Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Written evidence submitted by Laraine Malvern
1. I have been a dog-owner for over 60 years. I have had 15 dogs of various breeds, 12 of which have been rescues. I first became a member of a dog-training club in 1962, and have been involved with a number of different types of training. I was Chairman of Malvern and District Dog-Training Club for a number of years, and also a Trainer there. I coached a number of dog-owners through the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme, up to and including Gold Level.
2. Dog Control
2.1 Attacks on people, livestock and pets. The present rules are not sufficiently strong on dog attacks on other pets. I have been in two incidents recently which illustrate this.
2.1.1 Whilst riding my horse on common land a local small-holder deliberately sent his two collies at my horse, fortunately I was quick thinking and gobby enough to shout at them to go away, but if this had happened to a child or less dog-savvy adult the consequences could have been very dire. The police said they could not do anything, even though there were witnesses, as I was not harmed.
2.1.2 I had two Rottweilers attack one of my dogs on a public footpath. They were both on leads, but managed to pull away from the woman who was walking them. She was unable to pull the dogs off. I managed to get one off, but the other would not let go until I gave it a good kick in the balls. Fortunately the dog did not turn on me, but my dog, who was a similar size to the Rottweileer, had severe puncture wounds around its neck. Again I was told that nothing could be done as no person was hurt. These dogs would have killed a smaller dog. They are still being walked by the same woman with totally unsuitable restraint, on roads and public footpaths.
2.1.3 The present law allows farmers to shoot dogs on their land whether worrying livestock or not. There are no laws to protect dog attacks on other animals. I do not want to see dogs destroyed, but I do think that any dog which has attacked another animal, (and this has been witnessed by other people) should be made to wear a muzzle when in public areas.
2.2 Pets raised as status dogs. It is far too easy at present for anybody to breed puppies. Although I live in a small town, the breeding of Staffordshire Bull Terrier crosses is a problem on the local estates, and rescue centres are full of unwanted dogs who are either not fierce enough to be the required “status dog”, or are too fierce and have become uncontrollable.
2.3 Compulsory Micro chipping. I do not see how this will prevent dog attacks. At present the microchip is not proof of ownership. Unless this is combined with some sort of passport system where the onus in on the person transferring the dog/puppy to re-register the ownership details, then it will not have any impact whatsoever. A micro-chipped dog could severely bite someone and the person registered on the micro-chip could easily say the dog had been sold on given away. It should also be compulsory for all vets to scan any dog brought into their surgery to check ownership details on the chip.
2.4 Dangerous Dogs Act/Private Property. Many of us living in the countryside have dogs as a deterrent to intruders. My dogs are trained to bark at any strangers coming onto my property. It is amazing the number of people who come in despite a notice on the gate saying “Dogs Loose, Do Not Enter”, and then complain when the dogs run down the drive barking at them. Any new Act would need to be carefully worded to avoid money being made, or dogs wrongly destroyed due to the naturally litigious nature of some people and “no win, no fee” solicitors.
3. Education
3.1 The Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme to promote responsible dog ownership is excellent, but my experience is that the people who really need the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme type of training do not use it. Despite the courses at my club costing only £2 per lesson, it was only responsible dog owners who came. The people who really needed it saw it as being “soft”, or could not be bothered. The drop-out rate was high among those with “problem” dogs who thought one hour a week with a trainer was the solution to all their problems, they could not see that we could only show them how to train their own dogs, they had to put the time in, we could not train their dogs for them.
3.2 At our Training Club we ran 12 puppy classes and six older dogs beginners classes each year. These were always over-subscribed and had waiting lists. All trainers did it on a purely voluntary basis. Do you know how many of the dog-owning public attend classes. How can you make the people who need it attend, and where will you get all the extra Trainers from?
3.3 Presently anyone can call themselves a dog-trainer. The KC run a rubbish accreditation scheme, that very few people have completed. As I said I was a trainer for a number of years. I had a number of years practical experience, a City and Guilds Further Education Teachers Certificate, OCN Level 2 in both Canine Behaviour and Dog Trainer Skills, and had attended a number of seminars with recognised dog behaviourists and trainers. I regularly see people advertising that they are trainers, who have no qualifications whatsoever. How do you propose to ensure that all people who provide education for dog-owners have the skills to do it?
4. Welfare/Breeding
I have very strong views on this. I have seen all the issues with breed standards producing dogs with inherent health problems. I have seen the heartbreak of families buying sick puppies from puppy farms. I have seen the prolific breeding of unwanted status dogs causing problems in our rescue centres. I really do think that anyone who wants to breed should have to apply for a licence, and the price should reflect the full administrative costs of any such scheme. I also think that any dogs that are not licensed for breeding should be neutered or if not all dogs, then at least all bitches. I understand the current veterinary guidance is that non-breeding bitches should be spayed as they can suffer in later life if not neutered, but that there is now evidence to suggest that castration can cause future health problems in male dogs.
June 2012