Are you a dog owner in Britain or a European country?

I live in Denmark. Pit bull and Tosa, plus mixes of these breeds have been banned since 1991.

Between the lines, I've translated the following from the Danish Animal Protection website (source link below):

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"There have been talks about either removing the ban completely or banning further breeds. The conclusion has so far been that the ban is upheld because of the signal it sends to the dog-world - but at the same time it is acknowledged that further bans will not solve any problems.

Instead there has been a tightening of the dog-law, so that more responsibility is placed on the dogs owner, plus the police has been given better options when it comes to intervention regarding dangerous dogs."

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From what I've understood, the ban had little effect in limiting the number of the banned dog breeds. Instead it has become "cool" to own a dog that's so "dangerous" that it's banned. This most likely has meant that there are illegal and unregistrered dogs (dogs must by law be registrered here in the central dog registrer and must be either ID-tattooed or chipped), who are owned by the wrong type of people and since they are illegal, I doubt they are taken to the vet for vaccinations etc.

The upheld ban does send a signal to owners of other large dogs that if there are enough negative incidences with these breeds a ban can and will be enforced. I'm not sure of what influence it has, though, because probably the only ones who pays heed to this is most likely the responsible breeders and dog owners who all along have ensured that their dogs are mentally stable, friendly, safe and well-trained.

I have lived in Switzerland where in 2005 after an incident of pit bulls killing a little boy, Kanton Wallis (a kanton is like a state) immediately banned 12 different breeds (pit bull, american staffordshire terrier, staffordshire bullterrier, bull terrier, doberman, dogo argentino, rottweiler, different mastiffs, plus mixed dogs including these breeds). Dog owners of these breeds had two options, either have their dogs put down or apply for a special license (and have the dog neutered/spayed).

It was complete hysteria and the whole thing ended in court, dog-owners versus kanton. The case was just only closed this year.

The last I read is that although it could not be scientifically or statistically proven which dog breeds were the most dangerous, then based their size and their potential ability for causing serious damage, plus the incidents where children had been severely hurt or killed by these breeds, outweighed the right of the individual dog owner to keep a specific breed. The court referred to the many other available breeds for dog owners to chose from (reference article linked below).

To add to Anwen55's comment - I also live in the UK.

Every so often there are calls in some sections of the media (gutter press) to ban other breeds (usually rottweilers) too. A few weeks ago a child was mauled by a rottweiler that was used as a guard dog. The press got hold of the story and (as expected) blamed the breed, whilst also incorrectly saying that the dog was a pet (Who keeps a pet outdoors on a chain 24/7?).

To the best of my knowledge, none of these suggestions have been taken seriously. Yet.

In the Uk 4 breeds were banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1989

Pit Bulls (and Pit Bull types)

Tosa

Fila Brasileiro

Dogo Argentino

Since the DDA has blindingly obviously not worked I doubt whether any other breeds will be added.

(The Act was later amended so that a dog of ANY breed could be deemed to be a Dangerous Dog in certain circumstances.)

I live in Ontario, Canada, and so far, it's any breed that resembles an APBT. So that includes staffies, lab mixes, hound mixes, any dog with the slightest resembalence can become illegal. I myself have a dog which is probably less than 1/8th pit bull, but I have no papers to prove she can hardly be considered a pit bull, so the ban applies to me regardless.

They require them to be neutered/spayed, and always with a muzzle and leash in public (horribe!). Also, all dogs born after the date the law was set (I cannot recall when) must be euthanized. And of course bringing younger dogs in from other places is also illegal.

I wish people would smarten up and realize how idiotic all of this really is. My dog is intensley trained. She is polite and calm around people, and she knows to wait for me rather than stray off. Ofcourse all dogs are unpredictable, but some more than others. I hate to think such a racist regulation is alive and well today all over again, even if it's on dogs. I can't imagine how they cannot think it makes MUCH more sense to strictly punish those people that actually contribute to this reputation, rather than punish the dog owners who only want what's best for their pups.

I am not sure about the ban but am against it. Some dogs need to be docked/cropped. I used to own Neapolitan Mastiffs, and that is a breed that should be docked/cropped. I had a dog that I cropped late for medical reasons (massive yeast infections in ears). Once he was cropped, it cleared up entirely. I have watched the breeder dock tails on 3 day old puppies, it was less than 10 seconds and they were more disturbed that they were taken away from their mom than the docking ever did. I breed a dog where dewclaw removal is part of what I do (Peruvian Inca Orchid). The dewclaws come off at 3 days, and it is such a quick procedure, no blood, no issue. I hope the ban does not come here.