Just wondering what the general opinion is on this topic?

Had a situation where a friends kite got mauled by a dog that was not on a lead at a beach that is for everyone but was not a designated dog beach. In this case it was a fellow kite boarders dog that did it so the kite was repaired but I would not be happy if this was my new kite and I am sure many others wouldn't be either.

If a member of the general public who doesn't understand the cost of kite equipment had the same incident what would happen?
Do we just suck it up and accept that accidents happen or would the dog owner have any liability?

I ask as there are other situations in public spaces where if someone's dog damages someone's property the owner is liable so I am keen to hear your opinions cheers!

Hi octo
Interesting to hear that this happened to someone else - had the same thing happen to me the other day down the southern end of leighton
Off lead dog (at the non dog beach) jumped up and bit the leading edge of my kite as it was landing
Owner was miles down the beach with no idea where his dog was and was pretty unperturbed about what his dog had done
I think as always with dog ownership, the onus lies on the owner to supervise your dog and know it's limits - certainly what we do with ours!

In this case, the owner was a young fella so didn't push for compensation just better training and supervision of his dog

This discussion is very timely. Over the last few seasons I have become more and more annoyed at dog owners deliberately disobeying the clearly signposted 'no dog access to beach' entrance to my local. There are infact 4 signs indicating there is no dog access to my local. On 4 occasion I have had to wash dog sh1t off my gear or person or clear turds so I can put my gear down. Most recently a dog ran over my friends kite and put 2 large claw punctures in the canopy. He had already sold the kite... current model no damage or repairs. Needless to say the kite had thusly been seriously devalued. The dog owner gave my friend a false mbl no and false rego no but my friend followed him to his car and challenged him.
He (my friend) said he had 3 options.. buy the kite outright, pay the $350 the shop buying the kite devalued it by, or he would call the police. The dog owner payed the shop, but only because the kite owner followed it right through.
But this is only partly the problem. From what I have see I am the ONLY person in the kiting community at my local that ever says anything to the owner when a he or she deliberately breaks the law and brings their dogs through the no dog area. Often I will inform a dog owner with "excuse me you cant bring a dog down here". Invariably they will just ignore me because they already know that. That will prompt me to keep informing them of the signage, the reasons why etc which can become confrontational.
They worst part is that all the other kiters say nothing or just think I'm being rude. Maybe they think its not a problem to have a $2500 kite ripped apart by dog with an owner who will invariably try to evade responsibility, but I dont.
If being rude to someone makes someone uncomfortable and exhibits that their illegal and inconsiderate actions are really a problem then its job done.
In my opinion all beach users using no dog beaches should do the same as me... make usurpers know its not OK... and we all feel the same way, so piss right off.

Ain't no haters like f*cking cyclists on a cyclist only trail, you would think, having experienced being the victims of motorists' road rage would endow them with a certain sense of empathy, but no, they go totes feral.

remember, it ain't the dog's fault, they just dogs, also generally no obligation to obey council laws below mean high water springs

otherwise, if your dog wrecks something, you are liable

Some good points there guys, do you think that when this happens with a standard member of the public it pretty much will turn into a court case if you want to do something about it.

Do any of you register your kites under contents or home insurance or know if this would even cover kite gear?

I know the conversations moved on, but I have to tell you a story from when I was instructing on St Kilda beach back in 2009.

Right - so this bloke is booked in for a lesson, and he shows up with his own kite - A Cabrinha Black tip from god knows what year..... anyway, the thing is ancient.
He was adamant that he wanted to learn to fly it, despite never having flown a kite before. So I thought, maybe I'd fly it just to see how it went, then decide what to do next. After launching the friggin thing it was just dragging me all around, just maxxed out on the power. Bar was ancient, had no depower, was pretty full on.

So I managed to land it and then was explaining to him AGAIN why I thought he should go put it in a kitesurfing museum instead of learn on it, then this transvestite with a big staffy x heeler cross thing wobbles past (the tranny, big as stilettos on the sand, classic) and then the dog just starts leaping about on the kite. Puts its paws thru the canopy, then pops a strut, then pops the leading edge, then back to leaping about on the canopy.

So in a way that transvestite dog walker got me out of an awkward situation, in an awkward kind of way.

