hiya..
i need  some advice.......
i'm divorced and my ex husband is keeping a large number of dogs to which he's adding to all the time..
the running total so far is nine...yes that right nine....two of them are st'bernards...the female has already attacked visitors to the house and its gone for me as well....

when we split it was agreed that two of our kids would live with him...for no other reason except we asked the kids and its what they wanted..
now this st'bernard has gone for our little girl but nothing was done about it..
what i want to know is this..isnt there a limit to the amount of dogs one person can keep in a house...?
to me this is getting really silly there cant be any room for the kids and when i asked him about it he said he can handle them and its nothing to do with me....so any advice would be helpful...
oh and sorry to go on

I don't think theres a limit, in some places and areas there are, others are not...HOWEVER if one of these dogs have attack humans and broken the skin then (unfortantly or fortantly) they will have to be put to sleep.  If one of the dogs has done this then report it to the police.  Your Ex sounds like he won't listen to a word you say so don't even try and talk to him!  However if the dog has only snapped and not broken any skin then there isn't much you can do I don't think.

I think this is a dispute between you and your ex husband and not for this board.

it has nothing to do with it being my ex....thank you very much
i'm concerned these dogs are not being looked after properly...
they arnt being fed properly...(you can tell)
sometimes they arnt taken for a walk for a couple of days at a time
he admits it himself.....he's not in the best of health to look after so many
i'm after advice ...not someone having a pop at me.

If he's unable to look after these dogs properly, are you satisified he's taking adequate care of your children??

You could either get in touch with your local council ( if local authority ) or dig out the deeds to your house if you have acsess to them, there is a limit not sure what it is though, i think its something like 4 dogs if council depending on different areas.
John think that was uncalled for :rolleyes:

Council in our area will not take action however many dogs are in a home if they are not causing a problem to neighbours and there are no health and enviromental problems, I think that also apply's to the privates house's there has to be a reportable problem before the enviromental health will act.

It is not a hard and fast rule that all dogs that bite and break the skin will be put to death, the courts do take circumstances into account I am please to say, as it is not always the animals fault.

I think you problems would be best sorted out through your solicitors, for the good of all your family

Before you jump on John - you didn't mention in your first post that you didn't think the dogs were being looked after properly.

point taken but he just took it for grated that it was an issue between me and my ex...which it really isnt

I must admit I thought the same as John, OOPS.
Anyway if it were one of my children in possible danger and had been bitten I'm afraid I'd be phoning the police.
i had issues recently with my council regarding keeping dogs and where I live (Newcastle) our tenancy agreement allows one dog. Shared access allows none.
The lady aat the council office said they are aware people have several and unless they get reports of them causing a disturbance they are fine with that.
sorry couldn't be of much help.

<<i'm divorced and my ex husband is keeping a large number of dogs to which he's adding to all the time..>>

I still think the same thing Spotty Dog. Champdogs board is about dogs not for hitting ex husbands over the head.

Some councils seem to be guided by 'the 6 dog rule' there was a case of a Shar-Pei breeder/exhibitor who had more than 6 and the council said he had to have his premises reclassified as something else - trouble was they did'nt know what !!! - he only bred very occassionally - he was'nt a boarding kennels, the neighbours had no complaints or worries about the number of dogs he had. I think in the end the council backed down because it was obviously rediculous to ask him to pay to be licensed but then not be able to tell him what licence he had to apply for ! :-D

So if you feel that this lady is just here to hit her ex over the head, are you saying that its ok to keep aggressive dogs in large numbers when you cant look after them?

She MAY be telling the truth. But we only have her word for that and husbands seem to be fair game these days

At the end of the day this is an open forum to people that sometimes need help & advice, wether we choose to belive what some people are saying or not, isnt it much better to give people the fruits of our knowledge?  Rather than verbally bash people on here with words?

Its no good going to the RSPCA as in times of need they can be unhelpful, my advice is to get in touch with your local authority and issue a formal complaint, they may alert the relevant rescues that could be helpful to you, the local authority can sometimes take cases like this seriously.  The area i live the council only allows 4 dogs and thats written within the rules of the tenancy agreement.  It may also be worth talking to your ex`s nieghbours to see if they are willing to make a complaint, that would be if the dogs are bothering them.  My first concern would of course be getting the children sorted out, as it is clearly not safe for them to stay there, especially with dogs of that size that *could* possibly turn on them.

i realise it does seem like all i want to do is have a go at my ex but it really isnt.....my children are a seperate issue and are being dealt with through the courts....(as from today)
i was and still am concerned about the keeping of so many dogs in one place....
as far as i know about them...one dog is deaf...one is blind and very few of them are house trained..
i would want to complain about anyone whos keeping animals like this...it just so happens it is my ex.....
does this mean coz it is my ex i shouldnt bring this situation to the attention of someone in case they thought i was being picky...?
believe it or not....not all ex wives are trying to get one over on the man......

If you have genuine concerns over the animals then your best course of action would be to discuss it with your local dog warden who would be best place to refer the case to an animal welfare organisation or take action themselves.

If you ex husbands dogs aren't housetrained then that is for him to deal. Dogs who are deaf or blind can live perfectly happy lives.  If the animals are aggressive towards children then arrangements can be made for your ex to see his children elsewhere. 

Its a bit of a worry if your kids are living there too.

Hi Lilithe

Well I read your post I didn't think you were having a go at your ex.  I think you said that to explain the situation ie two of your children, for reasons of their own, are now living with him.  Obviously, their wellbeing is still of prime concern to you, their mum.  From what you said, at least one of these dogs has gone for a visitor and you, that seems to be the most worrying factor. 

If the safety of both your children and other people is what is motivating you, I would be inclined to first speak to your children to see what their feelings are on the dogs behaviour.  Only if their response backs up your own initial feelings would I think you need to persue it further.  What ages are your children?  Would social services be of any help if their safety is in question. 

The number of dogs he has, or even the disabilities they have are not the real issue - it is whether they are being looked after properly and are not a menace to society that needs to be addressed.  Missing a walk for a couple of days does not equal inadequate care although it goes without saying that they do need regular exercise and socialising.  Try to make sure you keep everything in proportion before you act then your motives can't be questioned or misconstrued.

at least someone can tell i'm not trying to have a go at my ex for the sake of it.....the house that they all live in is pretty small so to have all the dogs in one place ALL day cant be very nice for them....i found out off one of the kids that they all went to london and left the dogs in the house for an entire w/end locked in.... i'm kinda thinking that he doesnt really know how to manage them all... and things are getting out of hand with him and the dogs.....he wont listen to me about them because like some of the replys from this post he will think i'm just having a go at him... i thought maybe i could get someone to go and see how he's coping and if he needs help or something like that...i know he likes dogs..but theres liking dogs and theres going too far i think.