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Status Dogs 133 The focus of this chapter is on the harms caused to dogs through their owner’s behaviour and their being labelled as ‘status’ or ‘dangerous’ by their owners, the government and mainstream society The chapter explores the nature of status dog ownership in the UK The discussion is informed by four research projects conducted by the authors: (1) Pierpoint and Maher’s (2010) analysis of convictions for animal abuse, (2) Maher and Pierpoint’s (2011) small-scale qualitative research on the use of dogs by young people, involving interviews and observation of young people and youth justice and animal welfare professionals, (3) Hughes, Maher and Lawson’s systematic literature review and qualitative fieldwork with young people variously involved with the status dogs problem (Hughes et al 2011), and (4) Lawson’s (forthcoming) 25 semi-structured expert interviews on anti-social and criminal use of dogs We consider the nature of abuse, detailing harms ranging from the breeding, selling, training and habitation of the dog, to the subsequent abandonment and killing of these ‘companions’ It must be noted that while the authors recognise there are considerable harms to humans, as a result of antisocial and aggressive dog behaviour in terms of intimidation and physical injury, and the links between status dog ownership and gang/criminal activity, the remit of this book is on the animal abuse and consequently these issues are not addressed here (see further Hughes et al 2011 and Barnes et al 2006) Next, the prevalence of the status dog phenomenon in the UK and the problems with measurement are discussed Thereafter, criminological theories—labelling theory, subcultural theory and differential association—are considered to explain the desire for, and harms experienced by, status dogs Following this, societal reactions to the status dog phenomenon are considered, with particular focus on legislation and intervention approaches We start with defining the key terms often used incorrectly and interchangeably Key Terms Status Dogs Although the term is rarely employed now by the RSPCA (Lawson, forthcoming), their briefing on status dogs referred to them as dogs used in an aggressive or intimidating way towards the public and other animals, often involving the fighting of these dogs…These dogs are traditionally, but not exclusively, associated with young people on inner city estates and those involved in criminal activity (RSPCA 2010, p 1)