New dog laws: make sure your dog is obedient
Dog owners could face fines of up to £20,000 under new laws which came into force last month to prevent dog attacks.
Since 2005 eight adults and 15 children have died as a result of dog attacks. In addition to that 6,740 people needed hospital treatment due to dog attacks in 2013, a 6% increase from 2012.
The focus of the new laws is to force owners to take action to prevent a dog attack. If someone complains about the dog to the council or the police, owners could be forced to:
- Attend dog training classes
- Muzzle the dog / ensure it’s on a lead in public parks
- Have the dog microchipped and / or neutered
- Repair fencing to stop the dog being able to leave the property
Complaints can be made against things like excessive barking, intimidating people or attacking other animals.
New laws also include:
- Up to 14 years imprisonment for owners of a dog that kills someone
- Up to five years imprisonment for owners of a dog that injures someone
- Up to three years imprisonment and / or a fine for owners that allow their dog to attack a guide dog
- Up to a £20,000 fine and / or six months imprisonment for owners of a dog deemed to be dangerously out of control. These people may also be banned from owning dogs and may have their dogs destroyed.
At WKD Trained Dogs we have seen a lot of unpredictable dogs come to us for residential training and it’s certainly not the case that all of those dogs are bad dogs. Their owners have raised them in a loving way and tried hard but the owners and the dogs just hadn’t received the correct training.
The last thing any dog owner wants is for their dog to attack someone or another animal and the correct training can help to prevent that.
As an owner it’s your responsibility to ensure your dog is under control and obedient. Obedience is much more than making your dog sit, it’s about ensuring your dog will come back when recalled, walks properly on a lead, is calm around other people and dogs and will listen to you.
Our residential training has been life-changing for many of our clients. For more information on how it can help you and what’s covered in our residential dog training, please call us on 01785 761 441 or fill in our contact form.
