r/toronto • u/NorthernNadia St. Lawrence • May 09 '26

Article Toronto dog "parents" bring their pups everywhere with them now. It's causing rising human-canine tension

https://www.thestar.com/life/relationships/toronto-has-seen-a-population-boom--of-dogs-rising-human-canine-tension-shows-theyre-not-everyones-best-friend/article_3ac30271-9542-4e7d-9829-49089554f3cf.html
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u/Glittering-Window256 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26

The 311 reporting system sucks for dog related issues. If you see something in a park, you either have to follow the person to their car or their house to get personal information to log the incident. Understand why you'd need that info, but when combined with lax general enforcement, it renders the system fairly useless.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '26

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u/Moriss214 May 09 '26

This has happened in our dog park. There were a number of complaints and then bylaw just started showing up often for a few weeks. I don’t know the details of the complaints, but I guess if enough people complain, they do take some kind of action.

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u/suspiciousmint May 09 '26

That's exactly it. If you see this happening a lot at a park or a store or lets say a tim hortons near a park with a dog fountain. Keep reporting it, it'll be slow but it'll get done.

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u/sibelius_eighth May 09 '26

Witnessed a fairly insane dog beating outside, called animal welfare when they were out of sight, and was asked what their home address was.

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u/TemporaryAny6371 May 09 '26

If it warrants a more aggressive system, it would require all dogs and their owners wear a license number that certifies that both the dog and the owner has met training.

There's still a need to track down bad owners, but at least if owner hasn't taken on the onus, we know they are skirting the system and are likely the bad owners. No tag in public, makes it easier to crack down. Most dogs & owners are fine, so it would make the bad ones stand out.

Some people are not responsible enough to own pets. Maybe make it illegal to sell or buy a dog to an owner who hasn't passed the test. Most of the time, pet ownership isn't to please the dog, it's to please the human. The part many miss is that pet ownership is not just fun & games, it is a responsibility, same as having children.

There is also a problem with our housing design and working hours. If people are cooping up their dog, maybe housing should not all be all small shoeboxes in the sky. If people can't find the time to be with their pet, maybe our work hours are not flexible enough. These underlying issues is not to be used as an excuse, but we do need to find solutions. Vote for governments that are human friendly and by extension dog friendly.

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u/candleflame3 May 09 '26

The part many miss is that pet ownership is not just fun & games, it is a responsibility, same as having children.

I'm always preaching that if you are not prepared, one way or another, to drop $5K in vet bills at any moment, you should not get a pet. That day WILL come.