Dog owners should be responsible people, they should have complete control of their dogs when they are around out in the community; around other dogs, children, adults and Posties.
Dogs are instinctively dangerous and their owners have a part to play in the dog’s behaviour.
25% of all households now own a dog, so how much can we trust them?
The message I want to get out there is that I am asking this council to educate all dog owners.
Peterborough should have a dedicated specialist, someone to deal with cases as they arise. Vets, Police, owners and Peterborough City Council could look at introducing a fixed penalties for dogs that have been identified as being a problem.
Dogs and owners can enroll into lessons and after successful completion of, say, a 10 weeks programme and then be provided with a certificate stating that they are are a responsible dog owner.
Far too many incidents are sadly being reported in the Gunthorpe ward. I was invited to do a home visit where the owner was caring for his injured dog who had been involved in a dog-on-dog attack. The local resident said he and his dog had enjoyed many a walk in the same place for the last two years or more, but now he feels fearful for himself and had to witness a horrible attack which has affected his confidence and his dog’s. He expressed it wasn’t the dog’s fault it was the owner’s. As a Lib Dem Councillor I would like to see the use of positive reinforcement for Peterborough that actually works, a partnership to see better practice for domestic dogs enabling the Dog Warden to enforce the rules after identifying aggressive dogs or unsocial dogs in the community.
By implementing this, it will also generate revenue to Peterborough City Council.
Julia Davidson 