Thousands Of Dog Attacks Reported In Melbourne

[Zhou Xuanyao]

Some dogs have more strength, size, power and alot more prey and fight drive in them because that's why they were bred and that's why they even exist. People shouldn't pretend that all dogs are equal. Some dog breeds are less suitable as family pets, for apartment living, and city socialite life.

First sentence is correct, but the last isn't (from a drive and/or aggression perspective). For example, a friend bought a French Mastiff for a number of reasons, one of which was it's guarding potential. Well it turns out that he's completely useless, will not even bark unless he's playing or you're a cow. So this is an example of why it's nonsense to take breed generalizations to mean one and the same as a description of a particular dog of a particular breed. Whilst there are other Mastiffs who have suitable attributes to guard a lady on her own out on a rural block, he doesn't, so any comment in which 'some breeds' follows a premise of 'some dogs' is wrong.

Edited January 20, 2015 by Lee Kum Kee

[tdierikx]

Geez! Wouldn't want to live on the Central Coast... lots of reports there...

... but based on several DOLers accounts, not much followup on said reports... *sigh*

Funny how we don't get any breakdown on the followup to those reports...

T.

[Dame Aussie]

How do you measure something like 'far more responsible dog owners and general public' in Europe Lhok? What are they doing differently to us?

No bogans?

[Dame Aussie]

Its the stupid government & council rules that cause this to become more commonplace.

If dogs were allowed in more public places, on lead of course, they would be far more social & less likely to attack.

English & European countries don't get the problems we have here to this extent because dogs are welcome on transport, in taxis, in cafes, in hotels & pubs, in some shops & markets & they are not cooped up in the yard & house not mixing & meeting people like they are here.

Australia is so dog intolerant & unfriendly it shocks me

Poor dogs aren't allowed anywhere except unsafe off leash dog parks & a few beaches.

I think your conclusion is correct, but not for the reasons you think.

In a culture where dogs live in small apartments, are taken everywhere including cafes etc, and often carried on public transport. By necessity people have to buy small, heavily domesticated dogs who have been bred for placid temperaments.

Because Australia has a heavily rural modern history, even our urban dwellings have traditionally had huge back yards, and we tend tend toward s an "outdoor" lifestyle, we have tended towards different breeds. (Often working breeds not far removed from their working ancestry.) Not only do people not worry about lack of "social niceties" in their dogs but a tendency towards guarding property or people is often seen as a good thing.

I was in Europe late last year and I can assure you that just because the people have smaller houses does not mean they buy and own smaller, more heavily domesticated dogs.

In fact I saw more primitive type dogs there than I ever have and they live in apartments, go on public transport, etc The difference here? Their dogs are trained and expected to behave. People take responsibility for the actions of their animals but they also seem to be aware that a dog is still a dog and will behave as such.

I didn't see one child rush up to a dog while I was there, or anyone else trying to pat another persons dog without permission. Nor did I see one off lead dog the entire time.

Quiet frankly, it was refreshing.

Agree. Same experience here all over Europe. They usually don't desex either but hey look no accidental matings!

My Finnish friend has Samoyeds in her tiny bed sit. They are very well behaved. When they go out it's into the forest for hikes, into town for a coffee...they take them everywhere, always under control. The dogs are trained to perfection.

[Lhok]

Someone could look on here and assume all Australians think X way, I don’t think we are a representative sample here. I would assume the same goes for OS forums.

Joe Blow with his off lead dog is not represented very well here, the general public don’t tend to wind up here 9and stay) unless they’re a certain type of person who keeps their dogs in check fairly well.

The boards/FB groups I am on one is made up by mostly Germans, another one is based around one breed that has people from Sweden,Finland and Norway. The other is made up by lots of people from lots of other EU countries and the trend is the same.

--Lhok

[Bjelkier]

Its the stupid government & council rules that cause this to become more commonplace.

If dogs were allowed in more public places, on lead of course, they would be far more social & less likely to attack.

English & European countries don't get the problems we have here to this extent because dogs are welcome on transport, in taxis, in cafes, in hotels & pubs, in some shops & markets & they are not cooped up in the yard & house not mixing & meeting people like they are here.

