People looked on, powerless to stop dog attacking dog

Little Louie lay in Massey University’s veterinary hospital, shorn and swathed in bandages and tubes, clocking up $3000 in treatment bills after being attacked by a larger dog.

People watched the Anzac Day attack at the Esplanade in Palmerston North, leaving Louie’s owner to battle alone to save the fouryear-old poodle-bichon-cross until the bigger dog’s owner attempted to pull them apart.

Louie’s owner, who did not want to be named, said the big dog finally let go when a woman threw a drink bottle from a car.

She said the public needed education about how to help when they saw an attacking dog.

Palmerston North City Council head of environmental protection services Graeme Gillespie said the dog and owners involved in the Esplanade attack about 5pm had left when animal control staff arrived.

If anyone had sufficient evidence to prove their identity the council would take enforcement action, he said.

Gillespie said there was good advice on what bystanders could do in such a situation at dogsafety.govt.nz.

The Department of Internal Affairs website tips included picking up the dog’s hind legs to pull it away, pouring water over its head or throwing a cloth or coat or a noisy object.

A canine behaviour consultant of 45 years experience, Paul Hutton, said if people had tried to help, they would probably have got hurt.

Hutton said evidence to support the Internal Affairs advice was ‘‘woefully lacking’’.

‘‘People have died breaking up dog fights.

‘‘Picking up a dog’s hind legs is not going to work. The perception of the dog is that it is being attacked from the rear by another dog.’’

Hutton said no amount of education about what to do after aggression broke out would help prevent increasing numbers of dog attacks.

The problem was that people were naive about the realities of living with dogs and they had ‘‘no clue’’ how to manage them.

Some owners had an unhelpful attitude but the vast majority were respectable but ‘‘just hopeless’’, he said.

All dogs should be on leads in the Esplanade, and banned from the playground, scenic railway station and paddling pool.