Dog Attack at Tuggeranong dog park

EvanJames said :

maniac said :

But my absolute pet hate is parents who allow their children to pat strange dogs without the owners consent. My old dog absolutely hated children and some came close to being bitten because of their incompetent parents.

Agree. I have tiny dogs, who also see children as grave threats (rightly, too), and if a kid comes up and tries to pat them (dog thinks they’re having a go), they will get bitten.

I just say “they bite” and leave it to the kid’s handler to decide if they’re going to do something or not. But why aren’t they teaching kids to be gentle and cautious around dogs they don’t know? They’re not bloody stuffed toys, there for the gratification of children, they are animals with their own minds.

Well I can safely say that thanks to a number of approaches from uncontrolled dogs, both on and off lead, and including at our own front door and at out local suburban playgrounds, I can safely say that my daughter will never go near a dog, whether invited, given permission, whatever. Even getting her to walk past the big tabby cat that sleeps in the doorway of Petland is a struggle at the moment (and we have a cat!).

I completely agree that the “kid’s handlers” should better control their two-legged charges, but I would also gently suggest that dog owners take a little more responsibility than a “they bite, but knock yourself out” approach, given the rather formidable defences of the latter, and the pink-skinned squishiness of the former.

maniac said :

time_killer said :

EvanJames said :

maniac said :

But my absolute pet hate is parents who allow their children to pat strange dogs without the owners consent. My old dog absolutely hated children and some came close to being bitten because of their incompetent parents.

Agree. I have tiny dogs, who also see children as grave threats (rightly, too), and if a kid comes up and tries to pat them (dog thinks they’re having a go), they will get bitten.

I just say “they bite” and leave it to the kid’s handler to decide if they’re going to do something or not. But why aren’t they teaching kids to be gentle and cautious around dogs they don’t know? They’re not bloody stuffed toys, there for the gratification of children, they are animals with their own minds.

So, do you think it’s ok that your dogs will bite children unprovoked?
But no doubt you think that if it was a large dog ging around biting children, it should be put down. (i understand the amount of damage potentially caused is different)

I hate how people use their dog being small as an excuse for its terrible behaviour. When I take my Lab to the dog park or for walks of leash the only dogs that ever cause a problem are the sh!t little yap-yap dogs. Most of the owners just say “oh sorry, he/she has small dog syndrome”….. then they pick the dog up and console it. Which completely reinforces the bad behaviour!

I completely agree with the children approaching strange dogs without consent part though.

Just to elaborate. I had that particular dog when I was growing up in the Northern Territory – she grew up with kids and was just fine. However, when she got arthritis as she got older she got cranky, as old dogs can do. There is only so much you can do for the pain. However, she always looked like a pup as she had stunted growth.

I would take her for a ‘walk’ which involved carrying her to the park and putting her down for a bit of a wander. But then parents would think it was perfectly ok to bring their children up to her for a pat without me saying it was ok. The dog, being partly blind, feeling sensitive to any potential threats, would react to the sudden approach of a child as a threat and react accordingly.

Now that was a dog that was thoroughly socialised with children and dogs. In the territory we never used leads and dogs roam wherever they want – we lived in an outback mining community. I am very experienced in training dogs through obedience classes and have had champions, so I know everything there is to know about dog behaviour. But what I don’t understand is irresponsible parents – there is only so much you do to discipline an arthritic old dog who pees herself uncontrollaby. Dogs in a park, on a lead, have the right to be there, without being provoked by off lead dogs or children.

My respone was directed at EvanJames. I agree with you and have a known a couple of dogs that were nice but became grumpy when they were old. Especially dogs that are starting to go blind, everything they dont recognise (by scent I suppose) can frighten them.

time_killer said :

EvanJames said :

maniac said :

But my absolute pet hate is parents who allow their children to pat strange dogs without the owners consent. My old dog absolutely hated children and some came close to being bitten because of their incompetent parents.

Agree. I have tiny dogs, who also see children as grave threats (rightly, too), and if a kid comes up and tries to pat them (dog thinks they’re having a go), they will get bitten.

