I love dogs, they're totally brilliant! They do so much for us humans, but I think we've let them down. Anyone can breed a dog and sell puppies to anyone. I think the time has come that all dogs should be neutered except ones for breeding. Anyone who wants to breed a dog should be very strictly regulated.

Anyone who wants to own a dog should be strictly regulated as well. It should be mandatory to be trained in dog ownership.

I understand where you are coming from on this but not all dogs should be neutered mainly because it would be medically and behaviourally very bad for some dogs and the diminishing gene pool would in the end be very bad health wise for our dogs.

We do need some sort of control on who can have dogs and what dogs they can own though.

I have no confidence the people in charge could do this, it actually scares me they may try.

I agree that something needs to be done, but disagree with your idea as to what.

As with many things, it will be responsible owners that are penalised and their healthy, happy dogs who'll have to have bits hacked out of them because of some misguided idea that neutering is a cure all.

I do think that all dog should be registered somehow and see a vet at least once a year for a health and behavioural assessment (much like a car).
Some sort of training ought to be mandatory, but classes aren't for every dog.
The biggie for me is that the basic required standard of care for dogs should be much improved, currently they only really need food, shelter, water and healthcare, this is nothing like enough IMO, it's no coincidence that most of the dogs in these attacks are rarely seen outside of the house!

I have had dogs in the past with behavioural issues no amount of training would have cured, believe me we tried LOL

All we could do was keep them and everyone else safe, they all had happy lives with certain cast iron rules about how we handled them.

It's not dogs that need an annual behavioural test it's owners need to be tested to see if they can give these more difficult dogs what they need to keep them happy and everyone else safe.

I would agree about a medical check however I would say every 6 months as conditions can arise or change rapidly in dogs. I would also make whatever rules apply to dog owning apply to cat owning too.

It's a fine idea, but it seems unenforceable to me

The trouble as I see it is that us humans have created the problem. We've bred dogs over the years and what we have now is actually man made, so to speak. Many dogs and breeds are brilliant, look at all the different jobs dogs do for us and look at the excellent pets they make. Yet, there are dogs that aren't really suitable to be around, which is a terrible travesty IMHO. We've let dogs down in so many ways. They didn't ask to be here. So, the only way, as I see it, is to strictly regulate breeding, I don't see any other way.

Then there's the owners, what's to be done about them?

Oh and neutering? I understood that it's actually good for dogs, am I wrong?

Neutering is not necessarily good for all dogs and in males it's a very diverse subject but to Spey females is less of a grey area and far better for the bitches well being

I wonder if something like microchips could help the problem, when a litter is born they could be micro chipped with the breeders details, so if the dog goes into rescue or found straying etc the breeder has the responsibility for it's care and welfare. Might make people think twice about who they sell a dog to and how many dogs they breed. Responsible breeders already take dogs back if their are problems I believe so they wouldn't mind a scheme like this either.

Microchipping is compulsory in Wales now, with the Welsh government intending for all dogs to be chipped by March 2015. It has also been compulsory to chip in Northern Ireland since 9 April 2012, to help reduce the vast amounts of unwanted litters born and destroyed simply as there's not enough homes for them. England and Scotland are as yet to follow.

Personally, I would advocate a compulsory spay too, for all dogs that are not show dogs or top quality breeding bitches. Castrating dogs isn't always a good idea, but spaying has serious literally life saving benefits. There is absolutely no valid reason to not spay the average pet, it would cut down on poor, badly raised puppies, that end up in rescues due to behavioural problems, stop people being able to churn out all manner of crossbreeds with no thoughts other than seeing pound signs, and stop untraceable 'breeders'.

Neutering is generally good for the dog, but not always.

In a dog, apart from the obvious, castration is supposed to cure unwanted male behaviour, roaming, mounting, testosterone based conflict and aggression, and all other undesirable issues you get in a adult male dog. However, it doesn't always cure these, if your dog is jumping on every visitor's leg, the snip won't automatically make him stop, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. It does however, prevent the possibility of testicular cancer, which in itself can outweigh the other grey areas.

In a bitch, it has far less grey area, there's no maybe about it, spaying will 100% prevent unwanted pregnancies and all the risks that in itself brings, seasons, uterine/ovarian cancer, pyometra (a potentially fatal womb infection) and mammary cancer. It will not necessarily calm a bitch down as it can a dog, as it removes female calming hormones so that is a myth, and like a dog, it is not a quick fix for behaviour. However, the serious health advantages it offers really outweigh anything else so for most, there's less uncertainty in the decision.