‘Be responsible dog owners’
Animal welfare groups advise people to educate their pets
They are called man’s best friend for a very special reason, so animal experts want dog owners to exercise greater care and responsibility towards their pets.
PAWS Animal Welfare Society shelter manager Edward Lim said irresponsible owners who did not look after their dogs and let them get into incidents “will stigmatise every dog in the street”.
“As a responsible owner, it is your duty to train your dog and look after it so that it does not become a nuisance to others.
“A responsible owner should protect the dog, not let it run outside the house and get into some sort of trouble,” he said.
Lim said it was also irresponsible for dog owners to abandon their pets after a few years, adding that indiscriminate breeding was also unacceptable.
Last week, a video showing a dog attacking a woman as it ran outside the open gate of a house compound went viral.
The video also showed a neighbour driving his car outside to scare the dog away from the woman who had fallen to the ground.
The owner was charged and slapped with a RM2,000 fine by a Magistrate’s Court in Melaka.
In June last year, an 11-year-old girl was injured after being attacked by her neighbour’s dog while she was playing outside her house in Johor Baru.
Edmund De Run, founder and trainer of Smart Guard, a Petaling Jaya-based company providing specialist guard dogs, said dog owners must “educate their dogs”.
“If a dog gets into trouble, who is to blame then?” he said.
He said even if a dog was sent to professionals for obedience training, it would still need to be given “refresher” courses at home.
“That is how dogs will remember their commands. Be firm but patient and also give your dog lots of love,” he said.
Selangor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) chairman Christine Chin said a dog’s basic training made “life better for dogs and humans”, adding that all dogs should be given basic training to sit, stay still and roll.
“Dogs like to have some work to do and it is not difficult to teach them,” she said.
To be a responsible dog owner, Chin said one must have enough time and money to ensure the dog was well fed, given medical care and space to rest.
“Do not let your dog run out. Use a leash and bring a bag to clean up the poop if you walk your dog.
“These are basic community civic acts that owners should observe,” she said.
Malaysian National Animal Welfare Foundation secretary Shrilan Sivagurunathan said dog bites could be triggered by several factors such as instigation, abuse by owners and “territorial” issues. “All animals, including dogs, have a territory, thus, in the wild they mark their territory as their ‘home’.
“As such, a dog left to roam outdoors by their owners may mark a far larger territory, recognising the space out of the boundaries of their owner’s home as their home, too,” he said.
Shrilan said dogs, being protective of their homes, might show signs such as excessive barking when strangers walk past.
“The question is if somebody encroaches (into the space), if there is a trigger such as raising their hands, throwing objects at the dog, shouting at the dog, it would only be natural for the dog to take a defensive stand,” he said.
He said even strays did not attack without being provoked, adding that people could not just blame a dog without understanding the whole scenario.
To know whether a dog is going to attack or is just scared, Shrilan said the public could observe its body language – ears, tail and mouth as well as the dog’s tone in barking.
“It is the social responsibility of pet owners to ensure their pets’ safety and well-being as enshrined in the Animal Welfare Act 2015,” he said.
David Tan, 29, who owns a mixbreed shih tzu and a mongrel, said he treated his dogs like his children.
“It is like parenthood training. We have to ensure they are treated just like a human baby.
“Feed it, train it where to poop and pee, teach some tricks and to bring it out for walks as often as possible. That’s how I treat my furkid.
“Most importantly, to let it live its life in the comfort and the safety of our homes. That’s what being a responsible owner is about,” the surveyor said.