In my opinion the dogs behaviour is usually mirrored by the knucklehead that owns it. I would say its about 80% and possibly 20% down to the breeding and parent canines. The only way forward is to have canines licenced, insured and chipped. The big problem with this is the majority of the "risky" breeds are owned by your 19 year old pot smoking unemployed council house scrounging astra driver who "is well 'ard" as he takes little notice of any laws as it is.
I totally agree with Timberwolf's comments. Dogs are pack animals and they 'fit in' and adopt the characteristics of their pack leader, in most cases, that's their owners. If you treat an animal with love and kindness, that animal understands that that's the way to behave in their pack. If you treat it badly it will behave the same way.. to 'fit in' with the pack. I don't think there's an easy answer but from my experience of the dogs I've had, they just want to be like their owners. Don't blame the dogs, it's all down to bad owners.
Were are dog owners and pedigree dog breeders, I agree completely with He11cat, the owners take responsibility for how the dog behaves and is brought into society. We 'vet' potential new owners, check the environment, who will look after them and how they will b trained etc. A lot of folk treat the dogs more like kids. In some breeds IMO this is not a problem, but in bigger more powerful dogs, this leads to unpredictable behavior and unexpected aggression. It saddens us when you read this kind of tragedy in the press, mainly as its completely avoidable.
The RSPCA does vet potential owners before they release any dog from their care. We were cross examined about previous dog ownership, how we intended to care for the puppy we wanted, then there was a home visit to see the conditions the dog would live in, the garden was checked for any real, or potential, dangers and only once we'd passed the vetting process, were we cleared to have the dog released to us. Judging by the significant number of cowering Staffs at the very back corner of their cages as well as other, 'tough-nut' breeds, there are some very badly abused creatures that have clearly been subjected to dreadful levels of violence by the inadequates who eventually give up and abandon their 'creations' for someone else to sort out. Another indicator of the malaise in dog ownership is seen in the fact that at only just over 3 months old, our pup had to be spayed before release because the RSPCA's experience is that too many people will want to take a pure bred dog with the single intent to breed them to a standstill, then abandon them when they're no good for breeding any more. Our pup's cage was kept padlocked because the RSPCA have had many experiences of pure breeds being stolen from the dogs' home as a result of being spotted by a gang member who then gets his pals and they 'steam' through taking 2 or 3 fancied dogs, either for fighting, breeding or posing - never simply to give them a good home. Sad innit......
that is why i think they should ban those shops where you can buy a stafford or whatever other dog for 200-300€ do you think that those guys who want a dog just for there status and scare people off pay 1300€-1500€ for a dog. i don't think they can affort that. i know there will always be cheap dogs around from people how breed them for example at home whitout pedigree. i not all of them do a bad job,but i think you have to start somewhere. henk!!!
How many dogs are in the UK? How cold you govern control of all of them? Enforecement of complulsorytraining? Make dogs the choice of rich peolpe only...what of those homeless who cherish their pooch or the old lady who talks to no one but Rocky? Maybe the govt can use this as an economy booster: employ a million more public sector workers to monitor, train, chip and remove dogs from unsuitable homes...
A licence could be £20 a year with the proceeds going into enforcement, pensioners etc exempt. I can't remember exactly how much micro chipping was but I think most rehoming outfits chip the dogs free. If you can afford a pooch and afford to feed it then £20 per annum should be within reach. The owning of a dog as a weapon become much more of an issue when the government introduced the 5 year sentence for the carrying of a blade in a public place, something else which has not been enforced as such. Staffies/pitbulls are the weapon of choice for the majority of drug dealers. If it were possible, some of these brain donors would have nile crocodiles on leads! I do not know anything about the owner of the five dogs that killed the girl in the news but I could have a good guess.
Once again people ( and especially the tabloid media ) are searching for a "one size fits all" answer, and the government is desperate to be seen to be doing something - anything, doesn't matter if it's the right thing as long as they can say they have acted. Sadly there ARE certain breeds that are more inclinded towards violent outbursts than others. Unfortunately they tend to be owned by humans who are equally inclinded. Dogs need a certain amount of training and control, some more than others. BUT new rules, more restrictions etc will make NO difference what-so-ever to situations like this, because the rules that already exist are being totally ignored by the half-wit brain donors... There is no simple answer... I am a dog lover. Have I ever been bitten? Yes, I have... Was it my fault? Quite probably... But anyone who make broad sweeping statements about "all dogs do..." or "any dog will..." does not understand dogs. Understandable as this sort of statement is, it is basically paranoia. All dogs are different, just as all people are different. Do I trust every dog I meet? No... ( The vast majority, but not all ) But then I don't trust every person I meet either...
