# Dingoes?



## Megzz (Sep 22, 2010)

Hey

Does anyone have a pet dingo (or kept one in the past?)
I'm not looking to get one myself, my property isn't suitable along with other reasons. Just curious as to what sort of experience it is? Are they similar to dogs or completely different? 

Thanks


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## Tristan (Sep 22, 2010)

WA Dingo Association - dingoes

apparently they are supposed to be pretty good pets


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## REPTILIAN-KMAN (Sep 22, 2010)

we had a pet dingo when i grew up one of the best pets we had her name was HONEY as this was her colour, She would jump very high fences to get out and we could never keep her in our yard, she was extremly active in both day and night and as we lived near the beach she would canvase the beach and rocks at nite for food, she was always feed and got 1 hour walks every day but she never wore out which was a problem. She was loyal but very much a loner didnt rely soley on us all the time one of my fathers brothers was a truckie who brought her down from queensland as a pet for us and she was a owling and not PUP then but she was never a dog just to sit there for to long and enjoy our company. she loved to hunt and still had her wild instincts! dingos howl and dont bark which was pretty cool we knew it was her howling and not anotheir dog in the area.i will add that she used to digs backyard up which he spent hours every week repairing and looking after to get it golf course green and she would dig all over it. She would eat evrything and sniff it to never known not to explore the area. everybody knew her where we lived and everybody just loved her.


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## Sapphire (Sep 22, 2010)

iv got a dingo X kelpie at home iv had him since he was about 10 weeks old his is now about 2 years old. his very active and does howl sometimes like a dingo. and is very protective of my mum. he wont let our 10 year old dog to close to her otherwise they start to fight. he is always full of energy and never stops digging holes. he looks exactly like a dingo just doesnt have dingo colours he is all black with a white tip on the end of his tail. he eats pretty much anything you give him his not fussed. i will try upload some photo's of him for you to see.


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## Jungletrans (Sep 22, 2010)

A friend had one called Gonzo . Dug huge holes in the yard , ate his bike seat and wiring off his Harley , then ran away , YEAH .


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## Megzz (Sep 22, 2010)

Thanks for the replies, they sound like great pets... well except for your friend's one Jungletrans :lol:

What happened to yours REPTILLIAN-KMAN? 
http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/member/reptilian-kman-24073/


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## dechnicz-face (Sep 22, 2010)

I work in a boarding kennel and we get lots of dingo x's in, they a very sweet and great looking dogs but they are very good at escaping


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## stockhorse (Sep 22, 2010)

*Dingoes are not good pets.*

"I work in a boarding kennel and we get lots of dingo x's in, they a very sweet and great looking dogs but they are very good at escaping "

Having pure or partbreed dingoes is illegal in Qld and carries a $30,000. fine. 
Perhaps you would be best to delete your post instead of putting your employers income in jeapordy and talking to them about the legalities of boarding these animals.

After more than 15 years working in dingo studies in various states with various authorities and institutions I would never have a dingo in any domestic situation as a pet.​


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## Megzz (Sep 22, 2010)

stockhorse said:


> After more than 15 years working in dingo studies in various states with various authorities and institutions I would never have a dingo in any domestic situation as a pet.


Care to share some reasons?


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## Sapphire (Sep 22, 2010)

i have no regrets with getting my dingo x he was on cosignment at the petstore i worked for and was going back so i took him home and love him to bits his just so beautiful but very cheeky. his name is banjo but he just call him BJ.


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## najanaja (Sep 22, 2010)

i had one as a pet(so to say) growing up in the army barrecks in Sydney..
The army trained them as sniffer dogs but they were to active and a little mischeivious...
we had her for 14 years(10 with me 4 with mum)( a bloody long time for a Dingo)
But i had to leave her with mum when i moved to Qld because the would not licience here...
This was 14 years ago now and i dont know the Qld laws regarding them now...


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## najanaja (Sep 22, 2010)

Ps. she never liked our other dog but loved mums 3 cats...well 2 of them anyway


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## Jonno from ERD (Sep 23, 2010)

I have worked with them, and have a mate who owns a couple of purebreds. They are absolutely amazing dogs if paired with the right type of owner (like most dogs). Paired with the wrong owner and there is a lot of potential for things to go wrong.


