Toronto residents with “dangerous dogs” must muzzle their pet, attach a colored tag to its collar, and put up warning signs, after city council unanimously passed amendments to the Toronto Municipal Code.

Under a new definition, a dog that has severely bitten or attacked a person or pet will be considered dangerous, as will dogs that have given non-severe bites twice or have been subject to a muzzle order.

The city will have increased enforcement powers and authority to seek stiffer fines and penalties for dog owners who don’t comply with by-laws. The changes comes into effect in March.

“It’s about time we made these very important changes that will make our families safer, that will target behaviour that is dangerous and unacceptable,” said Councillor Glen de Baeremaeker.

Nor will the changes discriminate against a particular breed of dogs, “it targets bad behavior … and puts the onus on the dog owner,” he said.

“It allows our staff more ability to hopefully enter or go onto private property in pursuit of some of these dangerous animals and some of these dangerous owners.”

Toronto has an estimated 230,000 dogs. Last year, Toronto Animal Services responded to 1,049 incidents of dog bites and 431 reports of dog attacks or menacing behaviour.

Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong said “it’s not the dogs that are bad, it’s the owners that are bad.” Some people buy dogs and “don’t walk them, they don’t run them, they get bound up and this is when problems begin,” he said.

“We should be licensing the owners, and not the dogs,” and require owners to take training. Toronto also needs more dog parks, he said.

Councillor Cesar Palacio, chair of the licensing committee that approved city staff recommendations, said years ago, a neighbor’s dog jumped a fence and bit his then 6-year-old daughter while she played in a public lane with other kids.

“It is not only the physical scars that she carries with her, but psychological nightmares,” he said.

“If I only knew that my neighbour …had a dangerous dog, if there was some sort of warning …I would never, ever have allowed my kids to play in the public lane.” There were other incidents and the dog was destroyed, he said.

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Councillor Paula Fletcher said the changes aren’t intended to target dogs that “may just nip,” but targeting dogs that are “biting, mauling, harming people, harming other animals.”

Councillor Mike Layton said the changes are also intended to better protect animals,” by banning choking collars and imposing time limits on how long a dog can be tethered.