Crufts 2009 was dropped by the BBC. In case you missed it the first time round and want to see what the fuss was all about you can still watch 'Pedigree Dogs Exposed' on myspace.
Saturday 18 April 2009
In case you missed it the first time...
Back in 2008 the BBC broadcast a programme called 'Pedigree Dogs Exposed'. This controversial documentary exposed the Kennel Club and certain breed societies to criticism for encouraging the breeding of seriously unhealthy dogs all for the sake of certain 'desirable' traits. The public as a whole was dismayed by the attitudes of certain breeders and as a result of the uproar caused
Friday 17 April 2009
Your dog, the law, and you...dog control orders
What are dog control orders?
DCOs represent a local authority's way of implementing the powers given to them under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005. While some local authorities have yet to introduce borough wide laws Islington has had three DCOs in place since summer 2008. The Orders are as follows:
- Fouling of land by dogs order
- Dogs on lead by direction order
- Dogs exclusion order
You should be able to find out which Orders apply to parks and open spaces in the borough by the presence of signs at their entrances. Typically these signs will tell you to clear up after your dog or that your dog should be on a lead when requested by an official.
How are these orders enforced?
In Islington DCOs can be enforced by 'authorised officers' - typically dog wardens or park patrol officers.
What constitutes an offence?
This is different depending on the order in question so it's necessary to consider each order in turn:
1. Fouling of land by dogs order:
If your dog does a poo on any land to which this Order applies and you fail to clean it up you are committing an offence unless you have a reasonable excuse for failing to do so or have obtained the consent of the local authority.
2. Dogs on lead by direction order:
If your dog is off the lead in an area where a 'on a lead when requested by an official' Order applies, an authorised officer can ask you to put your dog on the lead only if such restraint is reasonably necessary to prevent a nuisance or behaviour by the dog likely to cause annoyance or disturbance to any other person or the worrying or disturbance of any animal or bird.
3. Dogs exclusion order:
If you allow your dog off the lead in an area to which this Order applies* you commit an offence unless you have a reasonable excuse or have obtained the consent of the local authority.
Dog exclusion orders currently apply to the following areas:
Children’s play areas
Sports areas
Multi-user games areas
Nature conservation areas
Flower beds and planted beds
Arlington Square
Batishill Street Gardens
Canonbury Square
Compton Terrace
Gibson Square
Lonsdale Square
Milner Square
Northampton Square
Penn Road Gardens
Percival Street (Homes for Islington area)
Percy Circus
St. Silas Gardens
Thornhill Crescent Garden
Wilmington Square.
What if I fail to comply with these DCOs?
The penalty for all the above DCOs is a fixed notice requiring payment of £80 within fourteen days (this is reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days). Failure to pay a fixed penalty notice may result in a prosecution.
In addition a person who is guilty of an offence shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (£1000).
Defra - guidance on dangerous dogs
Update from Defra
Yesterday Defra published additional information providing guidance to police and local authorities on the enforcement of dangerous dogs law. The information is intended to help these bodies work more effectively and crack down on irresponsible dog ownership.
The guidance, which has been written in association with the police, the RSPCA and local authorities, sets out current law and provides advice on how the legislation can be used effectively to improve enforcement with specific reference to the following areas:
- An outline of the law regarding dangerous dogs, including an explanation of how to interpret and enforce the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act and the 1871 Dogs Act
- Best practice for the main enforcement authorities: the police and local authorities;
- How to identify pit bull terrier-type dogs
- Examples of existing local initiatives.
Although it is not aimed at dog owners the guidance makes for interesting reading on how law enforcement/government agencies are being directed to apply the law.
Dogs and the law - a brief summary
Although you may not be aware there is a wide variety of legislation which applies to dogs and there owners. Below are brief details of some of the most dog-relevant law:
The Animal Welfare Act was introduced on April 6th 2007 repealing the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and the Abandonment of Animals Act 1960.
The new Act increases and introduces new penalties to tackle acts of cruelty, neglect, mutilation, tail docking, animal fighting and the giving of pets as prizes.
In addition to this the Act introduces a duty of care for all pet owners to provide for their animals a suitable environment, a suitable diet, the ability to exhibit normal behaviour patterns, protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease and consideration of the animal’s needs to be housed with, or apart from, other animals.
The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
This Act is the one dog owners are most likely to be directly affected by, particularly those owners living in cities.
Under this Act, you can be fined up to £1,000 for breaching dog control orders. These orders are made by local authorities and typically cover the following offences:
- Failing to remove dog poo
- Not keeping a dog on a lead
- Not putting and keeping a dog on a lead when directed to do so
- Permitting a dog to enter land from which dogs are excluded
- Taking more than a specified number of dogs on to land.
The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act also updates the law on stray dogs by transferring the responsibility for strays from the police to the local authorities - ie your local council's Dog Warden.
If you find a dog you must either return it to its owner or report it to your local dog warden. It is illegal to take a found dog into your home without reporting it first. If you want to retain the dog, this might be allowed, provided you are capable of looking after the dog. However, the original owner could still have a claim for the dog’s return.
Byelaws on noisy animals
If you have a dog which barks and its barking is considered to cause a serious nuisance to neighbours, then the local authority can serve you with a noise abatement notice. This requires that you make sure your dog does not create so much noise as to constitute a nuisance. Should you fail to follow a noise abatement notice you could end up being fined.
Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999
Breeders who breed four or more litters per year must be licensed by their local authority. Breeders with fewer litters must also be licensed if they are carrying out a business of breeding dogs for sale.
Licensed breeders must:
- Not mate a bitch less than 12 months old.
- Not whelp more than six litters from a bitch.
- Not whelp two litters within a 12 month period from the same bitch.
- Keep accurate records.
