From reading the answers here, many people recognize that it is not the breed, it is usually a combination of several issues that cause attacks. How can we educate people so that we may avoid this?
I feel that if we require the owners of loose dogs to take dog training and obedence classes with their animals, many issues would be corrected before they even happen. What do you think? Is there a better way? Do you think we should ban chaining dogs outside, since "dogs who are chained for a long period of time can become very territorial about the area within the radius of the chain and attack anyone who comes within their territory." Any and all opinions are welcome. (Everyone is allowed to have their own opinion, regardless of how stupid it is!)
Let's AVOID giving ANY thumbs down, OK? My goal is free expression!
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Dick Koehler used to say that the reason dogs bite people is because people drive cars with bumper stickers that read: Spay or Neuter Your Dog.
But seriously, how can you expect average dog owners to keep control of their dogs any better than average parents keep control of their children? They attack just as often - and with far more deadly results.
Now, I have no stats to back this up, but I'll bet that (in one calander year) underaged drunks kill more people from behind the wheels of their cars than dogs kill around the world. And I'll bet that they (children) attack more people than dogs do, too.
In both cases, is it not the owner's whom have ultimately failed, what do we do about that? Educate the public?! How 'bout we hand them a mirror, engraved: Broken, Needs Repair
Tony A-
A Review of Secrets to Dog Training
- I do not thnk any dog should be chained outside.
All dogs should be leashed when not in a fenced back yard. Leash laws should be enforced. - i really think they should teach young children how to aproach an unknown dog (or how to avoid one), and how to properly handle their own pets. like kindergarten age. it seems like a lot of attacks happen because a young child in running around a dog they dont know, or because they are pulling on ears or poking them or something like that.
i was bitten because i grabbed for my dog when she was terrified. my mom wanted her out of the house immediatly, i know it was me that was in the wrong and my dog just didnt know what was going on.
i also agree that dogs shouldnt be chainned up, fences are the best option, but even then they can become territorial of their fenced area, so education really is the key. - I'm sorry, but having a dog is a great responsibility.
IMHO more than half "participants" here shouldn't own a dog.
When a completely dog illiterate person owns a little chihuahua, I'm surely less concerned than when it's one of the favorite "bullies".
And yes, I'm worried about my well trained and behaved Lab.
Late Entry : and absolutely NO chaining of dogs!!! - Here is my opinion. I have never chained a dog outside I have always had a large yard for my dogs to run in and we put a chain link down the middle so my son could play on the other half of the yard without worrying about the poop issue (we own 4 lots). That being said we had an american bulldog who was just sweet as can be never bothered no one and would let my son from the time he could crawl crawl all over her pull her ears and when she'd sit up (she was about 100 pounds) he'd push on her back acting like he could make her move. Around the time she turned 4yrs old something inside her head must have clicked and she started to climb 10 foot privacy fences to get at other animals that were being walked past our home we then built her a chain link kennel she'd climb that then the privacy fence and again attack any dogs walking by (regardless of if they were being walked by a human or roaming at large) so we put link ontop of the kennel and she'd dig out! There were times we'd be on the front porch hear a scraping look over and there would be ICE coming over the top of the damn fence. We took her to classes we did everything we could I promise you (including taking her to the vet for testing to make sure she didnt have a brain tumor which was altering her behavior). Then she started to attack passing cars looked like a scene out of CUJO in 6 months I paid 15 vet bills from the damage this dog did. She was never reported as we live in a small everyone knows everyone type town we just paid. We'd sit outside with her and she'd take off we couldnt stop her. So I did what was best and had her put down. The American Bulldog resuce wouldnt take her due to aggression and no matter what we tried we couldnt stop her. She was NEVER abused in anyway. So I think its NOT the breed its just certain dogs because she was treated NO different then my other dogs and none of them have ever gone after anything. Dont know how to educate the public just wanted to share my story
To the lady that said dogs that arent altered are more prone to aggression. ICE was altered by 6 months of age she was the companion to my terminally ill daughter (who passed on 9-3-07) and showed NO aggression towards her yard mates, or people. We purchased her when she was 9 weeks old so again goes back to the individual dog NOT the breed and certainly NOT all owners of "aggressive dogs" should be to blame. With ICE we couldnt walk her after she turned 4 she'd break every leash, collar, harnes, lead that she was on including the choketype with the metal prongs that faced inward (that was my husbands last resort idea) - I hate it when people chain a dog outside and neglect it. I adopted a Dalmatian that was chained up for the first two years of his life. Needless to say he was aggressive. People get dogs without considering the amount of time and money it takes to have a well adjusted pet.
