IT IS breeding season and pest animal experts say newer residents to the rural areas need to be educated about the risk wild dogs pose to domestic ones.
Seeing wild dogs is rare which is why sighting them is worrying but not unusual at this time of year.
“Breeding season is the busiest time of year for wild dogs,” Glen Alchin, a pest management expert said.
“There’s also predation on calves and smaller livestock.
“It’s the busiest time of year for interaction between wild dogs and domestics, I’m taking a lot of calls from people wanting the ferals removed.
“If you don’t, it’s inevitable there will be an issue with the dogs.”
Glen said wild dogs were known to come up to a property’s back fence and try to interact with domestic dogs.
“The bitches will come up to male dogs and breed with them, that happens especially if there are not as many wild dogs in that age group,” he said.
“In unfenced or poorly fenced properties, some residents have found their dog dead at the bottom of the stairs still chained up.
“If wild dogs come onto your property tracking your dog, they’ll attack and kill or badly injure it.”
If you’ve moved to a rural locality and enjoy an early evening walk along dirt tracks with your dog, Mr Alpin says you should be aware.
“We have an increasing number of small acreage blocks where people have a couple of dogs,” he said.
“The residents may not have experienced wild dog interaction and don’t understand it.
“If they take their dog for a walk on tracks bordering the bushland, wild dogs pick up the scent and will attack.
“The last thing you need is to walk home carrying your injured dog while fighting off wild ones.”
Glen advises residents to set up cameras to see what happened on their properties overnight.
“They’d be surprised what they see and how busy it is when it’s dark,” he said.
“They also need to report wild dog sightings because that data is what drives baiting programs.”
He said while these dogs attacked other animals, an attack on humans was rare.
However, people have been injured while fighting off a wild dog that is attacking their own.
