russbost
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| posted on 4/11/18 at 06:13 PM |
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Dog boarding/walking
I'm sure we have plenty of dog owners on here & I'm sure some of you must use dog boarders from time to time for holidays, or if
you're away with work etc.
My daughter runs a dog walking & boarding business locally from her home, correctly licensed & insured. She has recently been made aware of
new regulations proposed by Defra which are both unnecessary & confusing - there is a petition already raised with regard to this with substantial
support
Link to petition
Some of the main points of contention are: the requirement for all dogs (even those from the same house) to have a designated room within the house,
and the extremely restrictive outlook of what is considered to be a ‘room’; obligatory familiarisation sessions between dogs from different houses
PRIOR to a stay (i.e. clients, and the business owners, need to make time for dogs to meet other dogs they will be sharing the house with every time
they will be sharing with a new dog); the fact that you can no longer crate a dog for more than 3 hours in a 24 hour period, apparently even if being
crated for longer than this (e.g. overnight which is quite common) is part of the dog’s usual routine, many dogs are used to sleeping in their
cages/crates.
There are several other issues with the legislation, including the fact that large parts of it are contradictory and/or unclear.
If these new rules are put in place as they are, it is going to be damaging to ALL dog boarding businesses throughout the country & unfair to
both the businesses & the dog owners without making any changes that will actually affect the welfare of the animals (surely the object of the
exercise?), the legislation is heavy handed & appears to be taking the stance of using a sledge hammer to crack a nut.
If anyone feels able to sign the petition it would be helpful, you can also email Michael Gove at this email address
correspondence.section@defra.gsi.gov.uk
& an email to whoever your local MP is might also help - this legislation very much reminds me of the stupidity we had recently over the emissions
for older kitcars etc. we managed to get that dropped from the regs, I'm hoping that similarly common sense may prevail here .........
Cheers Guys
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
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SJ
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| posted on 4/11/18 at 07:02 PM |
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Just signed it as I agree it is heavy handed. There does need to be tighter regulation on dog boarding in domestic homes though, which I'm sure
can easily be done through existing licensing.
Mine goes to the cheapy dog kennels locally which are in the middle of nowhere, but I've seen a house where the entire ground floor was multiple
dog kennels for boarding. The people running it were nice and real dog lovers, but it must be hell for the neighbours.
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russbost
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| posted on 4/11/18 at 07:14 PM |
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Yes, I'd agree there are a few holes in the existing regs & I'm quite sure that when licences were issued they wouldn't have
expected someone to make over a whole ground floor to dogs, & tbh that makes it more like kennels than boarding which pretty much destroys the
whole point. My daughter is licenced for 4 dogs plus her own, which is a LOT more sensible!
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
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Mash
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| posted on 5/11/18 at 05:39 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by SJ
Just signed it as I agree it is heavy handed. There does need to be tighter regulation on dog boarding in domestic homes though, which I'm sure
can easily be done through existing licensing.
Agreed, sure the existing laws could be used, as I think the problems that are out there are a result of staff cutbacks, i.e. less dog wardens, and
no-one actually reporting what they think is wrong.
How increased legislation is going to solve either of those problems I just don't see.
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Sam_68
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| posted on 5/11/18 at 05:49 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by russbost...She has recently been made aware of new regulations proposed by Defra...
Closing the kennel door after the whippet has bolted, though, don't you think?
These are not proposals; you're talking about the
Animal Welfare (Licensing of Animals)(England) Regulations
2018, which came into force 1st October.
The time to object about new legislation is before it has been enacted.
If you think that the Government is going to make it a priority to review legislation that it has only just enacted, in the middle of everything else
that's going on with Brexit at the moment, you're kidding yourself, I'm afraid.
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russbost
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| posted on 6/11/18 at 08:27 AM |
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Well, yes Sam, but, unlike the emissions proposals no one appears to have been made aware that any proposed changes were to have been made,
she's a member of a couple of official bodies, not a word from them & so far as she has been able to establish no notification of proposed
changes was made. You would have thought that at the very least they would have notified the very people that were paying the licences .........
Also, my understanding from her is that it has NOT come into force yet, I believe it does so around the end of the year?
If you read the actual regs there are several things that could never stand up in a court of law as they actually contradict each other for instance,
this is from her e,ail to them , regarding enrichment: “All dogs must receive appropriate toys and/or feeding enrichment such as scatter feeders
unless veterinary advice suggests otherwise. Owner’s written consent must be obtained.” I would like to know which is the more important point here?
