Trainer sees increasing numbers of aggressive dogs

Trainer Martin Winfield, who owns and runs Rockwood Dog Training Centre in Caerphilly, south-east Wales, says the number of people coming to the centre with concerns about the danger their dog is posing is soaring.

Winfield said the centre now takes 200 dogs a week – some of them too dangerous to teach alongside others. He told Wales Online: “We take the most aggressive. A lot of our clients have been everywhere before they reach us. They tell us we are the last resort. It’s because other clubs are just terrified to take them on.

“It’s a shame and it puts us under a lot of pressure to get it right. But we’d never say no. How could we? It’s a real problem and we have to help people as much as we can.”

A lot of the responsibility comes down to the breeders, said Winfeld. “I don’t think enough people are doing enough and taking it seriously enough when they are handing these dogs over to families. Too many breeders have no thought for the kind of breed or its temperament. They think ‘Oh right, it’s a Rottweiler, I’ll just breed it and make money.’ Then they’re surprised when it goes wrong and you end up with a dog that’s biting people.”

He added: “There is so much responsibility involved with all dogs, but it is so, so important that when you’re dealing with bullies, Dobermanns, German Shepherds, Rottweilers etc that you get it right.”