Category: Dogs In The Media

Taking A Lead

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Take The Lead

East London council Tower Hamlets is proposing that dogs should be on lead at all times  in all areas of the borough. The council has reacted to what they identify as “a recent spate of high-profile incidents involving out of control nuisance dogs and their owners”, further stating that “Many residents are nervous about the presence of large and intimidating-looking dogs in the borough’s parks and green spaces.”

It is certainly true that the number of fatal dog attacks has increased hugely, particularly in the last three years, but such incidents are still incredibly rare. Non-fatal incidents are poorly and consistently recorded and are probably under-reported so are difficult to assess. An FOI request made by the BBC resulted in those police forces that responded (in England and Wales) recorded 30,539 offences of an out-of-control dog causing injury to a person or guide dog in 2023. This represents a 21% increase from those recorded in 2022. Whilst this is concerning, knee jerk reactions that restrict all dogs and punish responsible owners is never gong be the answer. The very fact that there has been an increase in incidents proves that the prohibitions of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 are an abject failure.

The key to the problem in both the DDA and this proposed PSPO lies in the phrase “intimidating-looking dogs”. No doubt some sections of society purchase dogs precisely because they are perceived as being intimidating, either because they wish to intimidate or they wish to repel others who may be perceived as a danger, much in the same way that people claim to carry knives and guns for their own protection. Again, a  10st XL Bully is going to be more of a problem than a 10kg dog but a bite from the smaller dog is still capable of causing significant injury and, in the unlikely event that a major artery were severed, could also potentially prove fatal. Of course, any puncture wound provides a potential for fatal infection too.

Focusing on what dogs look like rather than how they are behaving and the emotional signals that they provide will led to yet more restrictions and yet more failure. Restriction of off lead exercise also has the potential to cause more incidents as dogs and humans become frustrated. Blanket restrictions hugely disadvantage time and resource poor owners who may not be able to travel out of borough to let their dog off lead on a regular basis.

The council run consultation closed in November and, in addition to the official responses, has engendered a wave of protest from locals and the wider dog community. Cash-strapped councils lack the resources to police such impositions and the cynical may feel that fixed penalty notices of £100 per violation may be a revenue raising venture. Un-policed legislation merely increases the ability of irresponsible owners who have no intention of complying with regulations and laws that they have caret blanche to behave as they want whilst compliant owners are forced to restrict their dogs for no reason.

Both owners and the council require education in dog behaviour because even dog wardens and Dog Legislation Officers are not behaviourists and may not have a full understanding of the consequences of draconian bans.

The root of the solution, as ever, lies in education and training using positive reinforcement techniques.

Time for the enlightened to take the lead.

Justice Is Seen To Be Done

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Justice is seen to be done Last week a Leeds bailiff lost a case for unfair dismissal. She had claimed that having her dog in the car helped to calm her anxiety in a stressful job. She also claimed that her previous health problems were a contributory factor.

Her employers were alerted to the presence of the dog in her car and had concerns for the welfare and security of the dog so refused permission (which she had not sought) for the dog to be present while she was working. She resigned and then claimed unfair dismissal.

No doubt being a bailiff is a very stressful job at times. However, if Deborah Cullingford’s prior health problems were continuing to affect her ability to do her job, that should be addressed in and of itself.

It has been too common of late for humans to claim that dogs (and other animals) are some sort of repository and indeed solution for mental health difficulties. Whilst dogs have been used successfully to calm people in court, help anxious students and visit a variety of places as “therapy” dogs, they are rightly not recognised in the UK in the same way as an assistance dog which is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

The assumption is that, just by being a dog (or peacock, pig, boa constrictor, pony et alia) comfort will radiate all round. Not only is that not true, the primary consideration should be for the animal. Who asks how the animal is feeling when taken into situations that are unsuitable? It even resulted in a woman flushing her live hamster down an airline toilet when she was refused permission to fly with it. The level of abuse led to the US designating dogs as the only species acceptable on airlines as an “emotional support” animal. With PTSD for instance, it has been posited that having a dog as a “support” can inhibit recovery.

Perhaps Deborah Cullingford genuinely felt that her dog was a comfort. Perhaps she couldn’t or wouldn’t find an alternative carer for her dog while she was at work. Maybe both were true.

Dogs can have an important rôle to play in helping humans with health conditions but it is essential that we do not go down the same road as the US and Canada for the sake of the animal but also, ultimately for the person. Access for dogs is important too but not all dogs are suitable in the workplace and it is certainly not a good idea for a dog to be left in a car all day.

