bond with

the dog, the dog
sees you as God.

(dog barking)

My dog will die for
me, no problem,

hand on heart, will stand
up against 20 fellas,

go up against and he will
die for me, no problem.

(music)

He's not an aggressive
dog, he's a

trained dog, there's
a difference.

He's a man-stopper basically,
you know he's trained to

stop somebody doing something
wrong and that's what he is.

(gunshots)

They are a high drive dog, if

he's not trained
correctly he can

turn aggressive
because he's doing

what comes natural to him.

Out. Out. Good boy.

You have to know what
you're doing, if you train

a dog the wrong way,
it becomes a weapon.

They are a highly
strung dog and there's

cases where they have
turned on their owners

because the dog has no
respect, the dog's never been

corrected, it doesn't know
what it's doing, it just wants

to bite bite bite everybody
and it doesn't matter if

you're the handler or the
owner, it'll turn on you.

- How are you, alright?
- Not too bad, how are you?

(grunting)

Oh yeah, good boy!

Shadow's kept at
home as a house dog.

He's kept with twin girls
and the girlfriend. Not a

problem round the house,
no bother with the kids.

He's a working dog, you
have to have respect.

I never trust any dog around
kids 100%. Never ever ever.

I have to watch them.
I have to be weary

of who's coming in and
out of the house.

You do have to be careful.
He's trying to

do a job and he's
working all the time

and that's the problem, you have
to watch him. If you forget

that he's there, accidents can
happen and that's the problem.

But someone comes
round the house

or someone comes into the house,

He switches on, he
goes into wolf mode.

You know he's there,
you know he's

in the room, you'll
feel his eyes.

He'll watch your body language,
the way you behave in the house,

if you behave fine and
you're sociable, no problem.

But if you make the
wrong move, or

you got a command,
he will attack.

(music)

Narrator: Here's Laura and Jason
with their sons Riley and Logan.

They have two dogs, Buddy who's
a border terrier and Ruby,

that's Ruby in the muzzle, a
staffordshire bull terrier.

Me and Jason were on
together a couple of months

and he went in to shops
and seen an advert on the

shop window for what was
advertised as a pitbull,

and Jason had grown up with
pitbulls when he was younger.

So erm...

I kind of was a bit, oh
God, we're gonna get a pitbull.

I was like oh I don't
know, and we went to see

her and I fell in love
with her straight away.

We had no kids at the time
so she was my baby like.

I can remember when I
first got pregnant,

people were saying
to me 'you'll have

to get rid of that dog.
You'll have to

get rid of her, she'll
attack the baby'.

But I knew she wouldn't.

So we brought Riley home and
we introduced them slowly.

She was never left alone
with them or anything

like that but there
wasn't a bother on her.

A few months back, the
dog somehow got out.

Laura and Jason still
don't know what happened.

For Ruby, the escape
would prove costly.

Both Ruby and Buddy had
gotten out together.

And there was an incident.
There was a man

walking his dog on a
lead and obviously

my two dogs weren't
on a lead and they

were running towards
the man's dog.

(music)

It was just a chasing game.

Ruby didn't injure this dog.

A man had stopped on the road in
the car and got out to try and

help the man with the dog and
gave Ruby a couple of kicks.

(music)

Second incident had happened.
A little girl was walking up

this way with her dog and my two
dogs came out from this way.

And the little girl
obviously seen the

dogs before she
approached and ran

across the road.
Now God bless her

she must have got
an awful fright.

(music)

I don't think it
was an attack, it

was being called an
attack but there

was no injured
parties, no scratched

animals. There was
nothing wrong.

(music)

Jason: The girl that
actually arrived on the

scene when the incident
happened says 'what

are you doing with that
dog, why wouldn't you

get a cocker-spaniel
or something like that.

So obviously everybody
judges a dog on its appearance.

(music)

(dog yapping)

Laura: Ruby was seized.
We were just

told she was being
brought to the pound.

