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KIRSTY STRICKLAND: Have pandemic puppy buyers become today’s dangerous dog owners?

"We have more dogs than ever before and, it seems, more problems with out-of-control dogs and ineffective owners."

Are recent dog attacks linked to the surge in puppy sales during the pandemic?
Are recent dog attacks linked to the surge in puppy sales during the pandemic?

Since becoming a dog owner last year, I am now hyper-aware of any news stories involving dog attacks and deaths.

Maybe there was always this volume of incidents, and I just never registered them before now.

But it’s also possible that we are now seeing the impact of the the whopping 3.2 million “pandemic puppies” bought during lockdown.

We have more dogs than ever before and, it seems, more problems with out-of-control dogs and ineffective owners than ever before, too.

In the last month The Courier has reported on several dog attack incidents.

In Kinross, a dog was killed by other dogs and a woman was injured in the same incident.

There was also the news that a farmer in Fife had to put down a lamb that had been badly mauled by two off-lead dogs in an attack on his farm.

A Glenrothes pensioner said he was left traumatised after three dogs attacked his rescue dog, leaving him with serious injuries.

Glenrothes dog attack
Murray Tocher was traumatised after his dog Mya was attacked. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

What links these cases isn’t the breed of the dog, but the fact that every owner involved was unable to control their pet.

So many of the problems we have been seeing recently could have been avoided if owners kept their dog on a lead.

I’ve written before about my headstrong pup, Buddy.

We don’t let him off lead in public places because he doesn’t yet have reliable recall. He is over-friendly with other dogs and would bound over to any dog he sees without stopping to consider whether they want to engage with him.

Kirsty and Buddy enjoying a beach walk. Image: Kirsty Strickland

Some dogs are reactive, some dogs are nervous from previous negative interactions or fights with other dogs. It’s good manners – and good sense – to keep your dog on a lead unless you know they will come back to you, 100% of the time, regardless of what else is going on in their environment.

We had a strange interaction with another owner while out walking our dog last week.

For context, I should point out that I understand I am probably more risk-averse than most people. I’m a nervous nelly. I see potential danger around every corner. When it comes to the dog, I’m working on it. I’m trying to relax when off lead dogs come running up to him and not instantly panic that we’re about to have an encounter like the ones I’m always reading about in The Courier.

So, on our walk last week, I was trying hard to be laid back when off-lead dogs approached us – sometimes, at great speed.

As we were nearing the end of our walk, a woman came towards us with two dogs, a very small one and a very big one. Both instantly ran over to my on-lead dog, and I smiled at the woman and said hello. But then she said something very strange. She said that I shouldn’t let my dog interact with hers, because “he’s just bit another dog back there”.

We swiftly moved away from them, and I was flabbergasted at what I’d heard for the rest of the walk.

Irresponsible dog owners ruin it for the rest of us

Minutes before we encountered this woman, her off-lead dog had attacked another dog.

Yet that dog was still loose. She was making no attempt whatsoever to get it under control.

I get that it’s lovely to see dogs running free and living their best doggy lives but come on.

If your pet has just attacked somebody else’s, surely, it’s time to take away their off-lead privileges?

Dogs bring so much joy to our lives for the relatively short time they are with us. It’s such a shame that a minority of irresponsible owners are impacting that enjoyment for the rest of us.

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