What are the so-called dangerous or category 1 and 2 dogs? What does the legislation say?

 What are the so-called dangerous or category 1 and 2 dogs? What does the legislation say?

Individuals cannot house all breeds of dogs in their homes. Some of them are subject to very severe detention conditions because of their "dangerous" nature. Failure to comply with the regulations exposes owners to very heavy penalties

What are category 1 and 2 dogs?

Two categories have been created to classify dangerous dogs. Category 1 includes attack dogs that do not benefit from any LOF recognition. These dogs have morphological particularities that can be assimilated to some breeds such as the Tosa, Mastiff or Boerbull, the American Staffordshire terrier, also called Pit-bull.

The category 2 as for it is made up of dogs of defense or guard. But contrary to the dogs of category 1, those of this category 2 benefit from a recognition by the LOF. Among these breeds are the Rottweiler, the American Staffordshire terrier (formerly Staffordshire terrier) and the Tosa.

It should be specified that the dogs of these two categories cannot be held by minors. It is not necessary that the owner is under guardianship and has previously been sentenced to prison or for crimes. Nor must the owner have ever lost custody of a dog due to dangerous behaviour.

Persons wishing to have a dangerous dog must be trained to obtain a certificate of competency. This document will be very useful in obtaining a dog licence. This training has three components: canine behaviour, education and prevention

Update on the regulation of dangerous dogs

Once the attestation of aptitude has been acquired, an application for a possession permit must be requested at the town hall. Issued by municipal or prefectural by-law as the case may be, this document is only obtained if the results of the dog's behavioural evaluation are positive. This evaluation is carried out by the veterinarian and ranges from a level of 1 to 4, with 1 indicating no risk and 4 indicating high dangerousness. Please note that there is no validity period for this permit. However, the owner must ensure that the conditions are systematically respected.

The last document required to own a dangerous dog is liability insurance. It protects against any physical or material damage that may be caused by the animal.

Various obligations to be respected

All dangerous dogs must be vaccinated against rabies. Similarly, they must also be sterilized. It is possible, for category 2 dogs only, to travel on public transportation and to access public places provided that they are kept on a leash and equipped with a muzzle. On the other hand, 1st category dogs are not allowed to travel on public transport and can only access public places with a muzzle and leash. They are also not allowed to enter the common areas of apartment buildings and cannot be imported either, while the import is done for dogs of the 2nd category as well as parking in the common areas of apartment buildings as long as they are kept on a leash with a muzzle.

One must be very careful, as there are rental contracts or co-ownership regulations that prohibit the keeping of these animals in one's home. Heavy penalties or fines are applied in the case of non-compliance with these rules.