Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Staffies top table for Dundee dangerous dog complaints

Dundee City Council has investigated more than 1,000 reports of dangerous dogs since 2010.
Dundee City Council has investigated more than 1,000 reports of dangerous dogs since 2010.

Dangerous dogs account for around four complaints to Dundee City Council every week.

The local authority dealt with a total of 206 complaints about dangerous dogs in 2017.

All were investigated by council officers and a total of 43 written warnings and 23 control notices, requiring owners to take a range of steps including muzzling their pet or attending behaviour classes, were issued as a result.

A disproportionate  number of warnings were issued to owners of Staffordshire bull terriers. The breed accounted for 12 written warnings and eight control notices.

However, a number of other breeds also featured on the list, including German Shepherds and Jack Russell terriers — on the receiving end of two control orders each — as well as a Yorkshire terrier, a Llhasa Apso and a standard poodle.

Among the 43 written warnings were eight cross-breeds, two English bull dogs, two huskies and two chihuahuas. A number of other breeds chalked up one complaint each.

The figures are contained in a response to a Freedom of Information request.

Dundee City Council said it investigated all complaints and many owners were given verbal warnings, while some of the 206 reports proved to be unsubstantiated or malicious.

The Scottish SPCA said it would be wrong to stigmatise any particular breed and owners had a duty to ensure their dog was not a danger to the public.

Mike Flynn, Scottish SPCA chief superintendent, said: “Any dog, regardless of its breed, can be aggressive through an owner’s lack of training or through deliberate encouragement of bad behaviour.

“It is ultimately the responsibility of the owner to ensure their pet is kept under control at all times. Anyone with an animal that shows aggression towards another animal or person has a responsibility to rectify this problem immediately through training or veterinary advice.”

The Control of Dogs Act 2010 makes it an offence for an animal to be out of control in a public or private place.

The law is enforced by the local authority and dog control notices can require a number of steps to prevent attacks.

Owners are monitored by the council and can face penalties, such as fines of up to £1,000 or disqualification from owning a dog, if they fail to take heed.

Dundee City Council was asked to comment on the figures but did not respond.