Australia is so dog intolerant & unfriendly it shocks me

Poor dogs aren't allowed anywhere except unsafe off leash dog parks & a few beaches.

I think your conclusion is correct, but not for the reasons you think.

In a culture where dogs live in small apartments, are taken everywhere including cafes etc, and often carried on public transport. By necessity people have to buy small, heavily domesticated dogs who have been bred for placid temperaments.

Because Australia has a heavily rural modern history, even our urban dwellings have traditionally had huge back yards, and we tend tend toward s an "outdoor" lifestyle, we have tended towards different breeds. (Often working breeds not far removed from their working ancestry.) Not only do people not worry about lack of "social niceties" in their dogs but a tendency towards guarding property or people is often seen as a good thing.

I was in Europe late last year and I can assure you that just because the people have smaller houses does not mean they buy and own smaller, more heavily domesticated dogs.

In fact I saw more primitive type dogs there than I ever have and they live in apartments, go on public transport, etc The difference here? Their dogs are trained and expected to behave. People take responsibility for the actions of their animals but they also seem to be aware that a dog is still a dog and will behave as such.

I didn't see one child rush up to a dog while I was there, or anyone else trying to pat another persons dog without permission. Nor did I see one off lead dog the entire time.

Quiet frankly, it was refreshing.

Agree. Same experience here all over Europe. They usually don't desex either but hey look no accidental matings!

My Finnish friend has Samoyeds in her tiny bed sit. They are very well behaved. When they go out it's into the forest for hikes, into town for a coffee...they take them everywhere, always under control. The dogs are trained to perfection.

I was Finland and my friend has three Sammys in a one bedroom flat with a small courtyard. We went walking with the boys multiple times a day and they are so well behaved. It was very impressive

[Simply Grand]

Its the stupid government & council rules that cause this to become more commonplace.

If dogs were allowed in more public places, on lead of course, they would be far more social & less likely to attack.

English & European countries don't get the problems we have here to this extent because dogs are welcome on transport, in taxis, in cafes, in hotels & pubs, in some shops & markets & they are not cooped up in the yard & house not mixing & meeting people like they are here.

Australia is so dog intolerant & unfriendly it shocks me

Poor dogs aren't allowed anywhere except unsafe off leash dog parks & a few beaches.

I think your conclusion is correct, but not for the reasons you think.

In a culture where dogs live in small apartments, are taken everywhere including cafes etc, and often carried on public transport. By necessity people have to buy small, heavily domesticated dogs who have been bred for placid temperaments.

Because Australia has a heavily rural modern history, even our urban dwellings have traditionally had huge back yards, and we tend tend toward s an "outdoor" lifestyle, we have tended towards different breeds. (Often working breeds not far removed from their working ancestry.) Not only do people not worry about lack of "social niceties" in their dogs but a tendency towards guarding property or people is often seen as a good thing.

I was in Europe late last year and I can assure you that just because the people have smaller houses does not mean they buy and own smaller, more heavily domesticated dogs.

In fact I saw more primitive type dogs there than I ever have and they live in apartments, go on public transport, etc The difference here? Their dogs are trained and expected to behave. People take responsibility for the actions of their animals but they also seem to be aware that a dog is still a dog and will behave as such.

I didn't see one child rush up to a dog while I was there, or anyone else trying to pat another persons dog without permission. Nor did I see one off lead dog the entire time.

Quiet frankly, it was refreshing.

Agree. Same experience here all over Europe. They usually don't desex either but hey look no accidental matings!

My Finnish friend has Samoyeds in her tiny bed sit. They are very well behaved. When they go out it's into the forest for hikes, into town for a coffee...they take them everywhere, always under control. The dogs are trained to perfection.

I was coincidentally reflecting on this this afternoon.

For the last couple of weeks Quinn has been coming everywhere with me because its been an issue to leave her at my mum's house, where I'm staying, when I'm not there. So she is out with me a lot of the day while I do various things. It's way too hot to leave her in the car anywhere so everywhere she's allowed she comes with me and if I have to go inside somewhere she's not allowed she is tied up in the shade somewhere. Im also spending more time finding different, interesting dog friendly places to exercise her rather than doing the same walks and visiting the same parks, as was our normal routine. Even in this short time she has become noticeably calmer in interesting environments, less OTT excited about meeting new people, and more settled and happy to just lie around when we are at home. She has always been very attentive to me but I think is even more so now, maybe because things are unpredictable for her so she's making sure she keeps a close eye on me.

