A TEENAGER who violently stabbed a Rottweiler to death with a 15cm knife during a neighbourhood dispute threatened the dog's owner, yelling: "Do you want to be next?"

Magistrate Donna McCallum sentenced Michael Leigh Turner, now 18, to six months in prison with a parole release date of November 10 when he fronted Ipswich Magistrates Court on Monday.

Turner, who celebrated his 18th birthday behind bars, pleaded guilty to going armed to cause fear and illegally killing a dog following the incident on September 2.

Prosecutor Sergeant Jo Colston said Turner, who was on parole for an earlier going armed to cause fear conviction in March, said police and paramedics were called to Dampier St at Leichhardt, in west Ipswich, at 4.40pm.

She said they found the defendant lying on his home's back landing, with wounds to his arms and legs, and with a 15cm blade lying nearby, covered in blood.

The court heard that earlier that afternoon Turner was yelling in his backyard, causing the Rottweiler dog in the fenced yard next door to bark.

Sgt Colston said Turner then climbed up onto the fence between the two properties and "swung a mop handle" at the dog.

The dog's owner, Adam Turnbull, yelled at the defendant to "settle it down" and shortly afterward the two were embroiled in a verbal argument in the front yard of Mr Turnbull's home.

Sgt Colston said the dog managed to get through the front door of the Turnbull property during the altercation, knocked the defendant over and bit him on the hand.

She said Mr Turnbull armed himself with a 1m-long tree branch and went back inside his home with the dog, while Turner went home briefly before returning to his neighbour's front veranda wielding a 15cm knife.

The court heard Mr Turnbull's dog then rushed through the front door and lunged at the defendant, who, using his knife, began to stab the dog in the chest.

Sgt Colston said the dog's owner then swung at the defendant with the tree branch, striking him in the head and neck, as he continued stabbing at the dog further up the street.

She said Turner stood behind the dog's owner as he bent over its body and said: "Do you want to be next?"

The court heard the dog was taken to a veterinarian but was dead on arrival.

Defence solicitor Matthew Fairclough said his client was still only young, adding that he'd left school at 14 but had a supportive family who wanted to see him do well.

He said Turner had some mental health problems and had been on medication.

Mr Fairclough said his client had an alcohol problem and on the day of the offence had consumed a six-pack of beer and some wine.

"The knife belonged to his step-father and things escalated when the dog attacked him," Mr Fairclough said.

Ms McCallum said the facts heard in court were serious, adding the dog was most likely acting to protect its master.

"It's probably one of those things that could have got completely out of hand," she said.

She took into account 20 days he'd already served as pre-sentence custody and set a parole release date of November 10.

A conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Teen jailed for dog-stabbing frenzy