Ennvironment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Written evidence submitted by Allie Brophy Reynolds

I have read about the proposed amendment to the DDA and would be grateful if you could please consider an alternative.

I strongly believe that the public would greatly benefit from a campaign to promote education on this subject, not only to owners, but to children and extended family also. I feel very passionately about this, I have been researching this subject for quite a while and have carried out a project to help teach responsibility, safety and awareness to primary school age children and their parents. We need to promote education, awareness and urge owners with little or lack of understanding to do something about it and go and get the help they need for them and their dog and correct any “issues” early on. I really believe this will work.I also feel this will be more effective instead of BSL as each individual owner and dog can be assessed and supported differently as every dog and owner is different and so is their living environment and the example and responsibility set by their owner can be poor on one end of the scale yet immaculate on the other. Every dog is set an example by their owner, and learn from the way they are treated and raised. We need to help the owners on the poor knowledge end of the scale and find out what the more responsible owners do, how they do it, and apply this knowledge to assist the ones who struggle, but they must also be willing to help themselves and if their intentions are genuine towards their dog they will want to and at least try these options if this can help them.

Owners/Parents/Grandparents need to understand fully why they must supervise at all times any dog with a child, not only because the dog could pose a risk to the child, but the child may also pose a risk to the dog, such as tormenting, harming, and even the cries of a child can frighten and confuse a dog who does not understand the situation. It is vital that anyone who has a dog must always take caution and never leave a child and dog alone together and deals with situations responsibly.

Methods which can be implemented to keep visitors to the home separate from dogs can be the use of baby/safety gates, proper fencing, a quiet area of the home where a dog can have peace and space away from people visiting the house and have music on to drown out any noise or distractions in the background which may cause the dog any anxiety. Having a crate with blankets and toys that is big enough for a dog to sit in and move around if someone is calling to the house who is not comfortable around dogs or if the dog does not know them can help also.

I feel schools would benefit from getting involved in an Education Campaign so that children also fully understand to take caution around all dogs, and to understand not to harm or torment them and why, and the consequences of them hurting an animal as well as if they torment one. They need to understand and so do parents/grandparents/owners, to never let a child put their face near any dog’s face, never let their child run up to a dog they don’t know, and never to try and pick up or squeeze someone else’s dog. Teaching children to respect and show kindness towards animals and allow them their space is also something that I believe can greatly benefit relationships and understanding between children and dogs. I have covered a lot of this in my project and I hope this can be of help to anyone, but I feel the proposed amendment is very unfair on a lot of innocent dogs and owners who do take care and are responsible, and the majority of owners truly love and want to do right by their dog and are prepared to attend training or help with a behaviourist if they have any issues that need addressing.

The problem is some people are too afraid to ask for help, if they won’t go for help we need to bring this to them and educating is a way to get this message across and open the door to those who don’t understand how to care for a dog, who have limited knowledge of a particular breed of dog or how to address and care for their needs. To some a dog is something they have not thoroughly thought about before they took one on, a lot of people wanted a “puppy for the kids”, or because “their friend had one”, yet when their puppy grew and started chewing, leaving toilet mess around, messing up the house and needed walking, training, looking after, some people very sadly just gave up and instead of meeting the needs of their dog they then abandoned or re-homed them. I feel an owner/dog contract would address this as when someone takes on a dog they are committing not only to the dog but also to the responsibility of an owner to others too, to be respectful, courteous and apply caution to situations, and if they do encounter problems such as behavioural issues or aggression they seek help immediately from a proper trainer or behaviourist who can help them with this. There is always a solution. Humans make more mistakes and cause more problems in the world than animals do but we always give humans a chance to put things right, to learn from their mistakes, and I feel animals need this chance too.

Muzzling dogs in public who have shown cause for concern by their behaviour is also an alternative, and ordering an owner to participate in a “probation style programme” where they must follow a training/behaviour modification programme with an experienced, recognised and established trainer/behaviourist, and full cost of this to be met by the owner. This could be set for a minimum of 3 months upward depending on assessment by the trainer/behaviourist and to do this each owner must apply to the Government and pay a fair and affordable fee to set this up with a list of professional and reputable trainer/behaviourists in their area and to book an assessment with that behaviourist. A programme would then be set up from a period of 3 months upwards and the dog required to be muzzled in public or around children or strangers in the home during the whole period of this programme. Owners are taught as part of the training both for themselves and their dog and at the end of this period must sit an assessment, written and practical.

The assessment would be set by trainers/vets and would cover adequate understanding of caring for their dog, behavioural issues and how to address them, applying caution in different situations such as strangers to the home, children and keeping them separate and supervising at all times, never leave a small child or baby alone with any dog or allow a child to torment or harm a dog or any animal, how to calm a dog if they are anxious, methods of improving wellbeing of their dog and building confidence around people and other animals, how to walk them responsibly and on a short lead, diet and nutrition, general health of their dog and understanding the breed and the needs of their dog, what is a good owner and what a dog needs. This programme would not cost the Government anything as it would be paid for by the owners. The cost would be set via the behaviourist trainer and the Government and there would be a small affordable fee paid to the Government to register an owner and their dog onto this programme. At the end of the period of at least 3 months—12 months depending on the timescale recommended for each owner and dog, the assessment must be sat both written and practical. and the situation reviewed as part of the programme. Owners who are not in a financial position to afford to pay this in full could pay this in instalments maybe on a sliding scale depending on their income. If they really want to make a positive difference to them and their dog they will be happy to do something that could help them both and educate themselves whilst also training and educating their dog. Involving schools in this as a project also and combining animal welfare, scenario situations, and visits to community farms where they can meet animals and gain an understanding that they have feelings too, this can help children to build empathy with animals and understand their needs too, this can also help prepare them as future pet owners and to treat them with kindness. I believe every dog matters as well as every person and they learn from us, and we need to apply caution to situations to ensure that incidents don’t occur and we must look at the whole picture rather than instantly blame the dog.

I would be very grateful if you could please bring up my idea in Parliament and put this for consideration as an alternative. This will cost nothing to the Government but it could be of great benefit to many dogs, owners, parents, grandparents and children, and help turn things around in a more effective and compassionate way. I would be very happy to help with this. This could also help the Government as a small portion of the assessment fee would go towards admin costs for Defra to supply details of local trainers/behaviourists and offer application forms to the public which would then be passed onto the trainer/behaviourist to conduct the assessment, and then recommend how many sessions over a period of time would help both the dog and owner, and these would be implemented into a payment plan and development programme and tailor-made to each individual dog and owner depending on what issues need to be addressed for both. At the end of the programme an assessment is then set for a basic written assessment covering basic knowledge from what they have learned and understood, and a practical assessment for the owner and their dog. I believe that this will work and ask if you would please give this your consideration.

April 2013