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## Megzz (Sep 23, 2010)

Does anyone know whether they prone to biting/attacking?


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## stockhorse (Sep 23, 2010)

They have an inherent unpredicability.The majority of people(those who have not worked for a very considerable amount of time with them) would not even notice behavoural changes in them.The only known pure dingoes left in Australia are on Fraser Island (although many people claim to own them.) The Gene pool known to both national and state research organisations is extremely small. The Dingo is not a dog it is a decendent from the Asian wolf and has many of the characteristics of the European and North Amercan Wolf.These other strains of Wolf also show the inherent unpredictability in trying to domesticate them.They can live in an apparent happy co-existance for many years but can at any time express their desire for dominance in both agressive and non agressive ways.


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## REPTILIAN-KMAN (Sep 23, 2010)

Hi Megzz, 
Our pet Dingo HONEY died of old age she lived a good 12 years old, In NSW you can not legally own them now either to my knowledge. but that wouldnt stop me from owning one as they are a great pet. 
ours used to love to play bite us and play games at mouth and jaw restling but never intentionally bite us.


hope this helps


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## Megzz (Sep 23, 2010)

Thanks kman. We're allowed them in WA. I wish I could get one!


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## smeejason (Sep 23, 2010)

Sat and watched 2 wild ones at work the other day. they were guarding a fresh cow carcass about 150m from were i was working. They were both beautiful specimens and were having a ball playing and chasing off the crows.
They were one animal i always loved finding while out bow hunting.. not to shoot but to follow and watch and to be followed. would regularly cut my own tracks and find fresh dog tracks or wake up and find fresh prints at my head next to my swag.


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## waruikazi (Sep 23, 2010)

The one thing with them is you have to spend an awful lot of time with them. If you leave them alone for even a day or two they can revert back to being 'wild' which is a bad thing lol. They also have a lot of weird quirks, like wanting to sleep up high, climbing trees etc. I was thinking that i wanted one when i was looking for a dog so i did a lot of research on them. I came to the conclusion that they aren't really suitable as a companion animal.


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## Megs316 (Sep 24, 2010)

I work with two dingos. One is a pure bred alpine who was born in captivity, the other is a half breed who very little is known about. Like previously stated, it is illegal to keep dingos in QLD without proper licences [educational display, exhibitors etc]. The half-breed male was owned by a family who bought him from a NT breeder, and when he started killing all the neighbourhood ducks/geese/chicks [very natural instinct for these guys], my work ended up with him. It is a lot harder to find legal homes for half-breeds in QLD, so i implore anyone interested in getting one of these animals to check their state laws first, otherwise the animals life is at risk each and everyday. Dingos are great animals, they can be quite playful, but they are pack-animals and dominance plays a major role in their lives [they will challange your authority, its only natural...] They are trainable, but should never be completely trusted because they are a wild animal, regardless of whether they were born in captivity or not, and regardless of whether you love them and have a 'special bond' or not. They can be extremely distructive if left to their own devices for too long, and they seem to have boundless energy. They climb fences, dig holes, chew through absolutely anything [rope, hoses, hard plastic, plants...]. They are beautiful animals, and if you train them, learn to understand them and their body language, and most of all respect them for the wild animal that they are, they might not bite your face off  But they are deffinately no beginners 'dog' i guess you could say.


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## Gusbus (Sep 24, 2010)

your not allowed to do 60km/h in a 50km/h but everybody still does to... if u got one when ur not supose to good luck to you as long as the welfare of the dog is in good shape WHO CARES


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## stockhorse (Sep 25, 2010)

Those interested in trying to maintain the true integrity of the animal care.


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## Megzz (Sep 25, 2010)

Gusbus said:


> your not allowed to do 60km/h in a 50km/h but everybody still does to... if u got one when ur not supose to good luck to you as long as the welfare of the dog is in good shape WHO CARES


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## shellfisch (Sep 25, 2010)

We had a cross several years ago. 
She was a very 'typical' dingo looking dog - pale honey colour, white tip on the tail.
She was found as part of a litter of puppies on a farm. The mum was Dingo, the dad was a cattle/kelpie.

