My bad dog experiences and what I would do

The government plans to have all dog owners insure their dogs for third party. The new plans also give powers to the police and council to force dangerous dogs to be muzzled. Dogs will be micro chipped and dog control notices introduced (like a dog ASBO).

Apparently more than 100 people a week go to hospital after a dog attack. I can well believe this as it happened to me.

My bad dog experiences

I was once attacked by two Alsatians dogs off the lead in Weybridge and had to have stitches in hospital. The owners were middle class and not dog fighter breeders. The dogs attacked my leather brief case, I had to throw it to get the dogs off me. The actual dog owners blamed me for waving the brief case. The dogs destroyed my brief case and I was merely looking through the brief case when the dogs attacked. I was shocked when they told me off and they still could not control the dogs trying to hold them back. I moved away as fast as I could without running. My trousers were torn and I noticed I was bleeding. I had been bitten on the side of my leg and on my bottom. Work colleagues took me to hospital where I received stitches for my injuries.

This was weird for me as I am not scared of dogs. My family had an Alsatian at the time and have had several large dogs. My family stopped owning dogs after several problems, One had a mental health problem and had to be put down. Another dog was too aggressive and was given to the police and a third dog was put down after killing some sleep. I also remember when I was a child that our Labrador was kicked and punched by a small child but luckily never reacted.

I also have a friend who is scared to go and visit their friend at a south London estate because of the status dogs there. Her friend is also scared to let her children out on the estate for the same reason. I don't really see how this is fair on people who are scared of dogs. There are a lot of these dogs on this estate and they seem to lead their owners. Perhaps the dog is the pack leader here rather than submissive to the pack leader.

My Ideas

The big worry is that only responsible dog owners will insure their dogs but irresponsible people won't. I agree that this is the worry. I have some ideas on this.

I understand that all dogs can bite but some breeds are more dangerous than others. I think that safer dogs do not need to be covered by micro chipping. There should be a list of possibly dangerous dogs which should be insured and chipped. I would also add that these dogs should have a visible sign that they have been micro chipped so it is easy to report and check, perhaps with a tag. If it is discovered that you have not insured your dog or had it micro chipped then the dog should be held for a week say. If the owner does not get dog insurance then the dog should be destroyed.

Its the dog owners who should pay. If your dog is on the more dangerous dogs list and it attacks someone you should be fined and if you don't pay your fine then you should have a short spell prison. In both cases this should include some education on how to look after a dog and train a dog to behave. The dog should be destroyed if it is not collected and if it is collected then it should be neutered. The dog and dog owner would have to attend compulsory training as part of the fine.

I think all dogs should be on leads when in the streets. And you should have to be 21 to own a dangerous dog.

I know these measure are not nice especially for the dog but these dogs are being used as weapons and its simply not fair on those people that are scared of the dangerous dogs (some people are in total terror of these dogs).

One other thing I would do is to close down dog farms. These are unfair on the dogs where conditions are often kept in bad conditions and the RSPCA is not allowed to inspect without permission. Dog farms are more likely to breed a dog with a behaviour problem.

Let me know your ideas for control of dangerous dogs in the comments

Details of battery dog farms can be seen here on the Guardian