Moving to Uk - can I bring my dog?

[OutOfControlSpirals]

I'm contemplating moving to the UK in a few years. My dog is a boxer x staffy at a guess, would I have to get her DNA tested to get her in? I've been told staffs and pitbulls are on the banned list in the U.K, but I'm hoping the boxer in her would mean she gets in. Does anyone know the legal ins and outs of getting staffy x's into the UK?

Staffs aren't banned here? My dad has a pure staff. American Pit Bulls are banned. Check the dangerous dogs act x

Regarding the banned breeds, it is not DNA tested. It is tested on how the dog looks (don't get me started on how unfair that is). If she looks like a staffy x she is legal as that breed is allowed. If she looks like a pitbull she is not because pits are a banned breed.

Personally, provided she doesn't look like a pit I would just be declaring her as a boxer x staffy (as you have above).

More details on the process for importing dogs are here:

www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad

Staffies are absolutely everywhere here. Pit bulls are banned - and as PP said, it's done on "type" - basically how it looks. Unfortunately some dogs that are staffy crosses are deemed to be pit bull type dogs.

There's a bit of info here on how it's decided if they are a pit bull type ddawatch.co.uk/DDA_Detail_and_practice.html

She's not the little cute looking staff, she's thrown to the boxer side in size, but is still a tank of a staff, with the boxer head. I read about the American Pitbull being banned, but as its not an actual breed, it seems they decide based on the dogs measurements? Which seems to be a bit of a gamble, hence why I was wondering if getting her DNA tested would ensure her a safe entry. They couldn't refuse her based on her measurements if we had proof of boxer in her, surely?

“They couldn't refuse her based on her measurements if we had proof of boxer in her, surely?”

Yes they can... what breed she actually is is completely irrelevant, it’s all about how they look.

If she’s got a boxer face, you ‘should’ be ok... but, it really does depend what she looks like.

Can you get somebody to certify the dog as non-pitbull type where you are? In case there's any doubt at all. Maybe a vet could do the measurement/type checks and sign off. Clearance into the uk is all about rigourous documentstion to avoid quarantine. Don't leave space for any doubt!! Good luck

Our vet is from the U.K, ran a successful ver clinic over there. He adores our girls, so hopefully he can help us get her certified. I'll be gutted if she can't come with us.

It’ll make no difference, honestly, there’s nothing you can do to prove a dog isn’t a pit bull type because type isn’t a breed.

Thats awful :-(

Your vet could tell you if he thought she met the "type". However, the decision on whether or not the dog actually is a pit bull type wouldn't lie with your vet - it would lie with an assessor in the UK - I believe it's the Dog Legislation Officer who makes the decisions.

The standard used to identify a PBT is set out in the American Dog Breeders Association standard of
conformation as published in the Pit Bull Gazette, vol 1, issue 3 1977 – please refer to this for the full
description and also relevant cases20 as this is only a brief overview. Although the law does not require
a suspected PBT to fit the description perfectly, it does require there to be a substantial number of
characteristics present so that it can be considered ‘more’ PBT than any other type of dog.
• When first viewing the dog it should appear square from the side, and its height to the top of
its shoulders should be the same distance as from the front of its shoulder to the rear point of
its hip.
• Its height to weight ratio should be in proportion.
• Its coat should be short and bristled, (single coated).
• Its head should appear to be wedge shaped when viewed from the side and top but rounded
when viewed from the front. The head should be around 2/3 width of shoulders and 25 per
cent wider at cheeks than at the base of the skull (this is due to the cheek muscles).
• The distance from the back of the head to between the eyes should be about equal to the
distance from between the eyes to the tip of its nose.
• The dog should have a good depth from the top of head to bottom of jaw and a straight
box-like muzzle.
• Its eyes should be small and deep-set, triangular when viewed from the side and elliptical
from front.
• Its shoulders should be wider than the rib cage at the eighth rib.
• Its elbows should be flat with its front legs running parallel to the spine.
• Its forelegs should be heavy and solid and nearly twice the thickness of the hind legs just below
the hock.
• The rib cage should be deep and spring straight out from the spine, it should be elliptical in
cross section tapering at the bottom and not ‘barrel’ chested.
• It should have a tail that hangs down like an old fashioned ‘pump handle’ to around the hock.
• It should have a broad hip that allows good attachment of muscles in the hindquarters and
hind legs.
• Its knee joint should be in the upper third of the dog’s rear leg, and the bones below that
should appear light, fine and springy.
• Overall the dog should have an athletic appearance, the standard makes no mention of ears,
colour, height, or weight.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69263/dogs-guide-enforcers.pdf

To a certain extent all of this is worst case scenario - there are plenty of happy staffy and staffy cross owners in the UK. However, I don't think you could 100% be certain until after she was in the UK.

It IS awful and the cause of much heartbreak and frustration for those that own lovely dogs who just happen to look like a pit (or any of the other breeds) while breeds like Bully Kuttas are legal. Not that I want to see any breed banned outright because that's not any kind of answer to dog aggression. It just highlights the hypocrisy of it all.

As an aside, it is also why new laws ought to be properly considered and debated by parliament instead of rushed through as a knee-jerk to tabloid stories.

Show us a pic then.....

“As an aside, it is also why new laws ought to be properly considered and debated by parliament instead of rushed through as a knee-jerk to tabloid stories.”

Absolutely - it’s a stupid law anyway, the answer to problem behaviours lies with legislating breeders and owners, not breeds, but, even if you believe there are dangerous breeds...

Breed traits definitely can’t be inherited by looking a bit like a breed they’re not, it doesn’t even make sense.

My mum's dog had no issues being brought to the UK, she is the size/body of a boxer and the face a bit like a staffy/great Dane mix. We've since had her genetics tested and found out she's mix between Great dane, alsation (can't see this in her at all??lol), American bulldog, bull terrier & bull mastiff so a proper mongrel Interestingly she is legally registered as a staffy cross even though she has 0 staffy in her