Loyal, but not if you have the wrong breed
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http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/loyal-but-not-if-you-have-the-wrong-b
reed/2006/01/04/1136050495656.html
Loyal, but not if you have the wrong breed
By Orietta Guerrera
January 5, 2006
THEY may be man's best friend, but four attacks in a week have turned the
spotlight on how we coexist with the 900,000 or so dogs in the state and
what can go wrong.
The No.1 mistake people make, said the RSPCA's Hugh Wirth, was choosing the
wrong breed.
"Eighty per cent of all dog bites occur in the family home, by the family
pet either biting a family member or a close friend," said Dr Wirth.
"Now the reason that occurs is that we adults continue to buy inappropriate
animals. We buy a puppy on its looks or because somebody else has got one.
We very rarely understand the genetic behaviour of that particular dog."
Monash University Accident Research Centre's Karen Ashby, who has compiled
information on dog attacks, said that while some inroads had been made
educating children and adults about proper supervision around dogs, parents
needed to be particularly vigilant during summer.
"Children are at home on school holidays, and the weather is good so they're
outside playing," she said. "There is more exposure to pets and animals."
About 619,000 dogs were registered in 2004-05, 70 per cent of the estimated
population in the state.
The Department of Primary Industries says registrations - required under
state and local laws for dogs over three months - have increased by more
than 5 per cent in the past three years.
But Agriculture Minister Bob Cameron said this did not so much reflect an
increase in dog numbers as councils being more proactive about getting
owners to register their pets.
"What you're seeing is councils of more recent years actively encouraging
dog registrations, or they've been out there having dog checks," Mr Cameron
said.
For example, the number of dogs registered in the City of Port Phillip
jumped by several hundred last year after a council door-knock to remind
pet-owners of their responsibilities.
Councils designate where dogs can run without a leash and are responsible
for declaring individual dogs "menacing" or "dangerous".
State laws passed late last year further tightened restrictions on dog
ownership.
Under the laws, microchipping dogs is a condition of sale for pet shops and
commercial breeders. And while many councils already offer discounts for
owners who microchip their pet upon registration, it will be a condition of
new registrations for cats and dogs from next year.
The new state law also stipulates that pit bulls must be desexed as a
condition of registration, following on from a Federal Government ban on
their import from 2000.
Mr Cameron said this would effectively phase out the breed over the next
decade.
"Queensland, NSW and Victoria have gone down this path, and the other states
will as well," he said.
Victorian Canine Association chief executive Roger Hampson agreed that
microchipping was a sensible move to ensure lost dogs were speedily returned
to owners, but he said other laws were out of whack.
He said councils needed to set aside more open public space where dogs could
run off a leash.
"You need to have a balance," he said. "Dogs should be on leads in public
places, but they should be allowed to be off-leash in areas too - dogs need
their play as much as humans."
Port Phillip Council, which Mr Hampson describes as more progressive and
dog-friendly, allows dogs to be off leashes in 18 public areas including
some beaches during designated times.