Wild dogs?

[puredingo]

Anybody encountered any wild/feral dogs on any of their walks? I'd assume up around Q'land and beyond Dingo sightings would be fairly regular in certain terrain but I hear Southern NSW has had a population rise of packs of lost domesticated hunting dogs...Be pretty tense situation coming across a pack by suprise I'd imagine, especialy since they have a tendancy to follow something that's piqued their interest.

[recurveron]

There seems to be alot more encounters , especially reading some of the hunting and fishing forums. Quite frightning how brazen the are becomming when in packs.

[Pteropus]

The one time I saw a wild dog in the bush in NSW was near Penrith at a place I think is called The Rock Lookout. That was many years ago. The dog was a female and was lying on the track when we came around a corner. It took off very quickly. I recall that several years ago a researcher at the Uni of Western Sydney was conducting a study on wild dogs/dingoes in and around the Blue Mountains. So they are definitely around.

I have also seen wild dogs in Qld. Like many animals, dogs take off before you know they are there. Only on Fraser Island I have I seen them ignore people or observe people without running off. Obviously it pays to be cautious around wild animals but I don't think any adults have been attacked (but children certainly have).

Wild dog print in the scrub, Qld

In western Queensland you will hear the dogs howl at night more often than see them. I have heard them a number of times, and once I was walking up a dry creek bed with some people and we heard them howling just up ahead. When we rounded the corner we saw the frest paw prints of at least three dogs in the creek. That was pretty eerie. The photo above wasn't from that particular incident but if you look hard enough there are dog tracks all over western Qld. Inside and outside the dog fence. But you will rarely see the dogs themselves.

Dry as a dead dingo's ...

In western Qld there are bounties for wild dog/dingo scalps and so people actively trap and shoot them too. For some reason, that no one has been able to reasonably explain to me, the dog carcasses are hung up for all to see. This photo was taken outside the dog fence, on the side of the road up near Augathella.

[corvus]

We had a wild dog situation in the Mersey Valley area in Tasmania which was dealt with in an appropriate way without the need of "big game hunters" displaying their "trophies" in such a way that may offend .
corvus

[WarrenH]

I hear Southern NSW has had a population rise of packs of lost domesticated hunting dogs...Be pretty tense situation coming across a pack by suprise I'd imagine, especialy since they have a tendancy to follow something that's piqued their interest.

A Wild Dog is a Dingo? Feral dogs are the other dogs in the bush.

"Lost domestic hunting dogs?" Don't you mean dogs purchased from the RSPCA or other pounds and taken specifically into the mountains for hunting pigs and then they're left abandoned in places like the Brindies and the forests of the Tumut region? I'm guessing that's what you meant.

A while back, I was at Styles Creek (where the track crosses the creek) in the Northern Budawangs. I was down on all fours drinking from the creek and 4 feral dogs came through the undergrowth to stand opposite me on the creek, about 3-4 metres away. I don't even think that they expected to see me. I stood up quickly and they cleared-out pronto. I've not been wary of dogs since then when i saw that small pack scatter ... but now filter every drop of water. Most of the fear mongering about feral dogs ... is just that.

"The Deen-go took my boy-boy!" - I stole that quote from a movie. It started the classic Dingo blame game.

To quote another classic movie, As dry as a dead Dingo's donga ... in Kanangra-Boyd.



I've not heard of anyone being attacked by a Wild Dog or a feral dog despite the above signage ... apart from Merril Streep's "boy-boy."

If you're up for it? ... check this out, photo #6. Obviously someone knew the route that was going to be taken and planted this most colorful feature. ... http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthr ... -some-pics

I found this silly possum trapped in a jaw trap set for feral dogs in Namadgi. I'm guessing that this possum doesn't count?




Warren.

[Pteropus]

Hi Warren, did the possum survive? Those traps are illegal...

