Dog owners wake up.

The new proposal to charge £60 for a competence test before you can own a dog is an excellent example of more useless state interference.

It is simply a case of another curtailment on our civil liberties for no good reason at all.

Once again we have a knee-jerk reaction by MPs - who I believe have too little to do of any consequence since Europe makes the big decisions - following an isolated incident involving Johnny Scumbag and his devil dog.

Twenty years ago the poorly thought out Dangerous Dogs Act was rushed through in the same way.

Like the Foxhunting Ban, if this does become law, who is going to ensure people obey it?

It may be an excuse I suppose for another round of made-up-jobs with the councils (Dog Licence Enforcement Officers wanted, £25,000 a year, recruitment section, The Guardian), but surely it is time people made a stand.

Dogs are occasionally unpredictable and undoubtedly a few are vicious mutts and should never be allowed out of a cage.

I do not own a dog nor do I have any wish to do so, however if you do, then that’s fine by me.

I don’t care whether it’s for companionship or because a dog is the only thing that shows you love or simply that you were conned by your kids and now you have to take it walking in the rain – if you want a dog, get on with it.

So long as you ensure it does not inconvenience me, you like everybody else should be free to do as you wish.

And that should apply to so many things in Britain: live and let live. Unfortunately we seem increasingly unable to apply that.

I genuinely want our government to ensure that enough time and money is spent minimising the risk of foreigners carrying out terrorist atrocities in the name of their god.

But there should be no place in this once genuinely free country of ours for busybodies and the self righteous to impose their view of right and wrong to everyday life with stupid laws and regulations.

I can write, a little smugly, since I warned dog owners a few years ago that they were set to be the next social group that would be picked on and marginalised.

Then the issue was smokers who were under threat of having their civil rights abused by law. Now they are well and truly confined in damp corners outside the workplace and even in their own homes there is the threat there will be a law to stop them.

Smokers were and remain an easy target for lazy politicians who like to think they are making the difference.

(Alcohol, which is far more damaging to health and family life remains unregulated because there are just too many people who drink, so no politician, no matter how publicity hungry, is actually brave enough to upset them.)

But they are always on the lookout for minority targets that they personally despise and now dog owners are up there with the overweight as another easy group for action groups and politicians to pick on and bully.

So even if you hate dogs, despise foxhunters and object to smokers, do not think that if you let the latest ridiculous proposal become law that you are striking a blow for an improved quality of life for yourself.

It’s only a matter of time before a niggling new law is aimed squarely at you.

Help stop it now, look for politicians and council leaders who really do seek to educate and enlighten rather than keep issuing new rules.

Amendment March 17, 201: Labour has shelved plans to make all dog owners buy comprehensive insurance for their dogs, recognising it seems that responsible owners already take that responsiblity... and the law won't change the behaviour of the irresponsible minority.

I would agree with most of your comments but the hunting act is the odd one out.  You can decide whether you want to kill yourself slowly with cigarettes and alcohol because it is about personal choice and personal risk.  Pubs and restaurants should be able to allow smoking because non-smokers can choose to go only to non-smoking establishments. 

A fox, hare or deer can not choose whether to be hunted down and torn apart by hounds.  I'm not against humane forms of wildlife management but foxhunting in particular is about prolonging the suffering of the animal for the enjoyment of the riders.  Not to mention the practice of cubbing and the horrible process of 'digging out' with terriers.   Sadly, many of the riders never see the extreme cruelty or what goes on in the process of training the hounds.   Take a read of this story from a huntsman who later gained a conscience and then tell me you think foxhunting is some sort of human right . 

 

M. Hayworth

Campaign For Decency  

 

