cenydd

And I also force cars into Paris tunnel walls, shoot people from grassy knolls and doctor pictures of non-existant moon landings! I have no connection or relationship (business or otherwise) with the originator of this idea (indeed, I have never met him or spoken to him), have had no involvement in the developement of this idea or the information about his idea, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with my former (now ended) petition. We have both come up with similar (licensing and owner education to target the other end of the lead) solutions to the same basic problem, at around the same time, and became aware of each others' ideas as I began to discuss my petition on a forum which he runs. I have discussed issues around such ideas and concepts, and other issues (dog and non-dog related) with him on that forum, but that is the only involvement we have ever had (and our ideas and opinions are significantly different in many areas of our respective schemes). Perhaps my statement about his dog training was misleading, for which i apologise - what I should have said was that dog training is not, as I understand it, currently his main business or his focus. I can catagorically state that I personally have no business interests in dog training, or in fact any business interests at all (being a salaried minion in the public sector!), nor am I ever likely to go into business (I don't have the instinct for it!). I agree with the general concept of his idea, similar is it is to my own, but disagree with some of the detail. Now that my petition has ended, my work on that is done - it was intended to stimulate debate and raise awareness of the issues, and I am generally happy that it did so quite successfully in some areas. I am happy to continue to debate similar or other ideas, such as this one, but that is as far as my involvement goes - I am not planning to become active in this particular campaign (although I wish it success - although I disagree with parts of it, it is so much better than the BSL which it seeks to replace). Conspiracy theories and paranoia are no more productive than general scorn and suspicion. We are all supposed to be on the same side here. Fighting and helping individual cases, and campaigning against BSL is extremely worthy, and I do not in any way seek to belittle the efforts of those involved, but there is still the bigger picture. If there is nothing to replace BSL, then BSL will stay, and develop further, being applied to more and more breeds. Yes, the battles are important, but there also has to be a strategy to actually win the war and remove BSL altogether! Why be so cynical towards ideas and people that attempt to address the problem of BSL by finding a practical replacement? Why accuse them of doing it out of self-interest, or being involved in some kind of secretive plot? You may not disagree with their solutions, either the concepts or the details, but that doesn't mean they aren't genuine attempts to address the problem. The reason I have been participating in other boards more than this one is quite simple. I have a limited amount of time on my hands, and have been spending as much as I can over the last year raising awareness of my ideas and petition in order to encourage active and positive discussion of the issues involved. In some other places the discussions have been less negative and cynical, and not led by accusations of self-interest and innuendo about secret plots to actually increase BSL, and people (whether they have been agreeing with me or not) have been much more constructive in their comments and criticisms, so the debate has been much more useful. In general, this board is one of those where I tend to read more than I contribute, and I find it very informative and interesting in many ways. However, I did not find it always as constructive as some others I am on when it came to discussing the issue I was most interested in, so I have spent less time here. Short of actually giving out my credit card number, etc., I have never hidden any details about myself, pretended to be anything I am not, or attempted to mislead anyone about my own interests, opinions or motives. I am who I am (and I am usually signed up in places by my own name, as I am here, so I'm pretty easy to find!). I am involved in no secret plots, conspiracies or dodgy business schemes, and will gain nothing from the replacement or otherwise of BSL, other than the pleasure of seeing such appauling legislation consigned to the dustbin of history (and perhaps the personal satisfaction of feeling that I have contributed to the debate in some small way). For information, I understand that they will not be breed specific. See above regardng me!

Without wishing to get heavily involved in answering questions on somebody else's ideas, or giving wrong information out, I believe they have mentioned elsewhere in other discussion forums the approximate figure of £40 for the license. I also believe they are planning a full consultation process, where there will be opportunity to ask such questions and discuss all of the issues in detail, which will all be announced at the website. I hope this info helps - more than that I do not know!

Absolutely a fair comment. There are, of course, enforcement issues and so on to look at, and I think there is more detail to be added to the idea over the coming weeks, but just because you can't always catch everybody who breaks a law doesn't mean it shouldn't be there. The problem that they are trying to address, I believe, is that the DDA targets the wrong end of the lead. How you target the other end of the lead is a big question though, and I can't see any other basic way of doing it than some system of compulsory licencing/education - to that extent I am in full agreement with this idea!

I find it very sad that the level of cynicism around here means that people just want to knock down anyone who wants to try and come up with any sort of positive way forward in area of dog legislation, accusing every idea of being born out of self interest and personal gain. There are those out there who want to see things change, and want to put their own time and effort into trying to get something positive done. There are others who just want to bleat and moan about how bad the world is and how mistreated we all are from the sidelines, and knock down anyone who tries to make some effort to actually do something about it by accusing them of having an ulterior motive. Have you considered that maybe they are actually just wanting to get something done, and are prepared to put their time and effort where their mouth is?! All some people seem to say to every idea is 'that will never work' without suggesting anything that they think will actually work. Pure cynical negativity, and it's frankly, IMO, rather pathetic, utterly pointless, and totally counter-productive in terms of actually changing the situation for the better! How about putting forward your own ideas for others to discuss? I have nothing whatsoever to do with this particular scheme and idea. I agree with some of it, and disagree with some of it, and will happily discuss it as part of the consultation process, in order to try and make a positive contribution to improving it. I am personally aware of the source of this, and I can assure you that the idea is not a business scheme, nor does it originate from a "behaviourist" or "trainer". If you can make no useful comment, and just want to question the motives of the people responsible for an idea, and laugh at the positive efforts they are making, then I would suggest you spend some time examining your own motives.

A new organisation is being launched to represent the interests of pet owners. Currently in its initial formative stages, the constitution document is avalable for download at their website: http://petparliament.co.uk/ I personally think it is an excellent idea, and long overdue, so I thought I'd pass the info on to you. Here is a brief run down of what it is all about: " The stated aims are pretty simple. To give a voice and representation to people (pet owners), employees in the pet industry and organisations who are involved with domestic pets but who feel marginalised or out of the loop in terms of having a say in the major pet related issues of the day. The organisation will operate on a one member one vote policy. Which means, in simple terms, if you are UK resident and you are above 16 years of age and you become a member of the Pet Owners Parliament (which will cost you not a single penny) then your vote counts. It counts equal to ANY other member. Your vote means something. The Pet Owners Parliament (P.O.P) will seek to shape policy ideas and proposals which are aimed at making life better for pets, their owners and society at large. The size and credibility of this organisation is what will lead to the proposals it brings forward being taken seriously. P.O.P is for anyone and everyone who has something to contribute on issues affecting domestic pet welfare and the role of domestic animals in British society. P.O.P seeks to attract people who have real views about things that affect them personally or professionally. The organisation's board will be made up of people who perhaps do not come from 'high level board' positions in their normal lives, but instead people who are passionate and commited about making improvements to the lives of domestic animals in the UK, however or whatever they may be. It will also include the views and input of animal welfare organisations who, on their own are considered small, but when united under one banner will have a more influential voice in the grand scheme of political debate on domestic animal related issues."

Here's a few pics of my Alaskan Malamute (now 1 year old), just for those who may be interested! Recent one: At 7 months: 7 months: 5 months: 5 months:

OK, guess I may as well introduce myself now I'm here! Cenydd from South Wales. Had a veriety of dogs, cats, rodents, etc. Current animals: 1 Alaskan Malamute Puppy (Dagon, 5 months old) 1 Corn Snake (Freak) 1 Rat (Yorrick) 1 Tank of Tropical Fish Other animal interests: just started a petition to the PM: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/dogowners/ More details about that in the Breed Specific Legislation bit for those who are interested! cheers, Cenydd