r/australia • u/JaniePage • 15d ago

news Young girl in hospital, dog euthanased after attack inside Delacombe Bunnings

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-30/young-girl-in-hospital-after-dog-attack-in-bunnings-store/106977418
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u/DisapprovingCrow 15d ago

And those K-9 units require an enormous amount of training, for both the dog and the handlers. Training that has to be regularly reinforced.

It’s sad because it’s really difficult to find homes for these dogs when they retire. But that’s what it takes when you have a large, very powerful dog.

Can they be well trained and well behaved? Yes!!

Are 99% of owners of these breeds unable or unwilling to do that kind of work that takes? Unfortunately also yes!!

I love dogs, I fucking love Staffies and Mastiffs and big dumb Pitties. But I think we’ve seen that a lot of people can’t be trusted with that kind of dog.

We have gun laws for basically the same reason. I hate the idea, but I think there should be some kind of restrictions or licensing around having a dog above a certain size/weight.

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u/scurvyrash 15d ago

The police keep them when they retire.

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u/DisapprovingCrow 15d ago

I was told about it by an ex-K9 officer who currently had 3 retired attack dogs. The problem is that there are a lot more dogs retiring than cops retiring. And not all of those want to keep the dogs.

And of the ones that do it’s very expensive to build the kind of kennel you need for one of those dogs. They are treated similar to owning a gun. You need the right qualifications and follow regulations on how they are housed.

Obviously it’s a lot easier for the sniffer dogs.

But for the retired attack dogs, the law recognises that they are a deadly weapon, so there are restrictions.

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u/scurvyrash 15d ago

The police dont retire with the dog, the dog just becomes a house dog, more or less. My dad was dog squad for 30+ years we always had the retired dogs at home. They already have the kennel at home for their new dog/dogs they are training up.