Boards
dog owners tests
should people have to study & pass a test, by law, to own a dog?
you see so many people who have dogs for completely the wrong reasons - or that just can't look after them. on my estate there's a family with 2 dogs - something pitbull like. they look nice enough when you see them on the leash, but every day i can hear them snarling and roaring at each other as though the owners have set them on each other... and the owners let them jump up at people. scary if you're an adult who isn't totally comfortable with random dogs, potentially horrifying if you're a small child.
'dangerous dogs' get put down because their owners can't or won't control them, or think about the situations they bring them into. dogs get abandoned because the responsibility is more than the owner expected.
should people be assessed on their living conditions/whether they have children, when they attempt to buy a dog? [i.e. owning a greyhound and having small kids, probably not a good idea... unable to keep your own flat clean or stock your fridge, owning any animal probably a terrible idea]
should they have to prove, by some kind of written or practical test, that they can look after an animal, they they know its basic needs and can recognise problems [behavioural or physical]?
at the very least, i think dogs should stop being put down when they're deemed dangerous - rather, they should be taken away from the owner and rehabilitated & rehomed where they'll be better controlled.