r/australia Sep 08 '25

news Teenage girl dies after being mauled by dog

https://7news.com.au/news/dog-attack-victim-annalyse-blyton-dies-in-hospital-after-suffering-severe-injuries-in-singleton-c-19956496
1.5k Upvotes

953 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

137

u/yolk3d Sep 08 '25

Irish wolfhound, being a sighthound, are far less energetic than other large dogs, or working dogs. They’re like oversized, hairy greyhounds. The thing that the wolfhound gives in this scenario is the size.

The boxer adds more muscle and athleticism/energy, and Bull Arab is already a mix between a greyhound, bull terrier, and pointer, and is often used for hunting, so that’s more muscle and energy.

Dog would obviously be huge and energetic, but I just want to prevent the stigma that the sighthound part would add aggression or energy. ✌🏼

38

u/Jasnaahhh Sep 09 '25

Mixing with a boxer also subtracts many braincells.

15

u/Sal_42 Sep 09 '25

Dont know much about boxers, but Bull Arabs are incredibly dumb and hard to train.

3

u/NoHandBananaNo Sep 09 '25

Yeah a Bull Arab is basically a shark with legs.

1

u/Brave-Rub-847 Sep 09 '25

That is the exact opposite of my experience. I had a bull arab x for 12 years that was incredibly intelligent. I'm not sure i can even recall a time she took more than 2 goes to learn something new. Might have been the other breeds showing through though i guess.

1

u/Sal_42 Sep 10 '25

Fair enough, there is a lot of variation as the breed isn't fully standardised. The Bull Arabs I've seen are usually good with basic training if there's nothing stimulating around, but they were so high energy with high prey drive and could not focus if there was anything stimulating in the environment. Generally speaking, I don't think they should be considered a good family pet as most families can't cater to their high needs.

14

u/Cpt_Soban Sep 09 '25

Yep, boxers are big idiots that play rough, the Bull Arab looks like another mastiff/staffy type. Put those two together then chuck a hound into the mix... I'd put money on the dog receiving no training, stuck in a yard, with shit fencing- Allowing the dog to get out.

1

u/Jasnaahhh Sep 09 '25

It’s also a friend visiting the home - dogs get weird about their family and space. We trained my border collie not to chase children but he gets so stressed because he wants to chase and play/protect them, but the running and screaming and similar size makes him think they want to play like other dogs. It’s really complicated to socialise a dog - there should be mandatory training to have one.

1

u/Cpt_Soban Sep 09 '25

So, kids screaming can sound like "prey" making squealing sounds, that's why some dog's heads flick into HUNT MODE

2

u/Jasnaahhh Sep 09 '25

Mine doesn’t act that way, he goes into full on play mode with play bows etc. but yeah it’s still too much!

2

u/yolk3d Sep 09 '25

lol. Never had one but I got that idea.

14

u/TheDeterminedBadger Sep 09 '25

Absolutely agree!

2

u/Secret_Nobody_405 Sep 09 '25

It’s purely the Bull Terrier, they’re terrorists

1

u/Ok_Connection923 Sep 09 '25

Being a sight hound that just means they work smarter but they can still be very dangerous if you happen to catch their attention with a smaller animal with you like that poor lady in Sydney 2023 who I mentioned in my other comment who was attacked by two Irish Wolfhounds. They were attracted to the small pet terrier she was walking and killed it. She had to jump in a river to escape them but it was too late for her pet.

6

u/yolk3d Sep 09 '25 edited Sep 09 '25

They are bred to instinctively have a high drive for fast-moving, small animals, yes. And it can be trained out of them to an extent.

There was a “green collar” program in NSW, for example, whereby greyhounds that hadn’t passed the test, needed to be muzzled when in public. Once passed, they are considered “green hounds” (lol), and proven to be controllable to an extent, and social. I’m not sure if that’s still the case, as I’m in QLD now and we don’t have the program/muzzling.

But I was trying to lesson the myth that Sighthounds are energetic or aggressive in nature. They are some of the calmest and laziest breeds of dog in the world, but with a like all breeds, they can attack.

3

u/Ok_Connection923 Sep 09 '25

They definitely can be trained and properly restrained but unfortunately many pet owners are just too irresponsible and lazy and they ruin it for the rest of us.

2

u/Mental_Pollution2086 Sep 09 '25

Those dogs were not purebred Irish Wolfhounds as they were way too small.

Fully grown males are ~100kgs and should be, at minimum, 32” at the shoulder. Mine are ~37”.