I have been following threads in Beijing about crackdown on dogs.

www.thebeijinger.com/[...]

"They hit my dog over the head with a pole then stuffed her in a net."

I also saw a local newspaper article yesterday implicating some large dog breeds like dobermans and german shepherds in attacks on people.

I am a doberman owner. She is extremely well behaved and totally harmless to people. It seems the government has taken the stance that breeds are the problem, instead of all the shitty abuse that dogs here receive. Dog experts outside point to the the owner as the source of the problem 99% of the time. I suppose expecting a rational approach to dogs here is just beyond hope.

Has a serious dog crackdown arrived in Kunming? Anyone seen or heard anything?

It is due. About four years ago they put up posters with photos of the illegal breeds.

I agree it is a people problem. A few old guys here let their dogs fight and are all smiles and laughing like hell. Other folk carry dog sticks to keep the aggressive ones at bay. Had a neighbor lady, all of 50 Kg, trying to control a really big dog. Dog just pulled her around until it was tired.

Worse than dogs are the kids with their new pellet guns. No sense of danger or safety. They have pseudo protective vests and shoot away in the common areas. Pellets will dent metal signs.

I agree it is about people and not breeds. However, I have seen pit bulls and a tozer in China, which is a concern.
I can see it now, a kid will be savaged and the dog owner will blame the kid.
We have a neighbour with 3 toy poodles. Exercise = open the front door and let them run loose for a shit for an hour every evening. Another one just puts the dog out all day. This is the second dog they have done this too. The last one found a new home.
Another had 2 german shepherds. His wife didn't like them, and so they were left in cages outside the development gates and fed by the security guards. One died, probably broken spirit. The other was taken pity on and another resident now walks him everyday.

For context, we live in a posh area, all villas and mercs, not workers and low end apartments. People and to some degree cultural issues here. Big man with Big job and wee willy needs BIG DOG. Neglected housefrau/petulant child, needs more accessories/toys. People issues again.

But there are also dog issues.
In other cities they limit the kinds of dogs and the number of dogs in each tower block. Limiting the breeds approved makes sense in tower blocks. Not all dogs will do well living cooped up in a small apartment. Not fair on some dogs. Other dogs are happy to be lapdogs, and don't need lots of exercise.

I thought most larger breeds were illegal anyway. Not saying I agree with doing it by size, but it is one arbitrary factor and the law here can be arbitrary, but it is clear.

PS. I am a doggy person, the family always had pets before I came to China. But I am starting to find that local dogs are becoming a nuisance, due to lack of proper control. I used to tread in dog poop nearly everyday, boobytraps by the gate. It is hard to control owners, especially in a culture where everyone is..., it is easier to control the dog population. Sad, but I think that is what it will come to.

Yes... I do agree the situation with dogs is out of control. But 100% because the owners are abusive or neglectful of their duties. I am one of two owners in a district with well over 200 dogs who cleans up their dog poop. My dobie has got coccidiosis twice because the wu guan deals with dog poop by spraying it with a hose, so there is disease and bacteria spread through all the grass.

What I find strange is that these illegal breeds can be purchased at the two biggest pet markets in town. Weird eh.

Oh well... my baby and i are headed to the US in October. Let's hope she doesn't get caught up in the big dog genocide between now and then.

In 10 years of living Kunming, I've dealt with alot of bullshit, but some asshole taking away or hurting my dog because she's a certain breed would push me over the edge.

I agree, most of the chinese owners don't even know what a dog eat.

A chinese guy in our house owns a doberman, had to beat him on his nose two times (the dog, not the guy)... because he rushed down the stairs and tried catch my 4 years old daughter.

They everytime only open the door and let him out, don't care if he bark at people and try biting them outside. I own a small Jack Russell myself, have her on the leash when neccessary and also take a small "shitbag" with me... for collecting the poop you will get a lot of attention.

My little doggie fought the doberman one time protecting my daughter. Doberman fled the scene... hehe.

Education is definitly needed here! A lot of strays already, people just abandon them if tired.

It seems like having a dog as a pet in China is a fashion trend because it is a habit that comes from the West and owners have had yet to learn to whole reasons of having a pet dog and the process of taking care of it before letting it go outside so that other people could congratulate the owner. Inside some people's homes, dog cages can be very tiny, and if you point that out to the owners, some would buy a new cage that they feel is more appropriate and gives more space to their dog because it looks more expensive and is vertically bigger.

There are also too many dogs here that aren't kept on their leash and that can lead to unpredictable consequences, especially if there are small kids around. I also live in an area similar to Dazzer's where people have to show off their big dogs. Most aren't on a leash (the dogs), and there's a kindergarten nearby. There's a guy i sometimes see who gwalks from here to the school with his german shepherd wqlking freely next to him to go pick up his kid. I haven't seen anything bad happen yet, but that's still quite unsafe, especially if there are kids that get excited, run around or start screaming when schools ends. There are also dobermans running freely inside my community and another kind of black and brown dog with a short tail that looks a bit more buffy. Not syre what they are called but i remember seeing them on the frontpage of newspapers back home after a series o- incidents involving this kind f dog happened. A few kids passing in front of the owner's gate were running and playing around when the dogs ran and attacked the kids and their parents. Some kids got completely disfigured and others serioualy injured. Owners were very surprised at the attacks since their dogs were apparently always good and inaggressive around people. There were a few other similar headlines in france and england.

I don't have a dog and don't have anything in particular against them, but would prefer to see them on a leash when they are out in public areas, especially where there are small children, and also get trained to not pee in elevators in apartment buildings

Oh, and PLEASE don't vring them to restaurants. E-coli and loud chinese guys are more than enough when i am havinf dinner. I don't need fleas jumping into my food and dogs barking in my ear

@Yankee
The 'buffy' dog you describe sound like a rottweiler. The problem with rotties is that there are two main bloodlines. In UK they have been bred as house dogs, and some are the biggest softest pussies you could meet. However, in Germany they have been bred as working (guard) dogs and have the temperament to match, and are not suitable as pets. I am not sure which bloodline is in China, hopefully the soft one.

The most common cause of dogfights is when one dog is on the leash, and the others are not. The dog on the leash cannot move freely and if it feels vulnerable it will become defensive (aggressive) and then the fight starts. If the same dog were off the leash it would be happily running around sniffing butts with the other dogs. Sadly it is the dog with the responsible owner that is percieved as the problem.

BUT thank God, chinese TV is now showing the Dog Whisperer www.cesarsway.com/channel/dog-whisperer-tv

In my above post I mentioned I had seen Tozer, should read Tosa (Japanese fighting mastif/bulldog/great dane/bitzer cross).

tiger - I tried to pat a rotty in Beichen once, it was walking on a long leash with a Chinese guy on the other end...

The dog almost took my hand off then bundled me up against a wall, while the Chinese guy on the other end could barely control him (big dog, small guy). He was laughing away as the dog tried to maul me!

This tells me they at least have some of the German breeding stock here...