My community has outlawed pit bulls and related breeds because those problems. People would leave them on a chain or alone for days and they get out of their yards and attack other animals or people.
I also think our communities should spay and neuter our pets at no charge. - I think almost any attack can be traced back to irresponsible ownership. I think leash laws need to be strictly enforced, due to the sheer number of dogs around...and for the safety of the dogs and people in the neighborhood. I think tethering should be banned as well...there are other ways to allow your dog outside safely without tying him to a tree. And, I think there should be public education about proper dog ownership, and fines enacted if any dog belonging to any individual is found to be unlicensed. I think vaccinations should be mandatory, and fines enacted for any owner of an unvaccinated dog.
I could go on and on....but there's a start. - I agree with leash laws - but number one this all comes back to our favorite talking point - breeding. When people breed simply to pop out more and more dogs, they aren't selecting dogs of the best temperment - they simply throw dog A and B together and think - yay!! Puppies. And if dogs A and B have aggression issues - that gets passed down. Properly bred and socialized Am Staffs and APBT's do better on the standardized temperment test than cocker spaniels, chihuahuas, golden retrievers, all breeds of dachshunds, greyhounds, and the list goes on and on.
If we spent our time and money on something to prevent backyard breeders, I think we would see bite statistics FOR ALL breeds of dogs decrease dramatically. Not to mention, we would also decrease shelter populations. It seems like a win win situation to me.
Other alternatives that would be (initially easier to enforce than cracking down on or legislating breeding would be).
1.) no chaining of dogs - at all - outside
2.) enforcing leash laws - at all times (where appropriate)
3.) fining the owners big bucks for a dog that is aggressive and requiring that owner and dog to enroll in obedience classes (we make therapy, alcohol abuse, drug abuse classes required for people taht violate substance abuses and hurt people or themselves, why not make it required for owners?)
4.) if a dog does injure a person or (god forbid) kills them, hold the owner responsible - meaning fines, jail time (involuntary manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon whatever) as opposed to attempting to blame the breed. - I know that part of the problem where i live is difficulty enforcing any of the animal control laws because we have 3 animal control officers for the entire city (pop. 500,000+) and they have to cover all shifts. So, any new laws would be just as likely to go unenforced the majority of the time. I think just trying to educate the public about being responsible dog owners is the best we can do for now (it's slow and frustrating but what can we do?). I do know that euthanasia of unwanted pets (in particular dogs) is way down in my city thanks to the tireless efforts of the many shelters and humane societies in my area (but again it has taken years to get this far).
- * never keep a dog chained out
* enforce leash laws
* cheaper dog licensing for dogs that have been in obedience classes
* shelters/rescues & breeders need to tell every prospective dog/puppy owners to never leave their children unattended with pets. - Dogs that are NOT spayed/neutered have more aggresive tendencies than those that are "fixed." I don't know of many communities that offer free or discounted spay/neuter clinics to the general public. Now THAT would be a good idea.
And I think the media should quit with this ridiculous "pit bull" obsession and publish some useful articles / air news segments, like how to raise a non-aggressive dog, how to socialize your dog properly, and what NOT to do with your dog (chaining, fencing, etc.).
And yes, I do believe that leaving dogs chain unattended for a certain period of time should be illegal. (Don't know how this would be enforced, unless neighbors are very vigilant.)
Even though dog licenses are required, maybe this could be more strictly enforced somehow?
How about less tolerance for dogs who bite? How many times does a very serious dog attack occur, and the idiot owner says "I had no idea... he's never shown aggression before..." Come to find out that the dog has 3 or 4 priors?!?...
There's such a think as mandatory rehab for humans... how about mandatory rehab for dogs? If a dog attacks, the owner MUST bring the dog to a trainer within a certain time limit or face a hefty fine. - 1. dogs should not be chained up
2.if your dog gets loose and isn't wearing tags you should have to pay a fine to get your dog back.
3. animal shelters/pet stores/breeders should be very very careful on who gets their dogs. there should be an interview process
4. breeding should be strictly regulated. you should have to have a license to breed and only a certain amount of each breed should be bread in a certain radius.(one city doesn't need 20 pit bull breeders or 30 Yorkie breeders)
5. every elementary school should have an animal education program. - Here in New Zealand there is a push from the CEO of the Auckland SPCA for all dog owners to be licenced instead of just focusing on registering the dogs (which costs between $35 and $170 a year depending on if it is desexed, if you have an approved status and so on).
