General Chat

All dog owners in England and Wales would have to insure against their pet attacking someone, under Labour proposals to tackle dangerous breeds.

£500 per year

Each week, more than 100 people are admitted to hospital after dog attacks.

This has been the way in many areas of the world... Germany for instance.... for a long time. I had my dog insured over 30 years ago... had he run out onto the road and caused a massive accident, then I would have been liable for all the claims against him. That is right.

I think owners should be held responsible for the behaviour of their pets... and if say, a care worker, was off sick because of a severe dog bite, then they would only qualify for basic sick pay... if they have a family to support they would find it difficult to manage etc etc... no, the dog owner should have insurance to cover things like that.

I'll go and read the article properly now, lolol

Love

Daff xxx

I also think that we should go back to the old licence, as well....

Hello Karen....see you got back safely!~~~~~~

Love

Daff xxxx

Absolutely right too in my opinion. Even a small dog can cause a severe injury to another dog or child.

People are happy to pay several hundred pounds for a dog but then won't spend a penny on getting them chipped or neutered.

I think it should be a legal requirement to have a licence and insurance for any dog.

And yes, I am a dog owner!

Mary

I have two dogs.

If I had to pay £500 per dog per year then I could not afford to keep them and would have no choice but to give them up.

I do think that insurance is a must for dog owners, but a more realistic cost would be about £100 per year, with a discount bonus attached.

I would say £500 a year is very steep, it would put a lot more dogs on the street or in dog homes. Also what would happen to the little old dears that need their pets for company. Plus your hearing and seeing dogs.

Both my dogs are neutered and chipped but not insured. Now I would happily insure them (not at £500 mind) if I had too as long as that insurance covered vet bills and other expenses that I would have to pay out for. Just to insure a dog against harming people is unfair on the mild dogs. Those who have dangerous dogs don't register them anyway so they are hardly going to insure them.

This will be as workable as getting all car drivers to insure themselves in their vehicle!!

How on earth do they expect to police it?

Responsible owners will insure, the owners they are targetting, those with potentially vicious dogs will not.

Sue

It's not enforceable. Those responsible dog owners will do it, those irresponsible dog owners simply won't bother.

I can remember when we had a dog back in the 50s
my mum had to have a licence for her, i think it was about 5shillings
a year dont know how much that would be now though .
Hazelx

Yet another money making scam from the government. It is the responsible dog owners that will suffer with these high charges.
I have a little Westie named Ben that is both chipped and insured. When we take him out for his walks he is ALWAYS on his lead.

The other day hubby took Ben for a short walk along a lane that runs near my house. Ben was on his lead. A German Shepherd dog came out of nowhere and ran towards hubby and Ben. Thinking the shepherd was going to attack Ben hubby picked him up into his arms. The shepherd dived straight at hubby biting his arm. Ben somehow got free from his harness and had the shepherd by the throat and it soon ran off. The owners of the shepherd appeared and hubby had a right go at them. Did they care......... NO...
Yet another case of irresponsible owners.

Alyson

I think I am right in saying that also all dogs would have to be chipped with their owners names and address.

Personally I would be happy to see every dog born have to be chipped...pedigree and heinz 57.......any dog then found wandering or misbehaving could be instantly traced back to its owner in much the same way as cars can...........owners who were kind, caring and responsible would have nothing to fear from such a law.......owners who were irresponsible, cruel, and neglectful would quickly find that they were not allowed to be dog owners. Litters could be chipped by a vet at birth and new owner's details recorded when the pup went to its new home. Any dogs found without a chip would not have been registered and could be chipped and rehomed by the dog rescue societies.......hopefully, eventually, every dog would be a properly wanted dog, and the rescues would only have to rehome ones whose owners' circumstances had changed, and who were no longer able to care for them. We have to have passports for horses, and most farm animals, to track their change of ownership, (or when they join the food chain), I am sure that this could be extended to dogs........there is the technology........
No dogs would be exempt, I believe that Police dogs are chipped anyway.......we have just lost our beloved boxer..........the last of seven boxers I have had over the course of 50 years, from a child........the last two were both rehomed as their elderly owner had sadly gone into hospital, and never came out...........we are moving house soon........maybe, when we are settled again we will offer a home to another boxer or two, who are in need...................we are getting older, it would probably be irresponsible to take on a pup who could outlive us...................make every dog a wanted dog.........and a loved one.........

Eileen
birth name

I 've got three dogs.....none have been micro chipped ( they never get out on their own ) . I couldn't afford 3 x £ 500 a year for insurance . I think it's a ridiculous sum of money that's been plucked out of the air by the powers that be .
I agree that something ought to be done to curb the irresponsible dog owners ( especially the ones that encourage viciousness in their " pets" ) but a blanket " attack " like this own isn't the answer .

If you happened to get attacked by a nasty dog and the owner was in evidence does it seem plausible that they would stop to give you their insurence details ?? I think not : ((

i think its a fab idea.. maybe ppl would keep their dogs on a lead and stop tying them up out side shop doors .. irisponsable (sp) owners have made this Happen ...
Rosex

I dont like dogs ...... They foul the pavements and bite people.... Cats are far nicer .....I have three.....

Like Lightning, i have 3 cats - I also had 3 (different) cats when my daughter came to live with me - with her Alsatian/Collie cross - she looked like a small Alsatian - with hips that worked!!!

The local 'thugs' were terrified of her. Why? I asked them (I'd known them as a LSA years before) - Because she did as she was told!! LOL
They were scared that we would tell her to attack ??!! (They'd heard us shouting this to her in the garden)
She hadn't been brough up that way - 'attack' meant love to bits and try to sit on their lap!!! (Handy 'command' to teach if you live in a rough area)

When the dog was about 7, my daughter had a baby - that dog loved her - and started loving every other toddler. Fortunately they lived in a small town and people knew the dog and didn't mind her coming up and licking their children. She even had parents of children who were frightened of dogs coming up and asking if their children could stroke her.

...It wasn't many years ago that Alsatians were considered 'viscious' dogs - it's not the dogs, it's the moronic owners!!.....

I also think well brought up Staffies are wonderful!

i think they should bring back the liscence and chip them aswell. How it will be "policed" is another matter because of unregistered dogs advertised in papers or just neighbours dogs getting caught out and having puppy's (how do you police them?) If we had more police ore a dedicated team to deal with dog owners, say like a ID card that you had to produce for your dog? just an idea x

my dog now is 16 yrs old and feeling it in her back legs bless her, she was a rescue dog. I wasnt looking for a dog when i came across her but knew instantly she had a good temprement, my son was only a baby and i was hesitant about getting a rescue dog when i didnt know her history (its hard when you don't know what the dog has been through) She was brilliant with my son as a baby, but any other todler that came into the house she snarled at so i knew that was her weakness and i warned the parents and kept her away from them, she's still the same, it must have been something hat happened in her past which i am aware and accept. I do think its the owners who make bad dogs, my ex mil had a staff that was a brilliant dog to children and other animals, not a bad bone in her body (they after all are called the nanny dog) There are bad dogs of whatever breedbut mainly i blame the owners.

i have 2 dogs akitas
one i would say mabe is tempramental
but he never goes out
unless its really late or raining and nobodys about
and is always on a lead

i dont allow strangers ever to touch my dogs