Number of microchipped dogs in Orange grows by more than a third in five years

Office of Local Government figures show there were 24,574 microchipped dogs in the Orange Local Government Area as of September 2021, up from 18,095 in September 2016.

Numbers are likely to be even higher now, with one local trainer saying she's seen a definite spike in new puppies joining Orange households in the past six months

"There are absolutely more dogs around," said Debi Coleman, also known as The Dog Lady.

"I am just flat out. I'm running four puppy classes a week, and they're booked up at least a couple of weeks before the next lot come."

She says many people are also on long waiting lists for new puppies.

Research shows there has been a big increase in pet ownership across the country in the past two years, with the percentage of households that own a pet rising from 61 per cent to 69 per cent. This has been led by a surge in dog ownership - more than one million additional dogs have been being brought into Australian households since 2019.

The good news for Orange is that while the total number of dogs is up, dog attacks have actually declined during the past three years.

There were 61 attacks recorded between October 2020 and September 2021, compared to 76 attacks between October 2019 and September 2020, and 105 attacks between October 2018 and September 2019.

Ms Coleman said the big uptake in dog ownership during the pandemic had not come without its problems, however, with some dogs missing out on critical socialisation.

"A lot of our owners didn't have a lot of socialisation with people and or with other dogs during COVID and lockdowns, so we have more dogs with some separation issues and more dogs that are maybe a bit more fearful around new people and dogs," said Ms Coleman, adding that fear was often a driver for aggression.

Owners, such as those returning to the office and dropping their dogs into daycare, need to be careful not to "overload" their dogs with too much socialisation at once, she warned.

She said there were a multitude of benefits that came with owning a dog, both physical and mental: "Pet ownership is wonderful."

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