What sort of things would you like to see in a dog ownership test?

Hi The DDA is being approved,and in the UK will be giving more power to police and all rescues,my only reservation is are we going down the same route as the U.S.A with dog police carrying guns,and basically having the same powers as the police crystalgirl

Well I only know how it is in Switzerland, and the political and legal system there is quite different from here.
They've got a theory course and then practical sessions where people learn about the needs of dogs, behaviour, feeding, encounters between dogs and humans etc.
Of course there are those who will attend the course and then ignore what they teach. But that same thing can be said for driving, carrying guns in certain countries etc. basically anything that is legislated and that can cause harm.

To be fair though the animal welfare laws in Switzerland are quite a lot stricter than in the UK so perhaps it was easier to bring such a new legislation in.

Anyways, I'm just voicing my opinions. If I'm honest I'm just a bit scared that there are going to be more breed specific legislations.. and as I'm just getting a staffie I'm sure if that was to happen we'd be affected..


@Shane: Yes, thanks I do find it hard to detect sarcasm in writing a lot of the time.

Do you know the type of things they include in Switzerland in respect of the specifics of each of the items listed?

Honestly interested because I know how wide and varied views are on all of them and wondered what they'd settled on as being the 'correct' way of doing things

Also wondering if they have to resit the test for every dog they get and if they get dogs in the future after their present ones pass?

Are the penalties more severe in Switzerland in respect of welfare and attacks?

I wonder if incidents have decreased since they introduced the test.

I'm sure we'd all love to see something that would decrease the number of incidents we see - we all sing from the same hymn sheet on that one - but I just can't see a 'dog ownership test' doing it

http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/...gepri/pet.html

I'm not too sure about the penalties and whether they're more or less severe than here. But the law is stricter when it comes to protecting dogs, for example prong collars are completely forbidden.

In terms of the courses: The theory test you only have to take once, but you have to do the practicals with every dog you get.
The practical lessons are provided by private but government approved dog training clubs and schools.

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multimed...ml?cid=9120706

It's hard to tell how well it works though, there are also lists of 'dangeous' breeds that vary from canton to canton. And depending on the breed they are prohibited or merely have to be registered.
It's all very complicated. Apparently, in Zurich, dog bites have risen by 10% but Pit Bulls representation has decreased by about half.
So I'm not sure how much of a difference such a legislation would make for serious dog bites. But I do believe it would improve a lot of dogs' lives because I don't think most people willingly want to torture or neglect their dogs, but do so out of ignorance and not knowing how to treat dogs. It's easy to say that they should do their own research but unfortunately that's not how it works in this world and I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate the advice they'd get if they had to do a course.

As I said before, when it comes to problems that seem to affect a great number of people it's not easy to find a solution and the right way normally takes a long time, especially if it's been a certain way for centuries.

It's not sarcasm, it's a light hearted joke.

Thank you for the links.

Agree the DDA should be abolished,it has done nothing to protect the public from dangerous dogs.
Breed bans don't work,proven time and time again.
A breed is not important when dealing with a fatal attack,what lead up to the attack is,circumstances surrounding it,was the dog a guard dog,neutered,socialised properly,trained correctly etc.

There are no dangerous breeds,only irresponsible,dangerous owners and breeders.

It's time to make owner's accountable for there dogs actions regardless of the breed,it's time to hand out harsh sentences of manslaughter/murder in cases where dogs kill children & people.

A dog is only as dangerous as the owner allows it to be.

I read on the BBC website today that since 2007 and I'm sure it said 6 people have been killed by dogs since 2007 - 6 years. 5 children and one adult. Too many that's for sure.

I wonder how many children and adults have been killed by humans - humans remain the most dangerous animal. When I'm out and about I am far more scared of humans than their dogs.