I voted 'good idea'. But I'm biased, it's my proposal

Thank you for linking to it.

If anyone has any questions on it regarding implementation or how the test would work in reality I'd be only too happy to discuss.

The most common objection I've encountered when developing this proposal over the past couple of years is 'feasibility'. Or to put it another way, 'nice idea but it can't be done / won't work etc'.

I appreciate fully how radical and different it is as a concept, especially considering what flimsy and poor dog laws we have right now.

What I would say though is that to say it can't be done is actually not correct, in fact. I say 'in fact' because there are already much larger and much more complicated schemes in place which are being run along the lines of this scheme. My proposal isn't based on new concepts, it's based on adopting existing concepts and applying them to dogs. That is probably why it seems quite big and complicated at first.

I recall when the driving licence theory exam was introduced to accompany the practical test, it didn't have people saying 'it can't be done'. The reason being, we know it could be done. So the scheme only uses existing technology, systems and principles which are already in effect and running smoothly.

Other common objections are - will it stop people who don't bother to take the test? Well, from my point of view this is the wrong way to look at it. After all, having a law against murder doesn't stop people from doing it but it certainly needs to be a law!

I see this as a scheme that genuinely can be implemented and would have a genuine effect of improving dog ownership skills across the board. There are many people who are not bad dog owners, who are not irresponsible dog owners but they DO lack some key skills and education.

I look at like this: If we applied the laws we have to dog ownership to driving a car, it would be like saying to everyone 'don't bother with a driving test, just get behind the wheel and have a go. If you have an accident, we'll punish you a little bit and we'll take your car away and scrap it. Then you can get another car'. It seems ludicrous. I personally feel a compulsory level of education before a person becomes a dog owner will protect dogs from people as much as it would protect people from dogs.

Once again, thanks for linking it here!