Man's Best Friend Week In Week Out

I'm interested in the dog you've got. It has never been easier to buy

a dog, but does man's best friend gets the owners it deserves? Just

like jumped on me and I was petrified. In Wales, dog attacks are

increasing. You probably see two or three dog bites a week here. Some

dog breeds are banned, but are the rules tough enough? These dogs

shouldn't be allowed in the country. Last week a new law was pad, but

will it protect us and our dogs? Where are the real teeth in the

legislation? The legislation that we're currently working on.

The Philips family are adopting a new dog, Reggie. It took us a highly

to decide to have another dog. It is not the same anymore in the house.

The feeling is different. It is totally empty even though we have

got a very busy house. We don't know his background as such, but at least

he will have a better chance with us. As one dog prepares for a loving

home, another is arriving to take its place at the Dogs Trust

Bridgend. Why have you decided to bring her in to us? I didn't look at

the breed. She is just very, very bouncy in the house, all over the

place. I think am I doing the right thing? It is quite hard. Here match

making tries to ensure that the right owners meets the right dog.

You are feeling quite intrick kate form really. They ask everything on

the form. It is very thorough. You can't just come up and take the dog.

He is a black cross, but we're not sure with, a bit of everything, 10%

of this and 10% of that. He is adorable, isn't he? He is adorable.

You will find a dog behind the front door of one in four homes in Wales.

All shapes and sizes, man's best friend is everywhere.

Owning or being owned by a dog is one of life's great pleasures. If

you are prepared to put the work in. But increasingly in Wales it would

seem that we're just not getting it right and that's lead to go problems

for dogs and for people. And this is the man whose mission it

is to bring problem dogs to heel. Steve Green is on patrol in Cardiff

and had an emergency call. We are on our way to a primary school. There

is a bulldog-type trying to get into the school. It could be down to one

or two suspects. The dog fits the description in that area, it could

be Dexter or Rocky. Dogs I have found in the past or given the

owners final warnings. A lot of cases we are saving the dog from the

general public public and vice versa.

I know this one. This time Trouble is five-month-old Staffordshire

terrier. It was a really jumpy dog. It was jumping on the parents. Come

on. Especially with primary school

children, if a dog jumps on them, it can scratch them or knock them over

it is not an ideal situation. It is not microchipped, no ID tag. I have

got no choice, but to take it to Cardiff Dogs Home.

Staffies are one of the UK's most popular breeds, but not always for

the rest of reasons. The result is the dog pounds and rescue centres

are full of them. Good lad. Come on then. Good boy. Lovely dogs

especially with people if they're raised properly and given the right

stimulation, unfortunately they've got a bit of a popularity for being

a status dog and unfortunately, they're taken on by people who don't

put the correct work in with them. They are over bred. It is common for

to us get Staffordsh Bull Terrier puppies in that can't be sold. Being

top dog means that many more are left behind. Young males, young

adult males and they will always have something bigger, and better.

Years ago it used to be a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and then

pit bull types and a bigger harder dog and people start taking them on

and the American bulldogs and the Stafford shire bull terriers.

Tip Pit bull types have been banned in the UK. Here at Cardiff Dogs Home

they have two suspected pit bulls and one has turned up with the

police. As you can see, he has a large head.

Deep set eyes because pit bulls are fighting dogs. If you can see, he

has muscles here. That's about biting power. A nice long neck so

they can reach their opponents. His legs and forearms are thick. Again,

when they are fighting another dog, it is protection and the skin is

like elastic. He is a nice dog, yes, he is bark, but dogs are

territorial. We never had any reports about him. In another kennel

is Crystal, she is a suspected pit bull type, her fate along with

Frank's will depend on the dog legislation officer for Wales. If

that dog has got substantial number of characteristics, well that dog is

of type and therefore, it is banned in the Section 1 of the Dangerous

Dogs Act. We judge each dog on its individual merits. We don't deviate.

Neither dog have any history of aggression, but face the test set by

the Dangerous Dogs Act which could maob they will be destroyed.

That law was passed in aattempt to reduce dog attacks and protect the

public. Is it working? In Wales dog attacks are up. There has been an

80% increase in dog bite emergency admissions over the last ten years.

At Morriston Hospital they deal with several dog bites a week. The wounds

we see tend to be the facial wounds. They tend to be in chish even with

good plastic surgery, there is a cosmetic consequence to a dog bite

on a face. There is good evidence because of the amount of

investigation that happens into fatalities that pit bulls and rot

vilers are more likely to cause serious bites.

