The Sky News special report of 12th April caused uproar in the dog world. They had spent time with the Status Dog Unit and accompanied the dog handlers on various dog seizures. Sky News interviewed Debbie Connolly, Dog Behaviourist and court Expert Witness, about this statistic.
The biggest fear of many dog owners is that of their dog scaring or biting someone and the police taking it away. We have done many
behaviour assessments for court cases relating to the Dangerous Dogs Act and if you are in trouble, here is some advice. Whether an owner or a victim, please ask for help.
DDA changes 13th May 2014 incorporated, last update April 2021
I returned to doing Court Expert Witness work last year after relocating centrally. I feel strongly that dogs involved in bite incidents need full assessment and support. Owners can easily be misled or misinformed by Police and other owners and a dog’s life could be at risk. What exactly do Expert Witnesses do? Here’s an explanation: Continue reading
We start 2016 with the sad news of another death caused by a dog. The tragic loss of a young man, Liam Hewitson is also a story of families breeding and owning Pit Bull type dogs and the potential cause being a dog reacting to an epileptic seizure. Continue reading
I don’t watch BGT, I find a lot of it cruel and uncomfortable. I couldn’t ignore the winner this year as it hasn’t been out of the papers.Jules O’Dwyer and her dogs won BGT but were billed as “Jules and Matisse”. Does this win really justify death threats and over 1000 complaints to Ofcom? Petitions to rob them of the title? It’s just a dog doing tricks on TV isn’t it? Some people think not. Continue reading
Residential dog training should offer your dog the chance to have behaviour therapy as well as obedience training. This balance is not offered by some companies who only offer obedience help entirely on their own premises. In most cases, owners are looking to be able to walk safely in public with unknown people and dogs and to enjoy a normal life.
Ask the right questions before paying for this type of training. Where will the training be done? Are there previous clients you can talk to? Is handover done in real life or only in their training field? What ongoing support is there? Will shock or prong collars be used? Will you get a training plan to follow at home? Continue reading
Rob Flello MP and animal welfare supporter
Despite many politicians being bombarded with ideas and requests from dog owners and professionals, the laws never seem to change to something we all want. With an election looming, what do dog owners really think is needed to protect dogs and the public? Will any parties follow through on election promises or really change the lives of animals in this country? Continue reading
Having been asked by two news shows to comment, I’m doing so here first. It appears that Irish Setter Jagger has lost his life to some sort of poisoning and my condolences go to his family. Now a second dog, a Shih Tzu is claimed to be dead from poisoning at Crufts. I was there all four days, on Sunday there was a list of five dogs allegedly poisoned. It’s grown since then.
(UPDATED WITH LINK TO TOXICOLOGY/kc STATEMENT. NOT POISONED AT CRUFTS) Continue reading
The media show stories about Bull breeds, Rottweilers and Akitas biting and causing fatalities. The public in reality have problems with any breed whose owner can’t or won’t train it. The Dangerous Dogs Act, over 20 years old has not stopped the ownership or breeding of illegal breeds and demonises dogs who have passed a temperament test. Would your dog pass such a test? Continue reading
Social media is circulating a story about a dog lost/sold by a petsitter found through the Holidog site. The company say they check sitters, but no information about how they do this. It isn’t the first time a dog has gone missing, been stolen or lost when being looked after, but it does make you wonder about the standard of checks done. Continue reading