I am not sure how official this is but as far as the terms “wild dog” and “dingo” go, wild dog generally refers to feral dogs, or the off spring of domestic dogs and dingos, while dingo generally refers to the “pure” yellow dog of Australia. So I generally differentiate the two, but I guess it’s semantics and open to interpretation. I suppose we can’t prove a yellow dog is a pure dingo without genetic testing....and farmers and land managers wouldn’t care either way.

There is evidence that dingos/wild dogs keep cat and fox numbers under control and because the dogs only eat bigger prey animals such as cats, foxes, wallabies, roos, sheep...calves...consequently the smaller native prey get a reprieve from predation by cats and foxes. There is much debate whether dingos should be considered native or not. They have been here for at least 8000 or so years (I am not sure on the current estimates) and took over the ecological niche of the Thylacine on the mainland. The problem with wild dogs v dingos is that wild dogs can have two litters per year, compared to the dingo's one, and so can easily out breed dingos. And yes, there are major problems with people releasing dogs or losing dogs in rural areas and so the population of feral or wild dogs is always replenished.

[PiniPowPow]

There are quite a few in Kosci NP. They are generally lighter in colour than northern dingos and appear to be a mix of dingo and feral. This farmer is particularly good at knocking them off.





bit of info here http://www.australianalps.environment.g ... -dogs.html

I have also seen a few around Forster in the Myall Lakes NP.

[Pteropus]

After having a look at your fact sheet PiniPowPow, I stand corrected on the "wild dog" v "dingo" definition. Wild dog refers to them all.

[phan_TOM]

I've seen a few,

I personally think they are often wrongly maligned and beautiful creatures and your right warren there's wild dogs/dingoes and then there is feral dogs... I know which I'd prefer to run into if I was out walking.

Me and my partner were walking on the drained bed of lake Arragan the weekend before last and saw one trot out from the lakeside camp sites. Probably doing the rounds for food scraps left by campers. It didn't seem too fazed by our presence apart from being a bit wary, it actually lay down on the sand and watched us for a while until we got too close and then it would walk/trot off a short distance then stop and watch us until we got too close etc etc. At one stage we were about 20m from it which felt close enough... It wasn't a classic 'red' dingo but it had the same shape and size with marking more like a german shephard, initially we agreed that it looked like one of those african wild dogs. Interestingly, along with its footprints which we followed back up the beach later, we found the prints of more dogs including a much larger animal and also tiny prints left by a pup.

A few years ago we lived on a large property (~100 acres) surrounded by mountains and nat park and periodically throughout the year a pack of wild dogs could be heard roaming the ridgelines and sometimes valleys. I never heard them bark but we would occasionally hear low keening noises and there would be frequent howling sessions between dusk and dawn, its an incredibly sad & eerie sound, we could make out at least 6 individuals at times at varying distances and directions, I guess coordinating the hunt? One howled in the bush not far from our bedroom window one night and we both found ourselves sitting bolt upright and wide awake, hair a tingling

I only saw one once and it was a classic looking red dingo with the white chest etc, it ran through the lower paddock in front of the house (when I get home I'll add the one crappy pic that I managed to get) looking a bit lost. Funnily enough when they would howl any people present would exchange significant glances but our two dogs wouldn't even acknowledge the sound, it was very strange, you think they would be alarmed or at least something?

Research suggests that pure dingoes are becoming increasingly rare as they interbreed with feral domestic dogs, a guy I know down the road has been supplying university researchers with DNA samples for their testing. He traps the dogs up in the forest, shoots them and then sends of a small section of the animals' ear (and I think the tip of the tail) to the lab for analysis. I don't know how many others are doing it but he reckons that he's sent off more than 60 samples.

[michael_p]

Interesting and scary read about an attack that occurred in Namadgi NP: http://the-riotact.com/a-dingo-ate-my-telescope/35164.

[phan_TOM]

Interesting and scary read about an attack that occurred in Namadgi NP: http://the-riotact.com/a-dingo-ate-my-telescope/35164.

