Seems like another new ridiculous law - dogs are territorial, a large percentage of them will bark or growl at strangers near their gardens.
And presumably the "powers that be" will then produce a list of "undesirable" dogs from the statistics collected and breeds like Miniature Schnauzers, who are notorious barkers, will get labelled as dogs to steer clear of! If you walk down any residential street anywhere in Hungary the dogs will rush to the gate and bark and growl at you as you walk past but everyone accepts and expects a dog to do exactly that, so no one complains or thinks twice about it.
Love that the law promotes the myth, spay and neutering will correct aggression, when any actual study in the last 15 years will say the direct opposite, that it is a conditioned respond, that must be fixed through training. I can understand the need for better laws with people having aggressive dogs in public, and with postal workers. Personal property wise, I don't see the need if the dog is securely behind a fence, and there is no harm that could come to a by standard outside that fence. ( Noise problems in apartments and in crowded city living I would see more as a noise ordinance matter than a Dangerous Dog matter). As far as overzealous enforcement, who are they joking? There are always those that try to abuse any new law. My biggest thing is when are they going to toughen laws for people who provoke dogs.
Another case of a law being made before doing enough research. For many dogs growling is just part of their vocabulary like whining. I used to have a shepard who would growl and bar her teeth when she was excited or when I told her to smile. She was a lovely dog who never had a thought to hurt anyone. The only dangerous thing about her was that darn tail wiping everything off the coffee table. But it dusted it nicely, too.
Another useless piece of legislation that I can’t see working, If they enforced the existing laws there would be no need for new ones. More should be done to tackle the root of the problem,. Breeding should be better regulated. Stop Puppy Farms and BYB, too many dogs are being bred by those who see it as an easy way to make money. The day will come when every dog will be forced to be muzzled, can never be off lead in public .
This is part of an interesting article by ex-MP Roy Hattersley which I think is well worth reading in full. Full article and photographs [including the infamous Alamy stock photo of the sneezing Staffie ] here... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tening-2-500-fines-written-George-Orwell.html It is positively scary the way things appear to be going - soon it might well be an offense to cough or sneeze outside one's own home.
Agree, some sitting behind a desk with no knowledge of dogs must have come up with this harebrained legalization
Well said,! What could have been a simple solution has turned into a bloody mine field, complicated and could have severe consequences for innocent dogs that display natural behaviour. As for attending training classes that’s all well and good if you can find one, add to that there are some dubious trainers who could end up making a dog worse. Given that a microchip is not proof of ownership, the option to require someone to microchip under an injunction seems a bit pointless. A large percent of these so called dangerous dog owners will be on benefits and will never pay a penny never mind £20k I wonder also if it will have a knock on effect on rescue dogs especially those that are dog aggressive, will prospective owners be willing to take the chance in adopting them.