Dog Days Of A Dying Government

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Dog days pf a dying government As the remnants of the outgoing government struggle to accrue support ahead of next month’s general election, they have ditched the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill (farmers don’t pull in enough potential votes) in favour of the populist Pet Abduction Act.

Of course, both would be preferable.

The Kept Animals Bill was abandoned a year ago with the promise that individual legislation would be passed to cover its remit that could have protected billions of animals. That was after huge amounts of promises were broken with the abandonment of much of the 2021 Action Plan for Animal Welfare.

Companion animal abduction is rife and devastating for those affected. But then again, so it the harm caused to livestock by dogs. Perhaps we could have had both had the government not wasted so much time on yet more knee-jerk and totally ineffective legislation banning XL bullies.

Of course, livestock attacks and much theft are preventable with responsible ownership, including proper training and not leaving dogs unattended or with poor recall.

 

Carried Away

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Carried away I freely confess that I am somewhat depressed by electric cars. As a child, I had assumed that Concorde would have been the norm by the time that I became an adult and I never imagined that we would all be encouraged to drive round in milk floats, let alone be actually encouraged to regress to riding bicycles.

However, I do have to admire the latest offering from Korean car manufacturer Genesis (me neither), the X Dog concept  – for its fixtures and fittings rather than its engine. OK, so, even though I am a non-driver, my first consideration would be the engine but maybe other car manufacturers will realise the economic power of the dog owner market and bring out something similar. There is some evidence to suggest that dogs can be more settled and suffer less travel distress in EVs.

Basically, the hatchback is fitted with a box on top of which is a bed and heated dog cushion. It includes a built-in shower (attached to a 1.3 gallon, pressurised tank), dog-suitable hairdryer, pull-out ramp and storage compartments including 230V plug sockets. A leather collar and safety harness enable you to secure your dog to a secure anchor point while on the move. 

Pretty cool huh?

My other car is a fly fishing Bentley.

(I wish)

 

They’ve Done It Again

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They've Done It Again They’ve done it again – or should that be they are still doing it?

The French bulldog selected as best in the utility group was disgraceful. Severely brachycephalic, it bears no resemblance to the UKKC’s own updated breed standard.

As ever, UKKC breeders are responding to complaints by asserting that licensed breeders are responsible and it is the unlicensed breeders who are not. The UKKC has graded this dog as not having a problem because it has not been diagnosed with BOAS. They are tragically blind to the dog’s failings – and that of many others in the showing – because they have normalised the deformities. When they do, so do owners who, as studies have found expect their dogs to snort and snuffle and even take their regular collapse to be normal.

It’s not just confined to bull breeds: compare the German and Swiss shepherds in the Pastoral line up this year. I was too dispirited to even look at the other horrors that I know were perpetrated.

We have to keep chipping away at this, supporting campaigns for better welfare and fighting to stop people breeding and buying disfigured dogs. But first, they have to recognise that they are.

I’m biased, but thank goodness an Aussie won BIS. There’s hope yet.

Dog Theft On The Rise – Again

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Dog Theft On The Rise - AgainThe insurer Direct Line has undertaken a survey into dog theft and found that 2,290 dogs were reported as being stolen in the UK in 2023, representing a 6% increase on figures from 2022.

Only 16% were returned which is the lowest success rate in the 9 years since Direct Line have been publishing their survey.

Bull breeds top the list currently, with the trade in stolen dogs being brisk in XL Bullies since the ban was implemented. As expected, implementing a ban has done nothing to deter the criminal fraternity from breeding and selling XL bullies to bolster their activities. Prior to the ban, XL Bullies were not being reported as being stolen, but 37 dogs went missing last year. The decrease in returning dogs to their owners is an alarming 36% since last year.

Most dogs (359) were stolen in London with Kent (138) and West Yorkshire (125) police authorities second and third.  Not all constabularies responded so the figures are likely to be an under estimate and only represent the thefts that were reported.

In spite of this, many owners do not have the legally required tag on their dog when out – indeed, many do not even have a collar. The laws requiring dogs to be on lead when on a road are routinely broken and it is still common to see dogs tied up outside shops and cafés. Even in parks, many owners pay more attention to their mobile telephones and children or other people than their dogs.

Next time it could be you.

For the sake of your dog, pay attention at all times when out, don’t ever leave your dog unattended – and that includes in gardens – and get some training so that your recall is reliable.

Thanks a bunch Scotland

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Thanks a bunch Scotland Yet more bad news for those of us who care about canine welfare and want to find effective solutions to problems caused by a variety of dogs and a variety of owners.