- Not sell a puppy until it is at least eight weeks of age, other than to a keeper of a licensed pet shop or Scottish rearing establishment.
The Control of Dogs Order 1992
This is another law which applies to all dog owners but which you may not be aware of. The Order states that any dog in a public place must wear a collar with the name and address of the owner engraved or written on it, or engraved on a tag. A telephone number is optional but advisable for ease of contact should your dog escape or stray.
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (section 3)
It is a criminal offence (for the owner and/or the person in charge of the dog) to allow a dog to be ‘dangerously out of control’ in a public place, a place where it is not permitted to be, and some other areas.
A ‘dangerously out of control’ dog can be defined as a dog that has injured someone or a dog that a person has grounds for reasonable apprehension that it may do so. Something as simple as your dog chasing, barking at or jumping up at a person or child could lead to a complaint, so it's important to try and ensure that your dog is under control at all times.
If your dog injures a person, it may be seized by the police and your could face a prison sentence and/or a ban on keeping dogs. There is also an automatic presumption that your dog will be destroyed (unless you can persuade the court that it is not a danger to the public, in which case it may be subject to a control order). You may also have to pay a fine, compensation and costs.
Dogs of the following type are banned under the Dangerous Dog Act:-
- The Pit Bull Terrier
- Fila Brasiliero
- Dogo Argentino
- Japanese Tosa
It is an offence to have a dog on a designated road without it being held on a lead. In addition it is worth knowing that local authorities may have similar bye-laws covering public areas. Dogs travelling in vehicles should not be a nuisance or in any way distract the driver during a journey.
If a dog is injured in a car accident, the driver must stop and give their details to the person in charge of the dog. If there is no person in charge of the dog, the incident must be reported to the police within 24 hours.
You could be liable for damage caused by your dog under this Act or under some degree of negligence. It is highly advisable to have third party liability insurance to cover this, something that is included in most pet and some household insurance policies.
Animal Boarding Establishments Act 1963
Anyone boarding animals as a business (even at home) needs to be licensed by the local authority.
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953
Your dog must not worry (chase or attack) livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and poultry) on agricultural land, so keep your dog on a lead around livestock. If your dog worries livestock, the farmer has the right to stop your dog (even by shooting your dog in certain circumstances).
It is a civil offence if a dog is dangerous (to people or animals) and not kept under proper control (generally regarded as not on a lead nor muzzled). This law can apply wherever the incident happened. The dog can be subject to a control or a destruction order and you may have to pay costs.
Compiled with reference to http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/1052
Thursday 16 April 2009
How to read dog body language
Recently I've had several conversations with other dog owners about how to tell if a dog may be aggressive. Most dogs do not generally want to fight other dogs - ultimately this goes against everything their instinct tells them.
However everybody will know of one or two pups who start a scrap every so often. To us owners what may sound like a full on fight is often just a squabble over position in the pack. Every interaction a dog has with another centres around establishing social position. This is completely natural and as long as both dogs are calm and under control there should be no cause for concern.
Problems arise however when dogs are in pain, stressed or undersocialised - all of which can manifest in aggressive behaviour towards other dogs. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell whether a dog is a threat or not and this is where a basic understanding of canine body language can prove useful. Take a look at the pictures produced by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and see how many are familiar to you:
Tuesday 7 April 2009
Dogsbite - common sense information about dangerous dogs
Monday 6 April 2009
Worth reading
The article below was published in the Independent on Saturday and makes for interesting reading on the subject of dangerous dogs:
Dangerous Dogs?
In recent months many of my conversations with both dog owners and non owners alike have centred on the rise of dangerous dogs in our neighbourhood. After a spate of recent attacks by 'pit-bull' types people are becoming increasingly concerned. Many of us are aware of the Dangerous Dogs Act - but what does the act actually say? One of the main problems with the act is that it is held to apply to "...any dog of the type known as the pit bull terrier."
Simple you would think, but sadly no. Despite what many people say here in the UK we do not recognise such a breed. The term 'pit bull' was coined in the US to describe a certain type of dog, largely Staffordshire Bull Terriers and their American counterparts which were bred to fight bulls and bears. The result is that you will often hear people describe their dog as a pit bull - yet technically we in the UK wouldn't recognise it as such.
The Dangerous Dogs Amendment Act of 1997 attempted to clarify matters, but as the extract below shows the situation remains far from simple:
"It is important to note that, in the UK, dangerous dogs are classified by "type", not by breed label. This means that whether a dog is considered dangerous, and therefore prohibited, will depend on a judgment about its physical characteristics and whether they match the description of a prohibited 'type'."
An explanatory guide accompanying the amended act goes on to confuse the matter even further by telling us that what the law considers a pit bull type can be called by all manner of different names:
"Not all Pit Bull terriers will be described as a Pit Bull Terrier by their owner. Some owners may deliberately misrepresent the breed of their dog using terms such as American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bulldogs and the Presa Canaria. Other names used to describe the Pit Bull Terrier types may be Irish Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Old Fashioned Staffords of Traditional Staffords."
Confused? I know I am.
I can't count the number of people I've met who have proudly described their dogs as pit bulls, American Bulldogs or Irish Staffs - yet almost invariably these dogs are to be seen off the lead and unmuzzled. The end result seems to be that while other countries have clearly defined what is meant by a 'pit bull' and banned or restricted ownership accordingly, here in the UK (and particularly in London), there remain all too many potentially dangerous dogs on the street.
Thursday 2 April 2009
Welcome to the Barnsbury Dog Blog
Hello and welcome to the Barnsbury Dog Blog. This blog is primarily concerned with keeping the dog lovers/owners of Barnsbury, Islington up to date with topics of interest and important information. Please check back regularly for updates of what is happening in your neighbourhood.
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