By there. Katelyn Flowers from Cardiff will never forget the day

she was attacked by a dog. It is like this huge and there is the dog.

It jumped on me and I was petrified. This was the result, a savage wound

from a nasty bite. She made an extraordinary recovery, but she had

to have scores of stitches inside and outside her face and that's left

emotional scars too. When I closed my eyes I quickly had

a flash back and I asked my mum and dad can I have a drink of water?

They asked me why because I have got a headache because I didn't want

them to know high a flash back. It is hurtful. You are the parent, you

should be able to protect them. It is sad like something like that

happens and you weren't there. You can't be there all the time so you

try and tell them to be careful when you do this, be careful when you do

because you can't always be there. I think he got put down the next day.

The next day, yeah. Very severe dog bites particularly to children may

require many hours in theatre and admission to hospital for days.

Occasionally may lead to intensive care admissions. A lot of it is

preventible. As a society we need to think about how we can alter this

trend and the best way to do it is to make sure people are aware of the

risks of dogs and they are more aware about how they need to take

responsibility for the actions of their dogs and for themselves.

What's acceptable behaviour and what's not. There are laws like the

Dangerous Dogs Act that should protect us, but does it work?

Add Liverpool University this man is heading up new research into

reducing the risk of dog bites. He says we need to separate fact from

perception. If we review all the literature using a process calling

meta-analysis, 36% of breeds involved in 1500 dog bites are

actually German shepherd dogs or Alsatians. If you look at pit bulls,

they are similar to Jack Russells and Rottweilers, does this mean that

German shepherd dogs are most common dog involved in biting? No.

Professor Morgan argues the figures on dog bites reflect which breeds

are popular, not which breeds are aggressive. The Dangerous Dogs Act

was a knee-jerk reaction. If you review the literature, there is no

evidence that the breeds that have been stipulated are more likely to

bite than any other dog. I don't think breed, directed legislation is

effective. In fact, in Holland, they have recently repealed their breed

directed and Dangerous Dogs Act. DEFRA told us they agree all dogs

can bite, but the Dangerous Dogs Act bans four specific types because

they are fighting dogs. There are no plans to add any other breeds to the

list. One dog owner who has fallen foul of this law is Andrew Roberts

and his family. He was outside his house with his dog Scrap py when it

was spotted by the police. He is just so cute. I had a police officer

walk past and she said, "Excuse me. Do you think the dog should be on

the lead?" I said he is in my front garden, why? He looks a very daipg

dangerous dog, do you mind if I take a photo. I said not at all. Two

months later, there was a knock on the door. There were two officers

with a search warrant. They came in and said we believe you have got a

pit bull under the Dangerous Dogs Act and that was it. They seized it.

I was a bit annoyed that they can come in and take a dog out of its

loving home and upset my children and upset myself and I sat down and

what I told the children was I don't know if we were going to get the dog

back and the police were going to use him as a police dog. They were

devastated. Andrew Roberts owned dogs all his life. He bought Scrappy

a year ago as a family pet. He was told it was a Staffie crossed with a

Labrador. Pit bull isn't a breed. Pit bull isn't one breed. It can be

a cross of various, like I thought, I told him what the gentleman told

me when I bought him, he was cross between Staffie and Lab. If you tuz

him as a -- if he had advertised him as a pit bull, I wouldn't have gone

down. I thought what's the problem between a Staffie and a Lab? They

are both fantastic with children. Did the thought ever cross your mind

if the dog had a bad day and somebody tweaked his ear at the

wrong time? You think of it. You do little tests. When you feed him. Try

moving his food bowl. Some dogs are like it, if they are snappy, you get

him out that habit. We have never had an incident in any shape for

form with Scrappy. He has been told he can have Scrappy back und strict

conditions. He will have to be tattooed, microchipped and wear a

muzzle and registered with DEFRA and can never be sold on or re-homed.

Another rescue kems and another -- kennels and another litter of

Staffordshire puppies looking for a home. Pit bulls for example, you can

have a litter of ten Staffie crosses, to of them might look like

pit bulls, legally you need to put them to sleep. You can re-home the

other eight. That's ridiculous and it is purely on looks and there is

no set terms on what is classified a pit bull. If you go to one police

station and if you want to another they would say no it isn't, it is

not factual enough. Most dogs were bred for not the reasons we would

want them to behave like today. It is how you bring them up and how you

raise and socialise them that's the major factor.