And on Monday morning
we had called the dog

warden and he said that
the dog wasn't being

given back. That there
was an investigation

into it now because
she had attacked.

We were basically
given an option to

put the dog to sleep
or go to court.

I was distraught, I didn't
eat, I didn't sleep.

Narrator: Laura fought a
long campaign to save Ruby.

After 6 weeks in the pound, the
dog was released on probation.

In a few days, Laura
will face the court,

when Ruby's fate will
finally be decided.

Laura: Kids absolutely
adore the both dogs.

They're part of the
family, it'd be like

if one of us would
be missing to them.

I can't wait to just close
the book on the whole

situation, it's been
an absolute nightmare.

(music)

Narrator: Rottweilers
have been a

byword for fierce
dogs for a long time.

When Ciara in Cork
and her husband

Greg were on the lookout for

a pet 12 years ago, they weren't
scared away by the stereotype.

I always wanted a
dog, always wanted

a big dog once I
moved out of home.

So when we were here, we

used to be driving
around and next

thing I saw there's these dogs

that I didn't
know what they were.

So we pulled over
to this woman and

asked her 'what kind
of dog is that?'

so she said 'a rottie'.

So we were like
'That's a rottie?!

Isn't that supposed
to be a scary dog?'

Got out of the car
and rubbed him

and just fell head
over heels and

everyone that I came up against

were the same. Big
slobs of dogs.

So, Greg was the same,
we said 'we have

to have one of them.
We have to have.'

It didn't matter what

breed the dog was, it was
like a big bear, like a big

gentle bear, that's what
we thought they were like.

I remember putting out my
hand on top of the dogs head

and was like 'God, his
head's bigger than my hand.'

Narrator: One giant dog
wasn't enough for Ciara

and Greg. Leroy was joined
by Missy 6 years ago.

Ciara: Now that
they're big and they

kind of slob along,
very few people

would cross the road
or anything but

when he was smaller,
they used to.

A black dog gets a
bad name anyway.

Apparently my friend
re-homes dogs and the

black ones are so much
harder to re-home

than the blond and
everything, which is

totally unfair, being
a brunette myself!

I just walk them cos
they're just my dogs.

You know, whereas obviously when
you do see the young fellas and

they have them out the front and
they've got a gash in them. Even

though those dogs
are probably lovely

too. But I think the way you are

about them definitely helps the

way people look
at you with them.

Greg: We're probably
talking about the dog

like a child but to me
it's probably the same

principal. It's what you
would teach your child

to do the right thing or
what isn't right maybe.

They're our family and
that's what we see them as.

Laura: If anything happens
down the line that

they make it harder to
get rotties or turn

people off getting
them, people are

missing out on having
such a lovely dog.

Greg: Just because
they're big and

strong, they're put
in a box by society.

I think it is unfair
just branding,

it's like branding a race

you know, it's just like saying
all those people are bad.

I mean really it doesn't make,

it's with no justification.

They've never done
anything to anybody.

(music)

Up the road in west Dublin, Karl
and the boys are meeting up with

Up the road in west Dublin, Karl and the boys are meeting up with
their pitbulls and American staffordshire terriers.

their pitbulls and American
staffordshire terriers.

(music)

Ata girl!

Good girl, huh.

Who's a good girl, now, sit.

That's a good girl. You break
that up and give it to the dog.

Stand over there, now, see.
Tell him easy.

Say 'easy Chop' - Easy Chop.

Don't be afraid. - Easy chop.

That's a good boy - Good boy.

Sit.

Scooby's crying over
a biscuit, look!

(laughing)

They're all settling down now,
at the start when they meet each

other, they're all
hyper just to see

each other you know what I mean.

And now they've all
calmed down like. Except

for him, he's going
mad over his biscuits.

(laughing and dog barking)

Yogi.

Yogi.

Now take them away.

Take the dog away cos she's
trying to domineer your dog.

Sit!

And she knows that
I'm not gonna take

any shit off her. But
she'll sense that

if somebody is not
100% in control, she

will probably you
know, get rough.

