Alison03

No child should be left in close contact with a dog, whether the dog is known or unknown, this sounds like an accident but it's also another instance of a dog carer not knowing the dogs capabilities. Someone should hold classes for prospective dog owners, give them all mirrors, tell them to look at their own teeth then say "A human jaw and teeth have the power to bite off a human finger", then show them the jaws and teeth of several different dogs, from the largest to the razor sharp teeth of the smallest, then say "Now imagine what these teeth can do to a human". If you own any animal with teeth like this you must have control of that animal at all times or someone will get hurt and it won't be the dogs fault, they are just doing what is natural to them. I know getting people in a classroom to do this sounds silly but I genuinely don't think some dog owners see their dogs as the predators they are, they see them as friends or their babies ( my girl is my baby) but they mustn't be blind to what they can do if they get pissed off with someone. No dog owner should say "I didn't think he'd do that, he's never bitten before". A dogs teeth tell the story.

The police do a tough job at the best of times, they have to stop situations getting worse any way they can, if someone's dog is going on a rampage and gets shot, the dog owners only have themselves to blame. I've been told in some instances pepper spray meant for humans does not work very well on dogs, in which case it's shoot or get bitten for the police on the spot.

I've noticed the same thing, not sure what can be done about it, I'm guessing the dogs in question look a certain way and that's all it takes to classify them. They don't get a dog breed expert in do they? I saw a Lab crossed with a boxer in the park, lovely dog, looked like a mastiff to me but it wasn't.

Walking through the local park yesterday, an off leash medium sized dog, Westie cross I think, came up to us very friendly and respectful, my girl loved him. The owner said before I could speak "I know it's against the law to have him off leash but he walks better with no lead" (well don't they all). I said "Just be careful with him, if he approaches a nervous dog, you could have a problem". I left it at that. Should I report it, perhaps but I won't. What does everyone else think?

The poor lady, just what she doesn't need if she's on a walker. At least the dog owner did the decent thing, apologized and stuck around. I think the whole practice of leaving a dog tied up should be outlawed it's dangerous for the public and sometimes the dog. I only ever once tied my dog up outside a shop, when I came out she'd crawled under a display rack and there were 3 littles kids trying to coax her out and the mother was saying "Just pull on her lead". Talk about trying to get your kids bitten. : (

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.

That's means the dog has to be kept in a prescribed enclosure doesn't it and if it gets out again it's PTS?

I'd say that is a really good result, its great when the system works well. :) Not sure about the teenager problem, but a phone call to the police might help.

We had a GSD up the road when I was a kid who used to run out and bail people up. The old girl who owned him when she was home used to let him lay on the front porch and when she heard him barking, she would come out and tell him to get inside. She could call him off and he would wander back in and wait for the next person walking by and do the same thing. He bit a kid in the end and the police were called who shot him in the front yard.....he came out at the cops when they rolled up to interview the owner about the attack on the kid apparently. GSD's could have been a banned breed back then too being another reason they may have shot him....it was around 1970/71 by memory but was big action in street everyone talked about. Now just to clear something up I thought "GSD" meant German Shepherd, but I must be wrong as they aren't a banned breed are they? Forgive my ignorance I shouldn't use initials if I don't know what they stand for. Australia was the first country in the world to enact any kind of BSL and German Shepherds were the dogs targeted. There was an import ban and various restrictions on the dogs from the 40s in to the 70s. They were seen as inherently vicious' dogs that were more like a wolf than a 'normal', domesticated dog. Farmers were also concerned they would breed with dingoes and create a crazed sheep killer that would decimate their livestock. It's a hard question. I investigated an incident in the last couple of years where a dog ran out of it's front gate and injured another dog so badly that there was a 5k vet bill and the dog subsequently died. I had no history on the dog whatsoever but as I was investigating I ended up finding out about three prior incidents where the dog had done exactly the same thing, but the owners were savvy enough to prevent injury to their dog, and had never reported it. Because not one of those people had reported it, a little dog died. In fact, two dogs died, as following the Dangerous Dog declaration the owner euthanased the attacking dog rather than comply with the onerous regulations. If one of the lesser incidents had been reported I could have intervened much earlier in the piece and prevented that final incident ever happening. The small dog would have been alive today and the attacking dog (who was absolutely wonderful with people but not with other dogs) would have also lived. Thanks for letting me know about GSD's, glad I got the right dog wasn't sure for a minute there. My husband owned GSD's back in the day and a lab/dingo cross, he didn't have a problem with any of them. I feel any incident with an aggressive dog should be reported, a curious dog I wouldn't report, but any rushing barking snarling stuff is worth my time to ring the council, just in case it leads to a serious attack on someone else. If someone had reported the two dogs that attacked me and my dog, it would have saved me a lot of anxiety and therapy. I think its best if the victim of an attack doesn't have a say in what happens to the dog/s, as a traumatised person could make a decision they regret once they have calmed down. I did say to the animal control lady that I didn't want the dogs destroyed, she said it wasn't up to me, which is how it should be.

