Controversial training – when traditions hopefully die

The dog is man’s best friend. Many Austrians also see it that way and no longer want to imagine life without their four-legged friend. He is a faithful companion, comforter and also appreciated by many as an attentive “alarm system”. You don’t need any training for this – because almost every dog ​​barks as soon as someone is at the door or in the garden.

For more dog protection instead of protection dogs
However, there are dog owners who obviously enjoy it when their dog bites a person. There has been criticism of the so-called Schutzhund training (IGP) for some time. Not least because the biting attacks in recent months – which even killed people – involved dogs that had undergone such training.

Determination instead of reform
The proponents of this “sharp dog training” are trying tooth and nail to resist reforms. You’d think they’d sink their teeth into it, just like they teach their dogs. After the bite, the dog must be stressed by threatening to hit and harass it – this is stated in the test regulations. One “Krone reader” summed it up: “No dog really needs that.”

Criticism and the desire for reform are now increasingly coming from the Dog Umbrella Association (ÖKV). After Ernst Kugler, the recognized dog expert and author of specialist books Otto Schimpf also gave an interview to the “Krone”. He is one of the few “all-round judges”; This means that he can inspect all dog breeds worldwide. And: He is chairman of the advisory board of the ÖKV and has been a member for 50 years!

High-ranking club members are critical
Despite this, or perhaps because of that, he also calls for an end to private protection work: “You don’t have to teach a dog to bite, nor does it want to be rushed – this form of training is outdated,” says the sympathetic manager. It is really surprising why the chancellor’s party is so blocking on this issue – far from agricultural policy. Coalition partners and Animal Welfare Minister Johannes Rauch drew up a regulation about this months ago.

That is why training in which dogs are deliberately chased towards people should be prohibited for private individuals in the future. But individual trainers quickly took a stand with aggressive and false hate posts and out of pure self-interest to maintain the long-outdated training tradition.

Questionable signatures
Petitions were started by “protection dogs”, claiming more than 40,000 signatures, and were delivered to the third President of the National Council in Parliament. But the ‘Krone’ showed in advance that many signatures did not come from Austria.

Noticeable loss of voice
Shortly afterwards, a new petition was launched – now via the parliament’s homepage. Strangely enough, it was only signed by about 6,000 people. But here too, research by ‘Krone’ shows that some votes do not correspond to parliamentary regulations.

But they brag about it – and: “It’s just another fake news from ÖKV in the endless swamp of slander and lies,” said an insider from the scene. Because Minister Rauch’s regulation is also accepted by the “beautiful best friends” (ÖKV and ÖVP) that all dog training is virtually prohibited. Absolute nonsense, the Green minister objects.

Police and army are excluded
Assistance dogs are of course excluded – and all other training is unaffected. Philipp Ita, press spokesman for the ÖKV, who, according to insiders, was only entrusted with this task because he prides himself on being close to the ÖVP.

He is said to have been busy in recent days announcing to the hunting community that hunting dogs should also be banned from retrieving prey in the future. Clearly a false claim! It really is time for the Chancellor to represent the wishes of the people and not those of a small interest group.