(dogs barking)

Chop, shut it!

You see the way she's not going.
Yogi! So you

have to catch her in that
moment, straight away.

Shut up!

(barking)

Let's move out a bit
that all the dogs

aren't on top of each
other, you know.

Ata boy Chop.

Now it'd be great to
let them off there but

we'd have to hold Yogi.
We go in there.

Or we go in there.

Alright let's go, come on!

Come on boys.

(music)

It used to bother me when
I used to be walking the

dogs and people would jump
off the path and all and

they'd have their own dogs and
they'd be nervous and that but

then if I says
look he's alright,

he's grand and they'd say

Oh no no and they still
wouldn't trust you I would but

the dog's alright
like, as you can see,

there they are there
running around

and there's kids
involved here and you

know. There's not
a bother on them.

They're a medium sized
dog and they don't shed

hair and all for in the
house as well but yeah.

I'd say like if someone looks
over your wall and sees

one of them as well, they're not
gonna jump in either but...

I'd rather have
that than a hairy

German shepherd sitting on

my couch with hairs all over the
place you know what I mean.

But they're easily
manageable in that way.

(kid shouting)

You see little jack russells
that run out and they could

be in the room and
they could bite a

kid or you know it's
all the one like.

If she seen a jack
Russell now, she'd run over to

me but look at the size
of them dogs and she won't.

journalist: What happened?

She got bit by a jack Russell.

A dog on the road that
wasn't on a lead.

And the dog ran over and
bit her on the arm.

Broke the skin.

I wouldn't leave her in a
room on her own with the dog.

You don't trust any
dog, you know.

But under my
supervision or Dean's

supervision, it's only
being responsible.

(music)

Narrator: On a bleak Monday in
Portlaoise, Heidi from the LSPCA

rescue was confronted with the
dark side of dog ownership.

Heidi: The LSPCA helpline
got a call, from the

young girl to say
that she'd found a staffie

It had been tied
to a tree and it was

in a bad way. They took
me down to the dog

and basically he was
hidden in bushes under

a tree, right at the
back behind houses.

Nobody from the
road could see it.

There was old and fresh blood
there, there were quite a lot

of dog poops there so he'd
been there a couple of days.

What beats me is that
someone tied him up and

kept going back to him
and leaving him there in

that condition and going
back to him. How anybody

could do something like
that is beyond me.

We came back in the afternoon
to just take a walk around and

just take a picture of where
he was so that you can see him

the way they'd hidden him
in the bushes and the tree.

And when we arrived and
my husband pulled in here

and the next thing he just
hit reverse and went and

just between the two houses
there was about 9-11 lads.

We thought no we're not going
to take the chance of going

in there. They'd obviously been
there looking for the dog.

And even the guard
just said to stay out.

A baiting dog would be tied to
a tree or a pole. It's face

would be masked so that it
can't fight back. In severe

cases, if it could break the
tape they'd actually break the

teeth out so the dog cannot
fight back. And then they would

set a pack of dogs on them.

Because the more
competition there is, the

more ferocious these
fighting dogs would be.

(music)

Narrator: Some dogs are scary
because they look like wolves.

Maybe even have a bit
of wolf in them.

This pair play the ferocious
direwolves in Game of Thrones.

In real life they're
Thor and Odin, belonging

to the Mulhalls in
Ardglass County Down.

So the breed is
northern Inuit and it

came from a mix of
Alsatian, wolf,

husky and malamute,
all mixed together to make

the most wolf hybrid
dog that you can have.

Usually when dogs get
to about 4 years

of age, Alsatians or doberman,

large dogs, they
start to take over

the house and the surroundings.

These guys are quite
flexible, you

know, you have a
little talk with them

and say no you can't do that or

whatever and then
they work with you.

(dog howling)

They are a part of
the family, they are

actually a big part
of our family.

Every day we look
out for them, every

day we feed them, every day we

walk them and every
day we show them

to tourists from
across the world.

We had absolutely
no concept when

we first went in to the film.

