"I would be in favour of a license that would restrict ownership of large, aggressive and/or powerful breeds. Amateur owners would be restricted one dog of this type only, and would need to need to go through an education programme/be certified before ownership. Professional owners could own more dogs with a higher level of certification."
@Brokenwing - Good idea. Microchipping would help. The licence fee would have to be high enough to make people think twice before taking on a large dog, and people should be made to attend mandatory classes about responsible dog ownership, and take out pet insurance which covers third party liability, before they are granted a licence. I know all this would be complicated to set up and police, but if the fee is high enough it could be self funding.
We need a campaign to educate and inform people on the rights and wrongs of dog ownership. There needs to be a massive sea change in attitudes, so that people take a more responsible attitude to dog ownership, and it becomes socially unacceptable for people to have large dogs that are not exercised and trained adequately.
We would also need more dog wardens with powers to carry out licence spot checks and confiscate dogs from any irresponsible owners.
There is someone living near us who has a husky. The dog is barely walked and is often heard howling/wimpering as it is left alone a lot. It also jumps up at every person it meets. I feel it's going to end very badly, but know that the RSPCA has very limited resources so would probably do nothing. The dog is clearly more intelligent than its owner, who is an utter moron. I don't understand why its lawful for any idiot to keep an animal that is only one step removed from a wild wolf, with no legislation or controls in place.
(PS: I am not anti dog, just anti irresponsible dog owners.)