The palgrave international handbook of a 146

Status Dogs

137

• As a result of market saturation puppies were ‘given away’ (for example,
sold for £50) to irresponsible owners or alternatively disposed of or
abandoned
• Overbreeding dogs for puppies, where bitches are bred too many times in
their lifetime and have more than one litter per year.
• Lack of adequate socialisation—which has been linked to behavioural
problems in later life (including being relinquished by owners and/or
destroyed as a result of aggression).
• Tail docking performed, despite being outlawed in most circumstances by
the Animal Welfare Act 2006.6

Neglecting Dogs’ Welfare Needs
The treatment of a status dog, as with any dog, will depend on its owner. In the
case of a status dog owned by a (often young) person for its real or perceived
aggression, its welfare needs can be ignored. Hughes et al. (2011) identified that
while some owners exhibited knowledge and understanding of a dog’s basic needs,
these were reportedly not met by the majority of status dog owners. Youths’
chaotic lifestyles impacted upon their dogs, for example, conflict with parents
resulted in the dog being removed, providing attention and general care only
when it was convenient to their owner. Problems involved:
• Lack of veterinary care (homemade or ‘illegal’ medicines used instead)
• Unsuitable living environment—that is, regular access to a bed, food,
water and the outdoors
• Housed with or socialised with aggressive dogs (thus involved in fights)
• Limited positive socialisation with other dogs
• Lack of exercise
• Boredom and frustration (insufficient stimulation, left alone for long periods)

• Homelessness (dogs ‘living rough’ with their owners)
• Dogs permitted to illegally roam unsupervised (straying), resulting in
injuries, malnourishment and/or death. This is different to abandonment
(detailed below), whereby an owner ‘relinquishes’ their dog in an entirely
irresponsible way (which is a specific welfare offence), thereby placing it in
immediate danger.

6
Domestic legislation has seen Scotland ban all tail docking, various exemptions are provided for in
England, Northern Ireland and Wales. See />tail_docking_guidance.pdf