I thought it was just going
to be a middle ages, run

around with a few swords,
cut a few heads off.

I had absolutely no idea it
was going to be the biggest

film in the world and I
don't think anybody did.

A lot of people see them on
the TV and it's just like

seeing a real life actor you
know and there's something

spectacular about it and
cos they're so cute

and cuddly it makes it
a whole lot better.

Gimme a howl. Howl. Howl.

No howl, alright.

It's almost as big
as seeing Obi-wan

or C3P0 you know what I mean.

Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker...

Elvis.

(music)

(birds crowing)

Sometimes when
people look at them

they can be very scared of them.

As soon as you see the dogs
it is a very scary thing

you know like they look so
real like they're gonna eat

your head off you know but
they're not, they're just

interested in what you are
and then they'll run on.

That's just the
nature of the breed.

If someone's afraid of a wolf,
it's because they've been read

childrens' stories about Who's
Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf,

and Little Red Riding Hood.
All these are written

by older men to scare
people, why? I don't know.

Oh what big eyes you
have, oh what big teeth

you have, all the better
to bite you with.

So when children are growing
up they're told wolves are

bad so kids are gonna grow
up thinking wolves are bad.

But any kids that we know
that have met the wolves,

they are their favourite
dog now you know.

So we're doing our bit
for love the wolf.

(cinematic tense music)

Narrator: There's
been a surge in

popularity of dogs
with the wolf look.

Mostly thanks to their presence
in big movies and shows.

Cameron and his mother
Jacqueline found out

just how fierce a real
life husky can be.

And all my friends love dogs
so, we saw a husky and I think

it was a little small dog,
I don't know what it was.

And then we went into the
garden

and we were playing
with the dogs.

And the dogs were
messing with each other

and we're all laughing and
then I went in to wait

in the garden and I was
petting the dogs and

my arm just got tired and
I stopped petting the

big dog and started
petting the small dog.

The big dog obviously
got jealous

and then just attacked me.

The friend ran around to
my ma's house, screaming

screaming quick quick
Cameron Cameron.

And I thought
he was after getting

knocked down or something.
I was like...

Ran down, I was like, what's
wrong, what's wrong?

I just went into shock.
So they came back

and told me his face
was badly marked.

So my sister went down in
the ambulance with him

and I was brought down in
a car to the hospital.

And when I went in and seen
Cameron, I nearly died.

His face was ripped apart.

He received over 50 stitches on
his face and he was very lucky

because another half centimetre,
his eye would have been gone.

Look you can't even
see this one anymore.

- And I had loads
- He had some under her as well.

- But they're all gone
- They're faded.

They're gone. And
even my friends said

that in school that
all of them are gone.

They can't really see
any of them just

this one cos this
scar's very thick.

He's having future surgery
now just to correct his

lip but he's done good and
just a freak accident.

The dog's put down.
Straight away. The guards

went down and took the
dog off the dog owner.

The dog owner was
happy to give the

dog, take him and
he was destroyed.

People get these
dogs because they

look good. They're a
beautiful dog but

they're not a dog
to be left in a

back garden and be
walked once a day.

And that's just how I feel, and
as far as the restricted list, I

don't think it's any use at all

because all dogs can
attack a child.

(music)

Cameron: I still do love dogs,
now.

And like I love cuddling
up with my dog,

sitting down and
watching telly with him.

Jacqueline: He's lucky he's not
afraid of dogs

but I hope he's learnt a lesson
and he'd know not to rub a stray

dog again, a dog he doesn't know
or go into a garden with a dog.

But he's a child and that's what
children do.

People on the radio
saying where was

I, where was the mother.
This accident

literally happened
around the corner

from my mother's house
and Cameron's 11.

He's a boy, I can't...

say 'you're not allowed to go
out and play.'

It can happen to anyone, it can
happen to any child.

You could be walking down the

street, a dog that's
not on a lead

the dog can run and attack you.

And it's everywhere you see
dogs without leads, everywhere.

