Pandemic pups blamed for ‘staggering’ rise in dangerous dog incidents

Fresh questions have been raised about weaknesses in responsible dog ownership amid fears the “pandemic puppy” generation may be behind substantial increases in incident levels.

A legal group has claimed dangerous dog cases jumped by more than 80 per cent in the past five years, with 44 such incidents now being recorded by UK police forces on an average day.

Defra officials have insisted they are still collaborating with key stakeholders to promote responsible ownership while further potential measures are considered.

But a survey of 2,000 adults commissioned by Injury Lawyers 4U found 55 per cent of participants who acquired a dog during the COVID pandemic were first time dog owners.

‘Staggering’

Bosses described their figures as “staggering” and claimed they highlighted the impact that, plus challenges in training those dogs during the pandemic, was now having.

Founder Andrew Twambley said: “Many of these animals missed out on vital early socialisation and structured training. As a result, we’re now seeing the consequences play out.

”The comments are based on the findings of recent Freedom of Information requests lodged with 45 UK police forces.

Based on data from 30 forces that were said to have provided “usable responses”, the company said the number of recorded dangerous dog incidents had risen by 80.3 per cent from 8,918 in 2020 to 16,081 last year.

Dog bite claims

It also reported a 247 per cent increase in dog seizures over the same period from 530 to 1,841, though it warned that incident levels were still rising despite a fall in seizures from peaks recorded around the implementation of the XL bully ban.

Meanwhile, internal company data was said to show an increase of more than 4,000 per cent in dog bite claims, though no actual figures have been disclosed.

The figures have been released just weeks after fresh calls from clinicians and welfare groups for urgent and stronger action were prompted by newspaper allegations that breeders were exploiting loopholes in the XL bully legislation to promote smaller dogs that were just as powerful but could be sold legally.

In response to those calls, Defra said it was awaiting recommendations from its reconvened Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce, though no timescales have been given for the completion of its work.

‘Serious consequences’

The department also claimed its work on issues including education, training and data collection would provide a stronger basis for action while it continues to work with police, councils and welfare groups to “encourage” responsible practices among owners.

But only 39 per cent of survey participants said they had enrolled their dogs in puppy training classes, while a range of behavioural issues including anxiety (28 per cent), aggression towards other dogs (26 per cent), poor recall (24 per cent) and aggression towards people (19 per cent) were cited.

Mr Twambley said: “Dog owners have a genuine responsibility to ensure their pets are properly trained and under control at all times.

“When that responsibility is not met, and someone is injured, there can be serious consequences.”