I have approved dog owner status from my city council which means that I had to sit a test showing that I know all about the needs of caring for a dog, the responsibilities of owning a dog, that I know why a good diet, woming and flea control are important. That was also a required property inspection where they came out to my property and checked my fences, made sure that I cleaned to yeard up often enough, that the dogs were well cared for (dogs who live in the house with their own comfortable bed - I definitely passed that part), and while they were there they observed what my dogs were like with me and made sure that I had control of the dogs. I also had to explain their exercise and so on.
Going through a test like I did to become an approved dog owner is not a big deal for anyone who is ready for a dog, has owned dogs in the past, or who really cares about doing what is right for their dog. People who are not interested in passing this kind of test shouldn't own a dog in the first place because they obviously don't really care about the welfare of their animal. I know that there are some people who may disagree with this licence idea - or even just what I am saying - which is fine because everyone is entitled to an opinion.
I use my dogs to help educate parents and children about safety around dogs, and Animal Control and the SPCA in my local area both take safe dogs to schools and drill home the safety around dogs message. The New Zealand government has also set up a website http://www.dogsafety.govt.nz/dogsafety.n… to help with the dog safety message as well - mainly because there was an attack a few years ago that caused a national outcry (we have a population of about 4 million so a national outcry isn't that hard). Ultimately the attack was an unsupervised little girl who was bitten badly on the face - no one knows if the dog was provoked in some way or if it just attacked. Taking the message to children in schools and early childhood centres each year means that the dog safety message gets drilled home to kids.
There are some breeds that I would personally like to see faced with compulsory desexing so that the breeds eventually "die off" so to speak - mainly because there are some breeds that are more prone to being agressive or dangerous through selective breeding and from being the dog of choice of gangs and so on. There are four or five breeds which have been banned in New Zealand and can not be imported or bred from - and they are the main breed that I would agree with.
I hope that I haven't offended anybody - responsible dog owners are probably going I do that, I do that - but the problem is that the people you really need to reach and educate aren't likely to think that they are doing anything wrong in the first place. - I agree 100% that training dog owners needs to happen. I would also like to see non dog owners better "trained" I can't tell you how many times I have cringed as parents instruct children to run up an pet the puppy. My girl is great with kids but too many non-dog people seem to assume that if a dog is out in public then it is fine for their kids to run up screaming and try to play with it or "pet" it
- I live in a very small town. We have not only leash laws but we have also that if your dog is found to be tied up long than 4 hours outside they will issue you a ticket and you must bring the dog inside, then your monitored for at least a year. If your break the law again the dog is taken away from you. We also have a strick pooper scooper law here too. Dont pick up after your dog a 150 dollar fine.
We are very dog friendly here and we do love our dogs. Here we have not had one dog bite in many years. The only ones I hear of now are within the home. Not a stranger who the dog has bitten. No one can control what other do within their homes If people are stupid enough to allow a bad tempered dog to be in their home than there is nothing that can be done once the dog has bitten a family member.
If a dog manages to get away from it's owner I usually see the entire family out looking for the dog.
I dont condone dogs that bite at all, good breeding is the key to not producing dogs with bad temperments in the first place. Bady bred dogs will be the first to bite! - Every incident is different, but most are caused by a stupid human. If EVERYONE who ever owned a bully breed was against fighting and unprofessional aggressive training, we wouldn't see over-abundance of media stories about pits attacking people. The morons who get this type of dog and then abandon (sometimes on a chain) it after the thrill is gone should be the ones getting mauled. Sure, little kids pull and poke and provoke, but a well trained dog (even little lap cushions) wouldn't respond with aggression had they been properly reared in the family pack. One of the biggest mistakes we humans who love our dogs more than our relatives make is treating the dog like an equal. They are not equal and should know teir place in the order. We don't let our kids hit or bite us do we??? Why should we let our dogs behave similar? Training starts with first contact and continues for a lifetime. Stupid human = bad dog.
Xtra: I think this debate will go on as long as we allow "anyone" to own a dog. We can't realisticlly pass laws to prevent people from having dogs either. Education is the best medicine, whether you prefer a Pitbull or a Chineese Crested. - More people get bitten by dogs that are spoiled and untrained then those that are tied out. Dogs should be treated and respected as dogs, the animals they really are. Would people appreciate being treated like any form of animal? You cant make a dog a human any more than you can make a human a dog. They each have specific needs and abilities. People will never do it right no matter what you make them do. It is something inside a person that makes them care properly for an animal. They have to want to do it. You cant force people as long as they have free will. I wish there was an answer but, I dont see one that is fool proof.