Little, small, they're all dogs
and they can bite. Can't they.

Yeah.

(music)

Narrator: After
more than 30 years

on the beat as a
warden in Clare,

Frankie has faced off with more
dogs than most.

(music)

Frankie: I suppose I've been
bitten 9 or 10 times.

Badly bitten 9 or 10 times, and

small bites, it's part
of the job, yeah.

I have been assaulted,

I've been threatened on more
than one occasion.

I've been hospitalised
after an assault and

yeah, you'd be hated by
a lot of the community

but there's an awful lot more
there that respect it.

Look,

Come up this way a bit, it's
better, round there.

(chatter)

A dangerous dog can be any
breed, any dog.

The most dangerous dogs
that I have seen, have

been what are classed as pets.
Labradors,

I've seen some terrible
attacks on people and

livestock. So any dog
really can be dangerous.

You don't want to go do you?

Good boy.

No, stop stop.

I had to go for a
black Labrador.

And it attacked its own owner.

And I have never ever seen
a more dangerous dog in my

life in the 25 years I've
been involved in this job.

This black Labrador would have
killed me if he could have and

would have killed a member of
the public if he had escaped.

Now that's unusual,
because normally

Labradors are a wonderful breed.

I've kept them all my life
myself.

But this dog, the world I
would use in any dog, it's a

rogue. You get a rogue dog, it's
hard to be prepared for it.

We had three cases in the one
year a couple of years ago,

where dogs and they
all happened to

be husky dogs,
attacked children.

One of the neighbours
child was attacked, very

badly mauled and
another, the parents own

child, by their own dog was
mauled on their own property.

9 out of 10 of the
really bad cases I dealt

with, the dogs were on
their owners property.

So I mean, there's not much a
dog warden can do about that.

90% of dogs will give
the owners the warning

that they are going
to do something.

And a lot of people put it off.

The amount of people that would
say to me. 'oh he bit my niece,

he bit my daughter, he bit
myself, oh I think it's time.'

I think it's time
after the first bite

to muzzle that dog
or let the dog go.

Don't be waiting for
the child's face

to be destroyed and
I have seen several

of those cases where
childrens' faces

have been destroyed
by their owners' dog.

It's your responsibility,
you're the

parent, you've got to
protect your child.

So I mean I'm not looking
for dogs to be destroyed

here, I'm looking for
owners to be responsible.

Keep her on the lead please.

It's not illegal to have a
dangerous dog,

it's illegal not to have a
dangerous dog under control.

Like every law, it
only works with

certain people who comply to it.

There's another
element there that

don't comply to the law and they

have dogs which are
basically weapons

and that's what
they're used for.

(music)

It's 24 hours since Heidi
found a staffordshire

bull terrier tied to a
tree and left for dead

on a ghost estate in Portlaoise.

That's Buzz

And that's Tom who's looking
after Buzz.

Tom: Heidi rushed him in. He was

literally just wrapped
up, bleeding.

Collapsed cold,
shocked, very very

sick. He had extensive
wounds and gashes

along his right shoulder
and chest and he has also

got facial bruising and
eye injuries as well.

We suspect that he has
been involved in either

dog fighting or maybe
even dog baiting and

perhaps even that he got
some blunt trauma or

even some injuries
through beating as well.

This is quite repulsive when you
see something like this.

Buzz is such a docile
dog, he doesn't

deserve to get
victimised like this.

The breed of dog that
he is, which is a

staffie, a staffordshire
bull terrier,

I think that they
do get bad press

because of their
physical appearance

but I mean when a staffie comes
up on the table I'm more

concerned about whether my
glasses are going to get licked

so that I can see out.

I've never been bitten by a
staffordshire bull terrier

and what happens with this
type of a dog, because

they have the physical
ability, because they're such

powerful, strong dogs, if
they're in the wrong hands,

they can be generated
into a fighting machine,

but it's not the
instinct of this dog.

He's never had any TLC, never
had.

So he was bred purely
for a function and that

function was obviously for
fighting I would think.

