Dangerous dogs

A dangerous dog is defined within the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 as either one that is dangerously out of control, and you are worried that it might bite or has bitten a person or assistance dog (section 3 of the act). A dog may also be considered a dangerous if it is one of the following specific breeds:

• Pit Bull Terrier
• Dogo Argentino
• Japanese Tosa
• Fila Brasileiro

The police can deal with incidents where someone owns one of the prohibited breeds above or where a dog has behaved dangerously towards people or assistance dogs.

A dog is not considered ‘dangerous’ within law if it has attacked another animal. This kind of incident is dealt with differently for farm livestock or another type of animal.