Paws for thought

This Green and Surprisingly Pleasant Land - dogs

At last I have an opportunity to write about something I really know about…dogs. I am a serial and ridiculously proud dog owner and have studied them every bit as closely as they have studied me.

The fact that a mere mournful doggy look can get me to do whatever it is that they want me to do gives a pretty good idea of who has the upper paw in this relationship.

That’s why I am weighing in on the subject of banning American XL Bully dogs. Like the government officials who are unable to accurately define this breed I am also confused over the breed. Unlike them however I am not in favour of a XL ban.

All we definitely know about XL’s is, as the name implies, that they are pretty big and can deliver a mighty bite. That said they have no exclusive franchise on biting because tiny poodles , like other smaller breeds are also quite capable of being snappy.

The problem of breed bans is succinctly summed up in a statement from the RSPCA which believes that: ‘focussing on the type of dog, rather than their individual actions, is a flawed and failing approach. Dog aggression is highly complex, and taking a breed-focused approach is fundamentally flawed.’

I remember when rottweilers had a bad rep, yet I have known a number of them who are determinedly friendly in contrast to the somewhat rabid Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary in charge of bringing in dog bans.

In case anyone has managed to miss my extreme pro-dog prejudice it’s worth saying that there is a body of research, from more objective sources, suggesting that dog behaviour is more influenced by nurture than nature.

Most often the problem lies with dog owners who mistreat, or over indulge their pets and end up with a nightmare.

All my dogs have been mixed breed rescue hounds. Some arrived in not so great condition and were wary of people but I am impressed by how quickly they got over whatever traumas they may have faced.

You really do not have to be a brilliant dog trainer to get along with your pets and stamp out anti-social behaviour. Small amounts of kindness go a long way and the occasional firm rebuff can set behaviour boundaries that are easily absorbed by dogs who want to be part of a pack.

I am not pretending to be a great expert but over three decades of rubbing along with dogs must count for something, including some toe curling soppy human to dog interactions which I do not intend to share in the public domain.

I might be soft when it comes to dogs but do not deny that there is a problem with dog aggression and that the number of hospital admissions for treatment of dog bites has been rising. The question is how to deal with this?

If the imposition of banning orders was working the number of serious incidents involving dog-caused injury would be falling. However this is not the case.

The problem is with dog owners. By all means prosecute owners who are not behaving responsibly. Moreover making dog training more accessible might be a good idea. There is also the matter of how people, particularly children, who are not familiar with dogs, interact with them. In some schools dogs are brought in to show kids how best to approach pets and to explain how to behave around them. A bit more of this seems to be a good idea.

Obviously, I’ve run these ideas past my resident hounds and they have responded in an entirely predictable fashion which consists, on the one hand of curling up and sleeping, while on the other of wondering whether an extra outing might be in prospect. I am treating both these responses as fulsome endorsement and it’s entirely likely that when I’ve finished writing we might just take a spin around the park. I probably need the exercise more than them.

Idiot of the week

It would be invidious to name names over the HS2 debacle but this week’s dubious accolade must surely go to whoever seriously imagined that Britain would be able to build an ambitious railway project in time and within budget, let alone complete the project.