If I am moving to Switzerland (currently looking at Canton zug or Aargau) is my dog obliged to undergo a test for assessment ?
If so could you guide me to what is requested or assessed in order to be prepared prior to the move.
Thanks from me and Dante ❤️
Hopefully our very helpful member meloncollie will be along shortly with some advice.
AG is a BSL canton, requiring a permit to keep a listed breed. There are many hoops to jump through in order to gain a permit to do so.
Do you read German?* If so, start here:
AG cantonal brochure on dog ownership, which includes a description of what it takes to gain a permit to keep a listed dog:
https://www.ag.ch/media/kanton_aarga...17.08.2020.pdf
The section on the test is only a summary, see the Anhang linked below.
AG Hundegesetz (HUG), pay special attention to articles 3. 9-15
https://gesetzessammlungen.ag.ch/app.../versions/1268
AG Hundeverordnung (HUV), special attention to all of articles 3 and 4,
https://gesetzessammlungen.ag.ch/app.../versions/2227
AG Anhang to the HUV, Ausbildungspflicht für Hunde mit erhöhtem Gefährdungspotenziel:
https://gesetzessammlungen.ag.ch/fro...ionaries/13514
As you can see, you face some significant bureaucratic and training/safety hurdles. The question I have to ask, wearing my animal welfare hat, is: What if you are not successful - what happens to your dog?
The answer cannot be to surrender him to a Swiss Tierheim, as listed dogs have very little chance of rehoming, even in cantons where they are allowed. Most spend the rest of their lives kenneled. And some, sadly, don’t even get that.
If you are considering AG, your first step should be a frank discussion with the cantonal Veterinäramt to clarify every step of the process, and at each step to ask ‘What if..?” And you MUST have a Plan B for your dog’s welfare in place, ready to put into action at any time.
Canton ZG is not a BSL canton, fortunately.
Here is a summary of ZG dog law, from Tier Im Recht:
https://www.tierimrecht.org/de/recht/hunderecht/zug/
Your biggest challenge will be to find housing that accepts you and your dog. Try to find a house without shared communal spaces, as with a dog - let alone a listed breed - the conflict with neighbors that too often arises from shared space can be a recipe for disaster. Try to find a single family house with a private, fenced, own-use only garden. These are scarcer than hen’s teeth in Switzerland, and will be expensive. But that's a price you have to figure into this move.
For your dog’s sake, do not come to Switzerland without appropriate housing arranged before your arrival!
Regardless of bureacracy and cantonal law, there is a great deal of prejudice against the bull and molosser breeds that might make it more difficult to give your dog a decent life in Switzerland than it is for the average dog owner. You must be able to be your dog’s advocate and protector at all times - never forget this.
Towards, that end, it is imperative that you fully understand Swiss norms and expectations for dog owners, which may be different from what you are used to at home. The best way to learn this quickly, in a supportive environment, is to take training classes. Obviously this is required in AG, but even though it is not in ZG I urge you in the strongest of terms to do so, making it a priority on your arrival. The owners of listed breeds I know take classes or are active in a Hundeverein continually, throughout their dogs’ entire lives, even into the senior years. They do this not only because it’s a fun bonding activity with their dogs, but also as a sort of precaution. When your Swiss neighbor sees you are continually working to be a good dog owner, he might cut your more slack than he otherwise would. Do not underestimate how important having some kind of ‘authority approval’ generally is in Switzerland.
*If you don’t yet read German, your number two priority is to get thee to a language course. Sure ZG us famously English-language friendly. But as the owner of a listed breed, you really need to understand what is being said both to your face and behind your back... and this will likely be in Dialekt You have to be able to do the normal pleasantries and greetings, make small talk, and most importantly - advocate for your dog using the right tone and expressions - day in and day out. You really need a decent level of functional German, for your dog’s sake.
Wishing you and your pup all the best with this move.
I am in a similar situation as you, owning an american pitbull terrier mix and looking to immigrate to Switzerland (to canton of Zug) with my dog. Did you end up moving to Zug with your dog? If yes, can you please share your experience, steps for registration, training, or other roadblocks you've faced during the process? Appreciate this in advance!
Thanks,
John
Canton ZG is not a BSL canton, and is one of the least restrictive when it comes to dog control laws. There are no special hoops at the cantonal level to jump through due to your dog's breed.
So that's the good news.
As you may have read while browsing the Pets Corner, dog ownership is regulated at three levels: federal, cantonal, and community.