And again if he didn't turn out
to be the big powerful fighting

dog, well then I
think he was like

the sheep to be sacrificed then.

Where they blood
the other dogs but

he didn't deserve
any of this anyway.

(music)

(road noise)

Narrator: In a back yard
in Meath, Sarah Jane and

Mia are getting their
dogs ready for a walk.

Otis, the smaller
one, is an English

bulldog who's not on
the restricted list.

And the big one is a bull
mastiff called Leyla, who is.

Mick: The bull mastiff,
they're a big, powerful dog.

In the wrong hands, they could
be a very dangerous weapon.

Like a gun, like a
knife, like a car. You put

anything in the wrong hands,
it's going to be dangerous.

Sarah Jane, Leyla is
actually her dog. She's

not my dog, we bought
her for Sarah Jane.

I know what type of dog I have
here.

I wouldn't have a dangerous dog
around my kids.

Leyla was reared with
my kids, with me, we

reared her the right
way, we socialised her.

Sit! Sit!

Good girl.

Mick: I walk Leyla
local here and

she doesn't have
a muzzle on her.

I know she's not going
to do anything with

the muzzle or without
the muzzle on her.

All the muzzle does to me is
make a dog look more aggressive.

(dog panting)

Notice people crossing the road
or

jumping back away from
her because she's so

big, when you're at the shop.
But nobody has

ever come over and said
'look you must get

that dog out of here'
no never had that.

Ok, let them off.

Go!

I'd only let the dogs
off the lead where

I know there's no
other dogs around.

Where the dogs won't bolt.

I'd only feel comfortable in
places that I know.

I wouldn't let them off
the lead if I went to

a different park where
I don't know the dogs.

I don't know whether
someone else

might have a dog off the leash.

Cos I know that my dogs won't
do anything to a dog but

I don't know if a dog would
do something to them.

(music)

Narrator: Out for
an evening stroll a

couple of weeks
ago, Karen and her

collie Milo were met
with the perils of

meeting a couple of
dogs off the lead.

(chatter)

See this little fella was
attacked a couple of

weeks ago, so he's had a
rough couple of weeks

but he's doing grand now.

Come on.

(clicking noise)

You nervous?

No?

He's not doing down, he's
nervous.

That's weird, that's the first

time he hasn't run
out to the sea.

I'm a bit startled
about that and that's

another little thing I
hadn't anticipated.

That he'd have normally

jumped right down
those steps and into

the sea and he just
wouldn't go there.

And now he's like this,

That's not like Milo.

This is his first time back here
since it happened.

It was a lovely day
and the sea was just

a day like this, the
tide was way out.

There was a man out there with
two dogs, way out to sea.

And Milo loves going
out to sea so I just let him

off the lead and he just
charged out to the two dogs

and next thing one of
the dogs starts to

attack him, grabbed
him by the throat.

And the closest thing I've ever
seen was

you know on the
telly you'd see a

hare being flipped or a rag-doll

or something you know
of that, from the

neck, thrown forwards
or back like that.

Then the other dog starts to
attack him, these two big dogs

I didn't know the
actual breeds of them

at the time, I had
to Google them

afterwards to see
exactly what they were.

They're bull mastiff terriers.

And neither were

on a lead and neither had a
muzzle.

And then eventually
the guy got his two

dogs on leads and
then he disappeared.

He went off this way,
walked up the beach

this way and went up
the stairs up here.

I thought he was dead.

He was just completely
covered top

to toe in Grey sludge and
blood.

There was a puncture wound went

straight in there,
right into his jaw.

And all along here.

And his throat was just ripped
open.

You know what keeps going
through my head is this is a

dog and I love him to bits
but what if he was a child.

You know I have three children,
what if it was a child that

went out to the beach that day
and was grabbed by the throat.

That's the bit I worry about.

(music)

Narrator: On the Curragh
plains, a whole crowd of

bull breed owners get
together for a Sunday walk.

