Wild Dog Attack - Cox River

[dradb]

On Sunday my 14 year old son was attacked by a pack of about a dozen wild dogs, about 200m downstream of the Cox River campground. Fortunately, he had the quick thinking to jump into the river and wade across. One dog started to follow him but turned and rejoined the pack on the bank.

On Saturday, the 850 runners of the Cox River marathon were at risk. Several people had camped at the river's edge, easily accessible to the dogs.

I have written to all the relevant government bodies and have been assured action is being taken. About 100 wild dogs have already been killed in this area, including a single pack of 15 dogs.

Firstly, please be warned and take care.

Secondly, does anyone have any advice on what to do, if a river isn't nearby? What does one do when surrounded by a dozen large, muscular, ferocious, hungry carnivores?

[Baeng72]

If you can light a fire, that's about all I got.
If it's one dog, and you have a long stick, use it to keep it at bay, and jab it, don't try to hit it or overcommit...probably won't work as dogs are faster.
If a wild dog pack is attacking, it's because of humans. Not your son, but people providing an easy meal for wild dogs teaches them that humans = food.
Such a shame a 100 had to die for a pack of a dozen.

[Camminata]

Carry a bag of Schmackos......

On a serious note that would of been terrifying glad your boy wasn't seriously hurt.

[Xplora]

No point running. I would go on the attack if I had no other option. Get aggressive back and make yourself big and noisy. When I had a dog set on me (German Shepherd) once I remembered something my father told me to do. I actually offered my hand and it bit but then I grabbed the lower jaw hard and twisted it. Dogs can't bite down hard if you have hold of the lower jaw. It yelped and I could have kept twisting to break the jaw but when I let go it didn't touch me again. I did end up with one tooth penetrating a finger though. Obviously it would be different with a pack but being aggressive might bluff them. Running just tells the pack you are easy prey and you would have your back to the dogs which makes for an easy take down.

[Warin]

Such a shame a 100 had to die for a pack of a dozen.

You want to take them all home?


They are feral .. thus should all be eliminated. No shame here.

[johnrs]

HI Baeng
Years ago I got bailed up by a dogpack in the middle Kowmung.
All on my own, very scary, about a dozen cross breeds of all shapes and sizes, I could see german shepherd, collie, ridgeback and perhaps some dingo.
And friends in the lower blue mountains have had similar experiences with packs at suburb/bushland interface.
They. had children
So really nothing to do with pure dingos but rather a really dangerous blend of one time domestic breeds.

Not really something for preservation
best wishes
John Smart

[Xplora]

I have never had issue with pure dingo and come across them in the bush at various times. Mostly not in packs though but dingoes do in the Alpine areas do not seem to be with more than one or two other. We have some crossbred feral things which have obviously come from the local farm stock. Things are different where dingoes are in contact with humans often and humans provide food. Don't feed native wildlife or any other for that matter.

[north-north-west]

One dog can be handled - ears, eyes, throat, nose, are all very sensitive and a dog can only grab one arm at a time which gives you a free hand with which to counter attack. A pack is tricky. Water that's too deep for them to stand works, as dradb's son learnt. If you can cliimb something they can't, do so. Trees are good, as are steep boulder fields - the later have the advantage of providing missiles to discourage the buggers. Running is the worst thing to do.

Beyond that, I tend to agree with Xplora: agressive posture and behaviour and vocalisation can be a big help.

[Baeng72]

HI Baeng
Years ago I got bailed up by a dogpack in the middle Kowmung.
All on my own, very scary, about a dozen cross breeds of all shapes and sizes, I could see german shepherd, collie, ridgeback and perhaps some dingo.
And friends in the lower blue mountains have had similar experiences with packs at suburb/bushland interface.
They. had children
So really nothing to do with pure dingos but rather a really dangerous blend of one time domestic breeds.

