Laws already exist against problem dogs, but the council does not elaborate why its current powers are inadequate for the prosecution of the owners in the 68 cases.

Can they be transparent, whether they pursued the 68 cases or why not?

So what's weak about the current powers? This will be highly subjective, because it has to be proven that a barking dog along the fence is considered menacing, which is highly subjective and to entrench this in legislation is unsafe.

Will a Maltese that barks and lunges along the fence be considered menacing or is this inadvertently targeted solely at large breeds? How will the council proceed with the definition of 'menacing' or will larger dogs be branded as menacing invariably?

There is a lot of literature, including from neighbourhood watch groups, that advise the use of watch dogs to warn of intruders; there is ample documention that this is natural behaviour.

Breed information describes the natural behaviour of the animal; will the council will be successful in fighting this body of evidence? Where's the consultation process?

This does not sound like an objective law that we should accept in our system. The council offers the following: "Monitoring will be predominantly driven by reporting from residents and standard patrols by our officers." Won't this be open to all types of "experimental errors"? If an officer stands at the gate "monitoring" the dog, won't this agitate the animal even further? People who are intrinsically afraid of dogs will find even small breeds menacing. However, this law will result in the higher persecution of larger breeds, and, would we ordinarily accept a law that facilitates persecution of minority groups? The limit should be the inspection of fences to ensure that the animal is penned in safely. This will also satisfy owners who feel it is necessary to have their boundaries protected. Will a warning sign also deter kids (and sometimes adults) from deliberately provoking the animal? Yes, the council should engage the stakeholders with far greater transparency; what action was taken in the 68 cases. Otherwise, it will end up costing more money to enforce, because this is very ambiguous.

I telephoned the council's policy service, who tell me that they were surprised by the press release. They rejected that they would be the ones doing the inspection (as Bernie Cronin is reported to suggest).

The woman explained that they are "the policy team, but not experts in dog behaviour", so they cannot advise on whether the animal is contained.

Are the council's legislative services qualified to assess a dog's temperament? Perhaps, Bernie Cronin should think about containing the serrated tussock problem on their own surrounding land instead.

Our estate's rubbish has not been collected today. No doubt, it is because the council is too busy trying to work out why a dog barks, but little do they know they are looking up the wrong end.

Since when is a dog barking at a passerby menacing? This is a natural behaviour of a dog. They are protecting their ground.

Will it be legislation that all dogs must be quiet to passers by, potential intruders so they are put at risk. Is it menacing when people shout at each other?

Some clarification on what this legislation is about would be good. What is deemed menacing / threatening?

How about council you send some information to registered dog owners in the community so we can give our feedback on the legislation.

I can guarantee most dogs would bark and be DEFENSIVE / PROTECTIVE not MENACING if a stranger walked past the house or stood and observed them the other side of the fence. Wouldn't you feel threatened too, imagine if that was your child and a stranger stood staring at them - are they not allowed to scream or call for someone to help them? Why can't money be spent on more off leash areas, so dogs and people can socialise properly or on educating the public that the majority of dogs are not dangerous but members of a family so when it barks it is not misunderstood.

Leave dogs alone and fix the crime and police shortage issue in the community.

We just moved into Werribee and this is the 5th day in our new house. We are renting and the house is on 5000m2 land. We have 2 dogs and the neighbours have complained to the real estate agent that the dogs are continuously barking and that we are to rectify it immediately.

There are possums in the garden, and there are dogs at the back and side house. Dogs being new in the area are curious and of course they bark as it is their nature to do so especially if they have never seen a possum before. So what were they supposed to do? Sit and act dumb? I could hear the neighbour's dogs barking conitnuously too, so do I complain? Would appreciate any advice or comments on how to handle this.

Dog Lover - as a responsible owner, you can only address the behaviour of your own dogs. If someone complains about your dogs, pointing out the behaviour of other dogs won't help the situation. Perhaps you can contact one of the trainers in the area - do a Google search for dog trainers in Werribee/Point Cook and seek their advice. Whether this ends up being recalling your dog or whatever, it may not be a quick solution, e.g. if the dogs chase possums when you are not at home. However, demonstrating to the estate agent that you have engaged an animal trainer or behaviourist should satisfy the agent that you have taken immediate or near immediate action to address their complaint.

They should understand that quick fix is not possible (estate agents should know, how long does it take for them to fix a leaking tap on rented properties?).

It is sad that people prefer to speak to the agent rather than to owners. It is very common to find that the first time owners hear of complaints is from official sources. The only people who try to sell the idea of "quick fixes" through introducing unworkable laws are the politicians who do the most barking.

It is interesting, during my stay in Singapore, that the government has legislation in housing flats to avoid nuisance barking. They limited the permitted breeds to small ones, which when confined to small areas, created even more barking problems. When creating legislation, you need to think very carefully to make sure it does not create a bigger problem.