Tyre-biting dog 'haunted by accident'

Bruno's owners say he was hit by a truck as a pup. Photo / Natalie Slade

A dog that chewed his way through four tyres, damaging two police cars and an animal control vehicle, is haunted by memories of being hit by a truck as a pup, say its owners.

Bruno, a 7-year-old mixed-breed dog from South Auckland, launched his attack on a patrolling police car that had stopped in Mangere in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The sergeant drove away from the dog, changed the tyre and then returned to investigate - only to have the dog eat its way through a second tyre.

Not satisfied with the first two tyres, the dog also punctured the tyre of a second patrol car and the animal control services vehicle which were called in to help.

While police thought the dog might be hungry, its owners are putting the unusual behaviour down to an incident six years ago.

Fay Gock, 75, said Bruno was normally a docile dog, but attacks certain tyres because he was run over by a truck before his first birthday.

"He would have a go at their tyres because it was the tyre that ran him over. The tyre has registered in his memory."

He doesn't attack the tyres of all vehicles, she said, only a few models trigger a reaction.

The family aren't sure whether he reacts to the sound of the engine or the tyre.

Mrs Gock was asleep when Bruno attacked but awoke yesterday morning to be told by animal control services that the dog had been taken into custody.

"I don't really know what happened, only what they said happened. Unfortunately we didn't have our dog boxed up at the time they said it happened."

Bruno was left in the garage on Saturday night, where he can enter and exit as he pleases.

The family haven't tried to curb his taste for rubber. Mrs Gock's daughter Jayne, 54, said she didn't know how to train Bruno to distinguish between different engines.

Animal behaviourist Les Slade said it was likely Bruno was suffering from something similar to post-traumatic stress.

"He's biting tyres after that stressful situation ... Animals learn from their first experience of things, like humans do."

Animal control services won't release Bruno unless the owners agree to keep him in a 3m by 3m run, with fences at least 1.8m high.