Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced she will be looking at new dangerous dog laws and more powers for Councils to intervene. However, all dogs can be dangerous, because they are all closely related to a top predator, it’s mostly the size and power of a dog that makes them more dangerous.

It has been well established that it is the owners/handlers that are the main influencers in dog behaviour. Much of the blame has been attached to COVID restrictions, but dogs can still be exercised, trained and socialised with friends and family.
The Boerboel dog breed
On March 17th this year, a two-year-old girl in Adelaide was attacked by the family dog. She was taken to hospital with facial injuries. The dog, a Boerboel is a South African, large mastiff, a guarding type. I searched and read about this breed, and one thing that really stood out under ‘Breed description’ is that this dog can become jealous for its owner’s affection. There are at least six breeders of the Boerboel in Australia, so the demand is there.
·      April 10th, 2023 – in Woodridge, a young girl climbed over a fence to play with friends but she was attacked and mauled by 2 dogs that lived on the property. She was hospitalised.
·      April 11th, 2023 – a Melbourne woman was attacked by a dog that escaped from an open gate, she was dragged by the dog and her ear was bitten off along with facial and head injuries.
·      April 12th, 2023 – a three-year-old was attacked by her grandmother’s dogs, she was rushed to hospital with serious head and neck injuries.
In every case the dogs are euthanised and an investigation into the incident is carried out, but we never hear about the investigations: what are they investigating?
A study on dog aggression conducted in Spain at Cordoba University a few years ago observed 711 dogs, half male, half female. Most of them were purebreds and the rest mixed breeds. Sixteen various breeds, from Pitbulls and Mastiffs, to the Poodle, Chihuahuas and Pekingese – which also showed dominant attitudes. They found breed has little to do with aggressive behaviour and those with innate tendencies that show some aggression; it can be modified. The study demonstrated that dog owner factors had the biggest influence on dog behaviour by:
·      Understanding canines, their behaviour and husbandry.
·      First time dog owners struggle, early socialisation for the dog is VERY important.
·      Over pampering with no boundaries means the dog may take on leadership.
·      Leaving a constant supply of food, which needs guarding.
·      Failure of basic obedience training, lack of authority and discipline.
·      Lack of exercise and little time spent with the animal.
·      Having more than one dog, can increase wandering and pack behaviour.
Conclusion: dogs that are socialised and trained accordingly do not normally retain aggressive and dominant behaviour.
The fist positive action for dog control is to reduce the number of breeders. The national kennel club ‘Dogs Australia’ had 68,950 registered dog breeders in 2022. Add hobby, backyard breeders and unwanted litters and the number could be well over 100,000. The next step is to look at countries like the Netherlands and Germany that have less problems with dogs and dangerous dogs. They have strict rules and high fines (which help to support the system financially). Citizens there need a dog permit, which means they have passed the knowledge questionnaire and demonstrated they have a safe physical environment.
Pam Brandis,
Dip. Canine Prac.