Dog control notices, Wales, Copied from another site

Welsh Government announces plans for Dog Control Notices

OWNERS may have to attend training sessions if they lose control of their dogs under plans by the Welsh Government.

Proposed legislation could force those in charge of dogs deemed to be out of control to register with local councils or allow the dog to be out in public only when wearing a muzzle.

This week ministers launched the Control of Dogs Bill saying they wanted to protect people from what they said was an increasing number of attacks by dangerous dogs.

The draft legislation is open for consultation until next March.

Under it, owners would be served with a Dog Control Notice (DCN) if their dogs showed signs of being out of control. They would be required to take certain steps, such as control the animals, provide information to their local council and attend training sessions. They could be told to keep their dog in a muzzle in public or away from certain parks and roads.

The Bill also requires people to control dogs when they are in their own homes and not just in public places.

There are around 450,000 dogs in Wales, and the Welsh Government says evidence from a database of hospital admissions suggests more are becoming out of control. It says current animal welfare controls are insufficient to help promote responsible ownership.

Earlier this year Welsh ministers announced proposals for compulsory microchipping of dogs, and results of a consultation are being considered.

The Kennel Club welcomed the draft legislation saying it was glad its focus was on prevention and responsible ownership through training and education.

"However, while we enthusiastically commend the Welsh Government for taking positive steps to address issues of dog control in Wales, the fact remains that both they, and we, are dealing with a completely ineffective piece of legislation which needs to be repealed and replaced in its entirety by Government in Westminster. DEFRA consulted on parts of the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) in May and we are still eagerly awaiting the outcome of that consultation.”

The Trust is also cautious about the proposal to make dog-on-animal incidents a specific criminal offence under the DDA.

"We would not like responsible dog owners caught by such a law if their dog has merely acted in response to provocation from another animal,” Mrs Baldwin said.

Well some of it does seem to have some very positive thoughts but as ever there are lots of downfalls and questions to be asked.

I agree Dave,

I certainly like the idea of a dog being deemed out of control to be forced to take training .
It would not be right to have compulsory training for all dogs as sometimes the owner is more then capable , but obviously if it has reached this stage then they don't have the knowledge to do basic training .
I myself have put Tommy in boot camp along with my daughter and me because we have some difficulty controlling some aspects of his behaviour. And I have taken this step before it gets out of hand

Same here, we got some issues with Kenny that i cant train out, so to speak. We're on a waiting list for a good Dog behavourist/trainer. I cant just leave his behaviour continue.

Its great but where will the money come from to implement it .

First answer (talking only about the training) has got to be out of the owners pocket.

Who enforces it ,the police cant catch all the criminals ,the countrys overrun with illegal immigrants. i think its a good idea but immposible to enforce.

harlou wrote:Who enforces it ,the police cant catch all the criminals ,the countrys overrun with illegal immigrants. i think its a good idea but immposible to enforce.

Depends what we are talking about here, the whole legislation or some of the ideas in there. Dog licences although I agree with the idea I know many people don't and just say it won't work so in principle it will always be a non starter, but some other stuff like the dog training etc is much easier to enforce , not much more difficult than giving someone a pink ticket with their car for a dodgy tyre, fail to present a certificate of training or a letter of acceptance to training from the trainer etc (give after payment for the course is made and not before) and you go to court and get a fine.
I agree we have lots of other problems in the country but we are only looking at this one , we don't want to start a debate on illegal immigrants and the state of the police force

The idea of mandatory training is good if they manage to implement it efficiently. A friend of mine and I were talking about it the other day. Sometimes it isn't only how dogs are raised but how theyre handled.

I think its a great idea to train owners and dogs together but only the caring responsible owners would go,same with a dog license i would happily get one as would all responsible owners ,but the real problem lies elsewhere ,i think it should be harder to get a dog there are too many dumped unwanted dogs specially at this time of year,sorry for going on but it gets to me this time of year as we go to rescues with food etc

harlou wrote:I think its a great idea to train owners and dogs together but only the caring responsible owners would go,same with a dog license i would happily get one as would all responsible owners ,but the real problem lies elsewhere ,i think it should be harder to get a dog there are too many dumped unwanted dogs specially at this time of year,sorry for going on but it gets to me this time of year as we go to rescues with food etc

This point though was forcing out of control dog owners to go to training which I think is good and easily enforceable

Dave wrote:First answer (talking only about the training) has got to be out of the owners pocket.

I think it should be, but not sure tbh

kenny d wrote:

Dave wrote:First answer (talking only about the training) has got to be out of the owners pocket.

I think it should be, but not sure tbh

Why on earth not sure ?? If an owner has an out of control dog requiring training to get it back into line this has to be at the cost of the owner , nobody else

LOL, I mean not sure what they intend to do via cost

Dave wrote:

kenny d wrote:

Dave wrote:First answer (talking only about the training) has got to be out of the owners pocket.

I think it should be, but not sure tbh

Why on earth not sure ?? If an owner has an out of control dog requiring training to get it back into line this has to be at the cost of the owner , nobody else

I agree, Kenny's training issues are mine and mine alone. I'd expect any owner to foot the bill, Their dog, their problem

kenny d wrote:LOL, I mean not sure what they intend to do via cost

ah ok sorry I misunderstood , I hope they don't put it onto the taxpayer as that would just wind people up and make it more difficult