Parents Take Note

    • Gold Top Dog

    Parents Take Note

     I had a disturbing call from a potential client whose dog bit a child and sent him to the ER for stitches in his finger.  She wanted to bring the dog to class for training.  Unfortunately, once a dog bites someone, they are a liability in a group class, and most of the time they don't need training as much as they need behavior modification or management.  So, because I am not doing privates at this time, due to time limitations, I referred her to a colleague.  Last night, my colleague updated me on the situation.  The dog is just over a year old, and has been in the same family since puppy hood.  They took it to puppy class at Petsmart and did no further training.  There are three boys in the household.  Now, here's what could have saved this dog (another tenant's child is the one that got bit, and child's father wants the landlord to force the owner to get rid of the dog).  When my friend questioned the owner, she said the dog never did anything like that before.  What she didn't say, until she was questioned further, was that the dog occasionally growled at her own teenaged son, who teased the dog.  People, please, if your kids torment your dog, listen to the dog's early warnings and get help immediately (not to mention teaching your kids how to deal with a dog humanely, instead of "oh, fluffy is great, my kids can do anything to her";).  This woman cried all the way through both conversations because she is economically unable to afford a lot of intervention, or to move, and her dog is probably going to end up dead if she cannot rehome it successfully or convince the kid's father not to sue her or force her to kill her dog.  If your dog is growling at kids, don't wait - find out what's wrong and fix it before the dog has to resort to another tactic.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Heartnreaking. Absolutely hearbreaking. I'm forever grateful that things didn't become this complicated with my own biting dog.

    And I should add that as much as I want to disagree with you on the management tactics (rather than training), it's so true. So true.

    On the other hand, now that I've quit spending ALL of my time trying to make my dog an extrovert I find I like him better, social limitations and all. I will never give up and I always try new behavior modification techniques with him, but I no longer expect him to fly through every session. I manage him instead. (And believe me, what goes into management is a lot more work than it sounds!)

    • Gold Top Dog

     

    And I should add that as much as I want to disagree with you on the management tactics (rather than training), it's so true. So true.

    C'mon, you know me better than that - it's never *just* management, it's training + management + prevention.  But, there are dogs that require management in addition to training because of other circumstances.  Some dogs have illness issues that cause aggressive behavior, for example, and are very well trained, yet not safe if someone manipulates them physically.  So, management means they wear a muzzle for their exams.  

    • Gold Top Dog

    I should have just gone to bed, huh? Big Smile

    You and I are on the same page for sure there. I think what I find amazing is how little some people really know their dogs. And other people can frustrate me to no end. My biter has a knack for biting in the even years and I have reminded him that this is a bad year for him but we're keeping up with training (Watch Me) and management.

    However, just the other day some old man who can't hear came running out of nowhere right up to me as I walked my biting dog. I had to move so fast and become so rude to save my dog from being bugged--touched, hugged, picked up--and this old guy from potentially being bitten. Argh.

    Yes, so what I mean is that I know my dog--I know when I need to switch from one tactic to another. I hope we never have another incident and I'll do my very best to prevent anything from happening but it hasn't been easy and it's been a TON of work.

    Always.