melzawelza

This is excellent - now we need the same here.

If all other general remedies have been attempted I can highly recommend the relatively new (in Australia) drug Apoquel. Much less negative side effects than Cortisone and works an absolute charm within 24 hours. My girl has a dust mite allergy and gets very itchy in summer. I used to be able to control it environmentally but it's getting worse every year. This year we got Apoquel, because it's finally available, and it's incredible. Not one scratch (she used to scratch her chest until it bled and became infected). Only downside is it's expensive - about $100 per month for a 27kg dog. I've found though that after a few weeks on it I can drop it off to once every second day, rather than every day, basically halving the cost. We've got pet insurance so cost isn't an issue, but it's a lot of money if you don't.

Yeah but it's a bigger deal to fire a weapon in suburbia vs rural. That said, she would have been well within her rights to shoot the dogs.

If the dogs haven't been declared dangerous/menacing/restricted previously the council does not have the power to destroy them if the owners don't surrender them. I'd imagine they'd be working on that or preparing to prosecute if the owners were adamant, in order to request destruction from the Magistrate. The dogs should be destroyed, obviously, but it can take some work to get there if the owners don't surrender. Other articles described both owners being arrested, with the female abusing the neighbours and other pretty unsavoury stuff. Clearly not responsible and community minded dog owners.

Good on you for looking in to pet insurance! It's honestly the best thing I've ever done. When my dog really seriously injured herself earlier in the year we racked up a $3.5k bill in a couple of days that could have easily been $5-6k if she ended up needing a blood transfusion and further surgery at the emergency vet. I was so unbelievably stressed out of my mind and I can't tell you what a relief it is to say 'do anything she needs - I've got pet insurance and cost is not a barrier'. I can't imagine how sick I would have been if I had to start worrying about cost amongst everything else. Couple of weeks later I got a cheque for everythingbar $150 (my excess). Credit card is definitely the answer for paying up front. Yes, I guess this is how we'll have to do it. We'll need to extend our credit limits though which is something we'd always avoided to ensure we couldn't unthinkingly get ourselves into debt problems. We can always have a little money aside for the puppy but probably not enough for worst-case-scenario. I know, ideally, every dog owner would have a spare $10,000 in the bank put aside just for their dog but in the real world many of us could never own a dog if we waited for the ideal scenario. Having read about people ending up with exclusions on their policy for pre-existing conditions I think you're right - insure immediately, then off to the vet for first health check up. Open a completely separate credit card that's only to be used in case of vet bills - and put it away in a drawer so it isn't in your wallet. You only touch it if the dog ends up in the vet. Yep VetPay is a good option too.

My dog is a real softie and a sook.... until you get her near small prey animals. Guinea pigs wouldn't stand a chance, and she's unfortunately killed a possum that was in the yard too. Prey drive is an instinct that only kicks in when the prey is around. That said, she wouldn't give up on the Guinea Pigs after 5 mins, so maybe your dog's drive isn't as strong as others :)

Does she have numerous staff working daily? If not, those 82 dogs were not being cared for.

Excellent post.

The council area I work within is an extremely high socio economic area. Dogs being walked off leash is one of the biggest problems I have to deal with.

Oops.

Really depends on the level of prey drive and what you're expecting. You may be able to get a highly prey driven dog to behave around prey in your presence and on lead, but take them off or leave them alone and it is unlikely. That's only the high end dogs though. There's lots that might be super interested but come good with careful socialisation and training. Still wouldn't risk leaving them alone together though. Chasing cars and scooters is a modified prey drive... often more like herding... so they're quite different and not as raw and instinctual.

Sounds very unlikely that this dog will ever happily coexist with this guinea pig. Really your two options are to either rehome the guinea pigs, or create a fool-proof enclosure and work on separation to ensure they're safe from the dog.

For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing. I really feel for you though, what a tough situation. Hoping you find your perfect dog very soon.

FYI I had a titre test done at my vet (Carter Rd Companion Animal Practice in Menai) for somewhere between $60-$80 (can't remember how much). Had the results back in a week. It didn't test for Hepatitis though, only Distemper and Parvo.

Are Bull Terriers included in this 'Pit Bull' umbrella term and do they then also get caught up in some of this terrible BSL? I haven't seen them included in the BSL definitions in various states etc over there (usually says SBT, AmStaff, Pit Bull and a dog that appears to be part or all of those breeds) but that wouldn't necessarily stop an overzealous ACO I wouldn't think for targeting it. Don't think it happens with huge regularity though.

Staffordshire Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers are different breeds, but cousins. Amstaffs and American Pit Bull Terriers are also different breeds, but more like siblings. And yes, some are dual registered with a specific registry called the United Kennel Club as both breeds, like Mrs Rusty Bucket said. In the US and most other countries they (and their crosses) are all included under the catch all term 'Pit Bull'... which is used as an umbrella term, like saying 'retriever' or 'hound'.

Adorable! Love things like this.

Same in Vic, and has been the case for many years. It pre-dates OHS concerns. Call-outs were refused because dogs would usually be long-gone when Ranger arrived so considered a waste of time and money (making endless trips for no dogs still there, or uncatchable). Honestly, is a fair point. In over five years of going out to calls of uncontained dogs running loose I've been able to find the dog once. They travel such a long distance in a short amount of time.

