Dog owners told to use leash to control their pets

BEIJING: Following the enforcement of regulations, complaints over unleashed dogs went down by 43% in 2017 from the previous year, Chen Zhao of the Jinan police bureau said.

The point system, introduced in January 2017, targets dog owners who walk their pets without a leash and fail to carry a proper certificate.

Owners that reach 12 points are required to undergo training related to pet ownership and will have their animals temporarily confiscated.

People whose dogs disturb others will have three points added for a first offence and six points for a second offence.

Owners can do various activities to remove points as well.

Upon reaching 12 points, or a third offence, the owner must com plete a training programme on keeping dogs.

The training involves going to a designated place to study the regulations and take a test.

During the past 18 months, 1,430 dog owners were fined. Of those, 122 had 12 points deducted and went to study dogkeeping regulations.

The test includes basic questions about keeping a dog, such as how long the leash must be and the valid length of a licence, Li Qiang of the Tianqiao district branch of the Jinan police said on Tuesday.

Once the police receive a complaint about a dog disturbance, Chen said, officers will carry out a field investigation that includes a visit to at least three families, including the one that made the complaint.

A Jinan resident surnamed Wang lost six points from March to July 2017 for walking his dog without a leash.

“After being handed six points, I was so concerned about my dog being confiscated that I used a leash after that,” he said.

Jinan is not the only city with a point system.

Shaoxing in Zhejiang province also enforced the system in 2016.