His comments come after a woman was mauled to death in Kaihu, north of Dargaville, yesterday. It's the third death in Northland in the past four years.
Emergency crews were called the home just before midday, but the woman had died by the time they arrived.
Jones said the current laws were "not fit for purpose" and "homicidal dogs" were scattered around Northland - with the problem worsening over years.
Very few owners of such dogs were held accountable - meaning there was no deterrent in place, he said, adding a "severe level of punishment" was needed - including hefty jail terms.
Jones said the problem had been going on for "years". But roaming dogs wasn't so much an issue when he was growing up in Awanui, saying his father's generation would shoot any wild and dangerous dogs.
He felt the issue had moved past a soft approach and would support any options Local Government Minister Simon Watts brought forward.
Yesterday Watts said he was asking officials for urgent advice after the death and the Department of Internal Affairs was working on the issue with local councils to improve dog control. He expected new guidelines in the second half of this year.
Kaipara District mayor Jonathan Larsen called the death tragic and a sad situation for the families.
The Kaipara District Council would not say if the dogs that attacked and killed the woman were known to animal control.
Council knew about deadly dogs: resident
The Kaihu community is tiny - the pub is for sale, there's a rugby field, a small gas station down the road and a smattering of homes.
A Kaipara councillor and kaumātua for the region says the community is devastated at the death.
"Our thoughts and our aroha is with the grieving family and the community," Snow Tane told RNZ after learning of the attack.
He had driven by the scene before he knew what happened, taking note of the flurry of emergency vehicles that rushed there.
Tane had since heard from some who lives in Kaihu.
"We've got a community there that's absolutely devastated. So my thoughts are with the community and I'm really, you know, in the next few days, I hope to be able to support both the family and the community."
Tane, a Kaipara councillor, said he would be freeing up his diary to lend support.
"My sort of position is is very clear and it's around dog owner responsibility and what that responsibility means and how we need to ensure that dog owners act in a more responsible manner.
"Because this has occurred ... throughout New Zealand over the past 20 years ... it's really important that we need to make sure that dog owners understand and know what their responsibilities are, and two, we need to be checking and ensuring that there is compliance to those responsibilities."
Tane said people should alert authorities immediately about any uncontrolled dogs in neighbourhoods and communities.
"Compliance officers should attend and act accordingly to these situations."
After the attack, a local told RNZ the dogs had been at the property for about a year.
"There's been so many complaints about them in the last year - the council know and haven't done anything.
"They run out onto the road all the time. I was really scared about that and somebody getting hurt."
At least two dogs were notorious for chasing cars as well as cyclists on the Kaihu Valley Bike Trail.