Me and the dude were just speechless

Depends on ages and value of the kite and the kind of person you are i guess. I had just spent less then a grand on a second hand kite, went to launch at gero for first time when two dogs raced over playing and jumped on the kite. To be honest i was more pissed i couldnt have a session!

dog was actually owned by another kite on the spot. He appologied and leant me some tape - which was awesome as it allowed be to have a session. the size of the repair was very small 5x5cm so i just let him off and didnt both following it up as i new it was only going to cost $20 to repair and it was already a couple years old. kite was traded in a few years later for a new one.

just depends on the situation. if i had just spent a couple grand & the owner was a dick it would be a different story,

Dogs can pick **** kiters and are just trying to save people

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Rails said..

remember, it ain't the dog's fault, they just dogs, also generally no obligation to obey council laws below mean high water springs

otherwise, if your dog wrecks something, you are liable

Local govt bylaws over here extend to 200m out to sea.

The Dog owner would most likely not liable for the dog damaging something but good luck getting the local govt interested in investigating or prosecuting someone for it.

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octo said

Do any of you register your kites under contents or home insurance or know if this would even cover kite gear?

A lot of policies will cover sporting goods for damage when not in use. It would be interesting to see what wold happen if you tried to claim for an inflated kite siting on the beach damaged by a dog, is it in use?

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Chris6791 said..

Rails said..

remember, it ain't the dog's fault, they just dogs, also generally no obligation to obey council laws below mean high water springs

otherwise, if your dog wrecks something, you are liable

Local govt bylaws over here extend to 200m out to sea.

The Dog owner would most likely not liable for the dog damaging something but good luck getting the local govt interested in investigating or prosecuting someone for it.

Dammit auto correct. That should have read the 'dog owner would most likely be liable.'

I think some of you kiters are being a bit harsh.

It isn't easy training the dogs to attack kites.

Us poley's are out there in all weathers (well up until hits 25 knots and we can actually get going) training the dogs.

And then think about the transport to the beach. By the time we have got all our paraphernalia in and on the car we need a horse float on the back to fit the dogs in as well.

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glasstraxx said..
Depends on ages and value of the kite and the kind of person you are i guess. I had just spent less then a grand on a second hand kite, went to launch at gero for first time when two dogs raced over playing and jumped on the kite. To be honest i was more pissed i couldnt have a session!

dog was actually owned by another kite on the spot. He appologied and leant me some tape - which was awesome as it allowed be to have a session. the size of the repair was very small 5x5cm so i just let him off and didnt both following it up as i new it was only going to cost $20 to repair and it was already a couple years old. kite was traded in a few years later for a new one.

just depends on the situation. if i had just spent a couple grand & the owner was a dick it would be a different story,

??? You just spent $1000 on a kite, a dog owner illegally allows their dog
to put a 2 inch hole in your kite and you think it's all good. I can't work out whether that's fully chilled, weak or stupid.

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snalberski said..
This discussion is very timely. Over the last few seasons I have become more and more annoyed at dog owners deliberately disobeying the clearly signposted 'no dog access to beach' entrance to my local. There are infact 4 signs indicating there is no dog access to my local. On 4 occasion I have had to wash dog sh1t off my gear or person or clear turds so I can put my gear down. Most recently a dog ran over my friends kite and put 2 large claw punctures in the canopy. He had already sold the kite... current model no damage or repairs. Needless to say the kite had thusly been seriously devalued. The dog owner gave my friend a false mbl no and false rego no but my friend followed him to his car and challenged him.
He (my friend) said he had 3 options.. buy the kite outright, pay the $350 the shop buying the kite devalued it by, or he would call the police. The dog owner payed the shop, but only because the kite owner followed it right through.
But this is only partly the problem. From what I have see I am the ONLY person in the kiting community at my local that ever says anything to the owner when a he or she deliberately breaks the law and brings their dogs through the no dog area. Often I will inform a dog owner with "excuse me you cant bring a dog down here". Invariably they will just ignore me because they already know that. That will prompt me to keep informing them of the signage, the reasons why etc which can become confrontational.
They worst part is that all the other kiters say nothing or just think I'm being rude. Maybe they think its not a problem to have a $2500 kite ripped apart by dog with an owner who will invariably try to evade responsibility, but I dont.
If being rude to someone makes someone uncomfortable and exhibits that their illegal and inconsiderate actions are really a problem then its job done.
In my opinion all beach users using no dog beaches should do the same as me... make usurpers know its not OK... and we all feel the same way, so piss right off.

I / we make a point of getting relatively "aggressive" at the dog If they come within a few feet of the kite, to warn them off. Mostly the owners are good about it and we explain the cost of a kite to them.

Sometimes you get a reaction from the owner and once you've explained you
meant nothing by it and the cost of the kites they seem okay with it. We've had lots of damage to kites from dogs so we try and be proactive when they get close.

They dont know and nor do their owners.

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Carantoc said..
I think some of you kiters are being a bit harsh.

It isn't easy training the dogs to attack kites.

Us poley's are out there in all weathers (well up until hits 25 knots and we can actually get going) training the dogs.

