Alison03

That last bit you just said is what worries me too, I walk my dog everyday and generally come across some oddity, todays was a Malamute type dog, left sitting outside a shop with no leash at all, his master thinks he has absolute control over him, which he does until the Malamute sees me and my little dog on the other side of the road, and tries to cross the busy road to get to us, a couple of cars stopped, lots of angry waving, comments like "Put your effing dog on a leash stupid" owner appears and grabs the dog. Its idiots like him that will get the "No dogs allowed" signs going up everywhere, we'll be the ones who suffer for it. On my way back along the road, I picked up my dog (one advantage of a small dog) and went into the chemist, the lady in their told me she'd just rung the council about the man and his leashless dog, she said he's nearly caused a few accidents. The reporting idea is becoming more common these days.

You might be right Persephone, it could have just been curiosity on the part of the rushing dogs, but its still bad doggie manners, rushing another dog is usually seen as a disrespectful or a challenge and if Hank had been a bigger dog it could have earned at least one of the rushers a bite to let them know they'd stepped over the line. Personally I have no problem with curious dogs, but I won't allow them to come at us at speed ( I made that mistake once, I won't do it again), I make them slow their roll first, by standing in front of them, if they still want to be curious then its on my terms not theirs, because I'm the human in charge. The ones who have bad intentions generally run the other way looking for another target, the curious ones lower their head for a sniff and thats fine by me. What Hank got from that interaction is to not trust a dog that rushes at him, and thats not a bad thing at all, he learnt something that might save him one day and came out the other side unharmed and thats always a good thing. :)

Its also illegal in NSW. I am so over the interpretation and argument that dogs can be afixed to a post legally. This section of the law applies to the back of utes and similar situations where a dog might be caged or tethered. Another law that isn't being enforced, I see dogs tethered to the back of ute's all the time, I saw one dog on the back of a ute that was covered in a tarp, so not even in the tray, that wasn't tethered at all, poor dog was just balancing on the back, I was driving in traffic at the time, so couldn't get the rego. Seeing a dog tethered up outside the shops is commonplace. I navigate around some of those snappy chappy's with my dog most days. Last year I saw a GSD tethered up on the back of a ute in the Main Street, an elderly man with a King Charles spaniel walked passed it, it snapped it's collar and went after the spaniel, the owner of the GSD ran out of a shop and grabbed her dog before any harm was done. The old bloke was very shaken though. Another example of an unsocialized dog. Someone rang the police that day and it wasn't me, but I gave a statement. I'm sure that GSD is very unhappy now, locked in an enclosure, I feel sorry for it and I hope never to meet it again.

Sad but true SG. Banning any breed won't work. The macho idiots will find a different large breed to use to beef up their image. No doubt another name will be invented for them. The responsible dog owners will be punished for those as well.

I've seen this happening too, shoppers trying to get in and out, climbing over dogs and leads. Inconsiderate behavior by some halfwit dog owner.

Oh goody. More for over worked and under paid teachers to do because another "problem" has reared its head in society. Where did Alison say that teachers need to do it? Why the need for sarcasm? There are "responsible pet interaction" programs already in schools and it would be good if they were extended. They are run by volunteers, not teachers. Thanks Megan, I didn't know they already had those programs in schools, I'm a bit out of touch. : ) The Pet Education Scheme in schools is run and funded by the state governments. Dogs have to be temperament tested and if they pass, their owners go through a normal job interview process. If selected the owners undergo an intense 4 days of training, are then mentored at their first school visit and assessed by one of the trainers once they have done a few sessions to see if they can continue. They need a police working with children check and have to be able to deliver semi scripted information sessions that have been carefully worked out as suitable for children's ability to learn at that age. The kids then get pamphlets to take home to their parents and we ask them to teach their siblings what they have learnt. What an excellent idea, this program should help kids to become more dog savvy, it's a positive response to the dog attacks that have been happening to children, better than a negative one, like restrictive dog laws. Having the volunteers bring their dog with them will get the kids attention. Anything like this that saves kids works for me. If they could get some parents to attend with their children that would spread the idea even further. As I said before my two boys had road safety classes in Kindy, they came home with pamphlets and became the road crossing experts of the house. : )

Oh goody. More for over worked and under paid teachers to do because another "problem" has reared its head in society. Where did Alison say that teachers need to do it? Why the need for sarcasm? There are "responsible pet interaction" programs already in schools and it would be good if they were extended. They are run by volunteers, not teachers. Thanks Megan, I didn't know they already had those programs in schools, I'm a bit out of touch. : )

Oh goody. More for over worked and under paid teachers to do because another "problem" has reared its head in society. I wasn't meaning that teachers should run a program, I was thinking of volunteer groups who could come in and do a short talk about dog safety, say from the RSPCA , I'm just kicking ideas around here, as the only other option is do nothing, which never works. They used to have road safety talks by a policeman at my boys school ( a few years ago now), after that my kids wouldn't allow me to cross the road anywhere but at a crossing, so those talks really got there attention.