Not really something for preservation
best wishes
John Smart

Feral dogs are the fault of people, and yes, they probably aren't something we want to preserve.
It seems a shame to me that the dogs are where they are, and through no fault, have to be destroyed.
I guess if one pack is endangering people, they all are, so destroy them all and castrate people who dump dogs in the bush.
Anyway, just an opinion.

[dradb]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and support.

I had one guy suggest that dog food should be carried. Throwing food to a pack will distract it, even though feeding wild dogs is the worst thing that one should usually be doing.

[Xplora]

Duplicate post deleted

[Xplora]

Years ago a postie told me he carried a spray bottle with ammonia in it just for dogs. Now I am not advocating this but he would spray the dog on its nose and the dog went down to the ground and rolled trying to get the smell off. No permanent harm apparently. I wonder if there is something more convenient in an aerosol can that does the same. The yanks have bear spray but capsicum spray is illegal in Aus for anyone other than law enforcement.

[skibug]

Except for the pure Dingoes, the dogs are feral animals, just like feral cats, camels, horses, rats, buffalo, carp, cane toads etc. They don't belong in the Australian eco-system, and eradication is the best solution for the environment, and as a bonus, for human safety. How many wallabies/roos/possums/wombats/goannas etc does a pack of twelve largish dogs kill per week? I have no problem having each shot humanely to save hundreds of native animals. Should a human actually be killed by feral dogs, which is seeming more and more likely, watch the politicians pile on to have them culled.

Skibug

[Baeng72]

Except for the pure Dingoes, the dogs are feral animals, just like feral cats, camels, horses, rats, buffalo, carp, cane toads etc. They don't belong in the Australian eco-system, and eradication is the best solution for the environment, and as a bonus, for human safety. How many wallabies/roos/possums/wombats/goannas etc does a pack of twelve largish dogs kill per week? I have no problem having each shot humanely to save hundreds of native animals. Should a human actually be killed by feral dogs, which is seeming more and more likely, watch the politicians pile on to have them culled.

Skibug

But why are they there?
To me, it's why we are in the 6th mass extinction, and why we are well over 400ppm CO2.
We treat the world as our infinite playground and rubbish bin.
It's not infinite.
We just dump our *&%$#!, release our animals, trash our environment.....
I'm becoming more objectionable than normal.
Apologies. I'll take a break for a while.
Cheers.

[stry]

Attacked ?

What were the boys injuries ? Did he break free of the 12 attackers to get to the river ? Good effort if he did.

Or was he simply threatened/intimidated. ?

Either way using the river was sensible, although there is documented evidence of wild dogs in Aus. pursuing prey into water deep enough that the dogs had to swim, and ultimately killing the prey.

If no deep river right there, Explora's advice is the way to go, and has worked for me both in the bush and domestically. Predators like an easy beat and don't want to risk injury.

[Hoojar]

I have seen wild dogs in the Nattai on quite a few occassions over the years. But I have never seen more than one at a time. Once on my way over towards Yerranderrie I saw what still reminds me of a Dingo. Crazy to think of one being 'so close' to Sydney. I've never had issues with these dogs, and they have always kept their distance.

Once I was camped near Blue Waterholes and there were two packs of wild dogs yelping and barking all night. I did not sleep a wink, as I was convinced the two packs were going to converge and fight right on top of my tent. As it turns out, this did not happen, and despite all of the noise, I did not see any of them.

My scariest encounter was in Namadgi, near Cotter Hut. A friend and I were camped, sitting around the fire. I caught sight of a dog slinking up behind my friend as he sat at the fire. That classic 'stalking' stance, moving into a crouch ready to attack. I grabbed a big log from the fire and waved it around yelling, as I rushed the dog. It did not come back, and we did not sleep very well!

[rcaffin]

Except for the pure Dingoes, the dogs are feral animals, just like feral cats, camels, horses, rats, buffalo, carp, cane toads etc. They don't belong in the Australian eco-system, and eradication is the best solution for the environment, and as a bonus, for human safety. How many wallabies/roos/possums/wombats/goannas etc does a pack of twelve largish dogs kill per week? I have no problem having each shot humanely to save hundreds of native animals. Should a human actually be killed by feral dogs, which is seeming more and more likely, watch the politicians pile on to have them culled.

