Tough Love for Stadt Wien “Vienna” Puppies and Dogs

American dog and puppies , as well as their masters , need to be aware what is happening on the other side of the pond in Austria .  Houdini Clarke, Maltese dog  , has traveled to Austria many times  and keeps up on the latest Top Dog or,”hundefuehrschein” news.

Now for all you non German speaking  dogs out there, hundefuehrschein is a new fangled German word meaning a “dog walking license”.  It seems that the Austrians … more than 80 percent of them in Stadt Wien “Vienna” alone, feel that stricter rulings  should be enacted to keep particular breeds along with their dog walking owners under the watchful eyes of the authorities. The breeds that are being put on the watch list are the pit bull, American Staffordshire terrier, Mastiff and the Rottweiler and, of course, all of the mixed breed / cross bred cousins.

Yes, we have heard  about the awful accounts of young kids and older people being mauled or killed by ferocious  dogs.  It seems that those particular breeds on the Stadt Wien “hit list” and their mixed breed cousins turn out to be the most common felons in these scenarios .  On the other hand, most dog lovers understand that it is usually the dog owner and not the canine that is guilty  in these situations.  How the dog was trained to behave in certain settings or whether he was trained at all.

Wuff, the Austrian Dog magazine  has become involved in the action by posting flyers all over Stadt Wien showing two sweet puppies sitting next to each other with one of them labeled evil.  This, along with the vote NO to the referendum, is a pretty clear indication where they stand on the situation.

Well, in February, after the vote was counted on the “hundefuehrschein in Stadt Wien” … commencement July 1, 2010 the “evil dogs” and the individual  who will be walking the dog over 16 years of age will have to take and successfully complete  a 30 page, yes, I said 30 PAGE test.  This multiple choice exam will include everything from tail wagging to barking at strangers and will cost 25 Euros. 

There are many other provisions in this new legislation i.e. the dog must be at least six months old, the dog and owner may take the test up to 3 times, there will be a transitional period for those who currently own a dog on the “hit list” and so on … the real kicker here is that if you are not hundefuehrschein compliant, the fines are grotesque, from a small administration fine of 100 euros up to the big kahuna fine of 14,000 euros … Holy Smokes  !

You can take a gander  at the hundefuehrschein test  and see what you make of it  … could you and your doggie  pass?

Thank goodness that   Houdini Clarke, who, while he has the spirit of a Mastiff , the Maltese breed has not made the Stadt Wien hundefuehrschein "hit list”.  So, Houdini will be allowed to roam the streets of Vienna freely reading and sending p-mails to all his Viennese pup buds.