i know the dogo is on the dangerous dogs act which is very out dated but its called dangerous dogs how can if i get a puppy imported be classifed as dangerous its a puppy ?
There most be some kind of lop hole ive emailed defra and customs but no knows anything someone please help me !!!

You can't legally import one. The whole breed is banned from the country, no matter what the age or temperament of the individual.

The dangerous dogs act refers to dogs as a species not as in 'adult dog'. A puppy dogo is just as illegal as an adult dogo.

> There most be some kind of lop hole

No need for a loophole, there are plenty of wonderfull, legal breeds to choose from.

ETA, not to mention all of the dogs in rescues in need of a loving home.

Why would you want to look for a loop hole in the law?  There should ideally be no loop holes.

i only wanted one because i work in security with dogs and they seem an amazing breed but like you said there are plenty of others .
i know all about rescue dogs thats where i got my dog at the moment from :)

I think they are used in the states for hunting wild boar. Good examples are meant to be biddable and placid with their owners. What would concern me is that they are a fairly new breed- developed in the 1920's and some might revert to fighting dog type (developed from Cordoba fighting dog which was apprently highly aggressive).

Did you see the film Bombon el Perro? That was about the relationship between a man and his Dogo. Only thing is a lot of the dogs seemed to bite their owners- known for it. So I'm not sure what to believe about the breed.

Anyways, they are illegal here so why not go for a good security breed like a GS or Dobermann?

i work a german shephard x rottweiler at the moment i just wanted something different .
ive also got my eye on boerboels or a cane corso .

> i work a german shephard x rottweiler at the moment i just wanted something different

This is a report from the 2005 World Dog Show

We are told the judge is himself a Dogo Breeder and president of the Austrian Dogo Club. It seems the judge is back home safely and told another judge that when he announced his BOB, the loser gave an order to his  dog to attack the judge who quickly jumped onto the judge's table to save himself! The foregoing comment sums up the reputation of the Dogo exhibitors. A breed which is encouraged to be unapproachable and cannot be examined by a judge could not be in American or European rings. One has to wonder at the mentality and lack of self-confidence of a group of exhibitors who encourage such behavior, theirs and the dog's!

:-O

I'd love to work a standard poodle - I know of a scrappy in Manchester who swears by them.  Also a Professional Dog Trainer trained his wife's poodle and it was even better than his service dogs, so at a Police exhibition he put the poodle up.  It was still much better at everything than the other trained police dogs but the police officers were too busy laughing and refused to recruit poodles - purely because of their appearance.  Pom pom's are optional but I would like to see someone, a professional security handler or police officer, handle an unusual security breed.

The thing with security dogs though is that 90% of them is LOOKS. Many of them are only trained to bark and look imposing, nothing else. It's a visual deterrent so I can see why a Poodle wouldn't work for that. :) (I've recently sold two malinois pups to a security firm hence got a lot of info from them.)

I remember when a Standard Poodle won the obedience at Crufts though! In Sweden we have a saying -"Intelligent as a Poodle". :)

But shaved down they can look a heck of a lot more butch (OH likes mine when they are less "poodley", typical man) ;-) 

> But shaved down they can look a heck of a lot more butch (OH likes mine when they are less "poodley", typical man) ;-) 

i've got to say i've always thought they look a bit sharp (jmo! sorry!) even with the full 'do', its just something about their mouths for me. lol, from the bullmastiff owner...different strokes eh?

I now have a GSDXrotty and everyone is different, his brother is very german shephard and rio mine you wouldnt think he was anything else but rotty if you looked at him. TBH you just seem to want a hard looking dog, which is not the way to go around it, corsos and boerboels being that but stick to the breeds we know best. Neither of those have a vast amount of breeders in the UK and some not being bred in the most responsible way. Dont go into DDBs please.

Louise

I've had three Dogo's in rescue and I cannot find any fault with them mentally. However, the Dogo is a hunting dog first and foremost and it certainly shows when you walk them ;). Many people in Germany have Dogos and some actually compete in Obedience and Agility. You should not tar them all with the same brush just because they attract idiot owners more so than other breeds. I was very careful where I placed them and all three are in good and responsible homes for ages now without any problems.

As to the boar hunting, Weimaraners are used for that as well ;).

Otterhound,

I don't think any tarring was going on just a bit of reality checking.

The reference to boar hunting was a positive since you want a dog that will leave the quarry on command.

Nonetheless there are negative reports about this breed too and, yes, much of that is down to the kind of people who own them. They are banned within this country, there are reasons for that ban (evidenced, to my mind, by what I saw in the film Bombon el Perro). As you say, they are a highly powerful hunting dog, best suited, I would think, to wide open spaces where they can do the job they were, only fairly recently, developed for. What we don't want is a surge of Dogos, Cane Corsos etc.. turning up in the inner city parks to add to the sum of Pit bulls, Akitas and other large working and fighting breeds that are given little appropriate outlet for their energies and many with wrong and ignorant owners.

TBH I have long been of the opinion that the dogs on the DDA list are there not because of the temperament of the dogs but that of the people who would wish to own them, in other words it was more to stop these powerful dogs being used as weapons than action against the dogs themselves.