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Nobody wants to prevent lonely people having the companionship of a dog, and I am not blaming the majority of dogs. Let us not ignore the dangerous status dogs that are not kept on leads. One man's dog attacked a musician, leaving her badly injured. The same man/dog attacked a policeman, biting him 15 times.  Small children have been killed and maimed by family "pets" in their own homes.  So get a grip, dog fouling is not tripe, it is a public health hazard. In my road I see the same couples daily each with a dog, ie. figures claim that dog ownership has doubled in some areas. After stepping in dog excrement on my drive I have now positioned a hawthorn branch in that spot, but I also find bags containing pooperscoop contents stuck in my hedge. This week we parked and my husband got out of the car, stepping in dog muck on the pavement.  I like dogs but do not want the responsibility of keeping one. I do not approve of local or central government bureaucracy. Dog licencing, dog whispering and training could be carried out by the RSPCA, which I believe would do a better job than any local council would. There are always best options and best outcomes with any social, cultural and practical problem. Local councils are the worst outcome - just ask the old people turfed out of care homes and sheltered housing, or the disrespected tenants of antisocial arms length housing associations whose employees are recruited from local councils.  We are all penalised by incompetence, stupidity and sleaze, and keeping the status quo only lets the culprits off the hook, whether they are dog owners or insufferable overpaid bureaucrats.

In California some years ago, a young woman came out of her apartment and was killed by a neighbour's dog in the vestibule.  Quite a few dangerous dogs are kept in flats here. Flats are getting more cramped, are they suitable for any but the best behaved dogs. A young Londoner was brought down by a gang's attack dog before being stabbed to death.  Would the killers evade licencing?  Charities are we have been belittled and our safety and security compromised by government twaddle, impractical legislation and ineffective policing, local government indifference. I propose that charities take precedence over tax-funded jobsworths.  Let ownership, breeding and keeping of dogs be supervised and controlled by the RSPA, Animal Aid, or any other genuine animal welfare organisation. That would generate real jobs and help all sections of the public.  Keeping dogs does not have to be complicated.

This is just getting all too stupid for me! As soon as we can my partner and I are off to a decent country (if we can find one). I do think something needs to be done to stop those people who have dogs for the wrong reason or a cruel to them but the main issue the majority of people have with dog owners is the amount of dog poo that is left on the pavements and few green spaces left in this country. I am sick of having to walk with my chin on my chest because if I don't I will more than likely step in something smelly and disgusting. The state of the roads and pavements make me wonder where my tax pounds are going? Into other peoples walletts, obviously. Certainly not on road maintenace, street cleaning, health and education. You know, the things that would really make a difference to the day to day lives of the people living here.

Like most civil liberty problems, the solution involves a choice that can no longer be made.  For example, do we want dog mess smeared around the country or an army of tax-supported government workers extracting fines from offending dog owners?  Would we like the convenience of electrical outlets in our bathrooms - like most other countries in the world - or would we prefer to have that choice made for us?  Should we allow CTV cameras on every remaining street corner or vote for their prohibition, as a US city did recently?

Try to vote these measures away, or even modify them, and you'll find the power to do so has been surrendered to the ever-replicating civil service who implemented them in the first place.

One possible solution is a Thatcher-style surgery on the national culture but without the selfishness and greed unleashed.  At this point though it might be easier to bring back Oliver Cromwell.

not only should they be made to do this they should also be limited to the amount of dogs they can own per house hold.

My neighbours have four dogs, are away at work for many hours.  During this time the dogs bark and bark.  Their enjoyment is spoiling my life so much I want to move! 

Many dog owners around where I live walk their dogs under the cover of darkness to allow them to pooh and not to have to clear it up.  Wonderful people, thanks 

 

I like most responsible dogowners have pet insurance which covers 3rd party, vet bills etc. I also carry poo bags so that I can pick up after they have been by the way I hav 3 border collies. Any responsible dog owner will have been to dog training classes when they have got the pup after their injections. The problem is that there are so many owners that are not responsible and should never had the responsibility of having a pet of any kind let alone a dog.

I have two German Shepherd dogs and consider myself to be a responsible dog owner. They are trained, insured which also covers third party and have their injections/ worming/flea treaments at regular intervals. They are not left for long periods and are certainly not left to annoy neighbours. I also carry bags  to clean up after them.

I too get fed up of irresponsible owners allowing their dogs to foul pavements, run out of control and generally give the rest of us responsible dog owners a bad name! I think a proper vetting system should be put in place to control the care of dogs and ensure responsible ownership and as other people have said, who better to do it than the RSPCA. Plus money they make from licensing goes to a good cause rather than lining some politician's pocket!

I am sick and tired of dog owners being picked on. I have two dogs and clear up after them when we go out. But I live in a corner house and in my front garden I get cat poop, condoms, beer cans, beer bottles crisp wrappers and other detritus from the local kids. I am a good deal more intimidated by gangs of hoodie teens than any pit bull.