Number of aggressive dogs in Montreal rising

Montreal has seen a 41 per cent increase in incidents involving dangerous dogs in the past five years with officials urging pet owners to train their animals.

Montreal is seeing a rise in the number of aggressive dogs, with incident reports up.

According to the City of Montreal, reports are up 41 per cent, compared to five years ago.

Mecier-Hochelaga Maisonneuve, Rosemont-La Petite Patrie and Cote-des-Neiges--Notre-Dame-de-Grace (CDN-NDG) account for the most cases.

The city points to the surge in dog ownership during the pandemic as a factor and says some new owners do not have the skills to socialize their dogs.

“Dogs that generally react actually out of fear, or fear of something unknown or something unfamiliar, and that can definitely be trained,” said SPCA Director of Animal Advocacy and Legal and Government Affairs Sophie Gaillard.

The city says there are 110 potentially dangerous dogs on the island, with German shepherds and pit bulls making up most of those.

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Gaillard says that good socialization starts at a young age.

“Anyone who’s engaging in breeding is appropriately socializing those puppies and exposing them to all the experiences they need in order to become good canine citizens, down the road,” she said.

The city said it will once again be offering free training workshops in dog parks for those who need.