Yep nuisance dog is different to menacing & dangerous dogs. They aren't mutually exclusive though, a dog can be declared both a nuisance dog after lots of escaping and then subsequently declared menacing after an attack. Those specific signs can only be bought through online retailers that market them exclusively as compliant signs to be used for dogs declared to be dangerous, menacing or restricted in NSW. Anyone can buy them, and maybe that's the case in this situation, but it certainly raises my eyebrows that this is a dog that regularly escapes and has the prescribed signage on the property.

How do we know she's not a particularly dangerous dog? If she has a declaration it means she has attacked. Now, some councils are overzealous and declare dogs menacing when it really isn't necessary (over something quite minor), but we have no way to know if that's the case or if she's seriously hurt another dog or a person while out roaming. I also hope she finds her place and is able to kept safe and secure, but a declaration is going to make it impossible to rehome her, unfortunately.

That sign in the background is the legislated sign for dogs declared dangerous or menacing in NSW... methinks she is not just roaming while out. If she has been declared she also can't legally be rehomed.

Your dogs needs to be declared a nuisance by the council before you can legally have them debarked.

Awful, I've had it happen myself and I always end up shaky and furious as well. Report it to your council. They'll go out and speak to them and if it happens again in the future or your dog is hurt by this dog you've got the previous incident on record already.

Re your bold. No. Just no. SBT, Amstaffs and yes, even 'Pit Bulls' and their mixes are some of the most popular dogs in the country. SBT are usually #1 or 2, Amstaffs are always in the top ten. Of course you won't get stats on 'Pit Bulls' because of the legislation but there's plenty of those out there as family pets too. It would be odd for the dogs to not be more highly represented in the shelter population, as they are more highly represented in the general dog population. The vast majority of dogs of all breeds in shelters are not there because there is something wrong with the dog. There are many reasons that animals are surrendered or not reclaimed from the shelter. Lack of pet friendly housing, lack of funds to cover hundreds of dollars of reclaim fees, unable to fix fencing due to renting or lack of funds so the dog keeps escaping, incompatibility with another resident dog (when that dog might be fine as an only dog or living with a dog with a different temperament), lack of training, unable to afford vet care, owner passed away, owner hospitalised... the list goes on and on. Yes there's lots of blocky headed mixes in the pound (which by the way may not actually have any of the breeds you've mentioned in them), and the vast majority of them are rehomed or rescued without incident. Yes, there's also dogs there because of significant temperament issues, but they are the minority and those dogs exist in any breed or 'type' in the shelter population. It's pretty awful to blame the dogs for being in the shelter, when there are so, so many human-related reasons for why pets end up there. Many of them also not the fault of the owners, who may be in crisis or financially struggling. It's also very myopic to expect that all pet owners have the same privilege that you or I might have that means that we would only choose to give up our dogs in situations where the dog has huge temperament issues.

Horrific attack and the owner certainly showed her character didn't she. I'm glad she was found and the dogs destroyed. As far as the breed discussion, I agree that identification for the purposes of finding the dogs is different to just arbitrary identification of every bloody dog that attacks as a 'pit bull cross' or 'staffy cross', regardless of what we actually know about the dog. That said, I suspect it may actually be more effective in situations like this where the dogs are clearly mutts to just describe the dogs themselves - 'medium sized, solid dogs, with a brindle coat colouring and a solid head' I suspect would be likely to be helpful to more people than 'brindle staffy cross'. You'd be surprised how many people who aren't in to dogs wouldn't really know how to imagine a 'staffy cross', especially as they're quite generic looking in comparison to say, a Dalmatian or a Pug. Lots of people in fact don't even know what 'brindle' is! Oh, please. Naming a breed for the closest possible match that people would be familiar with is nothing at all like racism. Nobody is calling a staffy, a staffy, because they hate staffies. It looks to someone like a staffy so that's what they call it. Oh please yourself. I am not saying that they are calling the dog a staffy because they hate staffies but because if they name the breed (or race) it might suggest that all staffies (or races) behave in this way and that is what has upset BBB. The average Jo does not know breeds of dogs. Just look at the thread in General. They do not know what a bull breed is (a French Bulldog is a bull breed) and they have different ideas about what a staffy is. By naming the breed here all it is doing is vilifying the breed. I distinctly remember police reports stating they are looking for a person of caucasion. asian, african and or middle eastern appearance. in some circles that might be considered describing a certain appearance ? I bought a dog kennel once second hand and the owner told me his staffy had outgrown it. considering the size of the kennel and my aunt bred staffies I was pretty suspicious his dog wasn't a staffy. when he called it out to meet me i was scared witless i was being eyed off by a massive red nosed pit bull. they arrived here because the bogans wanted something tougher and scarier than what was available here. yes there are those who love them and train them but its the bogans who have them as extensions of their egos and raise the disasters that make it into the headlines. as we see only too tragically. my neighbour had an ACD that would bite even his owner, instead of putting down the potential walking disaster he sold it to a bogan for breeding, once the pits arrived here the bogan got rid of the acd's , at least he stopped breeding potential headliner ACD's The vast majority of people who own 'Pit Bull' dogs are responsible members of the public who love their dogs as family, just like every dog breed. The Majority Project There are also many APBT breeders who breed for the love of the breed, like many others. Obviously not as common in Australia given BSL but without the legislation, it would be the same just like it is in the US. Registered breeders that love their dogs and breed them for work or show. As far as 'raising them right', they're dogs like any other. Many are 'raised wrong' (dogfighting, abuse) and are still wonderful, safe, loving dogs. Some are 'raised right' and still end up with issues. Just like any dog no matter the breed or mix.