A YOUTH has been told he must control his dogs or face having them put down after they attacked three people in the street last year.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has also been referred to the Bradford Youth Offender Panel and ordered to pay £700 compensation to the victims.

The dogs, two Caucasian Ovcharkas – one a 10-year-old male and the other a three-year-old female – attacked two men and one woman on March 4 and March 6 last year.

The male attacked a man in Lawkholme Lane, Keighley, on March 4, when it was dangerously out of control.

The female was dangerously out of control on March 6 when it attacked a man and woman in Sladen Street, Keighley.

Appearing at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court on February 23, the youth admitted all three offences of being the owner or person in charge of dog dangerously out of control causing injury.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to the offences in November and had been due to go on trial at the most recent court date, but instead changed his plea to admit the charges.

He was referred to the Bradford Youth Offender Panel for a 12-month contract and ordered to pay the two men £300 compensation, and the woman £100, which his parents will have to pay for him.

He was also told that when not in public the dogs must be kept in a secure place they cannot escape from, and that when in public they must wear a basket-type muzzle and a collar or harness with a fixed lead no longer than one metre in length, held at all times by an adult.

They should be walked individually at all times, never with each other, and must be neutered.

A police expert witness said if these measures are put in place the dogs do not represent a danger to the public, but if he doesn’t obey these restrictions, the dogs will be destroyed.

The Caucasian Ovcharka – also known as a Caucasian Shepherd Dog or Russian Bear Dog – is one of the largest and most powerful dog breeds, growing up to 70cm in height and weighing up to 100 kilograms.

They were bred as livestock guardian dogs in the Caucasus Mountains in Eurasia to defend sheep from wolves and bears, and are also used to hunt bears and as prison guard dogs in Russia.

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