I was reading the story about minister Alison McBrier, who was attacked by a pack of dogs while walking in Highland Perthshire last year.

Ms McBrier needed hospital treatment after the horrendous incident, with up to 12 dogs going for her.

It must have been absolutely terrifying and I’m not surprised she says she continues to be affected by it.

And to compound her anguish it now seems that, despite reporting the attack to the police, nothing is going to happen to the dogs or the people in charge of the dogs.

According to a Police Scotland spokesperson, officers spoke to the dog warden and and the owner of the dogs and “suitable advice was given”.

Oh alright then, problem solved.

Ms McBrier might be left scarred for life due to her injuries but the owner has been told “don’t let that happen again”.

There are laws in place that speak about dangerous and out of control dogs.

So let’s look at what happened. These dogs were they able not only to run up to Ms McBrier, but they also had time to carry out their attacks.

Either they were so far away from the owner they couldn’t be controlled, or they ignored any recall commands.

Why then did the police or the dog warden not take this further?

A dog control notice can be given to the owner, which can call for the animals to be kept on leads or muzzled.

In a case last year, a man was taken to court after his dogs got out of his home and injured an elderly woman and killed another small dog.

The animals were destroyed and the owner ordered to pay compensation.

From where I’m standing, this situation doesn’t seem too different. Someone was injured after being attacked by a pack of dogs.

We are in the thick of spring which means there are lambs in fields all around Courier Country.

Every year there are awful stories of farmers losing animals due to dogs killing them.

No matter how many campaigns are carried out or how many signs are posted, there are always people who continue to let their animals run free when they don’t have proper training or recall.

Most don’t get caught but do the ones who do just get “advice” too?

I face off-lead dogs a lot when I’m out with Mijo.

He has the worst recall, especially when he spots something interesting, so he doesn’t get let off the lead when we are in public.

But the number of dogs that come bounding up to us on our daily walk is insane.

Now I know that the vast majority of these dogs are friendly and just coming to say hello and want to play with Mijo.

The problem is that my dog is reactive and does not like strange dogs running up on him (especially given that most dogs are bigger than he is).

So I usually say to the owner – if I can see them, that is – “Can you call your dog back please?”

The response often is: “Oh it’s okay, he’s friendly.” Great, but my dog isn’t.

He growls to try and get the other dog to back off. This has backfired a few times and has led to me putting my hands in harm’s way to pick Mijo up and carry him away from the other dog before it kicks off.

This is the other reason why he stays on a lead close to me.

‘Questioning their dog parenting’

The problem is that people seem to take it personally when you react to their dog in a negative way.

Like you are questioning their dog parenting. How dare someone not be delighted that your labradoodle is all over another dog.

But until you or your dog are attacked, or faced with unwanted attention from one, it can be hard to understand.

I think there should be mandatory training classes for dog ownership, especially if a dog owner has had a complaint made against them to either the police or the dog warden.

If the owner and dog passes the classes, no further action would be needed.

If they don’t pass, or fail to attend, then off to court they go.

And training should be as much about training the owner as the dog. Everything from proper feeding and creating a dog-friendly schedule to giving commands and rewards to basic animal psychology.

And don’t forget, picking up after your dog does a poo!

Because nine times out of 10 if a dog is badly behaved it’s our fault, not theirs.

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