Dog days here again | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

Headline-grabbing attacks have led to a canine witch-hunt, says a Tuakau dog behaviourist. Rowena Orejana joins her in sorting the scary from the sensational.

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.

"The only way that we can prevent those types happening is by supervision and education. My children are not allowed to play in the backyard without supervision, even though I know my dogs are safe," she says.

Children aged 9 and younger are usually bitten on the head or face, while those aged 10 to 15 are most often bitten on the hands or legs. They were also usually running away from the dog, something they should not have done.

Unfortunately, children are not taught dog safety. "The problem is that Government won't spend any money on dog safety education," she says.

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.

Essentially, it is parents' and dog owners' responsibility to prevent children being bitten by dogs, she says. However, it would be hard to reach all of these people. "The Government has not made dog education safety compulsory in primary schools. I believe this needs to happen."

Do you agree? Email: rowena.orejana@theaucklander.co.nz

Reality bites

Ms Whiu's study based on 54 cases in Middlemore so far shows:

• 59 per cent of bites were to the face
  * 57 per cent of children were unsupervised by someone 18 years or over
  * 43 per cent of children were supervised
  * 65 per cent of dog breeds reported were pitbull or staffy-cross
  * 62 per cent of child victims were male and 38 per cent female

Safety tips

1. Never run or scream around any dog.
2. Never pull a dog's tail, ears or fur.
3. Do not hug a dog around its neck or lean over its back. 
4. Do not wake a dog suddenly.
5. Do not try to take away a dog's toy or bone.
6. Never touch a dog when it is eating.
7. Never play tug-of-war or wrestle with a dog.