REMingy is settling in -- Reggie is settling in with his new family. He

is only eight months old and he is a handful, for now he stays on the

lead. They are just nosey. Nothing wrong with dogs going to other dogs.

The only socialisation he had with dogs was at the Dogs Trust. When he

is out in the real world, it is all new. It is trying to get him used to

that there is going to be lots and lots of dogs around so he just gets

used to it. On the other side of the park, Reggie spots trouble.

That's why you should keep your dog on the lead. Letting dogs off leads

when there is lots of dogs around and you haven't got control. If they

do turn, you have to run. In parks and public places across Wales, dog

attacks on dogs are all too common. She has been savage add little bit

herself one time. She was on the lead. What breed was it that

attacked her? An American pit bull. He nicked the side of her stomach

which was only an inch, but it was very, very deep and she needed

serious op. It is always the little dogs that

cause problems. It is never the big dogs. They are always barking at

everybody. She liked to run around. She got bitten once and she has

never forgotten it. She never takes hostages so I keep her on a lead.

This plaque dog came from -- black dog came from nowhere and dived on

top of him. He was bleeding. Frightening for you? You see dogs

running around and their owners are the other side of the park. You get

the irresponsible ones. Twice she has been attacked by black dogs.

Different dogs. They are anticipating trouble. I suppose when

you are that size, that's about one morsel each for a Great Dane or

something. It is no wonder they are nervous.

The Welsh and UK Governments accept that new regulations relating to all

breeds of dogs are needed. The Shadow Police Minister pushed for

stronger laws including dog control notices. The dog has to be out on a

lead or impounded or can't go to certain places like a school or like

for example a park or couldn't not be left alone in the property

because that would be potentially dangerous. The idea is to hopefully

improve behaviour over time because there would be severe penalties for

breaches of that dog control notice. The Welsh Government considered

bringing in its own law, consulting organisations like the RSPCA, but in

the end, they decided on joint legislation with Westminster. And

dog control notices were taken out. DEFRA says the new law will dot same

job, but some feel it is a missed opportunity. We were disappointed.

We thought that the dog control notices was a very effective way of

dealing with the issues through training, through education, and

through enabling owners to understand how their actions were

impact ing on their animals. The Westminster legislation is very

generic and dogs are there in. Does the Welsh Government regret its

decision. Would you accept that dog control notices have their place and

possibly have a place within this new legislation? Well, what I don't

want to do is get hung up on terms or legislative vehicles. What I'm

concerned about is the impact it has on the community... How will that

happen? The teeth in the legislation are the regulation that is we are

working on and until that work is completed, neither you or I will be

able to understand how this is going to work.

Back on the streets, dog warden Steve green paper is trying to

encourage responsible dog ownership. He is offering free microchips, but

there aren't many takers. Someone turns up who lost her dog, the owner

of the Staffie pup Steve picked up from the school earlier. Do you want

to speak? Every other dog we have got is a Staffie cross. If she had

puppies, all my family would have puppies off me. Do you want to

microchip her or not? The dog jumped the fence or someone opened the gate

and the dog got out. I had to try and find out where she was. I only

have had her for three weeks. I haven't had her long. We'll

microchip her. I have had to try and get cover in work. Get a lift up

here. It is not my day today. Young dog gets a microchip, but

there is nothing stopping her having her own pups in future. The policy

is to stop unwanted puppies and what happens in all the cases, we get a

pregnant bitch, has puppies and it is free to good home and because it

has been free to good home, it has not cost them anything. They have no

commitment to it. A dog in a school is a no no. You have a lot of

vulnerable people there. One happy puppy safely back with its owner.

There are too many unwanted puppies in Wales' rescue centres and Steve

worries some people are making a fast buck out of the demand for

fashiable breeds. We have problems with husky and sled dogs and

malamutes, I despair when I see a film with a dog in it. Three or four

years ago, there were Walt Disney films with dogs and The Twilight

Saga and every idiot and his dog wants one. They go out and get these

dogs and pay ?700, but they don't realise what they're taking on.

These puppies have been handed in to the Dogs Trust to be housed

responsibly. The fashionable dogs are the one that is people aren't

committing to as much as is needed. These are one of the breeds we are

asked to take in every week. Brought in to our centre when it has gone

wrong. They are gorgeous. Myself I would never consider having a husky.

