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Has your dog Bitten or Threatened to?

Firstly, don't panic.  These incidents are extremely traumatic for everyone concerned, but it does not necessarily mean that your dog should automatically be put to sleep.  Our sympathies lie of course with the victim, but also with the dog.  Most dogs who do this are victims themselves: either of bad breeding, or a lack of proper training.  Whilst we would NEVER excuse or condone biting, we do know from experience that owners do play a part in these problems.  Whether it is through enjoying winding their dog up, or not getting help early enough for a problem, or not putting enough effort into training.

If the Police have been informed, then you MUST get some legal advice yourself.  Remember under the Dangerous Dogs Act your dog only has to behave in a manner to cause apprehension to be guilty, not actually bite someone.  If your dog barks at, chases or lunges at a person, they have broken the law.

You will be under a lot of pressure from family and friends to deal with the issue effectively.  However it is not true that once a dog has bitten it gets a "taste for it" and will do it again.  We have retrained dozens of biters here, some of which had been in trouble with the Police.  Do not try to rehome your dog, that is selfish, dangerous and unfair.

We won't write your dog off automatically here just because of a bite.  That does not mean that all dogs can be retrained, but we will assess your dog fairly and decide whether it can be helped or not.

Please, do ask for help before putting the dog to sleep.  Act quickly, don't make excuses.

 

   The options for holidays and home visits can be bought as an advance option for your dog.  If there really is no choice but to rehome your dog but you feel that it needs behaviour help, then you can buy it for the new owners.  You receive a card which you pass on to the new owners and they can book some training.  Email us if you want to discuss this option.

The latest sad death of a baby at the hands of a dog has prompted many calls and emails.  A lot of owners are afraid their dog may do the same thing.  Why does it take a death to spur owners into action?

A lot of the dogs who make the press because they killed or injured a person have a history of problems.  They often have been reported to the council and the Police but no action has been taken.   Owners have ignored them or crossed their fingers that theirs isn't like those other dogs and it won't happen to them. 

Don't wait until it happens to you, don't make excuses, don't think you can keep a dog locked up rather than deal with the issues.  One day and one small mistake can mean next time YOU are in the papers.