I just say “they bite” and leave it to the kid’s handler to decide if they’re going to do something or not. But why aren’t they teaching kids to be gentle and cautious around dogs they don’t know? They’re not bloody stuffed toys, there for the gratification of children, they are animals with their own minds.

So, do you think it’s ok that your dogs will bite children unprovoked?
But no doubt you think that if it was a large dog ging around biting children, it should be put down. (i understand the amount of damage potentially caused is different)

I hate how people use their dog being small as an excuse for its terrible behaviour. When I take my Lab to the dog park or for walks of leash the only dogs that ever cause a problem are the sh!t little yap-yap dogs. Most of the owners just say “oh sorry, he/she has small dog syndrome”….. then they pick the dog up and console it. Which completely reinforces the bad behaviour!

I completely agree with the children approaching strange dogs without consent part though.

Just to elaborate. I had that particular dog when I was growing up in the Northern Territory – she grew up with kids and was just fine. However, when she got arthritis as she got older she got cranky, as old dogs can do. There is only so much you can do for the pain. However, she always looked like a pup as she had stunted growth.

I would take her for a ‘walk’ which involved carrying her to the park and putting her down for a bit of a wander. But then parents would think it was perfectly ok to bring their children up to her for a pat without me saying it was ok. The dog, being partly blind, feeling sensitive to any potential threats, would react to the sudden approach of a child as a threat and react accordingly.

Now that was a dog that was thoroughly socialised with children and dogs. In the territory we never used leads and dogs roam wherever they want – we lived in an outback mining community. I am very experienced in training dogs through obedience classes and have had champions, so I know everything there is to know about dog behaviour. But what I don’t understand is irresponsible parents – there is only so much you do to discipline an arthritic old dog who pees herself uncontrollaby. Dogs in a park, on a lead, have the right to be there, without being provoked by off lead dogs or children.

EvanJames said :

maniac said :

But my absolute pet hate is parents who allow their children to pat strange dogs without the owners consent. My old dog absolutely hated children and some came close to being bitten because of their incompetent parents.

Agree. I have tiny dogs, who also see children as grave threats (rightly, too), and if a kid comes up and tries to pat them (dog thinks they’re having a go), they will get bitten.

I just say “they bite” and leave it to the kid’s handler to decide if they’re going to do something or not. But why aren’t they teaching kids to be gentle and cautious around dogs they don’t know? They’re not bloody stuffed toys, there for the gratification of children, they are animals with their own minds.

So, do you think it’s ok that your dogs will bite children unprovoked?
But no doubt you think that if it was a large dog ging around biting children, it should be put down. (i understand the amount of damage potentially caused is different)

I hate how people use their dog being small as an excuse for its terrible behaviour. When I take my Lab to the dog park or for walks of leash the only dogs that ever cause a problem are the sh!t little yap-yap dogs. Most of the owners just say “oh sorry, he/she has small dog syndrome”….. then they pick the dog up and console it. Which completely reinforces the bad behaviour!

I completely agree with the children approaching strange dogs without consent part though.

cyla said :

They should split the pen into two, one for big dogs and one for small dogs. That would give the little dogs half a chance!

Just to elaborate on this, the Tuggers dog park does have a seperate small dog section. The problem is mainly that there are usually no dogs in that section, so if you brought your dog along to try and socialise it, you need to go in the main area.

FWIW I have 2 small dogs and take them in the main section all the time. I havent had any issues other than a few relatively harmless games of chasey. The majority of owners that I have seen go out of there way to ensure their dogs are not causing any issues for others.

This is the reason why I never took my dog back there, people who have not trained their dogs properly should have them taken off them. It is rightful that the blame fall on their owners for lack of training. And as always, it seems that those badly trained give all the bad name.
I think it should be mandatory that when a dog known to be an agressive breed, is purchased it should be sent to specialist training straight away, and certifications and licences should be kept. Are there specialist puppy schools for breeds known to be aggressive? Like the police dog training centres?
Friends of ours bought a German Shepard (they have two younger children), and they wonder why we don’t come over much any more…I mean would you after being told it had a go at a child at a birthday party and at another woman at the dog park…and this dog is still a pup…imagine what it would be like when’s its a full grown adult. There is no way i would let my toddler near it, she’s kept inside the whole time we visit, because they don’t lock him up.

cyla said :

They should split the pen into two, one for big dogs and one for small dogs. That would give the little dogs half a chance!