You need to follow all federal regs for importing your dog. To get you started, see the BLV's interactive tool, and read the BLV pages dealing with dogs. Pay special attention to the order of steps when preparing your dog and the dog's paperwork, especially wrt microchipping and vaccinating.
https://www.blv.admin.ch/blv/en/home...frettchen.html
If you have specific questions after reading the BLV site carefully, come back here to ask.
Please do not try to circumvent any part of the federal import regulations! Switzerland has cracked down on illegal importation/smuggling, and some naive owners with incorrect paperwork have been caught up in this - with their poor dog bearing the consequences.
---
Here is the ZG cantonal page:
https://www.zg.ch/behoerden/gesundhe...erdienst/hunde
https://www.zg.ch/behoerden/gesundhe...de/zuger-hunde
---
Once your dog has been correctly imported to Switzerland, your next step is registration in the AMICUS database. Again, this is federal law. You will need a vet to do the registration, and it must be done in 10 days. So make that a priority.
Do you have a vet in Zug? In not, or as an FYI because sooner or later you might need this info, the region's specialty clinic and 24/7 ER is the Ennetsee Klinik in Hünenberg, here:
---
Next you need to register your dog with your Gemeinde, and pay the annual dog tax. Look up your Gemeinde website for how to do this, or give them a call. Be aware that while there is little regulation at the cantonal level, there might be laws you need to pay attention to at the individual Gemeinde. So again, check your Gemeinde website.
Canton ZG does not require liablity insurance of dog owners, but you would be incredibly foolish not to carry this, especially with a bull breed. Dog liability insurance usually comes bundled in your Privathaftpflict policy, but check this out with your insurer. Most cantons require 1-3 million in liability coverage, I'd go for the upper level with a bull breed. This is inexpensive, so I'll repeat: A dog owner would be foolish not to have it!
And while on the subject of things not required in ZG but nonetheless strongly recommended:
Get involved in a training school as soon as possible! No, in ZG you are not required to take classes, but you definietly should. Seriously. Just because the canton treats dog ownership lightly does not mean your neighbors will - you could well run into the same prejudices as bull breed owners do everywhere else in Switzerland.
The best way to counter this, and to protect your dog, is to get involved in training 'the Swiss way'. A training class, be it Familienhund, OB, sports, or anything else, is IMO the easiest way to help you understand etiquette and expectations in Switzerland - which might be quite different from what you have experienced back home. A good Hundeschule is where you not only help your dog to fit in, but also can provide something of a 'soft landing' for you. You'll meed kindred spirits, a good start to finding your feet here.
If you need recommendations for a training school, just ask.
I must stress how important I believe taking Swiss training classes is for new dog owner - especially for a bull breed owner! It's unfortunate, but owners of the breeds often maligned in the press and court of public opinion are under a microscope no matter where you live. You have to be better than the average dog owner. It's not fair, but it's the world we live in.
Finally, have you found housing yet? If not, be aware that owners of bull breeds are at something of a disadvantage here. Be flexible, be prepared to pay up, and if at all within your budget try to find a single family home to avoid difficulties with neighbors.
ETA with another heads-up: Finding dog care can be difficult here, sadly moreso with a bull breed, as many private pet sitters and (shamefully!) some kennels will not take them. So another item to put as a priorty on your to-do list. Even if you have no immediate travel plans, start looking to build a relationship with a carer or kennel soon. Since some European countries have banned pitbulls you likely will not be able to travel with your dog as much, making finding reliable dog care here all the more important.
ETA2: Speaking of travel, before you travel with your dog to other Swiss cantons, check their BSL regs. Pitbulls are banned or restricted in half the Swiss cantons, which could impact your ability to spontaneously go hiking with your dog. The good news is that in some cantons where the breed is banned, you can nonetheless apply for a limited time visiting permit. Always check the regs in the cantons you wish to visit with your dog.
Just some general info to get you started - and wishing you and your pup all the very best.
It may be to your benefit to use them (or someone like them) since they helped with all the paperwork and regulatory stuff, and made it very clear all that needed to be done and how to do it.
On the Swiss side we used Moving Animals (used to be ACE). If you can't find anyone in the States you like, you can drop Moving Animals an email and they probably can help.
I'm quite interested in your take on this as you're clearly the most informed dog owner we have.
- owners often buy these dogs as guard dogs or fighting dogs, so they behave that way and the owners like that - they are not socialised to be passive.
- they are big and have a strong jaw big mouth=big bite)
A nasty bite from a chihuahua is going to be nasty, but it's not likely to be fatal.
