A dog behaviourist is calling for all potential dog owners to pass a mandatory test before they can be issued with a dog licence and bring a dog into their home.
Nanci Creedon says the move would not be a solution for all questionable dog or pet owner behaviour, but would act to give more dogs a chance of a happy and safe life with less risk of being made homeless or put to sleep because of behaviour issues.
Nanci from Cork, believes a dog theory test, science-based and similar to that for a driver's licence, would reduce the number of dog attacks while promoting responsible dog ownership.
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In Spain, the upcoming Animal Protection Law bill includes mandatory training for pet owners prior to taking a dog home. The content of the course has yet to be drafted and regulated but according to the newspaper El Mundo, government sources say the course will consist of "a short training programme that will help to learn the responsibilities of having an animal and civic norms for co-existence. The new law will also make it a crime to leave dogs unattended for more than 24 hours.
Nanci said: "World-wide dog behaviour experts are calling for more education, and to help dog owners understand their dog that little bit better, dispel myths that are out there and implement more dog bite prevention methods.
"Doing that through education is the easiest way and mandatory tests for dog licences would mean we're very much getting to the masses.
"At the moment we're preaching on how to take care of your dog correctly, how to do the right things with your dogs. The responsible dog owners are listening, but we're not getting to those who aren't currently responsible dog owners.
"Mandatory testing before you get a licence means that no matter what, at least they have the knowledge. What they do with it is out of our hands - but by at least getting the right information into the masses, into the nation, is going to make a difference".
Nanci is a certified canine behaviourist, has a degree in Zoology, a masters degree in Animal Behaviour and an expert court witness in relation to a dog bite cases. She said her call is about responsible dog ownership and helping to keep people safe.
She explained: ""First and foremost, I'm a mum. While people often think, 'Oh here she comes, protecting the breeds and sticking up for the dogs'. It's not: I've got two small children, I don't want my kids bitten - I don't want anyone's kids bitten.
"I have so many clients who come to me day in, day out and the common theme when they leave is, 'Wow, I can't believe I misunderstood my dog so much'.
"Fundamentally the most important thing for people to understand is how dogs learn. Quite often people have issues with their dogs, and they try approaches such as taking a dog who is nervous of other dogs to the dog park, so that the dog will get over their fear.
"In reality that's just going to amplify that motivation of, 'I feel discomfort, I must display aggressive behaviours to get more space'.
"Understanding canine body language is critical: every single time I hear the statement 'The dog bit out of the blue', I know the dog did not bite out of the blue.
"Dogs will display signals that look like the dog is fine, but to us things like yawning, scratching, sniffing the ground, when it's out of context it's often a sign that whatever just happened was slightly stressful for that dog."
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