I like this quote from that story, "Then another of the dogs, a little terrier type thing that honestly looked harmless until it bit me..."

Mmmm terrifying, I wonder if its co-accused were a poo... and a toy poodle No, thats not a story you would tell people, should have said it was a pack of Rottweilers, ridgbacks & german shepherds!

[puredingo]

G'day Warren, I did know what I meant when i refered to "wild dogs" My take on the naming has always been the term wild dog is an Austaralian traditional/ colloqual way of describing the Dingo but the more scientific and correct name is the Australian native dog although it's still open to debate whether the time it's spent on this continent actually qualifies it as native. As far as those domesticated dogs go, yes they are ferals and once spent enough time out in the wilderness and more so are crossed with dingo's, well, I consider them wild dogs also.

Personally I wouldn't be so concerend about them attacking me but hanging around the camp looking for food while i was trying to sleep....I wouldn't put it past them to drag a misplaced pack off into the night if it was full of goodies.

[WarrenH]

PiniPowPow, did you take that shot near Ravine a while back? I think that I might have seen those dogs strung up. If they are the same dogs, there was 21 dogs strung up at Ravine.

Above I wrote that no one has been killed by Dingos, I'll correct that.

There was a child mauled/killed on Fraser Island who was feeding the Dingos then withdrew the food and the dogs then attacked him. Subsequently 80 Dingos were then shot on the island. In two hundred years I think that that is the only death(?)caused by these short haired wolves. A term used by a Qld. Park Ranger to describe the Dingos on Fraser.

I've posted this shot before, an Australian Alpine Dingo. I was leaning against a tree having something to eat and this dog stumbled upon me, it must have smelt the food. I don't know who got the biggest surprise.



Concerning the possum. The jaws set for the feral dogs don't close fully, to protect the smaller animals. When I notified the dog trapper, who was working in Namadgi NP about the possum, when he released the possum it ran straight up a tree and appeared to be OK ... http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page ... 86873&v=B9

Warren.

[puredingo]

That is an exellent photograph, Warren and a truely beautiful animal. You did well to get that pic in with the limited time these fellas allow people to be close by...I would of probably froze in total awe until it slid away.

[DaveM]

A few years back we heard (and saw across valleys/gullies) several packs of dingoes in the Scotts Main Range & Colong Creek areas. Never gave us any probs I was actually pleased to know they were about.

[Explorer_Sam]

I've never came across Wild Dogs in all my time exploring. I've seen a couple of foxes but that's about it. We woke up one morning on the Beeripmo walk and there was a Pig Dog staring at us, illegal in Australia I believe, but we realised it had owners. They all hopped in the ute, put the dog in the back and scrammed! It was still scary for me as I was only 12!

[PiniPowPow]

Hey Warren, just noticed your question. Photos were taken on Nimmo Road. I was heading out to the Snowy Plains to walk to Daveys Hut.

[WarrenH]

Pini, thank you for your reply Mate.

Warren.

[puredingo]

Funny this topic has been bumped up because I came here to do just that.

Early Saturday morning I stumbled across what lookde like a Dingo x domestic dog..actually it looked ike an African wild dog. It emerged on a track i was walking about 40 mtrs ahead of me, I froze, he froze we sussed each other out and voom...he slid of into the scrub without a sound.

Oh, this was about halfway down the Wollondilly river.

[TerraMer]

Dingos are wonderful! Wish people would stop killing them. They're actually beneficial for maintaining a healthy balanced ecosystem when humans aren't interfering/interacting.
Feral dogs, get them out of the national parks. Forget about herbivore ferals, get the dogs out and some native species might get off the threatened species list.
I have spotted dingos in Namadgi NP and Kosciuszko NP, I have also spotted and been followed by feral dogs in the same parks.

[Rob A]

Fear and superstition?
More likely to have a problem at the wrong time of the year with a stag bred from bust deer farm releases, but everyone keeps quiet about that.
Never had a problem with a dog.
Parks also have eradication programs.

