Her Majesty Dogmad

Sensationalist? You've got to be joking. Those dogs were bloody dangerous - what would you have done? Probably you'd have died, many people would. I doubt very much that the d--khead owner is going to get his just results and for him to have gone and gotten another dog speaks volumes. He just doesn't give a crap does he? That's extremely insensitive at this point to do that. He should be banned from having any dogs for the rest of his days. This was a horrific attack, look at the state of the poor guy - it's a miracle he got out. Shame the neighbours didn't have pitchforks handy.

In NSW it is illegal to have dogs on building sites, check the Tasmanian laws but def. report to the Workplace safety organisation for the State. The client would have a legal duty of care to provide a safe working environment.

It's bloody annoying and i love dogs - i don't allow my own dogs to bark and have a neighbour who calls me at work to let me know if a foster dog is barking. I simply can't have it.

There's 2 dogs in my neighbourhood that bark ALL day whilst the owners are at work and they are locked in the backyard (2 separate houses). Not a peep out of them at weekends however. Too much stimulation from birds/noises (construction going on) and loneliness (both are puppies, 1 a working breed).

Are your dogs outside all the time?

They couldn't be found/identified. She's an absolute moron and that's being extremely generous. As for her lawyer - the attitude behind his statement says it all - he'd be taking her instructions after all. She deserves to be publicly shamed for what she's done, that poor little girl will be scarred for life, physically and mentally. Your dogs or not - wouldn't your first instinct be to protect a child, especially as a woman?

Awesome - thank you, will get nos and send through!!

The problem is with some dog owners and i would presume this owner is they don't know what their dogs are capable of until a disaster happens .They purchase a dog with little if any researching about the breed or buy on looks or popularity alone and have a generic view of how dogs behave and think because their dog is well behaved at home it will behave well off lead in a dog park. I feel this woman was in shock herself at the dogs attack and people sometimes do the wrong thing when in shock . She still needs to be charged for her negligence. I still feel strongly that like Greyhounds many more breeds if not all large dogs should be on leash at all times in public. Councils could have secure runs like they do now in some areas for Greyhounds to run off lead so owners can exercise their dog throw a ball etc without the worry that their dog could get into trouble or cause trouble. She did know, they'd attacked someone else previously, who knows how many more people/animals with someone like this. She knew because she would go through the park telling kids to "stand up" if they saw her dogs coming. She was not in enough shock that she couldn't ask this child to lie quiet and still whilst her dogs tore her apart. I doubt someone in shock would be giving instructions.

I can only hope that this woman and her family are stopped from having any more dogs. She has to have a serious disorder to know what her dogs are like, to go to a park with other people and presumably pets as well as children and let them run off. To let them attack a child and as they were ripping in to her, to tell her to be quiet and still. To stand back and just watch? Maybe she's a sadist, maybe she's a psychopath but she needs to be controlled and sent for professional assessment/help so that she never does it again.

Can anyone help with this please?

If it is a purebred then might be best to try a breed rescue or if dog is from a registered breeder then they should contact them first. Alternatively, have a look at Petrescue for QLD and see which rescue groups have similar dogs. Check their rehoming policies and make sure they are thorough, I know of some rescues in NSW that just give a dog to the first person that asks - what often happens then is that this is a mismatch. Dogs should be thoroughly assessed and so should new homes and a very careful match made then. Always pick a rescue that does home checks as a minimum.

I just did a Google search - they are on Petrescue with the following contact info: Contact Name Alanna Calderon Phone number 0413510505

Great idea Mita, the need would be enormous and i know from experience many pets end up with noone to care for them. I have a friend who runs something similar in Sydney, i'll notify her about this. I also spoke to the RSPCA recently about their POOPs program as i do get quite a few calls on this topic. It's getting the word out there that is challenging.

There's just no end to the money grabbing behaviour now. Bequests are a great idea. Not everyone has relatives to leave money to and, even if they do, they might want to support a charitable cause. More rescues should do this. I agree it is a great idea for rescues. Petrescue is NOT a rescue group.

Hugs to you Anne, so very sad to hear of your loss.

There's just no end to the money grabbing behaviour now.

