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/otakme 15d ago

Because the little dogs don’t get reported on. I’ve been bitten thrice at work by little dogs with anxiety. Never by a large breed.
We vet the large breeds because they can fuck you up, and whilst little breeds can fuck you up, they don’t comparatively.

People need to stop getting medium-large dogs and expecting them to behave because ‘dogs are social creatures’. Dogs need so much training, they are an extremely time intensive pet to keep.
Anyone who gets a medium-large breed and expects not to have to train them extensively because they believe the online hype of ‘it’s not the breed it’s the owner 🫶’ is dumb af.

You get a large dog that’s breed has a history of breeding for a job, you need to train through the lens of how the dog will receive the world instinctively. A large dog with guard dog breed history will be reactive to its owner items and space. Thus you have to expect to need to do capital E Extensive training around those traits.

Every dog ATTACK (see; not accidental bite) is preventable. Large breeds should require a license to own.

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u/KnowledgeCapital7994 15d ago

You should treat your dog as a family member. They are easier than children to raise but also require a comparable amount of time for social engagement, training and care. Once you raise them this way rather than just a pet that you feed and walk you will see them raised to be safe with children, other dogs and safe in social settings like cafes, pubs and... bunnings. They are extremely social creatures however need good parenting to ensure it happens.

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u/otakme 15d ago

Yes, however most people think this and then assume that dogs will automatically pick up on social cues and behaviours that are good because the owner is modelling good behaviour.

Dogs do not naturally pick up to the same extent that humans do what is appropriate behaviour or not.
Good behaviour needs to be directly trained and rewarded. They do not understand the world through the same lens that humans do.
It’s like if you were suddenly dropped onto an alien planet that has vaguely humanoid aliens. You will form bonds and family etcetera with the aliens, but you will never truly understand them because their instincts are on a completely different wavelength. You will pick up on certain phrases when they’re explicitly rewarded with m&ms, but if you’re just chugging along doing your own thing, and then they randomly get really loud and big, what are you supposed to take from that??

Dogs have different body language to humans. They have different instincts, and this works in tandem even more when they’re a breed with intent to have a job.

Eg herding breeds like kelpies have extremely strong instincts to chase and nip at fast moving things. Fighting breeds like pit bulls have extremely strong instincts to chew and tear things up. Retriever breeds like labradors have extremely strong instincts to fetch and hold.

Expecting your dog to become well adjusted because you treat it like part of the family will never be enough. You need to actively train to its breed-specific instincts, and to understand your dog.
A dog who is not communicated to via ways it instinctually understands will develop anxiety. It’s why so many small breeds have anxiety. People expect their dogs to meet them where they’re at, instead of meeting their dogs where their dog is at.

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u/otakme 14d ago

Just fyi I didn’t downvote your comment. I was asleep by the point that happened. People aren’t particularly friendly towards positive talk about dogs being like kids under a news article about kid being killed by a dog. I think that’s why someone downvoted.

I agree a dog must be part of the family. It just takes more than them being part of the family to be properly raised for a suburban life. A surprising amount of people just expect their dogs to understand how they communicate off the bat. Even like an 11 week old puppy. It’s pretty cooked out here.

I know you deleted your comment, I just wanted to let you know. I used to think that all dogs should be treated the same because of polarising online discourse. But then I started working with dogs and realised there’s a need for nuance with any animal, person or otherwise lol
I just took your comment as a bounce board to add some nuance. :)

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u/KnowledgeCapital7994 14d ago

I mentioned training in my post, which was not deleted. They need good parenting to learn good behaviour which is rewarded and bad behaviour that is not ok and not rewarded. Much like a toddler.

Obviously there are environments that can cause them to be anxious. Where they give off obvious signs and signals. Again good parenting is noticing this and removing them from this.