Dogs thought to be type and the internet

If you suspect that your dog may be type no amount of posting pictures and inviting opinion on the internet will make things any clearer in fact in all likelihood you will end up more confused than ever (especially when faced with kindly intended but incorrect suggestions that your dog is a Weimaraner cross when you know for a fact your dog has never even seen a weimaraner from across the road let alone been born of one).

A dog cannot be typed definitively from a photograph by anyone, experts included, its not true that the law is simply about the way a dog looks though obviously if the dog does not give the first impression that it resembles a dog of type it isn’t one. The ADBA standard focuses on the ability of a dog to do the job of a fighting dog and any faults it has related to its ability, agility, or stamina will have greater impact on a dogs type that those which are cosmetic only. Photographs can also be deceiving with a dog looking different on practically every one.

It will most likely be suggested if you post online that your dog has been seized, that you set up a support group and start a petition. Petitions are only of use if they are government ones related to the law itself, petitioning for the return of a specific dog to either the police, councils, or to the court are of no use in getting your dog back. The police or council will not release a dog they believe is a banned breed because a petition asks them to.

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Dogs in cars

The issue of transporting dogs in cars crops up on a regular basis.
ALL dogs must be suitably restrained in a vehicle so that it doesn’t distract the driver or injure them if the vehicle stops quickly (UK Highway Code).
However, conditions of exemption state that:
The dog must be muzzled and kept on lead in public places at ALL times, including the car and under the control of a person over the age of sixteen
This means that to follow the letter of the law even if the dog is in a harness attached to a seat belt or in a crate, the dog must still be on a lead and under the control of a person over the age of sixteen if the car they are in, is itself in a public place.

Exemption changes

We are sure there will be other points that spring to mind as we digest the information

There is still the 2 months time limit on contingency orders in order to comply with the rules of exemption however it is now clearly stated that the dog will no longer be exempt if the requirements attached to the certificate of exemption are not complied with at any time after the certificate is issued, clarifying that breach of conditions will make your dog illegal again.

Tattooing has been removed from the conditions and replaced with microchipping. And you now have to provide access to the dog for the purpose of reading a microchip on request by a person specified in section 5(1)

It is now clarified that you now have five days to produce confirmation of insurance when requested to do so which matches the five days to produce already given to produce the certificate of exemption.

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