The purpose of this book is to consider the phenomenon of status dogs and to assemble for the first time the evidence that shows that this is in fact an issue of some import at present in the UK. Before setting out the evidence uncovered, it is important to consider the unique challenges of undertaking research into this topic and the difficulty of obtaining quality robust data.

Any exploration of this topic must unearth evidence to prove or disprove the premise that status dogs are a contemporary issue in the UK. The literature review on this topic revealed only a handful of studies and a clear lack of primary data. This is perhaps symptomatic of the methodological challenges of conducting research into this phenomenon. Moreover, it is indicative of the fact ‘that animal abuse remains both a marginal and marginalised area for criminological investigation’ (Hughes and Lawson, 2011). The tardiness of the sociological focus on the issue of status dogs has also arisen from the fact it is a cross-cutting issue falling across a range of disciplines and making it something of a sociological orphan. To address this fact, I set myself the challenge of conducting some primary research to which we shall turn presently. Where evidence is absent due to the lack of primary data, it is important to build the evidence base from its roots and establish credible accounts from practitioners and professionals working with aggressive and illegal dogs on a daily basis. Essentially, it must place on record the views of young people who are the owners/handlers of the dogs and posit an interpretation of motivations. To achieve this, a research methodology was devised to capture this data using a variety of different methods to triangulate findings from different sources. In addition, it is important to establish what evidence is already held by existing practitioners and agencies working in this field. This requires undertaking secondary or desk research. This process requires early identification of the agencies involved. This book examines both the primary and secondary research and explores specific research challenges, not least identifying and then selecting a suitable methodology.