Magnamax,
Being reported as potentially dangerous is serious. Please, from now on comply to the letter and spirit of Swiss law - for your dog's sake you MUST adopt your way of thinking, and of training/keeping your dog to not only Swiss law, but also to Swiss 'sensibilities'.
I worry that you seem to be saying you will do things your way, that you do not accept that 'the Swiss way' requires something different of you. Please, for your dog's sake, let go of that attitude. Yes, many of us are faced with a bit of 're-thinking' our ideas of what it takes to be a good dog owner to fit into expectations here that differ from expectations at home. In order to live here harmoniously with your dog, you MUST understand Swiss ideas of ownership responsibility, and you MUST be willing to adapt where the law requires.
As has been pointed out in the above posts, a choke chain is forbidden. Punkt, fertig. See art 73 of the TSchV linked above.
A martingale is allowed, though, if set so that choking the dog is not possible. Concerned neighbors will see a half-stop collar and question it, as these look for all the world like a choke collar. Folks who use martingales usually use the fabric version for that very reason. But as one should know, an inappropriately set martingale can also choke a dog - it is the choking action which is forbidden.
Over use of restricting movement is not allowed either. Crating is allowed for short periods, but a dog should not be left in a crate for long periods of time. This is a flash point for many Swiss, as the idea of crate training is not accepted here -largely because many who use it do not understand the fundamentals and instead use the crate as abusive restriction of movement.
Yes, I do see merit in appropriate crate training for housetraining young puppies, for getting dogs used to travel crates, for creating a 'den' that the dog sees as a safe space, as a controlled place for a dog to go temporarily when necessary, for instance when workmen enter the house who are afraid of dogs.
But a crate should not be used for confinement of an adult dog for any length of time. Rather, many people leave the crate set up but with the door taken off so that the dog can come and go as he wishes.
I'm afraid that 4 hours is abusive restriction of the dog's ability to move. Take the door off the crate. That way your dog has his 'den', but can move as he sees fit.
When you need to confine a dog in your absence, use a room instead. I do this whenever I have a newbie in the introductory management phase where leaving the dog alone with the other residents dogs without supervision is not wise. I turn the guest room into a 'newbie den' and put a baby gate at the door so the dog can still see what is going on. That way everyone is kept safe, and the dogs all have appropriate spaces and ability to move about.
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Now that you are on the Veterinäramt's radar you MUST comply in both letter and spirit.
Your trainer should know what test is used in VD; what a Wesenstest entails differs by canton/Gemeinde. Some use the Köln test, which is indeed difficult to master. Some use a much more relaxed test, really a meet and greet sort of thing. Ask your trainer for advice and please, take this seriously!
I don't know VD at all, but I found this example of a Wesenstest on the VD website:
http://www.vd.ch/fileadmin/user_uplo...on_05.2013.pdf
It would behoove you to work on the exercises given - but again, in the first instance speak to your trainer. Your trainer can be a valuable resource here, he or she should be able to support you in your interaction with the Veterinäramt.
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I'll hop on my soapbox again. This thread shows exactly why THE SKN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABOLISHED!
I fully understand that it is difficult to find information on dog law in Switzerland if you don't know that these laws exist - and most people, Eidgenoss new dog owners included - don't know that they do. The SKN was the way most people learned of Swiss dog law for the first time.
And now we have lost that vehicle. And our dogs will suffer for their owner's lack of information - as yours has.
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Read the TSchV, commit the articles covering dog law (Art 68-79, plus other bits on education, commercial activity, general banns and restrictions, and the various table at the end) to heart:
https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classifi...796/index.html
Be aware that the TSchV is federal law covering animal welfare . Dog control is a second level of law and is the competency of the cantons. Each has it's own law and these vary significantly. You must learn, and follow, the law in your canton as well as federal law.
A good summary of each canton's dog law can be found on the Tier Im Recht website, here:
https://tierimrecht.org/de/recht/hunderecht/
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Please, take this seriously!