I don't know why my links don't work, could be something to do with my iPhone I guess. Sorry, it does work. I was agreeing with your statement regarding the Vic govt. Ok glad it worked my links don't always. :)

It's very obsessive behavior, which isn't healthy, I'd be worried if it was my dog. : (

I don't know why my links don't work, could be something to do with my iPhone I guess.

Ok so Mr Richards must be the guy who handles damage control perhaps? :D

My dog is only little but she does the same thing, she steps behind me, avoiding seems natural to her, she tends not to bark on leash at all, she only ever barked at one person, a man that tried to pat her, she just went off, she only ever did that once, every time I see that guy I wonder what it was about him she didn't like, (he doesn't come near us now) perhaps I'll see him in the newspaper one day. :laugh: I work from home too, so walking my dog is a break for me and generally its very pleasant. :)

Yep..I saw a woman walking two polite medium-dog mixes last week when a blue/gray coloured entire staffy ran right across the road at her dogs, she yelled "F*@K off yer mongrel"...that worked :) I think I may have used that exact phrase myself, sometimes it works really well. :laugh:

I just typed a response and it disappeared, I'll try again. I just think after using various phrases, some I can't repeat here :laugh: I found a phrase their owner must have used, which was "Go Home" while pointing in the direction I wanted them to go. They reacted to the word "No" too. Most dogs recognize that word just like kids and husbands do.

I don't mind people stopping me for a chat but my little Shihtzu is stranger wary, she likes people from a distance and is interested in them but being touched isn't her thing. She loves watching kids play in the park, wags her back end but doesn't like them overwhelming her, she hides behind my legs. I pick her up and squat down for kids to pat her, she's happy with that. Every now and then I come across a person who knows how to approach her and she loves that, the person who squats down and offers the back of their hand to sniff works well for her. When I see someone with a dog, I'll nod and say " Hello" or "lovely dog" some nod and smile but keep walking, some stop for a doggie chat, either way suits me. I don't touch anyone's dog at all unless invited to do so.

We had a GSD up the road when I was a kid who used to run out and bail people up. The old girl who owned him when she was home used to let him lay on the front porch and when she heard him barking, she would come out and tell him to get inside. She could call him off and he would wander back in and wait for the next person walking by and do the same thing. He bit a kid in the end and the police were called who shot him in the front yard.....he came out at the cops when they rolled up to interview the owner about the attack on the kid apparently. GSD's could have been a banned breed back then too being another reason they may have shot him....it was around 1970/71 by memory but was big action in street everyone talked about. Shot the dog in the front yard, didn't they use pepper spray back then? Now just to clear something up I thought "GSD" meant German Shepherd, but I must be wrong as they aren't a banned breed are they? Forgive my ignorance I shouldn't use initials if I don't know what they stand for. Just for clarification the dogs in my story were German Shepherds. It sounds like a similar situation to mine apart from no one used to call the dogs back in, but they'd go back if you knew to shout "go home". It's like a lot of dog attacks I've heard of, it starts with the dog/s running out of their garden barking and as time goes on they escalate to biting not just rushing. I've always assumed that's because the nature strip becomes their territory as well as their garden. The shepherds in my story were taken to the pound to be PTS, not shot by the police, that would have been dramatic and upsetting for the old girl, but I guess the police felt threatened.

The spokesman here doesn't seem to be a vet. He's called Mr Richards, not Dr. Richards, and described as a manager. Is this a franchise vet practice? He is also described as a managing director, which means he could be the owner or part owner of the practice. Whatever the case Mr Richards will probably have a vested interest in sorting out this problem. For the sake of credibility it would be better if the vet in question came forward for an interview, but if Greencross Vets has had legal advice and I'm sure they have, the actual vet will have been told to say very little.

I found an article yesterday about this subject, I hope the link works. The Vic gov are not pet friendly at all. : ( http://m.heraldsun.com.au/leader/south-east/vets-told-to-hand-stray-dogs-into-council-or-risk-700-fines/story-fngnvmhm-1226598367365

Can you imagine the uproar if they did, it would be on every front page.

That's good to know, her details are still the same. Thanks : )

I'm glad it worked so quickly for the poodle, I was beginning to wonder if my dog got out if the chip would be of any use if she was taken to a vet. I don't want her to ever go to the pound. : (

I just sent you a message.