I have a little dog and I'd wonder if she had lost her mind if she tormented a larger dog, she's never been that way inclined fortunately. :) I think it's excellent that the local council reacted so well, I'm guessing they were the strange guys hanging around in the park :laugh: sometimes the rangers having a word with someone is enough to make them see the light. Your experience shows it's worth reporting to the council. I only report the scary aggressive dogs, the other ones who are all fanfare, who do a 180 when you shout, I don't bother about them, they always have an owner in hot pursuit anyway. With the two shih tzus one would be in front and th eother would try and circle around behind and duck in. By the 4th time I came across them from behind bushes I just charged them with all intentions to land a kick and they went from charging at me to run flat out the other way. Owner still did nothing - even changing around the edge once you saw them made no difference as this owner took them off lead to the park and they acted as if the park was their own backyard territory (I watched as a young submissive dog came across them - our younger dog we have now would not have tolerated them in the pack attack which was the exact defensive bigger dog behaviour I wrote to the council about. Yes they were young blokes that were similar types to the rangers that had been seen around the area and just hanging out in the park but not regulars so always suspected they were rangers blending in. Of course the little dogs were never around when I saw the blokes there. The owner of those two shihtzu's must be nuts to let them harass other dogs. Of course they shouldn't be off leash in the park either. It's the small dog syndrome, they are harmless so they can be off leash, thing is if there's more than one they do what you described, work as a pack. Shihtzu's are very fast, my girl out runs many of her playmates, dodges and weaves, stops on a dime and changes direction, not easy to catch. If she was I undisciplined she'd be a problem off leash anywhere. I do hope the rangers catch that Shihtzu owner in the act. I've had similar things happen to my dogs on many occasions. One lovely day in the dog park we even had one of the local rangers hanging around as my large poodle was hassled by 2 small white things. They rushed him barking and snarling. He walked away. They chased, snapping at his heels. He trotted to me. As I was putting his lead on and leaving the area, the mutts were still yapping and chasing. Do you think he'd be blamed if he retaliated? It's lucky he's well trained, well socialised, careful of little dogs, and I keep a very close eye on what's going on. Unfortunately If the bigger dog retaliates, they usually get the blame, which isn't fair, its always good to have witnesses to something like that. Your dog is very well behaved not to at least have a snap. :) I have a little dog and I just wouldn't allow that kind of behaviour.

It is possible to be loud and assertive without your dog getting distressed, I click my fingers at my dog, which means "stay and wait", she just stands and waits for me to say "OK". If I see a dog coming at speed towards us that's what I do, before the shouting starts. It works for her she's not reactive at all even after some of my epic productions. It is bad doggie manners to rush at another dog, it's usually done by dominant dogs or goofy puppies. Some owners thinks it normal dog behavior but it's really not.

A cuppa is a very good idea I think! Don't forget the chocolate biscuit. But, if you don't want it, I'll take it. :) The chocolate biscuit is the important part, it's the cure for everything. :-))

Alison03 you sound like a total bad*ss in the best way and I need to take a leaf from your book :laugh: I definitely need to work on my confidence when we're out and about, I am small and I hate confrontation with strangers. I have been good with just calling Hank away from potentially bad situations but I guess I didn't react quickly enough this time. All I could muster up was a surprised "hey!" and I gave them both an evil look as they walked away. Now I am going to do that annoying thing where I stew all day over everything I could've said to those 2 arseholes A cuppa is a very good idea I think! You'll get there, I'm small too and all I want is peace in my time, I hate confrontation but I don't shrink from it anymore, if someone goes out of their way to spoil my day, I'm going bounce it right back at them. Inconsiderate, irresponsible people do my head in and bring out my more assertive side. When you see something going pear shaped, dogs charging towards you for instance, just take a deep breath and yell, "Hey stop", better to use a deep tone like a man, dogs, horses, adults and kids respond better to that. The noise also attracts attention. You'll get passed the embarrassment factor eventually. I've had dog owners snap leads onto their dogs at the sight of me, I've got small person syndrome and I don't care. :-))