It is.

Unfortunately those closed in entrance areas are a hotbed of problems – one of the people here should have waited for the other to get in/out and there should have been less problems – a bit like give way to the left. Unfortunately it sounds like the boxer owner didn’t have a clue and hadn’t trained or contolled her dogs.

there is a small dogs area at Tuggeranong – whether people do the right thing or not is a different matter – also a young puppy that is of a larger breed is very different to a truly small breed, in particular an older smaller breed dog that hates being pawed or jumped on. It all comes down to owners not abdicating the minute they walk in the area and recognise bad behaviour when it occurs – and then doing something to control or eliminate the behaviour by their dog. Too many go, oh he’s just a bit rough – that’s fine with an equally sized dog, but not with a puppy or smaller dog.

My silky x terrier was attacked by a German Shepherd at the Belconnen offleash area. The Shepherd owner was did the right thing, and all the people at the park came and offered heaps of support..

Mind-you, after a second incident with a different dog attack, we don’t go there anymore. I’m not going to tempt fate at the expense of my dog.

EvanJames said :

this tendency to stand and watch is a growing one in Australia. Was a time when people would jump to “do something” when something needed doing. Now they reach for their mobile phones, or expect someone whose job it is to come and do it.

It extends to the expectation that the government will do everything… when I was young, if people wanted a facility for their kids, or some community facility, they’d get together and work out how to get it, which usually led to them building it, fund-raising etc.

I’m really saddened to read this story… sad for the woman and her little dogs (why do people get dogs that they can’t control? So many people owning macho/butch-looking dogs now), but also for the way that people watched a pretty horrible event happen, and only four jumped in to help.

On the other hand, once I saw two dogs get into a really nasty fight and a little old lady started whacking them with her umbrella to separate them. I stopped her, and took her into the nearest shop with me. The two young, male owners of the dogs eventually separated them. One received minor injuries to his hand. I didn’t see the point of the elderly woman being caught up in the fight as well, as she might well have been with her provocative umbrella work. And I really had nothing to contribute either, except getting in the way. (Of course I hope I’d be brave enough to step in in other circumstances, but it’s hard to tell.)

Please don’t assume all ‘macho’ looking dogs are nasty; mine rolled over the other day when barked at by a whippet. And as I wrote here once before I have been attacked by a Dalmatian, who everyone thought looked ‘cute’.

EvanJames said :

this tendency to stand and watch is a growing one in Australia. Was a time when people would jump to “do something” when something needed doing.

EvanJames said :

But why aren’t they teaching kids to be gentle and cautious around dogs they don’t know? They’re not bloody stuffed toys, there for the gratification of children, they are animals with their own minds.

Yes and yes.

maniac said :

But my absolute pet hate is parents who allow their children to pat strange dogs without the owners consent. My old dog absolutely hated children and some came close to being bitten because of their incompetent parents.

Agree. I have tiny dogs, who also see children as grave threats (rightly, too), and if a kid comes up and tries to pat them (dog thinks they’re having a go), they will get bitten. I just say “they bite” and leave it to the kid’s handler to decide if they’re going to do something or not. But why aren’t they teaching kids to be gentle and cautious around dogs they don’t know? They’re not bloody stuffed toys, there for the gratification of children, they are animals with their own minds.

this tendency to stand and watch is a growing one in Australia. Was a time when people would jump to “do something” when something needed doing. Now they reach for their mobile phones, or expect someone whose job it is to come and do it.

It extends to the expectation that the government will do everything… when I was young, if people wanted a facility for their kids, or some community facility, they’d get together and work out how to get it, which usually led to them building it, fund-raising etc.

I’m really saddened to read this story… sad for the woman and her little dogs (why do people get dogs that they can’t control? So many people owning macho/butch-looking dogs now), but also for the way that people watched a pretty horrible event happen, and only four jumped in to help.

