NSW
205 posts
The saga of dogs and kiters continues at Bagnalls Beach in Port Stephens. A kiter rolling up his mattress (VenomII) has a dog come around the kite to bite him on the leg. Luckily his reflexes remain sharp enough for him to pull the leg out of the jaws of the offending mutt before they close, no damage done. Owner of said dog apologies profusely, comments that if the kiter wasn’t there it wouldn’t have occurred. This particular mutt has an extensive history of chasing kite & kiters both out and in the water and is off lead up to 300 to 400 metres from the owner and never responds to repeated attempts of recall.
Another kiter (me) tells owner that council and rangers will be called to register the incident, owner denies that the dog bit (2 witness event). Kiter (me) indicates displeasure with words like ignorance, selfishness, and finally oxygen thief.
Later owner returns with several other doggie owners voicing their own displeasure at apparent abuse and misreporting of doggie bad behaviour. Seeing a challenge not to waste a kiter (me) asks obvious question number 1: Is it a right for dogs to use the beach or a privilege all users to enjoy? Answer it’s a DOG Beach. Question 2: Who or what forced the closure due to pollution of Bagnalls beach for the month prior to xmas? Answer household fertilizers, bird poo. Conveniently omitted answer DOG POO as the last component. One owner Eddie the expert claiming too be the oracle of Foodsafe proclaims that dog poo will not cause any problems to humans if swallowed. He was cordially invited to eat a bowl of fresh dog poo, declining claiming that kiter (me) didn’t understand. Question 3: Why not use other dog friendly beaches? Answer Bagnalls is the only dog beach in the area kiters should piss off and go some where else. Below is a council gazetted list of area’s enough said:
Tomaree
•5 Noamunga St, Boat Harbour, - Portion of reserve. Limited to the vegetated (parkland) south-eastern portion - Off lead
•166 Gan Gan Rd, Anna Bay, - Whole of reserve - Off lead
•7 Anglers Dr, Anna Bay, - Whole of the reserve - On lead
•80 Nelson Bay Road, Bobs Farm, - Portion of crown land (including Shelly Beach) to point approx. 200m south-west of Birubi Headland (Lifesaving Club) - On lead - Shelley Beach (5pm & 9am)
•80 Nelson Bay Road, Bobs Farm, from approx. 200m south-west of Birubi Headland (Lifesaving Club) to the southern extremity of the local government area - Off Lead
•49A Ocean Ave, Anna Bay, - Whole of property - On Lead
•5 Marine Dr, Fingal Bay, - Foreshore reserve only. Does not include beach - On lead
•111A Horace St, Shoal Bay, - Whole of reserve - On lead
•72 Ronald St, Shoal Bay, Crn - Whole of reserve - On lead
•102 Shoal Bay Road, Nelson Bay, - Portion of reserve known as N Carroll Park not including area immediately adjacent to amphitheatre - On lead
•112A Stockton St, Nelson Bay, - Whole of reserve known as Stockton Ponds - On lead
•150 Government Rd, Corlette, - Majority of area known as Bagnalls Beach reserve - Off lead
•70b Sandy Point Rd, Corlette, - Foreshore reserve known as Conroy Park - On lead
•160A Sandy point Rd, Corlette, - Foreshore reserve - On lead
•100A Cromarty Bay Rd, Soldiers Point, - Whole of reserve - On lead
•29 Foreshore Drive, Salamander Bay, - Foreshore reserve - On lead (between 5pm & 9am)
Please help me understand these misguided minority, 95% of dog owners do the right thing but I guess in all groups including our own we snap shot society and have our Nazis too.
Constant winds,
Baz.
WA
8896 posts
Rather than go into all of this lot simply remind them that although this is a nominated dog beach, it is a requirement of all dogs owners to control their animals at all times.
It should also be pointed out to the owners that generally any serious attack by dogs, provoked or unprovoked could end up with the dog put down.
The dog owners are also open to civil action for damages if they aren't in proper control of their animal, there have been reports of dog owners (and livestock owners) whose animals have escaped and caused car accidents being successfully sued.
Another option is to give the dog a good kick in the slats (owner is optional) and chase the beastie down the beach with your waving bar like a madman.
Alternatively take up windsurfing, dogs aren't scared of kiter's, but a windsurfer has a dirty great big mast which makes a lovely "thunk" sound when swung correctly.
Alby
WA
2119 posts
some dog owners should never allow their socially untrained animals out in public, let alone off the lead. As a responsible owner of a rottenwieller I continually had these issues, my dog would never attack or attack back and after a few trips to the vet getting my dog stitched up, Id wear my blundstones down the beach and kick repeat offenders (dogs) in the head. I wouldnt advise this but after many years of martial arts training, the dog would come off second best and angry owners wouldnt come back to my favorite spot.
beaches are for everyone and antisocial behaviour should not be tolerated. If you can, get car plates when they walk up to the carpark, but unless they draw blood on a human the cops dont seen to give a crap.