The fact that Scotland is implementing a ban on XL Bullies is another blow to the effective management of dangerous situations involving dogs, although, understandably, the large influx of dogs is potentially problematic from he country. Replicating an ineffective and potentially dangerous measure is hardly the answer though.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said “…ultimately, although we do have a very good system of dog control notice schemes, and we do take the approach of deed not breed, we have to respond to the situation as it currently stands and therefore we will do what we need to do to ensure public safety.”

Well they patently do not “take the approach of deed not breed” otherwise the ban would not have been considered. Further, Community Safety Minister Siobhain Brown had warned that it is “important to ensure that Scotland does not become a safe haven or a dumping ground for XL Bully dogs from England and Wales”.

Why not a safe haven? Again, this assumes that there is no such thing as non-problematic XL Bully. Meanwhile there is still some leeway for kennels to register XL Bullies in their care as long as the intake was agreed by October 31st, 2023 and the dog was in their care by December 30th, 2023.

 

How Many Dogs Will Die In 3 Years?

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How Many Dogs Will Die In 3 Years? There’s good news and bad news for dogs in South Korea…The government has announced that it will ban the selling of dog meat in three year’s time.

The “grace” period is being deemed sufficient to allow existing businesses to transition to another trade.

Boshintang (dog meat stew) is a traditional delicacy but a 2023 Gallup poll found that just 8% of those polled admitted to having tried dog meat in the previous 12 months, a reduction from 27% in 2015. Fewer than a 20% of those polled said that they supported the consumption of the meat. Even allowing for a reluctance to admit to an unpopular practice, figures are low.

Once the new legislation is in place, convicted dog butchers will face up to three years in prison and anyone convicted of rearing dogs for meat two years. Details have yet to be announced of compensation for dog meat restaurants.

This is no doubt due to the spread of cultural change prompted by the spread of information globally and the rise in the keeping of dogs as companion animals. Whilst it is to be welcomed, it won’t help the dogs that will be butchered, perhaps under less than ideal conditions, over the next three years. However, it may act as an exemplar for other south Asian countries where the practice still continues.

Why Retractable Leads Should Never Be Used

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Why You Should Never Use Retractable Leads Retractable leads are a menace. At best, they teach dogs to pull. At worst your dog could end up like this – and this dog was lucky to be found.

The argument that they give handlers control was obviously not the case here as the dog went missing trailing the lead. It got caught in hedgerow and it was only by hiring a company with a drone that the dog was found. He was 10kg lighter and had been eating twigs.

Dogs and people can be tanged easily and, when combined with owners not paying attention to their dogs can cause serious injuries.

Dogs should either be on a short lead, on a long line or off lead if safe and under control. Good lead training is essential for dogs and handlers and means that there will never be a need for an extendable lead.

Banned!

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Banned!Stop Press! A judicial review of this decision was granted on April 24th, 2024: watch this space for news.

Meanwhile, there have been 8 fatalities already this year, 3 of which did not involve XL bullies. BSL restrictions neither prevented the deaths of the people or the dogs.

Well here we are, with thousands of owners finding that their dogs are now a banned breed…and here we are with goodness knows how many dogs being dumped, stranded in kennels and worse.

Owners of dogs too young to be neutered have some leeway but that has not prevented abuse. 4,000 dogs had been registered by mid-December, with just 2 weeks to go before the ban came into force. Estimates of the number of XL bullies varies widely but most sources cite many more than 4,000 and there is considerable doubt as to how many dogs may be pulled into the remit when they had not previously been regarded as being an XL Bully.

 

There is plenty of peer-reviewed evidence which shows that breed specific legislation in force across a wide range of jurisdictions does not work, but the current government are not interested in “following the science”. Neither are they interested in putting sufficient resources into tackling the real problems that underly the shocking rise in injuries and fatal dog attacks in the UK.

Needless to say, the fear is that dogs with no previous history of problem behaviour are far more likely to start developing problems if permanently restricted by this tragic and ineffective ban.

Meanwhile, vets, already under great pressure, are faced with impossible options. They are not the police, they are not obliged to euthanise a healthy dogs regardless of the £200 bounty put on the head of every XL Bully by the government. Many owners will not realise that they have to pay for euthanasia and then reclaim the fee; neither do they realise that this may not cover the full cost, including disposal. What are vets supposed to do if they get a request for euthanasia from someone who is not the registered owner?

A BVA Survey found that 90% of vets are owed money by clients and many treat animals without a realistic hope of being paid or provide large discounts on expensive treatments. Even where a debt could be chased, it may not be viable in terms of time and cost to do so.

This knee-jerk reaction that has been railroaded through by a failing government is only going to add to the pressure and result in far worse welfare for dogs. A grim start to 2024.