We had her for 14 years, and she was the best, most loyal dog.

When we first brought her home, she would not come out from under the bed for weeks. 
She would only ever eat every 2-3 days :?
She would let a stranger into the yard, but, good luck getting back out  
As they left, she would often sneak quietly behind them and give a little nip on the heels - the farm dog in her coming out, no doubt.
NEVER barked in her life. 
I would have another one in a heartbeat


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## Aslan (Sep 25, 2010)

REPTILIAN-KMAN said:


> In NSW you can not legally own them now either to my knowledge


 
I don't believe this is correct. Whilst I have not made any recent enquiries my understanding is that Dingos remain one of the few native mammals not required to be licenced in NSW provided they are sourced from a domestic breeder.

This may have changed, I am unsure. DECC website will provide further details.

I would not keep one (despite loving the idea) as, realistically, I dont believe they are yet suitable to be kept domestically. Their needs would be VERY difficult to adequately meet and that is not something I would be comfortable with.


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## JJS. (Oct 3, 2010)

Just thought i would add that 14 years old isn't really old for a captive dingo. They can live to 20 years in captivity.


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## Snakewise84 (Oct 3, 2010)

i had a dingo x when i was 13 he was a prick around other animal thinks was x with a German Shepperd so was very strong kept getting out but i think when they are crossed are better but with some other breeds have to be careful u never know when they will snap in some cases


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## harley0402 (Oct 3, 2010)

my mum has a dingo cross red cattle, she is cool, she slinks around like a dingo and she cant bark. She is a nice dog.


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## Megzz (Oct 3, 2010)

I saw one with its owner down at the local markets today. Gorgeous looking creatures!


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## spiderdan (Oct 12, 2010)

I have looked after 2 pure alpine dingoes and I would do shows with them and other animals but have never in the year and a half seen them even look like biting. Kids would pat them and hug them with no trouble. I don't work with them any more but see the a fair bit and they are still by best friends.


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## Laghairt (Oct 12, 2010)

I think that many people don't understand the challenges of keeping a wild dog. They do not make good companion animals. Humans have spent thousands of years selectively breeding domestic dogs for desirable traits so why would you want to revert back to a blank canvas so to speak.

I know they're pretty to look at and some are fine as pets but they will never be as good as your average dog.


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## moosenoose (Oct 12, 2010)

anouc said:


> I think that many people don't understand the challenges of keeping a wild dog. They do not make good companion animals. Humans have spent thousands of years selectively breeding domestic dogs for desirable traits so why would you want to revert back to a blank canvas so to speak.
> 
> I know they're pretty to look at and some are fine as pets but they will never be as good as your average dog.


 
This is true regarding an average domesitcated dog. However the dingo societies have learnt a lot in recent times in regards to imprinting and as a result a far more stable animal.

I have a local lady I know who breeds some of the purest ones I've seen around. Certainly on par with some of the Fraser Island dogs I've seen 20+yrs ago. Probably not a dog you'd leave alone with children though. They do require some common sense.....unlike my Cavoodle! :lol:


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## Nighthawk (Oct 12, 2010)

My goodness. All breeds have their quirks/advantages/disadvantages, add to that the varying temperament of the owner, discipline/training style, you have even more factors which all go toward temperament. Dogs, all breeds, are more like humans than we give them credit for and as such are subject to social conditioning, particularly as a pack animal. I get sick of hearing how 'pitties are a dangerous breed' and 'dalmations are stupid', it's not the animal, it's the owner. Yes, there are consistant traits in many breeds, yes some are more inclined to violence _if _it's brought out in them intentionally, but it's up to you as the owner and therefore the alpha in your dog's, dingo's, whatever's 'pack' to teach it what is right and what is wrong, just as you would a child. Ergo, you have the time and patience to learn your animal as it is learning you, without anger, with respect, it doesn't matter what breed Canis you have, it's going to love and respect you, protect you without 'guard training', and it will do this all with it's own personality.


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## Laghairt (Oct 12, 2010)

True, but pack drive and dominance issues are more difficult to deal with for dingoes than with most domestic dog breeds. Remember a dingo isn't a breed it's a wild animal. The definition of a breed is something that has been selectively bred by humans, dingoes are largely a result of natural selection.