There are both larger dogs and dogs with more powerful bites yet none have close to the amount of fatal or near fatal attacks that bully breeds do.
Wishing you all the best!
Tom
First - the problem with bite statistics - as with so many other statistics looking for answers to policy questions - is a Stats 101 issue: correlation is not causation. Breed is actually a purely random variable, you could measure any variable - fur type, eye color, tail length, ad absurdum - and come up with a statistic. Is that statistic meaningful? To find out, you have to dig much, much deeper.
Unfortunately, in the public mind such stats become self-validating. If we measure against breed, we start to think breed is a cause. Repeat that often enough, and we have BSL. People want quick, simple answers, and so that deeper dig is rarely done. Blaming breed, and then banning the breed, gives one a false sense of security - but actually does very little to address the deeper problem.
I’ve mentioned this on several threads, but to repeat: Das Pitbull Syndrom: Die Angst vor Hunden und der moderne Zeitgeist , by Stefan Burkhart, which was written in response to the panic and subsequent anti-dog media and political campaigns following the terrible Oberglatt tragedy, is a must-read for those interested in the subject of BSL legislation.
As anyone who has spent any time among dogs knows - dog behavior is the result of so many factors. Nurture is as, or often far more, important than nature. Unfortunately, we can’t easily measure nurture, there are too many variables. Measuring nature is an easy, lazy default. But policy should not be based on an easy, lazy assumption.
(Yes, I have seen unwanted behavior in dogs that could be the result of nature rather than nurture, my own Robin Goodfellow is one case. We suspect a neurological problem. And yes, there is a higher tendency towards seizure disorders in Shelties. Yet not all seizures in shelties present as Robin’s do, and it would be beyond foolish to assume that all tiny cute fluffy Shelties are problematic...)
Do people inclined to irresponsibility - which thus might lay the groundwork for poor ’nurturing’ - gravitate towards certain breeds or types? To some extent I would guess that is possible, based on anecdotes. But how would one study that?
Keep in mind, when nurture is a driving factor, blaming a breed - or any random factor - is actually ineffective in addressing the problem.
Yes bull breeds - and any large strong dog - have the physical potential to do more harm in a bite situation than a teacup poodle.
Do I think owners of large, strong dogs bear a great responsibility, and should conduct themselves with that in mind at all times? Of course I do. Do I think owners of large strong dogs should be required to educate themselves in the best practices science has developed towards understanding canine behavior, to raise and socialize their dogs correctly according to those practices, to continually take classes to further that education? Of course I do. Just as I believe all dog owners, of all breeds, types, and sizes, should.
Other issues with bite statistics:
Popularity of the breed - the more dogs of a particular breed. type, or mix there are, the higher the potential, simple math.
Reporting tendency. Legally, in Switzerland all dog bites must be reported. But often people do not report bites unless medical treatment is needed, which of course skews towards larger more powerful dogs. And very few people report their own family dog, or a dog they know.
Dog bite stats are not useless, they serve as signposts for further investigation to get to root causes. But again - correlation is not causation . Stats using a random factor for analysis by themselves should not define policy.
----
Re: my comment encouraging John to take out insurance even if not required:
Dog ownership in Switzerland is considered a Kausalhaftung.
https://www.tierimrecht.org/document...ndehalters.pdf
For this reason alone every dog ower should have liability insurance, even if not required by the canton. (Most cantons do require it, FYI.)
I said that a bull breed owner should especially have it simply because of public prejudice. Owners of bull breeds start out with a target on their backs. It is not fair, but it is reality. A bull breed owner is under the microscope to an extent that other dog owners are not. Simply acknowledging reality, one should take all the steps possible to protect one’s self and one’s dog.
Take out insurance even if not required. Find a single family house with a securely fenced garden. Attend a good Hundeschule throughout your dog’s entire lifetime. Get involved with a Hundeverein. And always, always, be aware of the need to be a good ambassador for your breed.
----
Now let’s get back to helping John with his questions.
The only thing I would add is - speak to your (potential) neighbors. Find one who has a bigger dog, and ask about the neighborhood BEFORE you move.
One annoying neighbor is enough to be a pain in the rear, regardless of what you do (speaking from experience).
Also, find a good vet - and stick with them. Should you ever need someone to write a letter stating that your dog is healthy and happy; your vet, your dog trainer and your social circle all come in handy. (with more thanks to meloncollie here - as the original advice originally came from him/her in a moment of crisis a year or two ago)