I'm so sorry to hear you've had a bad experience, I know how it feels. My dog is non reactive and very easy going, we've been rushed by dogs and she's been knocked over and pinned down, I shout now and grab the offending dogs by the skin and hair on their backs to haul them off if I think she's going to get hurt, I give them "a thousand years of my evolution". However the first time it happened where it turned serious, I was so shocked by the off hand behavior of the dogs owners that I was stunned for a time and did nothing. Don't worry next time you'll be ready. Don't feel bad, your dog seems ok, so no harm done ( there aren't any puncture wounds I hope), everyone has a baptism by fire and today was yours. All those incidents of being rushed and knocked around set me up for the time two dogs attacked us, one picking my dog up and shaking her, I fought them off and saved her life. If that had been my first time she would be dead now. If I see dog/s running at us, I stand in front of my dog, I wave my open arms and shout "Hey hey" loudly, the dogs veer off or stop and my shouting alerts the owners. Only experience protects you from the irresponsibility and bad manners of others, you'll be on guard next time. Don't be hard on yourself. Have a cuppa and a Chocolate biscuit : )

I know what you are saying SG, but teaching them the do's and don't's is a good start, you only have a short amount of time to teach a child before they zone out. It's the parents who need educating, but that can't be enforced. I was brought up in the era of free range dogs on the street and I learned quick smart what not to do. Don't run if you get bailed up, don't make eye contact and back away. Never ever walk up to a dog you don't know well. I'm the one at BBQ's that can see a dog is getting fed up, the avoidance, the quick head movements with a closed mouth, that are going to end in a bite one day. Occasionally another adult will shout "You kids leave that dog alone". I've seen the reverse of that too, the young dog that runs around knocking little kids over, pinning them down mouthing them, the owner who says "He's only playing". A lot of owners see their dogs as four legged humans, not pack orientated predators.

I have a little dog and I'd wonder if she had lost her mind if she tormented a larger dog, she's never been that way inclined fortunately. :) I think it's excellent that the local council reacted so well, I'm guessing they were the strange guys hanging around in the park :laugh: sometimes the rangers having a word with someone is enough to make them see the light. Your experience shows it's worth reporting to the council. I only report the scary aggressive dogs, the other ones who are all fanfare, who do a 180 when you shout, I don't bother about them, they always have an owner in hot pursuit anyway. With the two shih tzus one would be in front and th eother would try and circle around behind and duck in. By the 4th time I came across them from behind bushes I just charged them with all intentions to land a kick and they went from charging at me to run flat out the other way. Owner still did nothing - even changing around the edge once you saw them made no difference as this owner took them off lead to the park and they acted as if the park was their own backyard territory (I watched as a young submissive dog came across them - our younger dog we have now would not have tolerated them in the pack attack which was the exact defensive bigger dog behaviour I wrote to the council about. Yes they were young blokes that were similar types to the rangers that had been seen around the area and just hanging out in the park but not regulars so always suspected they were rangers blending in. Of course the little dogs were never around when I saw the blokes there. The owner of those two shihtzu's must be nuts to let them harass other dogs. Of course they shouldn't be off leash in the park either. It's the small dog syndrome, they are harmless so they can be off leash, thing is if there's more than one they do what you described, work as a pack. Shihtzu's are very fast, my girl out runs many of her playmates, dodges and weaves, stops on a dime and changes direction, not easy to catch. If she was I undisciplined she'd be a problem off leash anywhere. I do hope the rangers catch that Shihtzu owner in the act.

There are programs run in Vic, NSW and SA covering exactly this for both pre-school kids and their parents and primary school kids. http://www.pets.info.vic.gov.au/ http://www.pets.nsw.gov.au/ http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/248905-parents-teaching-their-children-how-to-approach-dogs/ Thanks I had no idea, that's very impressive. Yes, I have worked as a Pet Educator in schools, teaching 5-7 year olds about dog safety and the kids take info pamphlets home to share with the family but we really need to get to the parents of newborns and get the message out from the very start. Most kids who are bitten are under 5 so parents need to take more care and make sure they instruct grandparents and other relatives who may mind the child about dog safety. Most serious dog attacks on children under 5 seem to happen when they are in the care of others, rather than with the parents. The attacking dogs usually belong to someone else as well. Usually a family member but in this case it was a neighbour. Kids get bitten by dogs all the time in many situations and the fact that dogs, not having hands, have to use their mouth to push a kid away means bites are a fact of life with dogs but most are minor nips or the odd puncture mark. They all count as dog bites in the statistics but are no more serious than a lot of cat scratches. The danger with a large dog and a small child is that it doesn't take much of a bite to do an awful lot of damage and a more serious attack can cause life threatening injuries. I think you are doing the general public a great service, particularly families without dogs, whose children haven't had any real contact with dogs. If you could get pre schools to have pet educators come in that would help enormously with the under fives. You are right it's the under fives that seem to take the most risks, they will try to corner a dog so they can pat it, never a good move. I had a 3 year old ( with dummy in mouth) crawl under my table at a cafe on Saturday, my dog moving as far away as she could, I had to grab the child to stop her. I don't think my Shihtzu would bite but I don't take chances. That same day we'd had two positive experiences with older kids (6/7) they seemed to know what to do. Asking me first then holding out the back of their hands, letting my dog go to them ( she was on leash), she was happy to be patted then. I've seen little kids do awful things to dogs, at family gatherings (not to my dog) tail pulling, sticking fingers in ears, jumping on the dogs back, I have to be the killjoy who says something, then I get told the dog is bomb proof, it only takes one slip up for the dog and it's bye bye doggie. : (