They should split the pen into two, one for big dogs and one for small dogs. That would give the little dogs half a chance!

Back in my younger days I used to be a door to door milk runner. It was a very common occurrance for me to have dog’s rushing at me and biting me. It was also very common for the dogs owners to yell out “don’t worry mate he won’t bite you”. This statement would usually come out just before the dog bites or as it’s biting. From my experience, it is clear to me that many dog owners have no idea about their dog’s potential behaviour and are totally ignorant of the risk they put other people in. Many dogs are untrustworthy as are many of their owners.

I could be wrong, but, generally speaking, it seems that the most dangerous types of dogs are owned by the most untrustworthy types of people.

MissChief said :

I never really got the point of dog parks. Dogs don’t always get along and putting them all in a pen together with no leads just seems like a really bad idea, if not for the spread of fleas then certainly for the risk of something like this happening.

It was also part of putting legislation in place to restrict where dogs can and canot be exercised. Previously there was a fair bit of a grey area in this regard. Establishment of dog exercise declared areas (and these enclosed parks) were part of the deal.

MissChief said :

I never really got the point of dog parks. Dogs don’t always get along and putting them all in a pen together with no leads just seems like a really bad idea, if not for the spread of fleas then certainly for the risk of something like this happening.

I think the issue is often that it specifically attracts those who cannot control their dogs. They think it’s ok to let them off the lead because they cannot run away and don’t deem it necessary to properly supervise them even. Which just shows you how ignorant they are about the responsibilities of owning a dog. We are lucky in Canberra that we have so many unfenced off-leash areas and I much prefer those. There’s some great ones where you can actually do some proper walking, so you don’t force your dog to stay close to dogs that don’t play nicely.

maniac said :

All dogs need to be socialised from puppies and be properly obedience trained. People think it is ok to have a couple of dogs, let them off their leads and have no idea how to retrieve them. As the first poster said, these morons should not be allowed to own dogs.

+1

MissChief said :

I never really got the point of dog parks. Dogs don’t always get along and putting them all in a pen together with no leads just seems like a really bad idea, if not for the spread of fleas then certainly for the risk of something like this happening.

I always thought it was more a way to keep everyone together(away from all the non dog people) and so that owners who have dogs show the others how its done.

I’m guessing some of the more fragile people get big dogs so they feel protected.

I hope the woman whose dogs were attacked is ok, though understandably she will be shaken. I’ve seen this happen before and it is absolutely terrifying.

There is nothing worse than owners who can’t control their dogs. But my absolute pet hate is parents who allow their children to pat strange dogs without the owners consent. My old dog absolutely hated children and some came close to being bitten because of their incompetent parents.

All dogs need to be socialised from puppies and be properly obedience trained. People think it is ok to have a couple of dogs, let them off their leads and have no idea how to retrieve them. As the first poster said, these morons should not be allowed to own dogs.

I never really got the point of dog parks. Dogs don’t always get along and putting them all in a pen together with no leads just seems like a really bad idea, if not for the spread of fleas then certainly for the risk of something like this happening.

Would having 20 other people run in all at once have actually helped the situation in any way? I doubt it. Having a handful of people assist sounds like an appropriate response.

Yes, having uncontrolled and/or aggressive dogs is bad. Did you call the police and domestic animal services to report the incident or just posting this on here?

Is owning a big dog sort of like having a hotted up car? People trying to mask deficiencies in other areas? Seems bogans are attracted to both.

Is the Tuggeranong dog park an all in affair? The park in Yarralumla seperates the smaller dogs from the big ones, with seperate gates and fenced areas.

Agreed- unfortunately the poor dog always cops the blame when owners are too lazy to do the right thing. My family has always had boxers, and with training and socialising, they are gentle, great with children and have a lovely disposition.

Its because of morons who can’t control thier mid-large size dogs that my dogs are looked upon as vicious. People should have to have a licence and undetake training in dog handling techniques before they are allowed to get a dog.

If your dog is aggressive don’t leave it at home, get some training for you and the dog or get rid of it and get a fish because you are obviously to stupid to have a dog.