Dog expert Jennifer Wilcox told to move Paw Behaviour puppy classes from Carrum hall
A bayside family left traumatised by a staffy’s fatal attack on their puppy during a beach outing fears a rise in serious dog attacks following a shock move by the local council.
South East
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A bayside family left traumatised by a staffy’s fatal attack on their puppy during a beach outing fears a rise in serious dog attacks following a shock move by the local council.
The Heredia family has joined a campaign against a Kingston Council decision to stop an animal behaviourist from holding dog training classes at a community hall.
Jennifer Wilcox was recently told she could not use Carrum Community Hall for her Paw Behaviour sessions beyond December 31.
The dog expert has been holding weekly classes in the hall for almost 25 years.
Vanessa Heredia said the classes were an important resource for the community, which was already facing a significant issue with uncontrolled dogs.
The dog that savaged her eight month old cavoodle, Rusty, in front of Ms Heredia and her three children at Chelsea beach in 2022 was on a long lead at the time of the attack.
“But the owner couldn’t control the dog, or get it to let go once it sank its teeth into Rusty’s tummy,” she said.
“It was tossing him around like a rag doll.”
Because Rusty was off lead at the time of the attack the council did not take action against the owner of the other dog.
Ms Heredia would have liked mandatory training for the other dog.
“It’s that kind of specialised training that Jen can provide,” she said.
There were 30 serious dog attacks recorded in Kingston across 2023 and 2024.
A council spokesperson said any penalties that arose from legal proceedings were a matter for the Magistrates Court of Victoria.
The council promotes responsible pet ownership but does not require training as part of registration.
More than 1000 people have signed a petition pleading with Kingston Council to allow Paw Behaviour to remain at the Carrum hall.
Ms Wilcox said she had not received a single complaint about the Paw Behaviour classes, which were mainly held outdoors, except for some sessions for puppies that weren’t fully vaccinated because of their age.
She said if she wasn’t able to hold the sessions in a Carrum venue that offered indoor and outdoor space she would be forced to end them permanently.
Kingston vet Laura Hook said she had seen a “huge rise in anxiety” in the dog population and regularly treated animals that were injured in an attack by another dog
“We have a serious problem with dogs in our community suffering from anxiety, showing aggression and getting into fights,” she said.
“Puppy training won’t fix everything, however it is the best chance we have to help these dogs at an early age and prevent them becoming anxious and aggressive later in life.”
Dr Hook said pet owners are rarely willing to travel more than 10 minutes to attend classes.
She said if dog trainers weren’t able to use local halls owners would be forced to seek options further away.
“In my experience, they won’t seek training at all,” she said.
Kingston’s general manager of community strengthening Kate Water said Paw Behaviour was offered an extended three month notice and offered to help to find an alternative, outdoor location.
“While I can understand the business is disappointed, it is simply not appropriate to co-locate a dog training business inside a community hall that also hosts seniors exercise groups, card groups, first birthday parties, kids’ activities and other community users,” Ms Waters said.
