Dog owners are to blame, and not the animals themselves, for getting out of control in public places.
That is according to journalist Frank Coughlan, who was recently in England when a small terrier came into the pub he was in.
Mr Coughlan told Newstalk Breakfast a "massive, and I mean a massive" angry Alsatian then came around from the other side of the bar in Manchester.
The larger dog attacked the terrier and then bit the owner.
A Belgian Malinois shepherd dog listens his master's voice. Picture by: Nono&Jessi / Alamy Stock Photo"The owner barely saved it's life, actually," Mr Coughlan said.
"It wasn't a terrifying experience for me, but it was an eyeopener and it was certainly a shocking experience for the terrier and for the owner.
"It made me think about the fact that people can be very irresponsible with their pets, especially big dogs.
"I think it's something that all of us have witnessed at different times... but something that needs to be taken in hand."
He said there needs to be more enforcement from the owners themselves.
"It's the same thing you hear all the time: 'why don't the Government and why doesn't the State' - I think this is about personal responsibility, people don't seem to want to take any anymore.
"They're up to speed on their rights, but they're fairly slack on their responsibilities.
"This is really, more often than not, men with egos who want trophy dogs as an extension of their ego, who think they're in control of their dogs when they're not."
'Hold themselves accountable'
Mr Coughlan said he is always seeing bigger dogs off their leads.
"They should be held accountable, but they should hold themselves accountable in the first instance, I think," he said.
I do see big breeds of dogs, an Alsatian say, walking where I walk daily with their owners not on a lead.
"They appear to be in control of their dogs, but I'm always weary, I have to say.
"[It's] not fair to pick out any particular breed or anything - but owners are to blame here, not the dogs more often than not," he added.
