Dog to be destroyed after Masterton attack

A bull mastiff-cross which savagely attacked a four-year-old girl in Masterton will be destroyed today, while the child remains in hospital undergoing surgery.

She was patting the dog when it became aggressive, pinning her to the ground and biting her face.

I'm sure that the dog gave some warning through his body language to tell the person SUPERVISING this interaction  between the dog and child that the dog was feeling uncomfortable.

The owner has been charged under the Dog Control Act. And so they should!

A two-year-old girl was also mauled by a dog in Kawerau at the weekend.
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If dog bites are such a problem, why is it then that when a dog bite prevention event was held in Christchurch took place, only a handful of families came? Would you think that people would be interested in learning how to read their dog's body language in order to avoid the situations that took place over the weekend.

Check www.doggonesafe.com, and you can take an online course- around $40.00NZ or so-- cheaper than your daughters life time of scars and operations!

Dog control laws adequate - former minister

The architect of current dog control laws believes they are comprehensive and says anyone with suggestions on how to improve them should lobby Local Government Minister Rodney Hide.

Chris Carter is now an independent MP but in 2003 was local government minister in the Labour-led government when Parliament passed his Dog Control Amendment Bill with overwhelming support. It included measures such as microchipping all puppies, banning certain breeds, increasing dog control officers' abilities to enter properties and increasing fines.

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Judge tells feuding couple to share custody of dogs

A prominent political figure and his ex-wife have been told they must share the custody of their two dogs after a long-running dispute in the Family Court.

Strict suppression orders surround the case, which includes an allegation of dog-napping on the street of a plush Auckland suburb in November 2010.

The ex-wife - to be referred to as D - saw her ex-husband's new partner walking the dogs and is alleged to have unclipped one of the animals from its lead and put it in a car.

D told the court in April she told her ex's new partner: "You have my husband, you cannot have my dogs."
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Wairarapa return for dog expert

One of New Zealand's top farm dog trainers is returning to her old stamping grounds in Wairarapa to show farmers and dog triallists how to get the best results from their working dogs.

Anna Holland, who featured in the television programme Country Calendar in April, was born and raised in the heart of Auckland city but shepherded for 23 years in Wairarapa.

As a young girl she used to spend school holidays on a "distant uncle's" farm in Martinborough. Ian Nichol, who farmed at Drumcairn, was known as an excellent farmer and a top man with both dogs and horses.

Anna Holland learnt to ride on the Wairarapa hills and credits what she now knows how to do best - dog training - to Mr Nichol's early teaching. She left home at 17 to become a landgirl and at 21 years old lived in Gladstone, in rural Carterton. MORE>>

Woman scalped by pitbull in fight with sister

A New Zealand woman was scalped by a pitbull after she was attacked by her sister who owns the dog.

Liz Smith, a 52-year-old from Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty, suffered puncture wounds and severe bruising in the 20 minute attack, which ended when police arrived at her sister's home, the Bay of Plenty Times reports.
Ms Smith said her sister originally attacked her before the dog joined in.
"It was not going to stop," Ms Smith told the Bay of Plenty Times.

"I don't know how I'm going to get it out of my head when I go to sleep at night — I'm very lucky to have survived this."

She has since been discharged from hospital.MORE>>

Sheep dogs to pack Masterton

Hundreds of working dogs are set to descend on Masterton in June to compete for the chance to be named the best in the country.

The Tux North Island and New Zealand Sheepdog Trialing Championships start on Monday, June 6, culminating in a final run with the seven top dogs on Saturday, June 12.

Life member of the Masterton Dog Trial Club Arthur Harrison, who won the New Zealand title in 1981 and judged the competition in 1995 when it was last in Masterton, said dog trialing has done for young shepherds what shearing competitions have done for shearers.

"The change I've seen in working dogs over the years has been just incredible. Shepherds have really cleaned their act up and they're much more aware of their dogs.

"At the end of the day, without dogs, you couldn't run a farm - the industry wouldn't exist without them." MORE>>

New Zealand bar offers half-price beer for dead rabbits

A New Zealand pub has come up with an innovative way to deal with the rabbit plague in Central Otago – offering half-price drinks for a dead one

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Penguin killed in dog attack

A little blue penguin has died in Wellington Zoo after being attacked by a dog in Seaview.

The attack on Saturday morning involved a couple walking a large alsatian and a husky on Port Rd.

Witness Ann Rodgers confronted the pair and said the woman was attempting to hide the badly-injured bird under a bush. She said the man was severely reprimanding the dogs.

Mrs Rodgers contacted the SPCA, which took the penguin to the Native Bird Rescue Trust (NBRT), which in turn took it to Wellington Zoo.

Ms Rodgers, who describes herself as a dog lover, says she was disgusted by the woman's actions.
"She was clearly ashamed that her dog had done that." MORE>>

Dog owners benefit under super city

The amalgamation of the Auckland councils to form the super city looks to have finally paid off - for dog owners at least.

