thinking its now time to get super tough on dog ownership?

[adam7485]

after what has happened in wales to that poor little boy i can't help thinking its time to not jus bring back dog licences but before you buy a dog you should have to take an exam to prove that you can look after it properly. not only that but if your dog attacks someone not only should it be taken away from you but from that moment on your banned from ever owning dogs. anyone agree with me?

It would make more sense to have a no dog off leash in public rule unless in designated well fenced dog fields where they can run around to their hearts content.

Their is a problem with attacks from ‘bully’ breeds but that is because they are cheap to get hold of by irresponsible people, who breed them in irresponsible ways normally breeding one female until she’s basically too tired to carry anymore litters, raise them poorly for the first 8 weeks of their life, unregistered, not health checked and sell them for cheap and the cheapness is all anyone sees when they are looking on gumtree or pets4homes, they don’t understand the breed or understand why these puppies are so cheap they just see ‘cute puppy’

Frankly we need to get less dog friendly as a society. More restrictions on where and when dogs are allowed in particular locations such as parks and beaches, enforcement of existing rules around e.g. fouling and FFS no to dogs in restaurants. If it becomes more difficult to have a dog then only really committed owners will want one. Would be a bit shit for some existing dogs in the short term but something has to be done to reduce levels of ownership longer term because it’s got out of control.

I don't think dog licenses would do anything, who's going to go round checking that people have them? Certainly not the police.
As I said on another thread I think all bull breeds should just be phased out including staffies. I know staffies can be wonderful pets but in the wrong hands they're not and the rescues are always full of them. I think it should be illegal to breed them. I'd also ban rottweilers and dobermans - and I'm a dog person.

But this stuff has always happened. Every 5 years or so there is a case like this. Much hand wringing. Some action (dangerous dogs act etc).
Doing anything to impact the great British love of dogs is not in political interests.
And good dog owners will be licensed and bad dog owners will be licensed. It will make no difference

It needs to start with rooting out back street breeders and puppy farms.
Then a strict licensing scheme.
But, the good owners will comply, but the bad ones will flout it one way or another.
I have 2 dogs, one large, one medium, good as gold, but would never be left with a child, ever, they love children, but that doesn't make them 100%trustworthy.
What is so annoying, and I'm not the only owner who says this, is small dogs being allowed to run up to mine, whilst on lead, and tap at them, in their faces, whilst I ask for the owners to call them off.'oh, they just want to play' then one of mine will give the 'piss off face' and the small dog owner will huff and puff at me and my horrible dogs.
My dogs play quite happily with others that aren't in their face.

Snap at them, not tap

@MrsDThomas

Dogs on restaurants?! You having a laugh? I don’t want to see mutley foaming at the mouth whilst the owner is devouring a t-bone 🤢

The type of dog which is rumoured to kill this poor child us typically linked to a person who lives in grey trackies, wears a baseball cap and doesn’t do much all day. Mark my words, it will be this case.

Wow, so judgmental. I wear a tracksuit when I walk my dog and WFH so probably would come across as being a person who ‘doesn’t do much all day’, however, my Staffordshire bull terrier is well trained and always on a lead. He never approaches other people or dogs and if someone approaches him (a child for instance) he lays down and lets them stroke him. Also we have a guide dog who lives near by and if my dog sees the guide dog he moves aside and sits down to let the guide dog pass. I am also fed up with dogs off lead running up to and jumping at my dog, he doesn’t like it and tries to move away from them. I wish people could train their dogs to have good recall but most don’t bother. I don’t walk him through the park anymore because of that. I don’t think licences would do anything though, bad dog owners wouldn’t bother getting one.

A and E deal with a quarter of a million dog bites a year in the UK.
I would have a law banning the owners of each of those dogs from ever owning a dog again. Automatically, and with no appeal.
That would quickly reduce the numbers of dogs in the country, and concentrate the minds of owners on training their feral carnivores properly.
I’d also reinstate dog licenses - expensive ones, renewable annually - and use the revenue to fund a proper system of dog wardens.

@RobinPenguins

Frankly we need to get less dog friendly as a society. More restrictions on where and when dogs are allowed in particular locations such as parks and beaches, enforcement of existing rules around e.g. fouling and FFS no to dogs in restaurants. If it becomes more difficult to have a dog then only really committed owners will want one. Would be a bit shit for some existing dogs in the short term but something has to be done to reduce levels of ownership longer term because it’s got out of control.

I agree with this totally.

@violetanemone

I think it's a nice idea to bring back dog licenses, but unfortunately the police/ government do not currenlty have the resources or aptitude to actually enforce anything like that. They won't do it because if they do it means they will have to follow through and enforce it.

I think this is the issue. In most cases responsible owners will get a licence.

But it's the irresponsible owners we need to deal with.

I also agree with training - many owners don't train their dogs very well. That said, although some dogs are a nuisance in public spaces, most of the more serious incidents seem to happen in houses/gardens and I don't know what you can do about that.

Frankly we need to get less dog friendly as a society. More restrictions on where and when dogs are allowed in particular locations such as parks and beaches, enforcement of existing rules around e.g. fouling and FFS no to dogs in restaurants. If it becomes more difficult to have a dog then only really committed owners will want one. Would be a bit shit for some existing dogs in the short term but something has to be done to reduce levels of ownership longer term because it’s got out of control

Totally agree with this well. Dogs should not, for example, be taken to offices (unless you work for a dog charity!)

