Wild dog encounters

[Journalism Student]

Hey guys. I'm a journalism student from Melbourne. I'm researching an article on wild dogs. I'm trying to find people who have had encounters with wild dogs where they have been attacked or felt threatened.

I have interviewed one fisherman who was chased back to his car by a pack of dogs in the Victorian high country. I would love to find another story.

Thanks,

Will

[stry]

Assuming the dogs were actually trying to catch the fisherman, said dogs were either in unbelievably bad condition, or the fisherman was some sort of mutant of Usain Bolt.

Now, followed back to the car is believable, but we are talking about journalism - right ? .

[vicrev]

Maybe,more like ..followed the fisherman back to the car ?.......

[clarence]

I've been walking and doing a huge variety of outdoors activities since 1991- regularly and in a wide variety of locations- NSW, Vic, Tas and elsewhere.

I've never seen a wild dog or dingo ever. I've seen everything else- brumbies, feral pigs, feral goats, sheep, wild cattle, a fox and even a monstrous feral cat on Mt Roland. The fisherman story sounds like an anomaly to me.

Clarence

[Journalism Student]

Wild dogs are definitely a big problem in the Victorian high country. Maybe 'chased' was the wrong word but he came across a a large pack (about 15 brindle coloured dogs) while alone in the bush near Glen Wills. When he started backing away they got up and started following him, a few were growling and looking aggressive so he became concerned. As he backtracked 800 meters to his car the dogs got closer and closer and by the end he was "packing it" and running, by which time the dogs had separated into two groups and were about 10 meters either side of him. I dont necessarily think the dogs were about to set upon him but I dont think they were just curious to see what he was doing either. In my opinion it isn't outside the realms of possibility that they could attack a lone person in the bush, particularly if that person was injured.
Some farmers that I have spoken to have lost hundreds of sheep over the last two years to wild dogs who sometimes literally tear sheep apart and do not even feed on them. I have seen some of the dogs these farmers have shot. Some of them are quite large.
I'm not trying to sensationalize or write fairy tales, I'm just interested in this topic and looking for people who have had encounters with them.
Cheers

[north-north-west]

I've seen a few, both individuals and small packs - largest was six adults and two pups. Never been threatened, though. They usually bolt for the bushes as soon as they see me.
Wish people did the same . . .

[jdeks]

It's maybe a bit far back, but in 2011 I was cornered and pursued by a pack in the Alpine National Park.

I was doing a solo hike and it was around mid winter. Five of them bailed me up after I crossed a river, herded me to where another was waiting to get behind me. I broke a stick over its snout when it took a run at me and got to higher ground, but they tailed me for about 10 km, up out of the valley and well up past the snowline. Different breeds, some looked like dingo-hybrids, others clearly escaped domestic/hunting dogs. Definitely working as a group - very quiet and well organized, no barking or territorial-defense type behavior. Fairly sure they thought I was an easy meal. I spent the night in a hut and they were gone the next morning. Lots of tracks everywhere.

Locals at Omeo were very interested at the time. Lots of stories from other landowners. Even had an ex-DPI culler call me, we had a chat about how he'd been out of job since they switched to baiting and how 'effective' that had been. Response from Parks when I told them was quite perfunctory. Wrote an email outlining the incident, heard nothing more. Met a pair of skiers about a week later who said a dog followed them near the resort.

They're absolutely up there.

Lemme know if you need more detail on location etc.

[Journalism Student]

Thanks Jdeks. That's exactly the kind of experience I'm looking for. I'm going to PM ya.
Cheers.

[madmacca]

Had one encounter in the Upper Barkly River. I didn't see the dog, as it was very thick bush, but I heard low and consistent growling from about 5-10 metres away.

I decided he didn't like the fact that I was in "his" territory, so I just kept walking. Problem solved.

But like NNW, the dogs I HAVE seen, have just bolted as soon as they saw me. (Lone dogs - I have never seen a pack).

It's one of the reasons I carry walking poles - to a dog, they look bigger and nastier, even if technically they are less lethal than a knife. It's a lot easier to persuade a dog that it's easier to find a meal elsewhere, than it is to kill one.

[jdeks]

For what it's worth, I broke a hiking pole over one's snout and it barely looked bothered.

I was going to pick up another stick but it felt too big and cumbersome to actually connect if one had a go. They were agile things. I dropped it for my Didn't need it, but the did seem more cautious when I had it in my hand. Some of them may have been ex-hunting dogs and thus wary of human shapes carrying 'short sticks'. Maybe I was imagining things.

