What are my legal responsibilities as a dog owner?

Dog law in the UK is spread across half a dozen instruments and is amended often, so it is genuinely hard to see as a whole. The most significant change in the last decade is that the dangerously-out-of-control offence now applies on private property, including in the owner's own home. That single amendment changed the risk profile of keeping a dog that is uncomfortable with visitors.

Safety

Step by step

1. Meet the five welfare needs.The Animal Welfare Act 2006 requires a suitable environment, a suitable diet, the ability to exhibit normal behaviour patterns, appropriate housing with or apart from other animals, and protection from pain, suffering, injury and disease. Failure is a criminal offence, not merely poor practice.
2. Keep the dog under control everywhere.Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 as amended, it is an offence for a dog to be dangerously out of control in any place, including private property and the owner's own home. A person does not have to be bitten — reasonable apprehension of injury is enough. Penalties include imprisonment and destruction orders.
3. Microchip and keep the record current.Compulsory across the UK for dogs, with keeper details that must be kept up to date. See the guide on microchipping rules.
4. Fit a collar and tag in public.The Control of Dogs Order 1992 requires a dog in a public place to wear a collar bearing the owner's name and address, on the collar or a tag. It is separate from microchipping and it is still in force.
5. Clean up after it.Councils enforce fouling through Public Spaces Protection Orders, with fixed penalty notices and prosecution for non-payment. Not having a bag with you is not a defence, and many orders make it an offence in itself.
6. Check local Public Spaces Protection Orders.Councils use these to require dogs on leads on specified land, to exclude dogs from play areas and some beaches seasonally, and to cap the number of dogs one person may walk. They vary by council and are published on the council's website.
7. Keep dogs away from livestock.Under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 it is an offence to allow a dog to worry livestock, which includes chasing without contact. A farmer may in defined circumstances lawfully shoot a dog attacking or worrying livestock. On access land, dogs must be on a short lead during the ground-nesting bird season and near livestock at any time.
8. Know the prohibited types.Four types have long been prohibited under the Dangerous Dogs Act, and the XL Bully type was added in England and Wales with a requirement to hold a Certificate of Exemption, keep the dog muzzled and on lead in public, neutered, microchipped and insured. Scotland introduced its own equivalent. The rules and deadlines have changed and continue to; check GOV.UK.
9. Insure for third-party liability.Most pet insurance includes third-party liability, and it is what covers a claim if your dog causes injury or damage — including causing a road accident. Check the limit rather than assuming it exists.
10. Act early on any aggression.One incident is the point to get a veterinary referral to a clinical behaviourist and to manage the risk with muzzle training and management. Waiting for a second incident risks a criminal prosecution and a destruction order.

Questions people ask