I would be in favour of a license, but not one you can just buy - that seems pointless and doesn’t address the real problem - which is poor owners not knowing or bothering to train their dogs. So I would be in favour of licenses being mandatory but linked to some sort of ownership course prior to getting the dog. I don’t think that is too much to ask before getting an animal that has the potential to cause injury or worse to people and damage property.

You could go further and say dog training classes (either as a puppy or for adult dogs) also be linked into it - so you do a pre-owner course, get a temp license, then when you get the dog you have 12 months to enrol and attend some sort of dog training class. On completion you’d get a ‘certificate of completion’ and your license is made full.

That’s a whole other level of complexity though as would present many other issues - who checks you’ve enrolled in training and attended? What happens if you don’t and what happens to the dog?

Yes to dog licences. Plenty of other countries have them.

We have killing after killing here, and no official records of bites being kept. We owe it to every victim to put in place a system that flags up problem animals.

A and E deal with a quarter of a million dog bites a year in the UK

I had no idea it was that many. That is shocking.

bull breeds should be banned. I bet this will be an "XL bully" or something.

It would make more sense to have a no dog off leash in public rule unless in designated well fenced dog fields where they can run around to their hearts content

I agree with this too. I am surprised in my local area that dogs don't have to be on short leads during the bird nesting season, for example as we have a nature reserve and protected nature areas nearby.

But again, how do you enforce it?

@Rosehip10

bull breeds should be banned. I bet this will be an "XL bully" or something.

Nope, bad dog owners should be banned. Don’t blame the breed, blame the owner.

How I feel for the family of this little boy in Wales and just couldn't see how a dog licence would have stopped it happening as the dogs owner let it have the freedom of the house it has been reported that the dog was a problem in the area so common sense would have made the owner put the dog well away from any visitors.
There are going to be lots of abandoned dogs in the near future as people who bought them through lockdown and are now returning to work and not able to care for them properly,its such a shame for the animal.
I hope the wrath of the law comes down heavily on the owner for keeping such a dog, we are hearing of reports like this far too often .

bull breeds should be banned. I bet this will be an "XL bully" or something.

Bull breeds have a bad reputation because they are so often owned by people who don't treat them very well, they actually want the dog to become aggressive. Dogs DO NOT need to be dominated to be trained. If you ban these breeds the same type of people will just pick another breed to abuse and make aggressive. People are the problem, not dogs.

I live in another country where there is a dog tax and everyone dog owner has to attend a course about caring for a dog, dog behaviour etc. There isn't an exam at the end of the course but attendance is compulsory.
For "dangerous dogs" there are extra requirements such as a specific additional course. The dog also has to pass a social behaviour test.

I really do think something like that should be introduced in the UK too.

I'd like to see some of the larger, more statistically dangerous breeds/crossbreeds banned and phased out (unless a person can prove a need to own that breed and be licenced). Not because I dislike dogs or dislike any breeds. I have three dogs. But because it does tend to be similar breeds that cause the most serious damage most often, and there are so many other less risky, less potentially dangerous breeds to choose from that not having the statistically worse breeds isn't really a huge deprevation of liberty for anyone. It just seems sensible.
Not many people NEED a bull breed or a rottie or mastiff with incredible biting force or any breed bred for extreme guarding or taking down large prey. A poodle, or a sheltie or any one of a hundred other breeds can give the same companionship, and will cause way less damage even if they do become aggressive.

I think as a minimum starting point banned breeds should be banned breeds. It's a certain type that is generally responsible for killing/ attacking children/ adtults/ other dogs.

I can't understand how if pit bulls and their cross breeds are banned that they are still wondering around in growing numbers. This ruling should be enforced. Owners/ breeders should be very heavily fined.

The dogs should be confiscated and put down - yes a bit unfortunate for all those pit bulls who wouldn't hurt a fly / the perfect family pet but it needs to be done.

Make owners properly responsible for their dogs. Enforce huge fines for any dog off its lead. Jail sentences for dog attacks

A and E deal with a quarter of a million dog bites a year in the UK.

This is true but it is important to understand how that statistic breaks down.

www.doglistener.tv/2016/08/breed-most-likely-to-bite/

Over 4,100 people were admitted for a dog bite
70% of bites where to children aged under 10 years
Boys aged between 5 to 9 years were most likely to be bitten
Bites often occurred when the human attempted contact or to take something off the dog as it ate – or – was in possession of an item
Children are typically bitten in the head & neck area
A high percentage of these bites are on the child’s cheeks and / or lips
Most bites were from the family dog, where there was no history of biting

Which would bring me back to my earlier point about never leaving dogs and children together unsupervised.

@FOJN

bull breeds should be banned. I bet this will be an "XL bully" or something.

Bull breeds have a bad reputation because they are so often owned by people who don't treat them very well, they actually want the dog to become aggressive. Dogs DO NOT need to be dominated to be trained. If you ban these breeds the same type of people will just pick another breed to abuse and make aggressive. People are the problem, not dogs.

Agree with this. People are always the problem however revving up a spaniel or even a vicious little terrier will not cause the same devastation as a bull breed.