[Kinsayder]

I recall some prints in the snow about nine years ago around the Bogong High Plains, I'd long put it down to a fox but maybe it was an Alpine Dingo or feral. Now I'm not sure.

I think if I came across a pack of feral dogs, especially those with a lineage back to those that are used for hunting, I'd be pretty concerned. I really don't know what I'd do. I think I could take care of one in an attack (if it came to that) no worries, maybe two but three or more would see me done for in a fair fight. Maybe with a large knife and some high ground I'd survive. Who knows? It's not really what I'd like to be thinking of on a hike but I'm going to hope that they keep to lower altitudes.

[Strider]

We woke up one morning on the Beeripmo walk and there was a Pig Dog staring at us, illegal in Australia I believe

Illegal to own a pig dog? Or illegal to use dogs to hunt pigs? WT *$&#.

[sailfish]

I recall some prints in the snow about nine years ago around the Bogong High Plains, I'd long put it down to a fox but maybe it was an Alpine Dingo or feral. Now I'm not sure.

Fox has a triangular heel pad, often leaves a distinctive lingering smell too.

Ken

[highlander chris]

Funny this topic has been bumped up because I came here to do just that.

Early Saturday morning I stumbled across what lookde like a Dingo x domestic dog..actually it looked ike an African wild dog. It emerged on a track i was walking about 40 mtrs ahead of me, I froze, he froze we sussed each other out and voom...he slid of into the scrub without a sound.

Oh, this was about halfway down the Wollondilly river.

About 6 months ago i encountered a pack of 5 "wild dogs" (Dingo X Domestic) on the Nattai River at the base of Belloon Pass, I was by myself and they seemed too interested in my presence for my liking. I don't believe they were a threat, but they did not seem the least bit hesitant or cautious, all standing about 15 metres away looking at me for about 10 seconds until I reached for my camera. They just slowly turned away and disapeared into the dence scrub.

I was amazed at how stealthy five dogs could be through thick bush, you could have heared a pin drop. i have heard them howling out there before but never been that close.

[puredingo]

I'd believe that, Chris. On the stretch between the bottom off Belloon pass and the Wollondilly river I seen plenty of dog prints crossing back and forth the access road...Not suprising really considering the proximity to surrounding suburbs, as you seen they cover the ground like ghosts.

[juxtaposer]

A researcher from one of the Sydney universities has been studying the dingoes in the Wollondilly/Burragorang area for several years. Some are sandy coloured, some black and some mottled, but all are regarded as colour variations of pure dingo.

[highlander chris]

A researcher from one of the Sydney universities has been studying the dingoes in the Wollondilly/Burragorang area for several years. Some are sandy coloured, some black and some mottled, but all are regarded as colour variations of pure dingo.

That has just answered a question that has been plaguing me since that time, they were all varying colours and one was mottled with large spots / patches, ( I thought this was due to possible x breed with domestic dogs) but happy to hear they are considered to be pure dingo.

[anotherwalker]

I've seen some pretty big dog foot prints at Cox's River (Blue Mountains NSW) last summer.

The scary thing was they were only about 100 meters from where I had been camping a couple of days before.

But I haven't seen any wild dogs only their footprints.

[curwalker]

Was there any indication towards the state the ground was in when the dog made the print? Pawprints left in mud can be much larger than the actual paw.

And I have been hearing for years about this ... well... "wild dog histeria." Sorry I really cannot say it any different; at least from what makes it to Europe it left me wondering why there are any pastoralists left if so many already got ruined and overrun.

Also, was there actually any proof whatsoever that wild dogs have ever bred twice per year in the bush?
Pup-rearing is time and energy consuming and I think if the environment allowed to litters per year on average dingoes would have evolved in that direction a long time ago. Up here wild boars started to have two per year after only a few years in the outskirts of our capital and many birds are breeding three tims per year now. So I think dingoes would have adapted to such good conditions pretty quickly, especially if they got some genes from other dog lines.