NSW
230 posts
This used to happen all the time in NZ at our local spot, the dogs would chase you, even when you were in the shallows and try to 'catch' you in their mouths. I had one huge dog bite into my thigh just before we left and his owner was watching the dog chasing me and me screaming at him to get his dog away, and still did nothing. He apologised firstly denied it 'Oh he was just playing' but then I showed him the holes in my wetsuit, and then had a go at me for making a fuss, because he said he would have to put the dog down!
It always astounds me that dog owners take biting so lightly - if I was a little kid the dog would have been at face height, and might not have felt the need to stop.
Dogs are simple creatures and I work on the principle that if one is getting vicious then I will get as vicious back as I can be, whether than means whacking it on the head or whatever. Dogs understand this logic even if their owners are to dumb too.
It is not just the owner's responsibility to control their dog in dog areas (such as the beach) but all the time. And you are not doing anything wrong by kiting at Bagnalls so if it happens again, complain to the council, because if they keep getting complaints, eventually they will have to do something about it.
WA
2184 posts
when ever my dog shows aggression (to other dogs) he gets takled, head locked draged away and pinned down until hes setteld down.
pack instinct tells him the boss is pretty f ing pissed off and he doesnt need the same treatment for a good 6 months at least.
hes never shown aggression to a person other than barking at people who are smoking but the same would happen if he went for a person but he would be punished as well
but a little story to entertain you;
last time there was wind... (if you can remember when that was.) there was a dog running up and down a non dog beach and the owner had left it there while she went for a paddle. short of it is, the dog is obsessed with chasing kites, had i come in and done the self landing thing it could very well have gone for the kite.
WA
306 posts
If there are repeat offenders, just report it to the council.
I think there is a 3 offense thing - where after the third call for something to be done about a vicious dog, the dog gets put down.
I know a guy down the local park who's dog is not the best with other dogs. He has it on a leash most of the time, esp whenever another dog/person comes close.
He has had 2 warnings so far, and if theres another, he can say bye bye to his pooch. I think this works well as a deterrent.
Just report the dog, its the owners responsibility to control their dog or teach them that chasing kites is BAD. Its not that hard to teach a dog some control - previuos posts show one way that will do the trick, but there are less aggressive .
If a kiter repeatedly did something wrong, you can bet your ass that he would be reported to the council in a flash.
I have two dogs, but have no respect for owners who dont train theirs.
In fact it peeves me to no end when i see misbehaving dogs, and the owner not trying (in a realistic way) to resolve the matter.
"Cujo, stop biting that kiters leg" is not acceptable.
unfortunately these owners dont have to pass a test to own a dog or to have kids.
I dont suggest injuring the dog, and then reporting the incident, as the owner can then say you kicked it first - if they are of the lowlife variety.
grrrrr to irresponsible dog owners!
VIC
2777 posts
Well covered " If the dog bites anyone. if you are a kiter or not it is a serious issue. " Next time it could be a child and a bite can quickly turn into something more " Report these incidents to the council every time. But please bear in mind it is not the dogs fault IT IS THE OWNER. It makes no difference if it is a dog beach or not if the animal is prone to chase or bite ( prey instinct ) it should not be allowed off the leash in a public environment. I have owned two dogs in my life the first ( cocker spaniel 15kg ) would sit on the beach whilst i surfed and wait patiently, i must admit he was 15yrs old so probably couldnt be bothered My current dog ( Akita 52kg ) does not come to the beach and is never off his lead in public, he has never bitten anyone but can be agressive to other dogs when he feels threatened for this reason he is always keept under effective controll ie: a leash. as I dont want to have an incident which could end in him being put down for somthing which is a natural instinct. Remember the issue is with the owners not the animals and if the owner does not seem to care or they are so stupid that they dont realise that they could end up having their dog destroyed bear in mind the poor animal probably is not that well cared for. The above being said keep things in perspective a dog chasing a kite or kiter whilst barking or yapping is not a danger. If it bites agressively that is a problem which the owner needs to address
NSW
25 posts
hey bazz,have you told eveyone about the tour bus operators at birubi running over our kite lines and then gettin up us for being in the way of all the foreign tourists diggin pippies.
WA
343 posts
give the dog owners a break ... at least they don't own kn cats
WA
5378 posts
if any dog bites you you gotta man the f#ck up and give it a good boot up the arse, show it who is boss otherwise it will just do it again.
WA
3464 posts
Learned a good trick from an old man.
When a doggy approaches, make believe you are picking up a rock to throw at it....and see what it does. Works for me.