That all dogs must receive appropriate toys/feeding enrichment, or that the owner’s consent must be obtained? If the owner does not give their
consent, are we still supposed to provide the enrichment, because “All dogs must receive…” or do we not provide it because the owner has said not to,
and their “written consent must be obtained” That whole statement is totally ambiguous & a lawyer would tear it to shreds - there is plenty more
contradictory& ambiguous material in there also, a no. of instructions that would either be ridiculously time consuming & costly to do &
would require compliance &/or time wasting by clients & also stuff which could never be accurately documented or checked on - the whole thing
is typical of the current "one size fits all" legislation the current powers seem to love ..............
edited to add that none of the above are reasons NOT to sign a petition against the restrictive regs
[Edited on 6/11/18 by russbost]
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
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Sam_68
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| posted on 6/11/18 at 09:47 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by russbost
...my understanding from her is that it has NOT come into force yet, I believe it does so around the end of the year?
If you read the actual regs...]
These are the "actual regs".
Part 1, Section 1 states that they come into force on 1st October. There are transitional arrangements set out in Section 27, but I can't see
any reference to the end of the year; it's all about unexpired existing licensing arrangements remaining valid.
My guess is that what you're referring to as the 'actual regs' is the statutory guidance referred to in Part 2, Section 14
("A local authority must have regard in the carrying out of its functions under these Regulations to such guidance as may be issued by the
Secretary of State" ).
I'm well used to dealing with this sort of thing in my day job: the Building Regulations are framed in the same way, with a set of legal
regulations supported by statutory guidance (in that case, in the form of the Approved Documents to the Building Regulations). They're
not as inflexible as you seem to assume, and they're usually administered sensibly. If there are conflicts, you can point them out to the
individual Officer or Authority administering them... like the legislation says, they have to have regard for the guidance, but that
doesn't mean they have to follow it slavishly, to the letter.
Have you actually bothered to read the response that the Government has already given or are you just whipping up your usual reactionary,
knee-jerk frenzy on principle?
Defra's response:
"We have received a number of queries relating to the statutory guidance issued under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving
Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 for home boarding and dog day-care. Primarily, these are issues of clarity. We have discussed the specific issues
that have been raised with our stakeholder groups which includes businesses, charities, veterinarians and local authorities. We have also examined the
specific areas of the guidance that people have queried, to provide further clarity, to help improve the understanding among both local authorities
and businesses. We are disseminating additional information to local authorities and stakeholders to ensure that the regulations continue to promote a
high standard of animal welfare with a minimal disruption to businesses."
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russbost
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| posted on 6/11/18 at 10:00 AM |
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Yes, I meant the guidance notes. With regard to coming in at the end of year that would be on expiry of existing licence
"my usual reactionary knee jerk frenzy" at times Sam you really are a total tosser 
& as for "We are disseminating additional information to local authorities and stakeholders to ensure that the regulations continue to
promote a high standard of animal welfare with a minimal disruption to businesses" - utter rubbish, they don't give a toss about
people's small businesses & these regs have little or no bearing on animal welfare. I would be prepared to bet that the original changes
& guidance came about because these small businesses were threatening the businesses of large kennel owners & someone's ear got bent
& probably palm greased to get changes introduced - personally I'm not a dog owner, but I know if I was which I'd rather have my dog
kept by, someone in their own home who will walk it & treat it as they would their own pet, or someone who's going to lock it in a small box
for 23 & 3/4 hours a day
What makes the whole thing all the more ridiculous is that the regs are completely toothless, b4 they can visit someone in the business they have to
make an appointment first, so they'd have plenty of time to tidy up their act .................
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 6/11/18 at 12:51 PM |
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hmm
Personally I frown on the whole aspect of putting any dog in a crate or cage perhaps cos I've seen so many owners who treat their dogs like
utter crap over the years but that's just people for you, I decked a guy for hitting his dog with a hoover extension once. My dogs have their
own sofa in the living room (big hounds too) I am lucky my folks love looking after them when we're on hols though.
I'm sure there are many boarding kennels that are run very well with kind and caring people but I bet there are plenty that are not.
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SJ
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| posted on 6/11/18 at 06:24 PM |
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I was anti crate when we got our dog, but he was very happy in it. They are really handy in keeping the dog both out of harm's way and stopping
them doing stuff they shouldn't. Having said that he's so chilled out now we don't bother with it.
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russbost
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| posted on 6/11/18 at 06:29 PM |
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My daughter only uses crates if at the request & agreement of the owner, but many dogs sleep in them all the time overnight, whether at home or
away, no question of them being confined involuntarily! Under the new regs, there is a suggestion they should only use their own crates, but would
you, as an owner, want to dismantle & transport the crate every time you took your dog for boarding, many owners much prefer to use the crates she
can provide
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
|
NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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