Nova,
Absolutely. And, ending up with the type of owner who breeds only for money and has a ready list of people out to equip themsleves and their egos with the "hardest" looking dog around. People who should not be allowed anywhere near breeds like those cited within the DDA and many others that are not. I needn't add that poor breeders can quite easily mess with the temperament of a breed, let alone training and early socialisation, and that is the danger with such powerful dogs, already equipped with a very strong guard instinct.

i work in camden patroling the parks and the only dogs that have been aggresive to my dog have been scruffy terriers owned by the older generation

they look a bit like the American bull dog to me, so maybe you could get one of them  if its the look you like

I wasnt tarring the breed whatsoever, i was saying that i think the OP is wanting them for the wrong reasons. They are a lovely dog and i havent nothing against them at all

Louise

Skant,
There is no doubt that little terriers and their owners can be a nuisance, being pugilistic little blighters, some of them. By and large though they are not equipped in terms of size or jaw strength to be a major problem- though there are always exceptions to the rule.

My experience as a regular, inner city park user is very different to yours. The biggest problems, whether dog on dog or with people, have come from the kind of breeds I have mentioned, because, I am sure, they have ended up in the wrong hands.

If, however, you regularly patrol the parks in a part of North London then you will be aware of the dangers inherent in the proliferation of certain breeds of dog in the inner cities. One look at a Dogo or similar and the thugs will be queuing up to get one- do we really want that? You will know that dog rescues are overflowing with Staffies and Pit mixes. Of course, the wrong people also want to mix the breeds up a little to get an even harder dog. It only takes one or two.

BTW what is the security job you do that entails patrolling the park with a dog? Is this private security?

Granitecitygirl,

I think Standard Poodles are a fantastic breed, just a real all-rounder, sooo intelligent and what a strong athlete. My only caveat is that I just hate the look in show trim (sorry poodle folks), such a handsome looking dog when cut the same length all over. Definitely a breed I would consider in future.

> Nonetheless there are negative reports about this breed too and, yes, much of that is down to the kind of people who own them. They are banned within this country, there are reasons for that ban

I am sorry but there are ALOT more powerful dogs than those on your list of banned breeds and IMHO BSL doesn't work. It actually heightens the appeal of the banned dog breed to a certain element of the populace. The UK and NI are still full of APBT for example... illegally owned, yes, but they are there nevertheless.

I have rehomed many many of the breeds banned in the UK to responsible and good homes here. Not everyone who wants an APBT is a scumbag or wants the dog as a weapon.

> But shaved down they can look a heck of a lot more butch (OH likes mine when they are less "poodley", typical man) ;-) 

my best friend has a brown standard poodle, he is banned from pom poms! he has his face and his feet shaved and his coat is kept about 1" & 1/2 long,i never really liked poodles but this dog is such an amazing boy! he is just gorgous! :-)

Otterhound,
Do you really believe that lifting a ban on certain breeds would reduce the interest in them? I think it would simply open the doors to greater experimentation in dog ownership and breeding, amongst those in pursuit of the hardest dog. It would, no doubt, also increase your job in rescue. Staffies are not banned and yet the rescue centres are overflowing with them.

Yes you are right there are extremely powerful dogs that are not banned but why add yet more? Moreover lifting a ban does not address the issue of irresponsible and ignorant dog ownership, of which there is plenty. In such hands a large, powerful breed, with a fighting dog heritage is surely more of a potential risk than one without those qualities?

I am however open to your argument. Do you have evidence that the incidence of dog fighting and the use of these dogs for dubious purposes is less in countries where the breeds are not banned and has the fact that they are legal clearly dissuaded these people from wanting to own them? I was struck by Isabel's reference to the behaviour of Dogo owners at a show, where the breed was not banned.

> I was struck by Isabel's reference to the behaviour of Dogo owners at a show, where the breed was not banned.

Moonmaiden's :-)

Oops, Sorry Isabel.

i work for a specialist security dog firm outside london but we work with camden council patroling the parks trying to prevent any anti social behaviour of any kind in the parks and it helps alot having a dog especially when it comes to moving on drug dealers and addicts !!

so are dogos not banned in NI they are a great breed used widely in most european countries by police and the army because they excel in all fields the only countries i know there banned is england and norway . i dont think it should be the dangerous dogs act it should be the dangerous dog owners act .

Northern Ireland is part of the UK therefore I imagine they are banned there but not in Southern Ireland and this isnt part of the UK. 

> i work for a specialist security dog firm outside london but we work with camden council patroling the parks trying to prevent any anti social behaviour of any kind in the parks and it helps alot having a dog especially when it comes to moving on drug dealers and addicts !!

And there in lies the problem IMO, park security get bigger and more keen dogs and the low life gets even bigger and more aggressive dogs. What ever happened to the helpful park attendant I wonder, and the idea of control by example. No doubt too late now as each move on one side will ratchet up that taken by the other.

At least If you work for Camden council you will not be allowed to use dogs on the DDA list that is one good thing at least.

it should be a dangerous dog owners act

Skant, on that we do agree. I also think that a keen, up on its toes but beautifully trained, Dobie or Shepherd is enough deterrent for most people.