It's a dogs life

Every so often we hear of another tragedy involving dogs that have injured someone. Each time it happens there is a cry for more control on dogs. In every case I have read about the fault is a human one and not the dogs.
Many people have dogs as a sort of status symbol and spend little or no time understanding how dogs work. They are a pack animal and if you have one in your home then you and your family are the pack. In every pack there are top dogs and you have to ensure that you and your family are above the dog in the pecking order. The rules are simple. The top dog can bite all the other dogs. The number two can bite all the ones below but not the one above and so on down the list. For a dog to be safe in your home it has to be the bottom of the pack and as such knows it is not allowed to bite anyone above. You see so many people with dogs that do not have control over it. The dog thinks it is number one in the pecking order and there in lies the problems.
I've had dogs all my life and loved every one of them but at no time did I ever let the dog think it was above me or any other human in the pecking order. I might add I have never been bitten by one either, and have handled some pretty nasty specimens in my time but even with them, the answer was to make sure they recognised their place and give them lots of love and attention.
A cat can be ignored and it will happily find other ways to amuse itself. A dog wont and if you cannot give your dog a lot of your time then maybe you should think about changing it for a cat.