Oldham News | News Headlines | Danger dog put down after attack on child - Chronicle Online Oldham News | News Headlines | Dog-attack victim scarred for life - Chronicle Online Oldham News | News Headlines | Man jailed for breach of pet ban - Chronicle Online Oldham News | News Headlines | Ban as dog fight charges dropped - Chronicle Online Oldham News | News Headlines | Pair banned from keeping dogs - Chronicle Online Just a few links after typing "staffordshire" into our local rag search engine. Its shameful. This isn't a pop at the breed, its a reflection on the idiots who are drawn to owning them.
Setting up a legal licensing system (for anything, not just dogs), administering it, processing payments, maintaining a database, handling exemptions, etc would cost £20 per year per head anyway. So there wouldn't be any "proceeds" - sorry.
In the last month my Staffy has been attacked twice whilst on the lead, by a loose black lab,( whose owner was 200 yards away out of sight), and by a pair of schitz tzu's, also not on the lead and whose owners were exercising them in the local park. It's so sad that staffies get the headlines. On the tragic Wigan case, you do question why someone would want five powerful dogs in what looked like a small town house.
The problem here stems from Chavs Breeding their mates " well hard Staff " with their mates well hard staff , Dogue , mastiff .. Goading the pups ...... As I see them doing by my work Selling the pups via gumtree or round the back of flats." Then realising how much hard work they are .. And what a tie they are .l How much they cost to feed ... Then they dump then . The reason those Wigan dogs where together ... Status dogs, Bet my last pound on it. I had to go in pets at home the other day. The first thing I saw was dog toys and accessories ....... All in the style of baby toys and in boy and girl pastel colours A dog is happiest being a dog doing stuff .. Not being dressed up , and pushed about in a " dog stroller" No wonder dogs snap.. They are not toys , not dolls to dress up.. The are a intelligent animal. Let them know where their place is in the human pack . Treat them with respect and love and you will have a happy friendly loving friend for its life time. Granted you do get a rogue animal once in a while but on the whole most dogs are not bad it's the owner.
As he11cat says, council estate/status symbol/10 year old astra and probably a weed chuffer with a shaved head. Pete1950, i understand what you are saying but there are a reported minimum 8 million dogs in the UK. If the costs were more than the licence fee then the tax payer will no doubt pick up the tab as we usually do.
we have had our Alsatian for 12 years, hes been fine with the kids, soft as putty, goes nuts if someones knocking at the door, we have decided no more dogs after him, just keeping the cats now , i have friends with some staffies, and i have to say, they scare the crap out of me .
We used to have to have a dog license ? its a shame that you couldn't enforce something like you could only buy a dog from a reg breeder and you had to attend puppy socialisation and obedience classes. Sadly your always going to get these dam puppy farms. I can't believe someone would hand over a puppy in some little chef carpark
My point was that the £20 you suggested is too small a figure to be feasible but £40 or £50 would be more realistic. There is no way the government would spend money or parliament would vote money for this purpose - it would have to be self-supporting financially or it wouldn't happen.
At least that. Of the 8 million dogs, how many realisticallly will pay up? How will you make them? Who will police those that dont? Would need to chnage from breeding point. Make them licensed, any illegal breeding = destroy the animal. All animals must have a chip as part of the licensing process, which must be able to be tracked by satellite so any and all can be tracked easily by a special force set up to police dogs and their owners. erm...sounds a little Orwellien to me
My staff has never gone for another dog, the other dog has always gone for her. I do hate dogs walked off the lead. I don't care how well tainted you think your animal is, if it wants to do something it will. In Wiltshire I believe it is against the council by-laws or whatever to walk a dog off the lead. if a dog being walked off the lead went for my dog and came off worse the owner better stand by. It's them who've lost control of their animal, not me!
Does it? There are systems for keeping track of horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and zoo animals - and there are about 30 million of those. Also systems for keeping track of cars, bikes, ships, planes and trains - another 30 million. Admittedly the systems are far from perfect but they are improving. Why should dogs be an exception? Doesn't seem Orwellian to me.
