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dogs by their owners or by the state. It must be noted that a number of
positive and negative behaviours and functions for the dog were identified
by youths in Maher and Pierpoint (2011) and Hughes et al. (2011) studies.
In other words, both intrinsic and extrinsic roles were evident
(see Beverland et al. 2008). The intrinsic role—the dog as a loved companion—was commonly identified, though these dogs were still harmed by
their owners. The extrinsic roles identified—the dog as protection, weapon,
plaything, or commodity—resulted in harms such as irresponsible breeding
and ownership/husbandry, injuries from dog fighting, abandonment and
destruction resulting from difficulties in rehoming or if found to conform
to an illegal ‘breed’.

Irresponsible Breeding
At the height of the status dog trend, suitable puppies could fetch between
£250 and £1000, making it a lucrative business for both the youth owners
and the breeding sector as a whole. Harms related to breeding were identified
within the (1) licensed and legitimate breeding sector, (2) the unlicensed
(and as such) illegal sphere which is increasingly linked to other organised
criminality (Winter and Gutteridge 2015), and (3) the non-licensable—
meaning those falling outside the legal criteria requiring a licence.
However, status dogs are predominately bred within the illegal and nonlicensable sectors often referred to as backstreet and ‘adhoc’ breeders—where
puppies, as a commodity, are only valued if they fetch a price. Breeding
harms include:
• Puppies born and kept in unsanitary conditions associated with ‘backstreet breeders’
• Puppies not provided with appropriate healthcare, for example, not
vaccinated
• Puppies removed from their mother too early resulting in both health and
behavioural issues

• Birthing problems as a result of a preference for larger cross-breeds—such
as breeding small bitches with larger males which can result in suffering or
death to the mother and puppies
• Breeding of ‘banned’ types and selling them as legitimate breeds or crossbreeds. When new owners or officials identify the breed, it often results in
the dog being returned to the breeder, or the owner relinquishing or being
required to relinquish them to officials.