At the end of the day they will generally be a lot more work and I wouldn't recommend them for the vast majority of people. Most dog owners have a very limited understanding of pack structure and how important this is. In dingo's the pack drive is of the charts compared to your average lab etc this will always create issues.

I have handled a number of extremely dominant security/protection dogs with dominance issues and if you don't know your stuff accidents can happen, even with experienced handlers. Best to be avoided (for most).


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## MatE (Oct 12, 2010)

My mate at works had one put down a couple of weeks ago as his young fella walked out the back yard without his mum knowing and his male dog grabbed him on the face.The young bloke had 20 odd stitches in his face from the experience.They are a one man dog.Saying that every dog has the potential of doing the same thing.He has two bitches as well.


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## Nighthawk (Oct 12, 2010)

anouc said:


> True, but pack drive and dominance issues are more difficult to deal with for dingoes than with most domestic dog breeds. Remember a dingo isn't a breed it's a wild animal. The definition of a breed is something that has been selectively bred by humans, dingoes are largely a result of natural selection.
> 
> At the end of the day they will generally be a lot more work and I wouldn't recommend them for the vast majority of people. Most dog owners have a very limited understanding of pack structure and how important this is. In dingo's the pack drive is of the charts compared to your average lab etc this will always create issues.
> 
> I have handled a number of extremely dominant security/protection dogs with dominance issues and if you don't know your stuff accidents can happen, even with experienced handlers. Best to be avoided (for most).



Not wanting to cause an argument, but selective breeding by humans is just husbandry, it isn't the definition of a breed. My point wasn't to lump dingos in with selectively bred dogs, but to point out that without attention, care and above all knowing your dog, no matter the origins. All dogs, whether originating via natural or human selection, require understanding of the breed, hard work and care. My point was rather that, for example, a person with a small flat shouldn't acquire a great dane or a st. bernard, just as a person with little willpower, time and knowledge shouldn't acquire a malamute or a dingo. Every breed of dog has it's own needs, and stereotypes don't help.


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## Laghairt (Oct 12, 2010)

You get a breed through selective breeding, otherwise it's not a breed. Dingoes have lived largely apart from people and other dogs for thousands of years. This and the demands of Australian ecology, has caused them to develop features and instincts that distinguish them from all other canines and have maintained ancient characteristics that unite them, along with other primitive dogs, into a taxon named after them, Canis lupus dingo, and has separated them from the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris (which incorporates all breeds). 

Dingoes are in their own taxon and have specialised requirements above and beyond that of Canis lupus familiaris that most people wouldn't be ready to deal with. Other than that I agree with what your saying.


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## Klaery (Oct 12, 2010)

I can't understand how they could possibly police the crossbreeds ban... I mean you realize Australian cattle dogs are part dingo right?


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## ANT22 (Oct 12, 2010)

I think working with dingoes would be a honour, they are incredible, but just like any animal, a wild can be tamed..look at monkeys and orangatang's..some wild ones a completlely friendly, where others are vicious..i guess it all depends on the animal itself


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## trickedoutz31 (Oct 12, 2010)

we have one crossed with a kelpie


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## cris (Oct 12, 2010)

From my understanding dingoes are basically less domesticated dogs that dont bark, have better teeth and overall health, much like domestic breeds like african beorboels and various other purpose bred fighting/killing/hunting dogs they arnt suited to random idiots with no idea on how to look after what they are getting, much like most animals including many herps.

Unfortunetely our redneck govenment has banned as them pets and allows bounties of $400 or possibly more for killing dingoes and wild dogs. Even though they are an important predator in our ecosystem that helps control animals like foxes and cats.


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## Darlyn (Oct 12, 2010)

stockhorse said:


> 3The only known pure dingoes left in Australia are on Fraser Island (although many people claim to own them.) The Gene pool known to both national and state research organisations is extremely small.
> .


 
I would wonder at the word 'known" there. How many studies have been run and where? I have seen wild dingoes out in bush miles from any where in The Top End, could this mean that they may be pure but unknown to certain studies/


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