I can see how if that was how all dogs lived all the time there would fewer problems.

[Tazar]

Back to the original article, two pit bulls attacked the child?? It was a bull breed and there was only one.... Can't they get anything right?

[suziwong66]

Its the stupid government & council rules that cause this to become more commonplace.

If dogs were allowed in more public places, on lead of course, they would be far more social & less likely to attack.

English & European countries don't get the problems we have here to this extent because dogs are welcome on transport, in taxis, in cafes, in hotels & pubs, in some shops & markets & they are not cooped up in the yard & house not mixing & meeting people like they are here.

Australia is so dog intolerant & unfriendly it shocks me

Poor dogs aren't allowed anywhere except unsafe off leash dog parks & a few beaches.

I think your conclusion is correct, but not for the reasons you think.

In a culture where dogs live in small apartments, are taken everywhere including cafes etc, and often carried on public transport. By necessity people have to buy small, heavily domesticated dogs who have been bred for placid temperaments.

Because Australia has a heavily rural modern history, even our urban dwellings have traditionally had huge back yards, and we tend tend toward s an "outdoor" lifestyle, we have tended towards different breeds. (Often working breeds not far removed from their working ancestry.) Not only do people not worry about lack of "social niceties" in their dogs but a tendency towards guarding property or people is often seen as a good thing.

I was in Europe late last year and I can assure you that just because the people have smaller houses does not mean they buy and own smaller, more heavily domesticated dogs.

In fact I saw more primitive type dogs there than I ever have and they live in apartments, go on public transport, etc The difference here? Their dogs are trained and expected to behave. People take responsibility for the actions of their animals but they also seem to be aware that a dog is still a dog and will behave as such.

I didn't see one child rush up to a dog while I was there, or anyone else trying to pat another persons dog without permission. Nor did I see one off lead dog the entire time.

Quiet frankly, it was refreshing.

Your experience mirrors my experience in Berlin and Paris last year - I saw lots of large dogs, especially in Berlin. I felt that their dogs were well socialised, no matter the breed, because of their living style; apartments - often small. They have to get their dogs out and about and thus dogs and people are much more aware of sharing public spaces in positive ways. It was wonderful; the only downfall was the dog poop on the pavements and grates around the sidewalk trees - it was worse in Berlin than Paris. People assumed their responsibilities regarding dog behaviour in shared public spaces but they forgot them in terms of picking up the poop.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

forgot to include link to dog attack stats Brisbane article.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/council-figures-reveal-some-of-australias-favourite-dog-breeds-are-among-the-most-dangerous/story-fnihsrf2-1226946202941?nk=49dca7d6c7cf1409ebf6596a51f5fb3e

More than 1500 dog attacks and incidents of menacing behaviour are reported to the council every year.

Surprisingly popular breeds Staffordshire bull terriers, Australian cattle dogs and labradors are among the most frequently reported breeds to the council for menacing behaviour and dog attacks, as well as rottweilers and german shepherds.

And this one saying that there has been no increase in the rate of dog attacks...

you might need another browser to stay under your "one article limit"

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/more-dog-owners-being-fined-by-brisbane-city-council-as-prosecutions-against-owners-of-vicious-canines-drop/story-fnihsrf2-1227050794042

She said there was a dedicated crackdown last year, with more patrols targeting irresponsible dog ownership such as dogs not on leashes, barking and owners failing to keep dogs in yards.

“We make no apologies for enforcing responsible dog ownership. Dogs off leashes and dogs escaping their yards can lead to attacks and endanger the public,” she said.

Last year, 240 dogs were surrendered to the council as a result of dog attacks.

Cr Dick said there was no evidence of increased dog attacks despite the spike in fines.

[Salukifan]

Surprisingly popular breeds Staffordshire bull terriers, Australian cattle dogs and labradors are among the most frequently reported breeds to the council for menacing behaviour and dog attacks,

Surprising to whom? Not to a statistician or anyone who knows a thing or two about dogs!!

