Aggressive Dog At The Beach

[FlowerProwler]

Have you called the concil yet?

[RasimBessi]

Very irresponsible.

Any outcome so far?

[Esky the husky]

Hope Cali is O.K

[griff]

Take your dog to the Vet even if all seems OK you never now what is under the fur

where the GSD grabbed him when Ryan whippet was attacked he looked fine but after clipping

that very fine thin fur away you could see his open bite wounds that needed cleaning

and a course of antibiotics .

and Report to the council darn careless people and their darn nasty dog

[Cavstar]

Thats terrible.. how scary for you. I hope your dog is ok

[lovemyrottie]

i've been completely flat out today so i didn't get around to do anything about it

would it matter if i went to the council tomorrow?

luckily, he's actually got no marks on him or anything and he's perfectly fine. to be honest, if it was a small dog i rekon it probably would've ended pretty bad and there's so many tiny dogs around those beaches!

if anyone from adelaide reads this thread and goes to somerton/brighton beach, make sure you guys keep an eye out on this non-english speaking, around 60 years of age, grey haired couple with their their off leash german shepherd that tends to walk your way if you've got a dog and they're usually there in the afternoons.

Edited January 17, 2012 by lovemyrottie

[lovemyrottie]

I don't know if I'd try & kick a snapping growling GSD away ..., But I would have a staff/walking stick with me , and do some 'intervention' with that ;)

I always have two dog lead in my hand, if another dog was biting either of my two, I would whack the dog with the leads. Too much risk to put my foot or leg in the way.

good idea ;)

[happypaws]

i've been completely flat out today so i didn't get around to do anything about it

would it matter if i went to the council tomorrow?

luckily, he's actually got no marks on him or anything and he's perfectly fine. to be honest, if it was a small dog i rekon it probably would've ended pretty bad and there's so many tiny dogs around those beaches!

if anyone from adelaide reads this thread and goes to somerton/brighton beach, make sure you guys keep an eye out on this non-english speaking, around 60 years of age, grey haired couple with their their off leash german shepherd that tends to walk your way if you've got a dog and they're usually there in the afternoons.

I usually walk the beach with Mia ... But it has become crazy down here ( we go Brighton, somerton ,Glenelg ). I will keep an eye out , it's a danger to have a dog like that loose .... He gets to practice aggression and will get better at it as he gains confidence . I can only hope these ppl have decided he is too much of a danger , before another dog or kid is hurt .

[GeckoTree]

Tomorrow shouldn't matter, the important thing is they are made aware of the incident and may well send some Animal management/ ranger officer around at a similar time of the day at that location if they are regulars, that's what happens here anyway.

[Rottshowgirl]

You don't have to go to the council, you can speak to an Animal Management Officer over the phone and complete a report.

Make sure you ask them to send you a copy of the report and ask them to follow up with you on the outcome of their investigation. You might have to follow up with more calls & 'remind' them, but let them know you want some feedback.

Councils also have after hours services so even if you see the dog do something like that again outside office hours, you can still call the council & ask for an AMO to attend

A number of councils are currently focussing on dogs on beaches, so you might find them really helpful

[Whippetsmum]

It does matter when you report a dog attack- the sooner the dog is reported the more likely it is that council will respond sucessfully- so get on that phone, and make it a priority! The longer a dog like that is allowed to roam a beach, the more likely it is that there will be a more serious incident. This was a serious attack, not just a dog posturing, the dog did make contact from your description. Think about how would you feel if someone else's dog was killed, or someone is injured trying to protect their dog and you knew you could have called the council? Please phone council and report this dog before someone isn't as lucky as you have been, you can make a positive difference to someone's life. If you do see the couple and their dog again, take a photo so that council can more readily identify them.

[GeckoTree]

Of course it matters, but she has time restraints as she stated.

[lovemyrottie]

i can only do it first thing in the morning tomorrow (contact the council) or an animal managemenet officer which i never knew even existed but i'll contact the council first and see what they say, i'll keep you guys posted as to what happens.

[Bully]

Yes, report it. It may not be the first time this dog has done this.

In metro Adelaide on the foreshore dogs must be on a lead, not more than 2m between 10am and 8pm during daylight saving time. These people are breaking the law as well as having an aggressive dog.

Hope your dog is ok :)

[suziwong66]

i've been completely flat out today so i didn't get around to do anything about it

would it matter if i went to the council tomorrow?

luckily, he's actually got no marks on him or anything and he's perfectly fine. to be honest, if it was a small dog i rekon it probably would've ended pretty bad and there's so many tiny dogs around those beaches!

if anyone from adelaide reads this thread and goes to somerton/brighton beach, make sure you guys keep an eye out on this non-english speaking, around 60 years of age, grey haired couple with their their off leash german shepherd that tends to walk your way if you've got a dog and they're usually there in the afternoons.

I usually walk the beach with Mia ... But it has become crazy down here ( we go Brighton, somerton ,Glenelg ). I will keep an eye out , it's a danger to have a dog like that loose .... He gets to practice aggression and will get better at it as he gains confidence . I can only hope these ppl have decided he is too much of a danger , before another dog or kid is hurt .

I encourage the OP to report the incident. Many years ago when miss19 was about four or five we were at a beach in Qld having a casual stroll in the evening. A couple were walking their GSD off lead. They were over 50 meters away from miss19. We were wandering ahead of her; she had stopped to play in the sand. We turned around to call her and watch in horror as the GSD began running incredibly fast toward her in an attack stance. We screamed out to her in a panic to stand still; she stood up. The dog pulled up just meters from our daughter after she stood up. We think, (but will never really know why) that the dog thought our daughter was a small dog and realised she wasn't when she stood up.

