Restricted Breeds

Under the Control of Dogs (Restriction of Certain Dogs) Regulations, 1991, additional rules were imposed in relation to the following breeds of dogs in Ireland:







Edited by Socket - 06 May 2009 at 7:58pm

I'm sorry, but headcollars are not muzzles.  I totally disagree with the law, but those headcollars are dependent upon the person holding the lead, if you let it go loose, then the dog is not effectively muzzled.

I know headcollars aren't muzzles, but they effectively muzzle the dog. Their effectiveness may be dependant on the person holding the lead, but that person has to be capable of controlling the dog, and if they are capable of that then they should be able to prevent it getting loose. 

When the lead is taut or pulled then yes, the halti closes the mouth and prevents biting or eating.
The legislation doesn't say that the dog has to be prevented from biting, only that the dog has to be securely muzzled, which it is once it's on the lead....and it would be on the lead, cos it's against the regulations for it not to be.

I see what you're saying....but the dog wouldn't be walked with its mouth constantly shut as the headcollars only shut the mouth if the dog pulls- they can still pant and drink, but the dog is securely muzzled when it lunges forward, or pulls, or behaves exciteably.

The law is more pedantic than anything, and solicitors will find every and any loophole in the definitions of the word 'muzzle' but a muzzle isn't the issue as the regulations don't mention muzzles- they stipulate that the dogs should be muzzled- it uses the verb. If it came to arguing the point in court, the wording in the regulations is the loophole that could have the case thrown out.

Ah this old chestnut  I actually started a poll about this stupid fcukin law just over a year ago (here: http://www.irishdogs.ie/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=11366&KW=&title=muzzle-use-on-restricted-breeds)

As I said in that topic, I don't muzzle my akita, Loki, but I do on occasion (i.e when walking through Portlaoise town) use a halti headcollar. In my eyes, which may be wrong, this suffices and in 2 years of walking him down here, I've never been stopped. Like you, when I go to a secluded area where I know there's noone around for miles, I let him off leash but never when there's people around. And that's only out of consideration for them as I know some people are afraid of big dogs.
IMO, the law isn't enforced BUT all it takes is some busybody to report you. Most Gardaí (and most dog wardens IMO) don't know their arse from their elbow when it comes to dog breeds and if stopped I could always say he's a Malamute cross or the like, however a Doberman is a pretty distinctive breed so to be safe, and if you're worried, you might be better off carrying the muzzle on your person. It'd take a right arsehole of a garda / warden to do you if you produced a muzzle on the spot.

Welcome to ID too Trisha make sure you post up a few pics of your lad!

i never muzzle zeus so to speak, but i do always carry one with me on the end of the lead, i found a small and cheap one was 7e i think.  he has never had it on him and most likely never will but i just have it hanging on the end of his lead, in case im ever asked or questioned on it.

Suezanne .Can you look into this subject more closely and then maybe  see where we come from. I can 100% hand on heart to you say it is not the dogs but the owners. DEED NOT BREED. I own smallies and I have to say I find them more dangerous than the larger ones often!

I think that's a bit mad, you always here of seemingly docile dogs attacking people.  I have a GR and a Bernese, both big strong dogs.  We were minding a miniture jack russell lately, about half the size of my cats and she was the most dangerous one, more likely to bite and snarl.  The big ones are usually the soft ones.

LB wrote: My point exactly Adser :) tar and brush  :) illegal to walk more than 4 greys because that was the done thing with racing greys and the fact that yes they got off lead on the owners,,,,Where i live there are many many grey owners I also had the"privillage" of visiting what I call a holding kennel where there were dogs kept for racing by the "elite" abroad now I'm talking the Shieks and the likes! I saw how they were kept and they just craved attention like any dog locked up without  attention. I saw where they were trained. They had small trap similar to the ones seen at the start of a race but single and a fenced run for training,,,I did not see what they had to chase though or how they got them to chase thankgod. but I can only imagine I have not and will never visit a track since my experience with this.   The dogs that get tarred with the same brush as always will be these certain breeds. People will always have that opinion unless they choose to OPEN their eyes and minds and understand how a dog works and how often they are deprived of human contact/chained/cruely treated/conditioned and then they will understand the motive behinde the attacks that are portrayed in the media.   See there the SAVE LENNOX campaign for a dog who by BSL opinion has been deemed as of pit type and because of the laws and opinions of certain people this dog may be put to death for resembeling a certain type and measuring him. SICK ,,,,that dog has done nothing to deserve a death sentence,,,the owners have a young daughter she is only 11 explain and expect her to uphold the law when she gets older after them trying to put her pet to death. here is the proof of the pudding that they are truely wrong:   http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Save-Lennox/125005200853097   thankgod these laws do not exist down here. JOIN :)

 i dont blame these so called dangerous breeds for been nasty because the vast majority of these dogs are just like any normal dog, its some the owners of these dogs that are nasty people and they train their dogs to be vicious, you can train any dog to be aggressive, these so called dangerous breeds all have been sterotyped because of the actions from bad owners of these dogs.

point taken, term restricted breeds.