I have had a telephone enquiry today that has left me wondering just how much sense some people have.  The lady asked if I had a very tiny toy breed puppy.  She has 2 Cavalier boys, and wants a little friend for them.  The reason she wants a small one?  She purchased a puppy last week Cav x Cocker, and he went for one of her boys, so she sent him to the animal shelter!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am gobsmacked! 

beggars belief.. dare I ask if we should be proud of your reply ;-)

I'm afraid that I told her that I wouldn't even consider selling her a puppy.  Well, maybe I wasn't quite as polite as that.

Oh dear some people, maybe the lucky one is the one sent to the shelter, seems the others are left with a really crappy owner :-(

Oh dear!! some people must be on a different planet :-(

wouldnt it be fab if there was a test for dog ownership that they had to take before owning any dog cross breed or pedigree

I'm all for that!

Could do with the same for people wanting kids

>wouldnt it be fab if there was a test for dog ownership that they had to take before owning any dog cross breed or pedigree

No, it would be a nightmare of red tape! People would simply lie on the test to get their dog then go off and do whatever they wanted. How can you tell if someone's going to be a good owner until they've got a dog? All the theory and booklearning in the world doesn't equate to practical experience. How much faith do people have in the behaviourist franchisees that can set up business without ever having owned a dog? In theory they're great - in practice they can be rubbish.

Who would set the test? How specific would it have to be - after all, the correct care for a bichon frise would be different to the correct care for a Great Dane. An owner could be ideal for one and useless with the other.

OK...a TAD tongue in cheek....but some could say the same about the current driving test! :-)  Some people learn to drive to PASS the test and then go and do their own thing anyway, ignoring speed limits etc etc! Some may be better off driving a Fiat Punto but still go and buy an Aston Martin DB9!

The test isn't perfect, but it's a start......and yes, there are always people who will try and buck the system and go joy riding/buying illegally bred DDA listed dogs etc etc, but it MAY just make a FEW stop and think!  If that were the case, then to my mind it would be worth the red tape.

Ah, the old driving test analogy. ;-) How many people take their driving test before they've practiced driving a real car?

Be better to make it a rule that ALL dogs had to pass GC Bronze.

OK...take that point :-)....so building on it, why not make it part of the test to spend x hours in a dog rescue centre exercising & caring for dog & x hours shadowing an APBC behaviourist BEFORE being allowed to purchase a dog?

Because pensioners, who often make excellent owners for elderly dogs that nobody else wants, would find that difficult, if not impossible. Our nearest rescue centre is a 45-minute drive away. If you rely on public transport it would take several hours. So you could wave goodbye to those potentially excellent homes and have to put the dogs to sleep instead.

Sooo....there could  be exemptions/caveats?  As per the driving test for people with disabilities........eg you can learn to drive at 16 with certain disabilities as opposed to the statutory 17 years of age for most of us.  Haven't quite got all the Ts & Cs sorted JUST yet!  ;-0 :-)

I think Marianne's suggestion of passing the KCGC Bronze an excellent one. The test's already designed and up and running, it's practical not mere theory. I'm not sure about a compulsory element (who would do the policing, and who would pay for it?) but someone on another site suggested the clever idea that if passing the Good Citizen tests meant a reduction of your insurance premiums, more people would be inclined to take it.

I'm still wondering how rescue centres and behaviourists would cope with all the hundreds of thousands of people all trying to shadow them at the same time! The logistics are staggering.

wouldnt it be fab if there was a test for dog ownership that they had to take before owning any dog cross breed or pedigree

But that would stop all those nice people from buying a puppy 'as a surprise xmas present'

goes off to hide behind sofa!!!

Chris

The bronze idea isn't a bad one, but of course it doesn't allow for either changes in temperament or just dogs behaving differently away from test conditions. My boy for example has passed his Gold, but as he's got a bit older and more 'full of himself' I have to be just a little careful around one or two breeds that for some reason he takes a dislike to. Passing his bronze wouldn't stop an irresponsible owner not watching for any signs of grumpiness or putting him back on the lead as soon as an 'iffy' breed for him is spotted.

the test was jus a tongue in cheek comment... however if somebody had to do ex amount of work in rescue center or some kind of regulatory conditions surely it would put off all those who thinks its easy to go buy one and thats it!!
and who would regulate this?????
i actually think i licence from the council would work. how eager are they for all council taxes to be collected?
yes they would be primarily thinking of the money BUT they would get the job done.
and of course you will have people slip through the net as you do with anything but at least it makes it that little bit harder to buy a cute sweet puppy that grows up not so cute that eats your phone andother worldy possessions and then get sick of it.

i actually think i licence from the council would work.

It didn't work before though, did it, which is why it was scrapped.

yeh i agree but they didnt have as many issues with aggresive behavoiur and not picking up dog mess.
and lets face they are on the ball when it comes to collecting money so if they make money from a licence then you have to apply for a licence every 5 yeas or so?
lets face it any of these ideas are not fool proof but an idea of a test or licence or something would be a better idea than nothing at all