UNRULY CANINES HEAD TO CHARM SCHOOL

Dog owners are being invited to sign up for a nine week dog training and obedience course.

Designed to keep pets – and their owners – out of trouble, the course has been organised by Breckland Council, in a bid to tackle the growing problem of out-of-control dogs.

The kennel club-accredited Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme will run on
Thursday evenings from 7pm – 8pm at Swanton Morley Village Hall starting on 7 December.  

Open to pedigrees and mongrels of all ages, the course will be led by Breckland Dog Warden Steve O’Brien, who has recorded a ‘massive’ rise in the number of dog-related calls over the past six months.

“The course will cover basic training and obedience, to make dogs more sociable and controllable.  We’ll also be reminding people about their responsibilities as a dog owner,” he explained.

“Calls about stray and dangerous dogs have increased dramatically recently.  Since April we’ve handled 360 dog-related calls, 70 of them about dangerous dogs.  In most cases the problems lie with the owners and we hope that this course will help people to bring out the best in their pets.”

Ann Steward said that Breckland’s focus was on encouraging responsible dog ownership, with the whole of Breckland designated as a ‘poop scoop’ area.  In addition to training classes the Council has also given talks in schools and run micro chipping sessions for dogs.   

The Swanton Morley bronze level course costs £20 per dog.  Anyone interested should contact Steve O’Brien on 01362 656340.