Whanganui dog report reveals one big change in behaviour

There are 8022 dogs registered in the Whanganui District. Photo / 123RF

Reports of wandering dogs in Whanganui have nearly halved since 2019.

In the year to June 30, there were 561 reports of wandering dogs, down from 698 the previous year and almost half the 1186 there were in 2018/19, according to Whanganui District Council’s annual dog report.

Calls to animal control for dog attacks and barking dogs also fell but reports of rushing dogs increased.

Council’s regulatory and compliance operations manager Jason Shailer said the drop in wandering dogs reflected a change in approach from animal control.

Proactive patrols are undertaken around the district and focus on public spaces such as beaches and reserves.

“For us the risk against people, when you’ve got a dog wandering, increases. The less on the street the better,” Shailer said told Whanganui District councillors.

“Barking is all about education and working with the neighbourhood - not just the owner - to try and reduce it. Visual stimulation, dogs that are bored, anxiety, and all the rest of it.

“We’ve got good staff that will work with the owners and the neighbours to try and reduce that negative stimulus which works really well.”

Shailer said five years ago dog wandering in Whanganui was “a massive problem”.

“You’d struggle not to see a dog. We were filling up the utes all the time. It’s about consistency in action, impounding, and making the owners accountable.

“Sanctions against the owner worked really, really well. The chances of your pocket being hit because your dog’s been out are definitely more consistent now.”

In the 2022/23 year council received 4680 animal calls, 3166 were dog-related. This is a 4.6 per cent decrease on 2021/2022.

There were 578 calls for barking dogs, down from 794 the previous year, and 116 dog attacks down from 198. However, dog rushing reports climbed from 81 to 117.

Councillor Jenny Duncan suggested the incidents of attacks and rushing were still not low enough.

“No,” Shailer said. “They fluctuate as you can see. But roughly in the same ballpark. They’re things we’d love to see reduce.”

Meanwhile, one dog was classified as dangerous during the 2022/23 period. Thirty-one dogs were classified as menacing - 12 due to behaviour and 19 due to breed.

Ninety-five dogs were destroyed during the period.

There council has three prosecutions in process before the court.

Shailer said there were about 8500 known dogs in the district of which 8022 are registered.