That's not to say sticks wouldn't help, but I found the biggest thing that backed them off was standng facing them and making false charges. They were notably more aggressive if I went to turn.

It's one of the reasons I carry walking poles - to a dog, they look bigger and nastier, even if technically they are less lethal than a knife. It's a lot easier to persuade a dog that it's easier to find a meal elsewhere, than it is to kill one.

[walkon]

In a deer hunting mag I was shown a while back there was an account of a shooter having some dogs stalk and ambush him. Shot off the hip for the first dog it was that close from memory and got two more by the end. Will get in touch with brother inlaw for the mag article for you. Might want to find a hunting forum as well. Brother inlaw was backed up to a tree by some dogs on one occasion out from Mansfield.

[Journalism Student]

Thanks a lot guys.
Good idea with the hunting forum.
Jdeks, I tried sending you a PM earlier today, I dont think it worked. I'll try again now but if you dont get one could you please send one to me?

[jdeks]

Hey mate - PM received, replied.

[Oncall]

Last week Howqua Valley not far from Ritchies hut. Dingo (looking) dogs x3 down by the river. When we made some noise they fled. Always a bit weary though if I see or hear them and the kids are with me. Seen a few up that way over the years.

[walkabout]

Not quite encounters while bushwalking, but - the area where I live had problems for a few months end of last year and early this year with about 5 dogs that subsequently produced pups. If approached they would run off. Over time the locals managed to trap or shoot them. About a month ago I saw a sign by parks and wildlife on the way to Mt Claude warning of stray/feral (can't remember the term) dogs.

[sambar358]

Alpine dingo, wild dog, domestic dog gone wild, domestic dog out on a rampage.....lots of possibilities. As some would know....I'm a deer hunter and have been for 40+ years and each year I spend 50+ days during the cooler weather in the mountains hunting sambar deer. In that time I've seen quite a lot of alpine dingoes and feral dogs and have never had an issue with any in regards to my safety and the usual view is a "south end heading north" as they tend to be quite timid once you're ID'd. A few encounters I've had where the dogs have stood their ground have been when I've come across them on a fresh kill.....wombat, emu, wallaby, deer etc.....and then they'll hang-about a bit being reluctant to leave the kill but I've never had any even in these situations threaten me to an extent where I'd need to bring the rifle into the situation to protect myself.

However I had heard of several reliable reports where experienced individuals were followed by several wild dogs that seemed pretty keen on them to some degree....now whether that was just curiousity or something more sinister....who knows ? But in these instances the individuals were able to scare-off the dogs with a bit of yelling and some rock throwing.....but these were adults and the situation could have been different had it been a child....maybe. There is no doubt that the wild dog numbers are building despite the resources being used to attempt to reduce their numbers but these efforts are largely concentrated around rural areas where dogs are decimating sheep and cattle rather than in remote areas in the mountains where they prey on a wider range of critters and are seldom encountered. "Wild dogs" come in all shapes and sizes from the pure yellow/white or black/tan alpine dogs to low-country crosses with plenty of domestic dog in their genes and often the dogs giving farmland stock a hard time will be feral dogs rather than the true dingo.....but a paddock full of dead sheep is still the same regardless of the genetic make-up of the perps.

For me.....I have no concerns about wild dogs threatening my well-being while I'm in the bush....but then again I'm usually carrying something with a bit more punch than a hiking pole ! Cheers

s358

Pic : a large wild dog in good condition shot in foothill country where heavy stock losses due to dogs had been occuring.......the bloke is 6ft tall.

[Gadgetgeek]

We had a bull on the farm that used to follow closely, some felt he might have been chasing them, he might have just been trying to keep up. its a tough matter of perspective.

As for personal experience with wild dogs, I've only had a few with fraiser dingos. only one of which made us at all nervous, but mostly because the dog got closer and was more focused on us than is normal. Of course two toddlers might have been a factor there, and even though the kids were in a 4x4 the dog seemed pretty smart. Most concerning was that it seemed to be trying to use the various parked vehicles to hid itself from at least some of the people, so it was hard to keep track of where it was.

I can't speak to any agricultural aspects rather than to say farmers and fishers have a lot in common.