There are programs run in Vic, NSW and SA covering exactly this for both pre-school kids and their parents and primary school kids. http://www.pets.info.vic.gov.au/ http://www.pets.nsw.gov.au/ http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/248905-parents-teaching-their-children-how-to-approach-dogs/ Thanks I had no idea, that's very impressive.

She's going to know it was me of course but I may have to do it, her dog doesn't bother mine but it does rev up other dogs. Dogs that me and Bonny just walk passed without an incident, they are those folks who make it clear by their body language they don't want interaction. It's not actually her dog it's her mothers, I did mention it would be awful to take an injured dog back to her Mum. Hopefully when I go on Tuesday she'll have the dog on a leash, she carries one of those extender leashes, but that's better than nothing.

That's what I've heard it doesn't work on all dogs, there is some canine pepper spray they have in the US but it's illegal here.

What would you be reporting? You weren't involved in, or witness to, an incident. Do you make a report everytime you see a car that doesn't stop at a stop sign, or doesn't use an indicator? No of course not but I'm asking to see what other people think, because that's what this thread is about, reporting or not. I don't report interactions like that, only where there is aggression shown. I actually saw the lady again today on our walk, she told me her dog had just run up to a large dog that had "freaked out", she said that must be a nervous dog like you said yesterday. That statement made me cringe. So the problem here is I don't report off leash non aggressive dogs but what about if they are running up to reactive on leash dogs and stirring them up, that's the question??? In the end I said to her that it would be safer to put her dog on a leash, as he's not a big dog and would come off worse in a scuffle. She said she'd think about it. : (

Where does it say he was left with the grandfather? It says it happened in his home. The only adult mentioned in the story is the Grandfather so he must have been caring for the child alone or surely other family members would have helped when the dog bit the child. The child was left unsupervised with the dog who was being minded for a neighbour, who is overseas. Apart from the poor child who was bitten, I really feel for the owner of the dog who may not have known that his dog would be in contact with a small child, let alone left alone with him. I guess the owners of the dog took a chance leaving him with a neighbour, I have had offers from friends to mind my dog while we go on holiday but I have more peace of mind leaving her at a good kennels. It might be too late for this dog now, given the child's injuries, poor little kid and poor dog. : ( A bit of common sense could have stopped this happening.

YES!! the terms furbaby, et al tend to numb the mind to dogs' abilities in the hunt/kill category. There are instincts/reactions and the tools to back them up contained within waggy tailed companion .. but with the intense moulding of many dogs to fit into the 'little furry accessory' box ...the predatory ability gets further and further away .. and it is just so sad. There are many of you here who have working dogs .. who switch 'on' & 'off' ......you can see clearly that which they are capable of . Somehow Joe/jenny public need reminding of this ...and children need to be kept safe. It would make sense if they taught something like "dog safety" in pre schools or kindy, without scaring the kids of course. Just simple things, like never approach a dog you don't know or pick up a dogs toy etc. The course that I outlined for adults might work well also, perhaps for dog owners who have a dog that has bitten someone and who are in trouble with the animal control people. It's the "Furbaby" phenonomen that is getting people injured.

You did the right thing, the whole stance of the dog tells you it's going to bite sooner or later. I wouldn't want a dog destroyed either, but your neighbours did need a wake up call before something awful happened. Funny you saw them walking the dog afterwards, the dogs that attacked me and my dog are now taken for walks on leashes, instead of being "let out for a run".

I was tempted but i busied myself getting my dog out from under the rack, all the while explaining to the children that if a dog hides from them like this, it means it's scared and you should never corner a scared animal or they could bite. I then picked my dog up and let the kids pat her. The mother said not one word but looked very pink in the cheeks, almost like she'd been slapped. : )

I don't think you are overreacting, you are being sensible and responsible. You know it's your dogs who will suffer if anything goes wrong. I keep my little dog on a leash around children, she's never bitten anyone and I don't want her too. Some kids and adults don't know how to approach a dog, but no matter what they do, it will still be her fault if she bites.