A husky grabbing a terrier by its throat sparked the creation of a club to allow small dogs exclusive use of a Dunedin dog park.
Dr Deborah Mills said the Dunedin City Council accepted her proposal for the dog exercise area at Rotary Park in Waverley to be used exclusively by small dogs between 8am and 10am on Sundays.
The first meeting of the ''small dog club'' would be held on March 22, she said.
Dr Mills believed it would be a New Zealand first.
During the two hours, small dogs would be able to play safely without fear of being injured by a bigger dog, she said.
''Small dogs don't have a chance against the big dogs.''
To join the club, a dog must be 8kg or lighter, Dr Mills said.
Dr Mills and her partner James Stewart started a similar club in Brisbane after repeated attacks on small dogs, including their Jack Russell Whiskey, who was set upon by a Siberian husky at a Brisbane dog park.
''The dog went straight on him and had him by the throat. That is what set me off,'' Mr Stewart said.
Before the attack, the husky owner reassured him it played safely with small dogs and was raised with two chihuahuas.
Since the couple moved to Dunedin in December, Whiskey had been attacked by a black Labrador on St Clair Beach.
A large dog could attack, regardless of its breed or its owner's assurances, he said.
Ideally, every dog park would have at least 40% of the area fenced for the exclusive use of small dogs, Mr Stewart said.
Dr Mills said many small-dog owners stayed away from dog parks because of big dogs.
The killing of a Timaru chihuahua by a larger dog, believed to be a German shorthaired pointer, in a Canterbury dog park earlier this year was an example of why people stayed away, she said.
''It's just terrible.''
Mr Stewart urged owners of big dogs to stay away for the two hours on Sundays to give prospective club members the reassurance their small dogs had somewhere safe to play.
He asked people who believed their big dogs were safe around small dogs to stay away.
''If I brought a tiger in the dog park and said 'he loves dogs' how would they feel? They'd worry,'' Mr Stewart said.
DCC senior animal control officer Peter Hanlin said the council could not exclude owners of bigger dogs from the park but he hoped they would stay away.
''We are appealing to their sense of fair play to allow the small dogs to have those two hours undisturbed.''
An animal control officer would be at the park offering advice and support, he said.
The council rarely got complaints of big dogs attacking small dogs in Dunedin.
''You get the odd complaint but it's not a regular occurrence.''
The weight restriction on entry to the park for the two hours was reasonable, he said.
''There had to be a line in the sand and I think weight was the fair way of doing it.''
