I totally agree about the breeders, there needs to be far more strict regulation on breeders...To many breeders churning out dogs for the wrong reasons to the wrong sort of people is where it begins.

I feel that trying to do too much in one go will cause a massive back lash resulting in nothing being done.
It needs to be done slowly. The simplest and cheapest option is that every dog needs to be permenantly identified. Give people 6 mths to comply but for puppies they need to be done BEFORE they leave the breeder with immediate effect, so basically every puppy purchased after a certain date has to be done.
By law the owner has to transfer the dog into their name within a month of purchase (this allows for returnees) and if the details are found not to be up to date then huge fines etc.
Then we can tackle the other issues, however, I think banning the sale of puppies by third parties will drastically help with the numbers being bred.
Becky

The main thing to do as far as I can see is to make the owners of the dogs involved in the attacks legally responsible for their dogs behaviour. They should then pay the penalty for their part in the attack. We give 15 years for murder don't we? whether it happens in the home or in the street, a crime has been committed and the perpertraitor should be charged with the death of the child concerned. I have no problem taking responsibility for my dog so why should this guy be any different.

I had a really good think about this last night..I would scrap licencing dogs, how about the owners being licenced to own a dog on completion of a dog ownership test, don't pass the test, you don't get the licence, you don't keep your dog..simple!

Yep, be it like the driving test...you have a theory and a practical!

So what you are saying is that people who may not be very intelligent or have problems with 'tests' but may well be a good owner will simply have their dog taken away from them? Where would all these dogs go? One way trip to the vet probably.
Becky

Which is largly ignored by the type of people who keep "dangerous dogs"

Hate to sound like a broken record here but the only people who would be affected by new laws and tests etc are those who are already responsible. We have laws already... we need to have police and wardens on the streets being seen to use em.. simple as that.

I agree 100% Ian, this is my post that I have already written in reply to this thread.

I do also agree to licencing to a certain extent though, but you cant beat dog wardens on patrol.

I still think licencing the owners would be a better idea - what about those of us that live in multiple dog households..? It makes more sense to me to licence the owner for them to prove they are capable of handling every dog they own..Just a thought

Problem is that our government has gone soft.. criminals get away with all sorts because officials are tip toeing around criminals "human rights".
They took discipline out of schools and now kids are growing up with no respect for any kind of authority. This whole thing runs far deeper than ownership of dogs and any new laws, licensing or other measures, although great ideas in principle, will only effect those who are already law abiding and responsible. My humble opinion only.