Given the large size of the dog and the diminutive size of our daughter, i really don't think she would have survived an attack by the dog; it was zeroed in on our daughter with intent.

Every time we go to the beach here in Adelaide (usually Henley, occasionally Glenelg) we always see dogs off-lead at inappropriate times. I don't care whether or not someone's dog is friendly or has fabulous recall, the rules are the rules and we with dogs have to comply whether we like it or not.

[mace]

Reporting an incident and getting justice is two different things though? Most irresponsible owners when caught up with by council usually deny the allegations anyway, don't know what the ranger is talking about, they weren't there that the time of the incident, it's wasn't their dog etc etc, I guess a close shave from being prosecuted may encourage them to mend their ways and manange their dog appropriately in the future?

[Rottshowgirl]

Reporting an incident and getting justice is two different things though? Most irresponsible owners when caught up with by council usually deny the allegations anyway, don't know what the ranger is talking about, they weren't there that the time of the incident, it's wasn't their dog etc etc, I guess a close shave from being prosecuted may encourage them to mend their ways and manange their dog appropriately in the future?

Being less than ecstatic with the potential outcome should never turn people off reporting. There are always varying opinions on what the outcome should be, but the most important thing is that there is now a record and there is an outcome, even if the victim is not totally happy.

If there are no reports of even harassing or threatening behaviour, how does the council know they have a problem on their hands? If the behaviour escalates and someone/somedog is seriously hurt, but the council have no record of all the behaviour leading up to it because noone has bothered to report it, in the eyes of the council it is a first time offence and that in itself can lead to a 'lighter' penalty than would befit a serial offender.

[mace]

Reporting an incident and getting justice is two different things though? Most irresponsible owners when caught up with by council usually deny the allegations anyway, don't know what the ranger is talking about, they weren't there that the time of the incident, it's wasn't their dog etc etc, I guess a close shave from being prosecuted may encourage them to mend their ways and manange their dog appropriately in the future?

Being less than ecstatic with the potential outcome should never turn people off reporting. There are always varying opinions on what the outcome should be, but the most important thing is that there is now a record and there is an outcome, even if the victim is not totally happy.

If there are no reports of even harassing or threatening behaviour, how does the council know they have a problem on their hands? If the behaviour escalates and someone/somedog is seriously hurt, but the council have no record of all the behaviour leading up to it because noone has bothered to report it, in the eyes of the council it is a first time offence and that in itself can lead to a 'lighter' penalty than would befit a serial offender.

You have a good point I agree, but I don't know how seriously the council view such reports like being harrassed by a dog that is difficult to formally identify without names, addresses, car rego numbers etc attached to the report. A black and tan GSD for example accounts for nearly all of them visually, it's a difficult one for the council to isolate is what I mean? If a dog rushed out of number 20 Xyz street and caused a problem, the council have an address to investigate, but public areas like beaches and parks etc with offenders unidentified for a potential prosecution, I don't know the man hours that would be put into such cases from council perspective?. Even when similar reports have been filed where it appears that a dog and owner is a serial offender, unless they have been previously prosecuted, it's still a first offence?

Edited January 18, 2012 by mace

[Guest lavendergirl]

i've been completely flat out today so i didn't get around to do anything about it

would it matter if i went to the council tomorrow?

luckily, he's actually got no marks on him or anything and he's perfectly fine. to be honest, if it was a small dog i rekon it probably would've ended pretty bad and there's so many tiny dogs around those beaches!

if anyone from adelaide reads this thread and goes to somerton/brighton beach, make sure you guys keep an eye out on this non-english speaking, around 60 years of age, grey haired couple with their their off leash german shepherd that tends to walk your way if you've got a dog and they're usually there in the afternoons.

I usually walk the beach with Mia ... But it has become crazy down here ( we go Brighton, somerton ,Glenelg ). I will keep an eye out , it's a danger to have a dog like that loose .... He gets to practice aggression and will get better at it as he gains confidence . I can only hope these ppl have decided he is too much of a danger , before another dog or kid is hurt .

I encourage the OP to report the incident. Many years ago when miss19 was about four or five we were at a beach in Qld having a casual stroll in the evening. A couple were walking their GSD off lead. They were over 50 meters away from miss19. We were wandering ahead of her; she had stopped to play in the sand. We turned around to call her and watch in horror as the GSD began running incredibly fast toward her in an attack stance. We screamed out to her in a panic to stand still; she stood up. The dog pulled up just meters from our daughter after she stood up. We think, (but will never really know why) that the dog thought our daughter was a small dog and realised she wasn't when she stood up.

Given the large size of the dog and the diminutive size of our daughter, i really don't think she would have survived an attack by the dog; it was zeroed in on our daughter with intent.

Every time we go to the beach here in Adelaide (usually Henley, occasionally Glenelg) we always see dogs off-lead at inappropriate times. I don't care whether or not someone's dog is friendly or has fabulous recall, the rules are the rules and we with dogs have to comply whether we like it or not.

I had a similar experience many years ago on a Gold Coast beach when my daughter was small. She had run ahead of us and next thing a medium size dog ran past us and chased her up the beach latching on to her shorts. The explanation from the owners? "Oh but we live here". Thank God the Council has cracked right down on unrestrained dogs on the beaches - many beach dwellers think they own the beaches.

[FlowerProwler]

I had a similar experience many years ago on a Gold Coast beach when my daughter was small. She had run ahead of us and next thing a medium size dog ran past us and chased her up the beach latching on to her shorts. The explanation from the owners? "Oh but we live here". Thank God the Council has cracked right down on unrestrained dogs on the beaches - many beach dwellers think they own the beaches.

Wow, because that makes it ok.