(music)

They're all hyper, it's like
kids going to a party!

(music and background chatter)

We kind of get together April
through October generally

just purely for the weather,
to socialise the dogs.

Because we're not able
to bring our dogs into dog

parks, we're asked to leave if
they're on the restricted list.

You're told to leave, the
dogs are not allowed in

and we also find that
whenever we do go somewhere,

that people with other
breeds are not always

open to letting their dog
socialise with ours.

(dogs barking)

I have mother and daughter,

American pitbulls,

I've two more at home but I've
only two arms.

They're sweethearts absolutely,

they have a bad reputation
obviously.

But, they're pets, absolute
pets.

No matter what you've got, a
poodle or a jack Russell,

they'll always find some
dog they don't like.

You know, they'll always have an

interaction somewhere
along the line.

And the minute
it's a pitbull or a

bully or a something
of that breed,

it's advertised everywhere

but nothing about a
poodle or a Labrador and

the biggest biter in
Europe is a Labrador.

I bring him out just to
socialise him.

To prove the negativity behind
her, prove it wrong.

It's just a stigma behind her.

Nothing against yous but it's
more so the media.

You know.

That has tarnished them.

We're just trying to do good and
give them a good name back.

We have to come to
not even a private

place, just somewhere
off, we couldn't

come walk down the middle of a
street now could we.

You know, we'd be intimidating.

Just because what they've read
in the papers.

(music)

You do have to look at lineage
and the way that they're bred

to know everything that's
behind the dog like you know.

But

she has good lineage now behind
her.

People probably would
have used her ancestors

for things that we
don't use them as

but I chose to go a different
route with her,

and look at her.

She's as docile as they come.

There's three or four different
breeds there.

Staffie, American pit, Am
staff and a pit.

(dog barking)

I know myself I wouldn't keep an
aggressive dog.

(music)

Narrator: This is Alan.

And that's Swagger.

Alan likes rottweilers.

A lot.

I've spend 34 years
obsessed with

rottweilers, passionate
about the breed.

I bought my first rottweiler
when I was 18.

But my parents wouldn't
allow me to keep the pup

so I bought a house so
I could keep my pup.

(music)

We have

14 dogs

13 rottweilers and one Swedish
vallhund.

(music)

Narrator: 13 rottweilers in a

back garden in Cavan
may sound like the

foundations for a
riot squad, but this

is breeding ground
for champions.

(music)

Alan: I was an exhibitor
for 15 or 16 years.

I would buy a rotweiler, I would
show it

and then, you'd have
people say oh yeah he's

won this and won that
but what has he bred.

So, I then bought myself a very
good bitch.

She's done a lot of willing, we
bred her. Everything we have now

in our kennels that you've seen
today,

they've all come from her.

It's very easy to go
just down the road cos

your mate has a good dog
and breed with his dog

but with Facebook and
the internet you get to

see all these dogs from
all over the world.

And for years I was buying

magazines and I
was drooling over

these dogs going 'oh God I wish
I could have some of that.'

Now I realised, yeah no point in

dreaming, I can
have some of this.

(music)

I started travelling
to Germany, bringing

dogs in from Germany,
travelling to Croatia,

breeding with what I thought
were the top dogs in the world.

When you drive all the
way to Croatia and

you have little pups,
it's very hard not

to keep one or two
or three or four and

that's really how the
numbers creep up.

Come on.

(dogs panting)

Going back into the
early 80s, there was an

explosion of the
population of rottweilers

people just wanted
rottweilers and in the

80s, we had a number
of dog attacks.

And whether it was a
rottweiler or not a

rottweiler, it was
attributed to a rottweiler

cos at the time, rottweilers
made headlines.

All my rottweilers are
socialised.

From the day they're born, they
interact with their puppies.

It's all about early
imprinting.

So the puppies from before they
can open their eyes, are well

used to being handled
by children.

They love human contact.

If you've got a steady,
calm dog, he's not gonna

bite. Because dogs bite
through nervous aggression.