[jeremy089786]

My experiences of dogs and dingos

Fraser island - during the night whilst cooking, one stole my empty backpack and ran off (all the food was in the dingo boxes). I had to chase it down and after it had dropped it, it retreated the minimum distance possible and stood staring angrily at me. After getting back to camp they regrouped and harassed us for about an hour There were 4 of us, so I wasn't scared... exciting stuff though.

Kosciusko - saw a lone dog while hiking in the night, it scampered off.

Blue mountains - Personally I have only ever heard them at night. A friend was mountain bike riding and one jumped out and started snarling at him, but then when the others came down the track it took off.

[puredingo]

I was walking off track somewhere above the shoal haven river when a light aircraft flew over. The hum of the engine set the Dog population off in a raucous chorus of howles and being stuck I thick lantana made me feel somewhat...nervous...

The amazing thing was just how close these dogs were but I wouldn't of ever known had they not all vocalised at once.

[puredingo]

Samba 358....what's your take on a 44/40 for deer (off topic I know but I'm a rebel)

[sambar358]

Puredingo.....yep I've heard wild dogs fire-up when a plane goes over a few times....even a high passenger jet seems to get them cranking. Also had the same happen with a chainsaw when cutting a log off a track....quite common and others have mentioned the same to me. You can also get them going but having a crack at a long mournful howl and if there are any about and your howl is close to the mark they'll usually respond and often other dogs will respond as well. Plenty out there....but usually they're not seen and only occasionally heard.

Probably not appropriate to discuss your 44/40 question on here.....but PM me if you like. Cheers

s358

[skibug]

There was an article in the smh Good Weekend magazine about feral dogs killing stock from farms on the western side of the Snowies, and being so aggressive that farmers felt threatened and unwilling to dismount from horseback. The story was probably 10 to 15 years ago, but would turn up with a thorough search.

Skibug.

[ErichFromm]

Not sure if it's only feral dogs we need to worry about:

http://mobile.news.com.au/technology/science/victorian-farmhand-becomes-internet-hit-after-posting-video-of-bizarre-koala-chase/story-fnjwkt0b-1227486856452

[Travis22]

Haha, you seen this new tv series 'Zoo' Erich?

Travis.

[ErichFromm]

Hey Travis!

I downloaded the first episode but couldn't keep watching...made me laugh a bit though

[Travis22]

lol! Its a bit like that isnt it!

With nothing else really on atm ive persisted with it, just.

Travis.

[north-north-west]

I've been watching just to pick holes in the 'science'. My favourite so far is the bats in the Antarctic.

[jobell]

I had a run in with what I presumed was a wild dog at the end of 2012 when I was paddling on the Murray River. I was in South Australia, camped on a patch of grass beside the river, woke in the night to a dog growling. My split spare paddle wasn't close to me - usually I would keep that or if walking my walking poles close - but that night it was still on the kayak. The kayak had food secured in its compartments and I can only think it could smell the food. Anyway, I had no idea what to do and I froze. In the end it was likely the best approach as the beast couldn't see me but could only see the outline of the larger tent, whereas if I had emerged I would have created a smaller target for it. It went away eventually. Left me very nervous. I was on my own. Spent the next three nights in caravan parks or people's houses along the river .... :0)

[robl]

Some years ago I was a days walk from anywhere to the west of Brinkley Bluff and I saw 50m in front of me 2 dingos.
We saw each other about the same time and we stood still. Then one of the dingos circled me at a distance of 50m until it
had completed a semicircle and was directly behind me. I was feeling quite nervous. I think the dingo then caught my scent.
(I was walking into a breeze.) They both then disappeared very quickly.

In the above area they could be heard howling at night.

A few of us saw one on the beach at Lake Nadgee but it disappeared quickly when it saw us.

[MartyGwynne]

I've mostly seen them in east Gippsland and nadgee areas, last one was two years ago at the Merica river inlet on the other side of the inlet.
Time before that was about 4.5 years ago at wingan inlet camp area. There were two hanging around where one was singling out a young female camper who was walking back to her camp by herself, it had made her deviate away from where she was heading, we walked over to her which scared the dingo type dog away. The young lady looked a little unnerved by it to us.
I have also had a young dingo looking dog happily follow us for about 5km back to the Merica river car park. It was a bit too friendly.
Also about 15 years ago we had two M&F come up to us at Newtons Beach while cooking dinner, the male came up a sniffed my leg, it was also a dingo ish dog and quite broad across the head. They were friendly enough but we were a group of 5.