So I heard yesterday that there is talk of pet owners having to do a theory test.

An off-lead Jack Russell was terrorising the herd of deer in the Phoenix Park yesterday. Chasing them around the Ashtown gate area and across the main road through traffic to the 15 acres.

That owner (who was nowhere to be seen) needs more than a theory test.

And it's Pomeranian.

What's the restricted breeds in Ireland? And what are the reasons for those breeds to be there?

There's no need to make differences between restricted unrestricted or whatever you want to call it. People need to be educated, before getting any dog. Dogs are not teddy bears, they are living loyal creatures deserving respect and care. The minute people will realize it, there will be no need for absolutely useless lists and full shelters..

I think they should concentrate on trying to enforce the laws and rules they already have in place before adding another one to the pile.

IceT

There's only one report carried out on dog bites in Ireland which was in 2008. The findings are that the breeds most involved in bite incidents were collies which accounted for 42 incidents, terrier breeds 31 incidents, cocker or springer spaniels accounted for 22, jack Russell terriers 20, crossbreeds 12, golden retrievers 6 and Dachshunds 5.

So why is it only restricted breeds owners that need to do a course? Sure pitbull attacks seem to be increasing but let's take German Shepherd's for example, which are extremely popular here for decades and weren't listed in the above report. Either they should be removed from the list or a hell of a lot of other dogs need to be added to it.

A labrador has a very strong bite force comparable to a pitbull or GSD for example. The Caucasian Shepherd, Tibetan Mastiff and Kangal aren't on the list and have ridiculous bite force.

It's worth noting that the UK don't have a restricted breed list, just 4 banned breeds.

What's the point in bringing in more nonsense regulations when realistically this country has so much unenforced laws. A decent percentage of cars aren't insured or NCT'd for example. So who is going to enforce the these new dog regulations against the local scumbag with a pitbull starved so it will be aggressive? The answer, nobody, but it will cause unnecessary hassle for good dog owners who have a so called restricted breed resulting from a stupid knee jeck reaction from a few decades ago.

I'd support that idea. I've posted before about wanting to get a large dog breed while I live in an apartment. I've done extensive homework on the breed I'm interested in, but I still have to repeat the spiel over and over to people who think it's wrong. I'd happily go through some sort of process to obtain a license if it was "proof" I was a responsible owner - especially living in an apartment where it's more of a communal space and I do feel I have some responsibility to be respectful of other residents especially children or people with a fear of dogs.

And likewise, the number of people who buy or rescue a dog with ZERO clue of what's involved is crazy. Most are well meaning but if it reduced unwanted or neglected pets then it's not a bad idea.

Agree the government look for ways to swindle money out of us but maybe it could be offset by a discount on the dog license or something.

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/girl-17-attacked-and-bitten-by-jack-russell-as-a-child-settles-high-court-action-for-92000-36805721.html

There you go, bites and kills from Yorkies and JR.

As for snakes, a ball python, milk snake, corn snake are harmless in fairness. Actually snakes in general are useful to humans. Scientists are working on using venom to cure cancer, some farmers in other countries find them useful for killing rodents etc. Some snakes are very calm when handled properly and won't kill an older kid.

You amitted you don't know anything about cats but you'll give your opinion anyway despite a lack of knowledge. A Maine Coon is bigger than a normal cat, smarter and more tolerant with kids but they should be made more difficult to own?

There are 10 restricted breeds in Ireland, no banned breeds. The restrictions means that these breeds need to be muzzled in public, these dogs lists must be on a short, less than 2 meters (6.5 feet), lead. The leash must be ‘sufficiently strong’ or it needs to be a chain, Dogs must wear a collar at all times with the owners information on it. This information should include owners name & address. These dogs can only be led by people over the age of 16. There are exceptions to these rules for Dogs being used by the Garda, Army, Customs, Search and Rescue and a bunch of other Governmental agencies.

The list of restricted breeds is:

• American Pit Bull Terrier
• English Bull Terrier
• Staffordshire Bull Terrier
• Bull Mastiff
• Dobermann Pinscher
• Rottweiler
• German Shepherd (Alsatian)
• Rhodesian Ridgeback
• Japanese Akita
• Japanese Tosa
• Any mix of the above

And I wholeheartedly agree, as I said in my original post my suggestion should be for all dogs. You SHOULD need a course for each and every dog, you should be able to pass a "Driving Test" with a professional to show they have the knowledge and skills to control and train that dog. But its not realistic and 1) it would not happen and 2) people would just ignore the law. Laws should be realistic and enforceable. Hence why I said the, going back to the driving analogy, theory test for none restricted breed and driving test with a professional for restricted breeds.

I've been working as a dog trainer and behaviorist for 20 years now and in almost all cases the issues I have seen have come from an owner (obviously rescues sometimes it is not the fault of my client but the previous owner but you get the point), lack of knowledge and understanding is the cause of the majority of the issues.

These are all working dogs, I have spent most of my career specifically not recommending these breeds to people. Most of the information I have read is from studies in the UK and listing to other professional from the UK. I'd imagine that the reason why Australian sheep dogs are not on this list is because it is an old study. Dalmations are a major issue in the UK with biting kids. The The Caucasian Shepherd, Tibetan Mastiff and Kangal are hugely dangerous breeds when in the wrong hands, along with the Bully XL & Dogo Argentino among others. A Rottweiler, my favorite breed by that way (that and GSD) has enough bite strength to break bone.

My main issue is that, to be honest, the current restricted breeds law actually achieves nothing in the long run. Yes obviously it will technically reduce the likelihood that a dog on the list will be able to hurt anyone but with the correct training and environment those dogs would pose almost no danger to anyone, on or off lead, muzzle or no muzzle. The problem is that unless the owner has the correct equipment, environment, space, lifestyle, skills & knowledge to be able to train and maintain control over the dog then you will still have a reactive dog, and with the restricted breeds you have one that weighs a huge amount that is hard to control and the risk is huge. In an ideal world most dogs would be able to live a normal unrestricted life but as most people do not really have proper control of their dogs then incidents happen all the time.