There is that real, it pulls on your heart strings because they are

beautiful. Sometimes people let their heart rule their heads and it

is not a dog that's right for them, they think it is a puppy, but there

are different breed traits. It is not necessarily that if you get a

puppy it will grow up to be a well adjusted adult if it is the wrong

breed for you. Hello, I'm interested in the dog

you've got. To get an idea of how easy it is to get a dog no questions

asked, we went online. We phoned 20 people who were

advertising powerful and fashionable status dogs like huskies and some

that have had the appearance of pit bulls because we wanted to know what

questions they would ask us as potential buyers. I live in a

flat... None asked if we had children and when our researcher

pointed out she lived in a small flat with no garden and a new baby

only six expressed concern about the accommodation and just three said

they wouldn't sell her the dog because of her circumstances.

And four of the dogs people were happy to sell us were potentially

banned pit bull types. Online selling of puppies should be

banned. You should never buy a puppy without visiting the mother and

father and the owners. That's one of the main points behind responsible

pet ownership and people should never do that. Anyone who has less

than five litters a year doesn't need to be regulated. So rescue

centres like this say they will be kept busy. Would you like to see dog

ownership regulated? Yeah, I think it needs to be and I think breeding

needs to be licensed. There needs to be some charge for breeding to put

people off doing it as a quick way of making money. And we have got to

do something now? I would ban all the pet sites. I wouldn't allow pets

to be sold unless maybe a licenced breeder, registered breeders so you

are going properly for a registered breeder and those are the only ones

allowed to advertise. I would stop all this 20 quid puppies. Stop it

altogether. We will get him warmed up. The field is very smelly and it

is very exciting. In Bridgend, Reggie is settling in with his new

family and they are getting additional training to help them be

responsible owners. If he does that just go back to the

sit. Good boy. Good lad. Brilliant. Good boy. That's lovely. Yes.

Educating owners and dogs helps reduce aggressive dog attacks. There

is lots of information available, but just how many are taking the

time to read it? The five major dog charities in the

UK spend somewhere in the region of 1 is million on education and

communication. If you look at their websites on some of them, you can

differentiate between hits that are for the general website and hits

that are on their education pages. And the order of magnitude

differences, 30,000 hits may only have 120, so the information is

there, but it is not necessarily being looked at and it is not

necessarily being used. Training goes so far. Rules are

important too. Last Thursday the new dog regulations became law in

England and Wales. They come into force this May, but they don't

include dog control notices. So should Wales resurrect its own Welsh

Bill? I am not electing to tell the Welsh Government what to do, they

will do what they want to do, but a dog control notice is the way

forward to help sprent further acts -- prevent further acts of violence

which could include death. Would you consider bringing back control

within Wales which you are entitled to do? Yes. And legislate yourself?

It is not something we've walked away from. If I am persuaded that

the UK legislation doesn't deliver the statutory framework that I

believe is necessary, yes we will go back to our legislation and yes, we

will pursue Welsh legislation. We are left with the existing

Dangerous Dogs Act which is just fine for Katelyn Flowers and her dad

if it keeps pit bull types at bay. These dogs shouldn't be allowed in

the country. Not as pets anyway. You shouldn't really have them kind of

dogs around. We didn't have them years ago. A child that died the

other day, you don't know the story behind it, but I think something

should be done to help. Someone should be pushing and pushing for

the rules and regular to say come it -- regs to come in because it may

not be the dog's fault. Whatever the answer, we shouldn't rush to a

solution. I'm not saying that education doesn't, will not have an

impact and I don't think we can say at that stage that the legislation

won't have an impact, the important thing is we get it right. The

important thing is we don't knee-jerk and get it wrong because

we lose credibility by doing that and sometimes unfortunately it is

painstaking and it takes time. In Bridge en, Andrew Roberts and his

family are being allowed to have Scrappy back, but only under strict

conditions. A judge sitting on the bench never

even seen the dog and he could say right, destroy it. That would be a

miscarriage of justice. I was lucky. My dog was lucky because otherwise

he would be dead. In Cardiff, it is good news for Frank the pit bull. I

will be recommending this dog is returned under the strict conditions

of a contingent order. For Crystal, it is the end of the road. She can't

be re-homed under the Dangerous Dogs Act so she is put to sleep.

Perhaps if we want man's best friend to remain our campanion, it is up to

us to ensure we give dogs the home and the life they deserve. You know

that you have done something right. That you are going along the right

road with him, really, isn't it? It is down to us to help him become a

nice dog and well train and well mannered just as you would with a

child.