Channel 5 starts their Dangerous Dog Owners & Proud series tonight.

Thousands of illegal or dangerous dogs are seized every year by the police, and hundreds are destroyed. Owners who love their dogs struggle with the difficult process of getting exempt status for their banned breed pets. Dog wardens are trying to cope with an explosion in issues concerning banned breeds whose owners use them to intimidate others or enhance their own status.

Dangerous Dog Owners & Proud meets some people who shamelessly own dogs that are either illegal, or trained to be dangerous… or both.

Before it airs:

1. More often than not it is the owners that are Dangerous not the dogs.
2. Unless a dog is owned by a licensed breeder it should be sterilised.
3. Owners should be required to have a license for their dogs.
4. Owners should have to go through a ‘Responsible Dog Owners’ course before they get a license.
5. The authorities don’t need new legislation to prevent import of the dogs illegally, they need to enforce the legislation (PETS Scheme and TRACES) better (have some experience of this with our ALStrays Pet Transport Business.

The minority will give the majority a bad name. Many of these so called ‘dangerous breeds’ are soft, loveable, affectionate animals. It may be in their nature to be aggressive, but only if trained/encouraged to do so.

And remember, we humans ‘invented’ pets. Nature created animals with a purpose in mind: hunting, working, protecting, control etc. So with every pet there is an element of risk that in the ‘wrong’ circumstances they will ‘revert to type’ regardless of breed or training.