Dangerous or Nuisance Dogs

How do I report an incident involving a nuisance or dangerous dog?

Contact the Neighbourhood Wardens on 0115 917 3142, email neighbourhood.wardens@broxtowe.gov.uk or visit the Council Offices in person.

In order to complete the report, the Wardens will need:

• Your full name
• Your full address including your postcode
• Your home telephone number and a number which we can contact you on during normal office hours if this is different
• Your email address (if applicable)
• Details of the incident including the area and details of the offender (if known)

Nuisance behavior by dogs

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (Opens in a New Window) tackles issues where dogs are causing a nuisance if the dog’s behavior is persistent, unreasonable and negatively affects the quality of life of people or animals.

Council officers can issue owners of nuisance dogs a Community Protection Notice (CPN) which orders the person responsible for the dog (usually the dog owner) to stop or control its behaviour.

A CPN can be issued to deal with minor incidents, including when a dog:

• repeatedly strays
• causes alarm
• damages property
• shows it’s capable of aggression

A CPN orders the responsible person to:

• stop doing something, e.g. letting the dog into children’s play areas
• do specified things, e.g. muzzling the dog, keeping it on a lead
• take reasonable steps to get specific results, e.g. attending dog-training classes

A CPN can last for as long as the authority issuing it believes it is necessary to ensure owners keep proper control over their dogs.

If you are a council tenant restrictions and nuisance regulation apply please refer to Broxtowe Borough Council Tenancy Agreement Policy for the keeping of animals.

Most minor incidents involving aggression towards people and incidents involving dogs behaving aggressively towards other animals can be dealt with by the Neighbourhood Warden team by reporting the incident to us.

Please note we can only take action if you are prepared to make and sign an official statement.

The law

Dangerous dogs are dealt with under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (Opens in a New Window) and Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. (Opens in a New Window)

Dog control is covered by a number of pieces of legislation as summarised in the DogsTrust Law Factsheet. (.pdf) (754KB) (Opens in a New Window)

All dog owners have a duty to ensure that their dog does not cause a nuisance to people or other animals and is kept under proper control at all times.

The law applies to all dogs and it is against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control in a public place or in a private place where the dog isn't allowed to be (e.g. a neighbour's house or garden without permission). Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it injures someone or makes someone worried that it might injure them. A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if it injures someone's animal the owner of the animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal.

If you have been involved in an incident where a dog has behaved aggressively and has injured a person, you should report it to the Police.