National muzzle law Austria

[danyp1]

Just in case anyone wants to travel in europe and is passing by Austria. My mom just told me they have a national muzzle law there in public places (since she was wondering if I use a muzzle on our pup because I will be taking her in the future to Austria on visits).
As far as I can remember most of the dogs there in public are without a muzzle but if something happens you are in a lots of trouble..

[TrishB]

I would find it very interesting to find out how they arrived at this decision. Meaning - how many bites occurred while on leash?

If the majority of bites occurred while the dog was on leash, I would understand. But I highly doubt this is true (just speculation at this point). If the majority of dogs that bite / attack are off leash / without owner supervision, then what impact will a muzzle law have? Obviously only an owner, with a dog on leash, will put on a muzzle.... In which case, they're not the dogs that were causing the problem in the first place.

[danyp1]

Originally posted by TrishB
I would find it very interesting to find out how they arrived at this decision. Meaning - how many bites occurred while on leash?

If the majority of bites occurred while the dog was on leash, I would understand. But I highly doubt this is true (just speculation at this point). If the majority of dogs that bite / attack are off leash / without owner supervision, then what impact will a muzzle law have? Obviously only an owner, with a dog on leash, will put on a muzzle.... In which case, they're not the dogs that were causing the problem in the first place.

I will ask her if she knows otherwise I will look it up myself. She told me it has been in effect for a long time now. But as I said almost nobody has a muzzle on and there are a bunch of dogs in the countryside which are walked even without a leash (and there is also a leash law) or just roam free.
And you also have to have a muzzle on when you go with the public bus (I`m not sure about the rail road)which I think is understandable.
But I also doubt that there are more dog bites on leash with the owner present than when they are free to do whatever they wanna do. And the people who let their dogs roam free will most likley not have a muzzle on their dog to begin with. It does not make sense...

[Mick Trainer]

It has been a law for a long time in Austria that all SchH, PP, Law enforcement etc trained Rotts wear muzzles in public but I did not think that this included non trained dogs. Austria uses rotts in service work more than any other country I know about (Austrian Military Kennels were reponsible for a lot of the strength found in Rotts) and the law was as a result of this. It may have been extended but I feel it is a possability that someone has their wires crossed here.

Mick.

P.S. This law has been in for well over 50 years.

[danyp1]

Originally posted by Mick Trainer
It has been a law for a long time in Austria that all SchH, PP, Law enforcement etc trained Rotts wear muzzles in public but I did not think that this included non trained dogs. Austria uses rotts in service work more than any other country I know about (Austrian Military Kennels were reponsible for a lot of the strength found in Rotts) and the law was as a result of this. It may have been extended but I feel it is a possability that someone has their wires crossed here.

Mick.

P.S. This law has been in for well over 50 years.

I talked to someone at dog.de and they said that in germany not all cities have a leash and muzzle law for rottweilers but some do. There is also some issues about travelling into the country who are on their "Kampfhund" figthing dog list. Especially pit bulls. They might not even let you in or give you trouble luckly a rottweiler is not on their list yet since it is in a way a german symbol.
Austria as far as she knows has a leash and muzzle law but it is not really enforced. I gotta call the austrian consulate anyways.. so I will let you know what I find out.
I honestly hope it isn`t so. I would hate to have her wear a muzzle on vacation but if there is one and even if it is not enforced I rather be safe than sorry.
Btw. My mom is a nurse and she pretty much knows those kinda things. When someone comes in with a bite wound they are the one who notify the police.

[danyp1]

As far as I found out. It depends on the individual county plus not all cities are the same.. It is rather confusing. I was send a link to

http://www.help.gv.at/74/Seite.740000-16123.html

which gives you info on two austrian cities. One with a muzzle law wherever you go outside of your house(Perchtoldsdorf). The other one Linz where there are certain areas where you have to wear a muzzle. And I also saw Vienna mentioned on another site so I presume I have to call up the city I`m going to be staying at.

Under the english version of the site they have an add on under the keeping of an animal saying

Please note: There are legally prescribed obligations. These regulations can differ depending on the province. A muzzle and leash should, at the very least, always be brought along when the dog is taken for a walk outside.


So I guess it depends on where you are going with your dog.

Why do they make it so complicated and not clear cut????