So it's all about responsible
ownership.

A fully grown male
rottweiler can do

as much damage as
a loaded shotgun.

(music)

They actually have to look for
my vet receipts for court.

They want them because
when she came out the

pound, she was sick so
they want them for that.

Narrator: Laura and Jason are
going to court.

Their staffie Ruby got out and

allegedly attacked
people and dogs.

After months on probation, today
Ruby's fate will be decided.

Jason: I think it was the
fact that there was no

people injured or dogs harmed
that we actually fought.

Had it been the other
way around where

she actually did bite
somebody or she

did savage somebody's
dog, we would

have thought
differently about it.

(music)

See you later.

(music)

First case in and out, boom.

It's all over now and you can
get on with your life.

- Close the book now
- Get on with Ruby's life too.

Woo!

I have to pay the
South Dublin county

council €200 euro
towards their costs.

And, we didn't get a fine
as such, I have to pay

€150 to the DSPCA, so it's
going to dogs anyway.

By June I think it has to be
paid.

That was it, no fine, no big
fine, my dog is still at home.

I'm gonna go home and see my
little dog on the sofa so I am.

Maurice: I would hope that
the law would be

changed at some point
in the future.

That you'd categorise a dog not
by breed but by deed.

One of the great ironies about

some of the restricted
breeds is that

the staffordshire
bull terrier was known once

as the nanny dog, cos it
was so good with children.

So the law I think can be made
an ass of in these instances.

(cork popping)

To Ruby!

We bring her in?

You're never going on your
holidays again Ruby.

Gracie was never said
but I think it was

just a total
discrimination of breed.

You know so yeah I think it is a

major victory for
restricted breeds.

We done everything
possible to get her home

so I am, and now it's
finished thank God.

(music)

(growling)

(growling and barking)

Narrator: It's a big day out for
a load of bull breed owners

from all over the country, and
it's all been organised by Lily.

We do athletics with
them, we do long

jumps, high jumps, speed
pull, weight pull.

It's just a fun day
out for these types of

dogs cos they're not very
welcome in other places

like agility places or the
kennel club for instance

you can't have these
type of dogs up there.

Woo!

(music and ambient sounds)

You've probably over 100
dogs here today, all

different type of bulldogs
and pitbulls and staffs.

You can see that all the owners

have them under
effective control.

If there was someone
irresponsible

here they'd be asked to leave.

(clapping)

Little bit intimidating
for people, could be,

but we know our dogs,
we're used to our dogs.

You either love
these dogs or you

don't you know and when you're

passionate about them, nothing

will stop the drive
that you have.

I don't know whether people's

perception will
change with time.

The dogs are going nowhere
at the end of the day and

someone has to help and look
out for them don't they.

(music)

Narrator: 7 weeks
since she found

him at death's
door in a derelict

estate, Heidi from the LSPCA
has re-homed Buzz the staffie.

Today she's dropping
in to see how

he's settling in
with his new family.

He's just got a little
bit of a scar but he's

literally healed physically
and mentally as you can see.

I mean he's got a staffie little
girlfriend,

a little dog, big dogs and you
can just see

he's settled in.

With him being involved
in fighting, he would

automatically (inaudible)
another staffie

and you can see that wasn't
true.

They will kiss us, he'll kill em
and kiss us.

It's not the breed of the dog.

I'll stick by that 100%

I mean there's two
here and you haven't

seen any aggression
from either of them.

But I mean if you're gonna breed

them and you're
gonna fight them.

They don't know any better, so
it's not the dog's fault.

He's a pet.

He's not a fighter
dog, he's not a dog

that can be used as
bait for another pet.

He's a pet.

He deserves what he's got now is
what he deserves.

To be loved and cuddled and well
looked after.

It would break my heart if he

ever landed up in that kind of
situation again.

He's happy, he's not vicious.

It's the way he's been treated.

He would have attacked somebody
eventually.

And I know he's
not going to ever

turn out to be a vicious dog.

He's just one of the lucky ones.

(music)