And then think about the transport to the beach. By the time we have got all our paraphernalia in and on the car we need a horse float on the back to fit the dogs in as well.

This dog has been trained well.

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lotofwind said..

Carantoc said..
I think some of you kiters are being a bit harsh.

It isn't easy training the dogs to attack kites.

Us poley's are out there in all weathers (well up until hits 25 knots and we can actually get going) training the dogs.

And then think about the transport to the beach. By the time we have got all our paraphernalia in and on the car we need a horse float on the back to fit the dogs in as well.

This dog has been trained well.

Haha. That guy had it coming. Hope the dogs ok

I'm up here in Sweden, and kite from a few spots where the only other people around are what I call " the dog walkers " . So I run into a lot of dogs .. Several of our kite spots are also designated dog beaches. One we have dubbed Dog **** Beach fir obvious reasons. ( BTW , I have a Labrador. So I love dogs, but think some dog owners are jerks)

Never in 16 years, has a dog tried to bite or jump on my kite. Mostly they want to pee on them or my kite bags. That really gets me irritated if an owner stands by and let's their dog piss all over people's belongings. if I see them scoping out a pee target. I usually yell at them, or do a dog body language maneuver that scares em away. ( I learned it from my labrador )

What's up with your aussie crazy dogs? Are they understimulated adhd dogs that think kites are the enemy or a fun chew toy?

A kiteboarder at St Kilda, took the dog as hostage until the owner paid for the repair of his new kite

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Sait79 said..
A kiteboarder at St Kilda, took the dog as hostage until the owner paid for the repair of his new kite

Should be repair and devaluation

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Sait79 said..
A kiteboarder at St Kilda, took the dog as hostage until the owner paid for the repair of his new kite

Damn that's extreme and courageous.

I speak for myself and a number of people I know, take someones dog and you will be eating using a straw for a long time.

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eppo said..

Sait79 said..
A kiteboarder at St Kilda, took the dog as hostage until the owner paid for the repair of his new kite

Damn that's extreme and courageous.

I speak for myself and a number of people I know, take someones dog and you will be eating using a straw for a long time.

Probably no need for fighting talk guys.

But hey if someone or thing does the crime then by rights someone or thing should do the time.

Thanks for all your constructive comments and examples though guys it all appreciated.

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TomW059 said..
or do a dog body language maneuver that scares em away. ( I learned it from my labrador )

Post up a vid would like to see that

I have a long screwdriver in my backpack for doing my boots. Any dog that puts holes in my kite would simply get a few holes in the dog.

It is never the dogs fault, only ever the selfish,ignorant and uneducated owners

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wishy said..
I have a long screwdriver in my backpack for doing my boots. Any dog that puts holes in my kite would simply get a few holes in the dog.

Hmm interesting you would end a life because you got a hole in your inflatable toy. Nice values you have there.

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hilly said..

wishy said..
I have a long screwdriver in my backpack for doing my boots. Any dog that puts holes in my kite would simply get a few holes in the dog.

Hmm interesting you would end a life because you got a hole in your inflatable toy. Nice values you have there.

www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/recipes/chicken-parmesan-with-basil-sauce-11637

This meal requires the death of two animals, but I guarantee it will make your life better. Just made it then, bloody glorious.

Bloody aggressive kite boarders picking fights again. First it was the Polies for using our wind, then we lined up surfers for surfing our waves.. now even poor dog owners arnt safe on the beach from the wrath of the kite gang! Hostage situations, guys ready to shank at any opportunity, geez, sheet just got heavy in the kiting community.

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wishy said..
I have a long dildo in my backpack for doing my backdoor. Any dog that puts holes in my kite would simply get a chance to lick my hole cause i am a demented carnt.

Fixed it for you bud more accurate desciption of yourself.

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wishy said..

hilly said..

wishy said..
I have a long screwdriver in my backpack for doing my boots. Any dog that puts holes in my kite would simply get a few holes in the dog.

Hmm interesting you would end a life because you got a hole in your inflatable toy. Nice values you have there.

www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/recipes/chicken-parmesan-with-basil-sauce-11637

This meal requires the death of two animals, but I guarantee it will make your life better. Just made it then, bloody glorious.

As you say eaten, which is how the majority of us survive. Not bludgeoned to death to make you feel better.

I bring my dogs down to the beach for a run around all the time. They love it and need the exercise. It's the best place for a dog. Open space, water, other dogs.

I can't control where they piss but I'll yell out at them if they are near someone's bag or something. They do it to my stuff if, it washes off.

No one is ever going to stop me and my dogs using the beach. It's my beach as much as yours. The police aren't going to care and won't be bothered. Don't leave your valuable property where it might get damaged!