So the Maltese breed has been added to New South Wales' Government's list of dangerous dog breeds recently.
According to their Dog Attack Register, there were 12 attacks by Maltese dogs between June and September this year, eclipsing the result of the most popular breed of dog in the world, the Labrador Retriever.
Also featuring on the list are the Australian Cattle Dog and the German Shepherd, but by far the dog most identified on the list is the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
It makes me wonder how the majority of these dog attacks happen, and why they are happening more frequently. In the many years that I have been surrounded by dogs and have worked with dogs, I have never been subject to an attack, and can only recall once incident involving a dog that happened to a workmate while at a veterinary clinic.
This incident occurred because the dog in question (an intact male pig dog) had been recuperating at the clinic for approximately 3 months and come to enjoy the attentions of all the female staff who were responsible for caring for him. When a male locum vet was employed by the practice, the dog felt threatened due to his presence (and probably wanted to protect 'his girls') and bit the vet on the leg one day.
In a clinic situation, these incidents are almost to be expected as it is an inherent risk when you work with animals. However, all practicable steps are taken to ensure the severity of these incidents are minimal and uncommon.
In my opinion, what we need to do to avoid dog attacks is learn about dog behaviour and body language. For me it's pretty easy to tell many of the emotions at any given time for both cats and dogs, but for someone who isn't used to being around animals or isn't aware of their various indicators, this can spell disaster when in a confronting situation.
It seems sad to me that entire breeds are being labelled as 'dangerous' or 'menacing' when it may simply be due to a misunderstanding of the language differences between people and a particular dog, or even worse, the misidentification of some breeds because this is what the victim perceives the dog to be.
As has been described, and will always be stated by animal professionals, especially those dog behaviourists, all dogs have the potential to be dangerous. It is a matter of knowing how to read the signs to avoid a dangerous situation.
We will endeavour to describe and source information on dog behaviour and body language on The Pet Hub to give you the information you need to read, interpret and understand dog language.