+1
Just like cane toads.

Roger

[johnw]

Except for the pure Dingoes, the dogs are feral animals, just like feral cats, camels, horses, rats, buffalo, carp, cane toads etc. They don't belong in the Australian eco-system, and eradication is the best solution for the environment, and as a bonus, for human safety. How many wallabies/roos/possums/wombats/goannas etc does a pack of twelve largish dogs kill per week? I have no problem having each shot humanely to save hundreds of native animals. Should a human actually be killed by feral dogs, which is seeming more and more likely, watch the politicians pile on to have them culled.

+1
Just like cane toads.

Roger

+2
Like all feral pests they need to be humanely eradicated. Unfortunately these can be far more dangerous than most.
Personally I've only ever encountered single animals that seemed unafraid, although not aggressive. Seems we need to be more vigilant now.

[rcaffin]

My wife and I were camped at Annie Rowan Ck (Wolgan) one time. Parks has tried to remove all the feral cattle from the river, but they were only partially successful.

So there we were, sitting by our tent, when a young feral bull turned up. We ignored him for a bit, until he started bellowing, pawing the ground, putting his head down and making aggressive moves. Well, can't have that, can I?

So I grabbed a stout stick (50 mm?) and charged the bull. After all, I am a top predator, and he ain't. That worried him bit, so I started in with the psych warfare, yelling 'Scotch Fillet' very loudly as I charged. He turned tail and ran. He did not return.

When I got back to our tent, my wife was still on her back, laughing her head off. So much for machismo?

Cheers
Roger

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

When I got back to our tent, my wife was still on her back, laughing her head off. So much for machismo?

Not sure why your wife was laughing when clearly your strategy was a great success.

I've not had issues with dogs or cattle, but once I had a group of about 20 pigs come to where I was camping in Namadgi. In the past I've often seen one or two pigs, and they've always been pretty skittish. Not this time. They stood their ground. Noise and sudden movements on my part didn't phase them. It turned into a staring contest, and after what seemed an inordinately long time they seemed to lose interest and ambled off. I thought it wise to copy the Americans and hang my food and rubbish bags in a tree well away from my tent. Have wondered ever since whether I should carry something a little bigger than my 22g Swiss Army knife for peace of mind.

[rcaffin]

I think she was laughing at the 'Scotch Fillet' bit.

Cheers
Roger

[jai2000]

We found two untagged young bulls down on the junction between cox and Jenolan rivers 2 weekends ago…. Occupying the best campsite there. We tried to suggest they move on and leave us be… no luck they made it very clear us that was their patch.

Wondering how they are doing now the river is in flood.

[puredingo]

JohnnoMcjohnno….carry a blue/red healer and you won’t have an issue with any pesky ferals again.

Jai2000 I was recently on the Wollondilly and there is scrub cattle as far as the eye can see. Never seen such numbers occupying nearly all the flats and strips between. I walked head long into a solo bull grazing, he looked at me and I him…he moved off across the raging river, turning giant river stones under his hooves as though it was gravel and the flowing torrents didn’t budge his course at all. Moved like an ocean liner. Amazingly strong animals.

[rcaffin]

Cows, horses, pigs and goats - by the hundreds. Yes, personal first hand observation.

A lot of this is Water Board territory. There roads which can be used. It would not be difficult for a few men to collect some animals into a cattle truck and ship them off to a country abattoir, with no questions asked. That could be quite profitable, and very hard to detect or police.

Not that I am accusing anyone of course. Just an observation. A bit like the fishing lodge at the Coxs/Kanangra junction - sorry, the maintenance workers hut. Showers and all. You just have to know the right people, to get the keys.

Cheers
Roger