Mind you, Jo or Joanne public can't tell you the breed of most dogs anyway.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Haredown Whippets

[Mavis]

Surprisingly popular breeds Staffordshire bull terriers, Australian cattle dogs and labradors are among the most frequently reported breeds to the council for menacing behaviour and dog attacks,

Surprising to whom? Not to a statistician or anyone who knows a thing or two about dogs!!

Mind you, Jo or Joanne public can't tell you the breed of most dogs anyway.

+1!

[Maddy]

They absolutely do. Some of the nastiest injuries I've had from an animal have been from rabbits. They're cute but if they're in a mood, those claws (the same ones that can dig very nice burrows) are perfectly capable of excavating human flesh. The OH's rabbit goes one further and kills sparrows that come into her house.

Yes all animals do have the 'potential' to be aggressive but the levels of 'aggression' and damage can vary greatly. Just like motor vechiles. All motor vechiles can be dangerous. But what has the potential to be more dangerous and do more damage- a Mazada 2 or a Semi-Trailer??

Some dogs have more strength, size, power and alot more prey and fight drive in them because that's why they were bred and that's why they even exist. People shouldn't pretend that all dogs are equal. Some dog breeds are less suitable as family pets, for apartment living, and city socialite life.

The old adage that all dogs(or mammals) have the potential to bite is True but also False. Because I'd rather my kids play with 'potentially' dangerous Rabbits than 'potentially' dangerous Hunting dogs ( and yes i have met hunting dogs before).

Obviously? No one here was saying otherwise so I'm not sure who you're even having that argument with.

That said.. the original point still stands- all dogs are predators. Children have been killed by big dogs and children have been killed by small dogs. Statistically though, you or your child are more likely to be killed by a Shetland pony (or a cow) than by a dog so if you're really worried about protecting children, keep them away from pony rides.

[Salukifan]

Obviously? No one here was saying otherwise so I'm not sure who you're even having that argument with.

That said.. the original point still stands- all dogs are predators. Children have been killed by big dogs and children have been killed by small dogs. Statistically though, you or your child are more likely to be killed by a Shetland pony (or a cow) than by a dog so if you're really worried about protecting children, keep them away from pony rides.

And bicycles. They send more kids to casualty than dogs do.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

bees - bees and peanuts... oh and cars...

When ever someone suggests we ban dogs because they're dangerous - I suggest we start with cars for the same reason - only more so.

[huck house]

The article has been amended to say that Ayen Chol was killed by 'a Pit Bull Mastiff .'

[Kirislin]

Statistically though, you or your child are more likely to be killed by a Shetland pony (or a cow) than by a dog so if you're really worried about protecting children, keep them away from pony rides.

This surprises me. Can you provide the evidence please. I am interested to see it.

Edited January 24, 2015 by Kirislin

[Maddy]

Statistically though, you or your child are more likely to be killed by a Shetland pony (or a cow) than by a dog so if you're really worried about protecting children, keep them away from pony rides.

This surprises me. Can you provide the evidence please. I am interested to see it.

http://www.ncis.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/FACT-SHEET-Animal-related-deaths-final.pdf

Horse, pony, donkey 77

Cow, bull, bovine 33

Dog 27

Kangaroo 18

[teekay]

A but off topic but found this and thought it amusing and sometimes a bit

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1043775/Champagne-corks-Inflatable-elephants-Too-Viagra--new-book-revealing-unlikely-ways-people-meet-maker.html

[teekay]

I am from the Uk and I'm not sure if it's relevant but I have been wondering lately whether the concept of an 'outside dog' has any statistical relevance to the prevalence of attacks in Australia. Now, first of all I am not condemning those who have an outside dog as long as they get enough interaction with the family as well as mental stimulation and obviously, exercise. I'm talking about people, like my next door neighbour, who get a dog and then just leave it to its own devices in the back yard. Occasionally throwing a ball for it and shouting at it to stop barking. I'm afraid I think this scenario is all too common in Australia.

Until I came here 8 years ago I had no concept of an outside dog. The weather is not conducive to this arrangement in England. A dog is very much part of the family and has to learn behave accordingly. Nuisnace barking doesn't tend to happen when the dog is inside either.