Dogs attacks have increased in two-thirds of Melbourne’s council areas since 2018, with dog trainers attributing much of the problem to pandemic puppies growing up post-lockdown into poorly-adjusted dogs lacking in training.

Dog attacks increased on average 14 per cent across all council areas from 2018 to 2021, data obtained from every Melbourne council by The Sunday Age reveals, while attacks increased by around 110 per cent in the City of Melbourne and Whitehorse. In Wyndham, the volume jumped more than 285 per cent.

Last calendaryear, Mornington Peninsula saw the highest number of recorded dog attacks with 223 reports, while the growth area of Casey has seen 261 attacks recorded for the 2021-2022 financial year.

In May, four-year-old toy cavoodle Charlie was mauled by an American staffy at Jim Duggan Reserve in St Kilda.

Charlie suffered internal injuries and had muscle torn from his ribcage when the attacking dog broke free of its lead, surged at Charlie and picked him up in its jaw leaving him with four serious bite marks on his body.

Charlie’s owner Elise Hendriksen said both she and her dog have been traumatised by the incident, and she has bought him an expensive ‘dog armour’ jacket with large metal spikes for walks.

Toy cavoodle Charlie suffered four bite marks in the May attack.

Hendriksen called for more small dog-only spaces and more ranger patrols in her council area of Port Phillip.

“A lot of big dog owners seem unaware and unsympathetic to the worries of small dog owners in shared spaces. I see small dogs getting trampled or being afraid regularly,” she said.

“I’m not sure how we will ever face a park again. I’m still seeing dogs off-lead every day in on-lead dog parks.”

Four-year-old Charlie now wears a dog armour vest on walks after a traumatic dog attack earlier this year.

The owners of the staffy paid for Charlie’s vet bills and told Hendriksen they would use a muzzle in public from now on. The attack was reported to authorities at the council and will eventually be heard in a magistrates court.

Port Phillip has already recorded 94 attack reports this year, higher than the entire year counts for 2021, 2020 and 2018.

Port Phillip Mayor Marcus Pearl said council officers patrolled the reserve daily for a fortnight after the attack on Charlie at different times of the day, and will be undertaking a review of dog restrictions in open spaces across the entire council area with community input.

Council areas where the percentage increase over the four years was above that of the citywide trend were Manningham (61 per cent), Moonee Valley (55 per cent), Melton (49 per cent), Kingston (43 per cent), Maribyrnong (39 per cent), Greater Dandenong (28 per cent) and Moreland (27 per cent), Casey (16 per cent) and Banyule (15 per cent) and Knox 15 (per cent).

Councils where dog attack incidents dropped from 2018 to 2021 were the City of Yarra, the City of Port Phillip, Bayside, Brimbank, Boorondara, Darebin, Glen Eira, Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Ranges.

There is no centralised, uniform data collection for dog attacks in Victoria, with each council area across the state responsible for the handling of its own figures. Data obtained by The Sunday Age comes with the caveat that some councils count using financial years and some use calendar years. Some councils count reports while others only count investigated reports.

Brad Griggs, a 20-year dog training veteran, says his industry has seen a big uptick on the back of the pandemic in dogs presenting with “anxious and insecure” tendencies that he said were frequent red flags for aggressive incidents with other dogs or people.

“We’ve had a greater number of dogs presenting post-lockdown that were chronically under prepared for changes in their lives,” said Griggs, who specialises in training high-performance working dogs and aggressive dogs.

He recommended professional training for dogs that struggle in new environments, have problems being left alone, are easily scared or worried or have high energy levels, adding the earlier the better.

“An ounce of prevention is worth 10 pounds in cure,” he said.

But Griggs believes there is too much focus on dog breeds that are ‘perceived’ to be dangerous, and that he saw owner attitudes and behaviours as a far more predictable indicator of poor dog behaviour.

“The majority of dogs that I see with the most profound problems look exactly like 10 of the dogs you’ve passed on the street and thought nothing of it,” he said.

Brad Griggs, Boronia-based canine behaviour specialist, with his dog Dammit.Credit:Eddie Jim

Caulfield-based Mel Ritterman, who runs dog training business Cooper and Kids, said the problem dogs she deals with in her practice were often popular family dog breeds like golden retrievers and ‘oodle’ breeds. She said many people bought puppies from non-reputable breeders during lockdowns sight unseen who were genetically pre-dispositioned to anxiety.

“One of my biggest things recommendations is get educated ahead of time. Know what dog you’re getting by going to meet the puppy’s mum,” she said.

Wyndham City Council last year announced a four-year Domestic Animal Management which aims to tackle dog attacks in the area.

City Director Stephen Thorpe said a large portion of the dog attacks in the area occur in the street within a kilometre of a resident’s home rather than on private property or public areas like parks.

In Melbourne City Council, 30 per cent of all attacks involved a dog being off-leash in an on-leash park.

A 44 per cent surge in dog ownership in central Melbourne has pushed the council to commit to doubling the number of off-leash dog parks, with 20 per cent of that increase alone coming through 2020 and 2021 – the most intense years of lockdowns.

While reports of dog attacks have increased steadily across Melbourne in the four-year period, police charges relating to dog offences in Victoria have decreased.

Data from the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency, shows 95 dog-related crimes recorded in 2018 and 2019, compared to 69 in 2020 and 2021.

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