I second this advice. Golden rule no 1 when being a foster carer is - your own dog(s) must come first. Sometimes females don't get along and they don't generally get over it. I've been fostering continuously, often more than one foster dog at once, since 2003. I'm extremely careful about the dogs i take on but if any of them have behaved aggressively towards any of my dogs, they are gone to another carer. It isn't worth it, it isn't fair to your own dogs. Don't feel like you've failed either, when you have to return a dog - generally speaking you've learned something very useful for the rescue organisation, better equipping them to find a suitable home for the dog.

Yes, hear it everyday - i adopted my dog from Petrescue. "Which rescue" I say. "Petrescue" they say ..... "That isn't a rescue" I say. "Isn't it?" comes the answer.

I think this is a little harsh personally. I have more than one dog but can still take the dogs out separately without any issues. For the most part, when i'm not here, they are able to enjoy each other's company and i'm happy they are happy ...

My Westie cross was gentle, loving and sweet until the moment he went into prey drive, he passed away recently aged around 15 yrs (he was a rescue) and until his last few months, he was very feisty if he came across any cats. Sadly he'd disembowel blue tongues in an instant, not recognising them as harmless. He would make a certain kind of bark, you've mentioned hysterical and you could have called it that. It was quite distinctive and it meant something was about to happen. I'd race outside, normally i was too late, he'd already dispatched the lizard. I will always own terriers but you always need to be wary with them, i've never had one that was ok with cats or other small animals.

I have a problem with the occasional fence fighting with foster dogs and my neighbour's dog. I've used a load of citronella oil which has put some off and a good splash of water which put the last barker off. My neighbours do nothing about their dog barking at the fence, they could block that area off but refuse to. The description of large dogs throwing themselves at any fence however is very alarming, you do need to do something to fix this, sorry that your neighbour isn't listening.

I think you've had a real warning there, i'd work out a way to keep them completely separate when you aren't home. My friend had 2 westies and 2 cats and never allowed them to mix as she felt the westies would def. do them harm.

Do you have any friends with dog social dogs? Apart from puppy school, i would just let him meet your friends' sociable dogs, not necessarily all at once, in a safe environment where he's not going to get hurt. Puppies don't belong in dog parks. Unfortunately for anyone, going to the dog park is like playing Russian Roulette because your dog might be just fine but other people have no idea about their dogs and dog behaviour in general, what is acceptable, what isn't. Far too many like to stand gossiping and not paying attention to what their dogs are doing, you have to know dog body language and listen and watch closely, the whole time. It shouldn't be the free for all that it is, sadly.

It's good that people are now adopting dogs in greater numbers from pounds but generally these people don't get information on things like housetraining, general training, diet, daily care etc when adopting. What happens if there is a problem that can be sorted out with some behavioural advice? I'm not sure that this is available from the average pound whereas it is hopefully can be provided by good rescuer. Sure, people can also pay for a behaviouralist but that normally costs hundreds of dollars. This always makes me worry that the dog will end up being kept outside because it messed in the house and the new owner had no idea how to housetrain or be in a situation where it isn't getting along with the resident dog for a multitude of reasons. In addition, when dogs are adopted from a pound and go to the pound vet, they will be desexed/vaccinated etc. What is unlikely to be done is any other treatment with the major issue being a dental. Seeing it from a new owner's point of view (usually just a normal dog owner) - they've just purchased the dog for $400 or whatever the charge is, the dog has just spent time in the vets. They would not be expecting to then have to check the dog's teeth when the dog comes home. Having purchased dogs from Sydney pounds, in most cases i knew the dog also needed a dental. I have spoken to pound vets and not even a check would be done as standard, nor would a new owner be advised it needed doing. I have paid extra to have the pound vet do a dental or had one done later if the vet was unwilling but the average dog owner would not expect to have to get involved in this way, call a pound vet, insist this was done and pay the extra cost.

I think he needs more food than he is being given and perhaps use some puppy food. I'd recommend moving to 4 meals per day, every 3 hours if possible (this isn't easy for me when i'm working so i get up at 6am and do a meal then, then again before i leave at 8.30, when i get home and then at bedtime. If he's outside in the cold this would also use up his energy, this one sounds like a challenge but i'm sure you'll get there.