The new standard fees, adopted by the council at the Strategy and Finance Committee today, will see some dog owners save up to $50 on registering their dogs compared to what they used to pay to their local councils.
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Dog days here again

Dog behaviourist Donelle Whiu is one month away from finishing a year-long study of dog attacks on children.

With such attacks recently in the news, the Tuakau resident is incensed that the knee-jerk reaction is to ban dogs. Last March, a three-year-old boy was attacked by a Staffordshire terrier cross in West Henderson.

"What's interesting is that in other news reports recently in the media, they're saying that dog bites are on the rise. They aren't. They're static," says Ms Whiu, who is also an emergency nurse at Middlemore Hospital.

Her research is based on cases seen at the hospital. So far, she has noted 54 dog attacks on children aged between newborn and 15 years.

Preliminary results show 86.9 per cent of dogs were family dogs or known to the families of the bitten children. "About 63 per cent of those bites that we've seen so far could have been prevented with some education."

Ms Whiu says a lot of the children were attacked while walking past or playing with the dogs. Some were holding food or taking toys from their pets.
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On her own, Ms Whiu has brought the US "Doggone Safety Programme" to some schools with the help of Leo, her 90kg Neapolitan mastiff.

Leo is a two-time winner of the NZ National Dog Show in fielding Best of Breed for Neapolitan mastiffs. He is also the first Neapolitan mastiff in New Zealand to earn a Canine Good Citizen certificate and is being trained as a therapy dog.

"Our programme teaches children to be doggie detectives and look at a dog's body language and facial expressions and understand whether that dog is safe enough to approach. It is also delivered by trained dog behavioural experts, instead of teachers," she says.

Auckland and Christchurch are the only regions in the country offering the programme. The problem, says Ms Whiu, is that schools ask only for education services like hers after reports of gruesome attacks.
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Teach a Child, Save a Dog Event 

Christchurch event !!! This Sunday-- May 15th, at the Foundation of the Blind, 96 Bristol Street, Christchurch. More info: www.nakeddog.co.nz

SBS Marathon to support USAR Dogs

.... “The February 22 quake resulted in the largest deployment of the New Zealand Fire Service USAR team in this country's history. Their dogs were joined by USAR K9 teams from Australia, Japan and Singapore. Over the following week or so these dogs and their handlers searched more than 80 sites resulting in several successful finds in very testing surrounds.
“We couldn’t see a better of way of saying ‘thank you’ for the skills and dedicated service they have provided, and continue to offer, than by making them the charity of choice for this year’s special event being held at Lincoln on Sunday 5 June. MORE>>

Name suppression goes to dogs

OPINION: After 15 good years our family dog Austin is getting ready to shuffle off this mortal coil.
He's an english pointer that I bought on account of his hunting pedigree and ability to air scent pheasants from a fair distance.

However, a lot can change in 15 years - in my case, it's brought marriage and kids - such that now it's clear Austin's single most-valued trait is his bombproof nature with small children.

Dogs of a different sort made the news recently when for the first time a New Zealand judge granted name suppression for two flash Auckland pooches that were at the sharp end of a Family Court wrangle involving a male senior political figure, his new partner and his ex-wife. MORE>>

Dangerous breeds 'should all be shot'

The mother of an 8-year-old Dunedin boy whose ear was ripped in half when he was mauled by a dog says dangerous breeds "should all be shot".

Carley Ludlow (31) was speaking to the Otago Daily Times the day after her son, Jayden Taggart, had half his left ear ripped off by a Staffordshire bull terrier inside a Wakari home on Friday night.
Miss Ludlow said her son and his father were visiting the home of family friends when the attack occurred about 8.45pm.

Jayden's father witnessed the attack and pulled the dog off, fishing the torn ear out of the dog's mouth before rushing his son to Dunedin Hospital by car immediately after the attack, she said.
(...)

Miss Ludlow said the incident showed Staffordshire bull terriers and other breeds, such as pit bulls, "should all be shot".

 

All children should be taught how to act around dogs, and how to see the signs of a stressed dog!

 

"If people continue to have them, then they can kiss their kids goodbye." Actually, if dog owners and parents of children do not educate themselves about dogs, this event will continue to happen!

However, Miss Ludlow and the dog's owner disagreed about whether the attack was unprovoked.
Miss Ludlow said her son had been lying on a bed when the dog "just jumped up and started mauling him", while the woman who owned the dog - who would not be named - said Jayden had been "tormenting" the animal that day.
"He's a good dog. He was neutered. It was just a freak accident and I'm extremely sorry about what happened to Jayden," the owner said.

Being neutered has nothing to do with this attack...  If Jayden was tormenting the dog all day... why was he allowed?!?  Why is it okay for a child to be a bully to a dog?

The attack had been "very quick" and left all those involved in shock, she said.

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The International Dog Bite Prevention "Teach a Child, Save a Dog" Event
Come along and participate in the fun and interactive programme on how to be a Dog Detective on Sunday May 15th at the Foundation of the Blind (96 Bristol Street) starting at 10am until midday. Entry fee: Koha
For more info: www.nakeddog.co.nz/doggone.htm