[Owen Barron]

I am currently in my final year of my 4-year BSc (Hons) Animal and Conservation Biology. I am looking for participants to complete my survey which will give me valuable data. My project title is “Should ownership and breeding of the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) be more tightly regulated in the UK?”, I will use answers given from you in my survey to reach a conclusion on several aspects regarding dog ownership and breeding.

The survey consists of 30 multiple choice questions and answers are given in measure of agreement/disagreement to statements. Your answers will give me opinions on current legislations and possible modifications which could benefit both dogs and owners.

The only limitation for your participation is you must be at least 18 years of age and from/live in the UK.

Many people have strong feelings towards dogs, positive or negative. Therefore, all answers provided will be completely anonymous and treated with the upmost respect. All data will be securely stored.
The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes in total to complete, and you will again be asked at the end if you are happy to submit your answers. I appreciate the time taken to complete my survey and thank you in advance. I hope you find this topic as interesting and as valuable as I do!

https://survey.napier.ac.uk/n/zz767.aspx

 

[JoanneF]

For clarity, we have a lot of international members. Are their opinions wanted?

 

[Owen Barron]

For clarity, we have a lot of international members. Are their opinions wanted?

For my study I am looking exclusively at UK natives or people who have lived here for a significant amount of time, thanks.

 

[LMMB]

Done, but have feedback on your questions (I have a habit of doing this. 😜 ). I tried putting my thoughts in the comments section, but it's too many characters. I've left comments in the other sections.

Q4). There should be more scientific research aimed at answering how dogs are raised and the effect it has on their behaviour.
Q5) All dogs should be covered by the same legislations but modified to look at how the individuals behaves in relation to how it was raised/trained rather than generic assumptions based upon looks or breed.
Q6). Rather than focusing on the dog and its potential to be dangerous, the attention should shift towards the owners and how they raise the individuals.

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

These sound a lot like the whole "It's all in how you raise them" mentality, which is a hugely popular assumption, but dangerously flawed.

Some dogs can endure the most horrendous abuse and still be affectionate, loving companions who never lay a paw, let alone a tooth on a human, while a lovingly raised dog who's known a single owner, never heard a single harsh word can be extremely human aggressive. Nurture certainly plays a part - a temperamentally flawed dog who's geared towards aggression is far safer in the hands of a responsible owner than it would be in the hands of a complete moron - but nature is responsible too.

That's not to say that I agree with certain breeds being banned, (a friend on another forum loves to remind me that if chihuahuas were as large as rottweilers, they'd be on the banned breed list too - and she's probably right) but those statements play into the hands of those who ignore genetics. Those in the know will often say "deed, not breed."

 

[Owen Barron]

Done, but have feedback on your questions (I have a habit of doing this. 😜 ). I tried putting my thoughts in the comments section, but it's too many characters. I've left comments in the other sections.

Q4). There should be more scientific research aimed at answering how dogs are raised and the effect it has on their behaviour.
Q5) All dogs should be covered by the same legislations but modified to look at how the individuals behaves in relation to how it was raised/trained rather than generic assumptions based upon looks or breed.
Q6). Rather than focusing on the dog and its potential to be dangerous, the attention should shift towards the owners and how they raise the individuals.

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

These sound a lot like the whole "It's all in how you raise them" mentality, which is a hugely popular assumption, but dangerously flawed.

Some dogs can endure the most horrendous abuse and still be affectionate, loving companions who never lay a paw, let alone a tooth on a human, while a lovingly raised dog who's known a single owner, never heard a single harsh word can be extremely human aggressive. Nurture certainly plays a part - a temperamentally flawed dog who's geared towards aggression is far safer in the hands of a responsible owner than it would be in the hands of a complete moron - but nature is responsible too.

That's not to say that I agree with certain breeds being banned, (a friend on another forum loves to remind me that if chihuahuas were as large as rottweilers, they'd be on the banned breed list too - and she's probably right) but those statements play into the hands of those who ignore genetics. Those in the know will often say "deed, not breed."

Yeah I realised soon after releasing my survey I should have extended the character count for feedback but I'm unable to change it without erasing the responses I have already received

Yes exactly! Dogs being highly intelligent and emotional as well as their individuality have many different factors which affect how they are. My questions aim to see how people agree or disagree with statements and I'm just looking to get a reflection of attitudes towards how dogs are and should be treated. It can definitely be controversial when approaching issues with dogs and people will always have different opinions but it's something that I feel needs more attention!

A Chihuahau the size of a Rottweiler is definitely something I'm glad isn't around haha! I might use that quote in my write up!

Thank you for your feedback, Owen

 

[Mad Murphy]

I'll admit I started but gave up I didn't like the way some of the questions with steering me me.and I felt just saying I'm neutral neutral neutral wasn't entirely correct...like being asked to answer yes or no when there's actually more to it than that.
So yes I do think there should be tighter controls on dog ownership and dog breeding not to say that they can only be pedigree dogs bred but there needs to be more concern for welfare, there needs to be a lot more control over where dogs go, how they are sold and there also need to be controls on who owns a dog , for God sakes you need so much paperwork just to own a scooter but any fool can go out and buy a dog without any kind of paperwork, any tracing , any responsibility it's madness.

I don't know if some of the others will remember but sometime ago in the UK there was an attempt to get the government to introduce a dog ownership test where people would actually have to pass a test to prove they were fit to own a dog sadly it hasn't got any where.

 

[Owen Barron]

I'll admit I started but gave up I didn't like the way some of the questions with steering me me.and I felt just saying I'm neutral neutral neutral wasn't entirely correct...like being asked to answer yes or no when there's actually more to it than that.
So yes I do think there should be tighter controls on dog ownership and dog breeding not to say that they can only be pedigree dogs bred but there needs to be more concern for welfare, there needs to be a lot more control over where dogs go, how they are sold and there also need to be controls on who owns a dog , for God sakes you need so much paperwork just to own a scooter but any fool can go out and buy a dog without any kind of paperwork, any tracing , any responsibility it's madness.

I don't know if some of the others will remember but sometime ago in the UK there was an attempt to get the government to introduce a dog ownership test where people would actually have to pass a test to prove they were fit to own a dog sadly it hasn't got any where.

Sorry to hear that, I tried my best to design questions with a neutral tone to allow free from judgement responses. I would have loved to allow longer and more complex answers for each question but the reality is that I would receive a lot less responses.

I do appreciate your views expressed here however and will take that into consideration when writing up my report, thank you for your engagement!

Thanks, Owen

 

[LMMB]

Sorry to hear that, I tried my best to design questions with a neutral tone to allow free from judgement responses. I would have loved to allow longer and more complex answers for each question but the reality is that I would receive a lot less responses.

I do appreciate your views expressed here however and will take that into consideration when writing up my report, thank you for your engagement!

Thanks, Owen

A lot fewer answers perhaps, but also perhaps a lot more detailed.