- i don't think required classes are the way to go, there are many alchoholics who go to classes and never change...i live in a very small town and i constantly see dogs running around, they stop in the middle of the road and im the one who goes to get them out of the street its not even my dog...i've seen kids screaming from the dogs running around and once again im usually outside tending to the yard or just hanging out so ill run over there and take the dog to their yard and hold it there until the kids are far enough away i can let him/her free again...I own four pitbulls..now if it were my dogs running around out there they would be picked up and put down...what are you offering these people besides chaining them?? fences can be expensive (we paid $2000 for our dog run and our yard is already fenced) i personally think that there should be better breeders out there...i breed my dogs but there is an extensive screening that goes along with getting one of our puppies and we take back any puppy that is unable to be cared for no questions asked and reembursed their money....i run a daycare and many parents are afraid of my dogs just because they are pitbulls...so along with helping kids learn to approach a "strange" animal i show parents that by them showing fear is putting the fear in the kids...i show them the correct way to pet, hold, and i even show them commands and let them give the dog a treat if they did the command correctly but i tell them that not all dogs are approachable..don't be afraid of the animal just don't go up and try to pet all of them...you can look at them from a distance...dogs are naturally territorial...that is gonna happen weither they are chained or not...i think number one we just need to be more selective on who gets a dog and who shouldn't....breeders and dog pounds should take their time when finding a home for a dog and not just think about one less dog on their hand or making alittle extra cash quicker...i do wish that the leash law would become national...in my town they are comming down hard on the barking dogs but doing nothing about the dogs running around free...makes me a tad bit mad...
- I think owners should socialize their dogs I myself have a pitbull/boxer mix alot of people are afraid of him because of his breed.I socailize my puppy, with many different people and dogs. Also I think parents should teach their children how to handle a dog or a puppy, dont just run up to a puppy, or dont pull his tail. I never leave my puppy alone with anyone they cant pet him if im not around. I wanna keep control of the situation. I never taken my puppy to training shcool but I work with him alot myself.
Also the chain thing I think its good to chain your dog up,but not to live on a chain.They should live in the house,my personal opionin why get a dog if its not going to be in your home. There are so many dogs being killed where i live because they are not on chains they let them roam. The reason why these dogs are attackin is because the only love they get is when they get fed. Its ashame but true. they are not use to human contact. This is why they attack!! Its cruel!! - The number one biter of record, according to emergency room records, is the Golden Retiever. I was so surprised to hear that from the Dog Warden after my son was bitten by a golden who used to live down the street. The sad thing is ; I knew the dog was a ticking bomb, and I did not forbid my kids from contact with this dog. I grew up with goldens and never had a mean or unbalanced one. But this dog was owned by a timid owner, they had never had a dog before, and they let the dog take over the house.
I have become a big fan of Caesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, he encourages exercise, disipline, then affection.
He defines excersize as individual for each dog. A big working dog needs to pull or carry. A sporting breed needs to fetch or swim. A lap dog is okay with a leash walk. Disipline - does not mean punishment. The root word in latin means "to teach". And affection to the dog is food, shelter and to be allowed to sit near his leader.
Back on your comments:
Many towns have "no tie out rules", like our town. Everybody has invisable fencing, even a cat around the corner! A few years ago we had 2 dogs that kept comming through the woods and coming into our neighborhood to pester the dogs that live here. I called them the first two times. Then we dropped the dogs off at home another time, with an advertisment for invisable fence. The next two times, I let the dog warden take care of it. The fine is $80. per dog, after $320.00, the fencing was looking cheaper. I bet they got fencing because the dogs don't come anymore.
Many dog owners are good and responsible. The law is holding those careless owners accountable for the dogs actions. More education is needed.
If you keep it up - I will too! - I guess that I'm simply a pessimist on this issue.
How do you legislate responsibility? No way that I know of.
As a percentage the HUGE majority of these incidents are with untrained dogs, or dogs that have been intentionally taught to be aggressive (ie. dogs owned by gang members). These folks are not your normal law abiding citizen.
The only thing that I see you can do, is try to prevent these incidents from happening. That's not an easy solution because resources have to be committed to the solution.
- Your dog is roaming free? That's a fine.
- Your dog shows ANY aggression? That's a fine. (This weekend we went to a local fest. Dogs are allowed. My Utility trained Aussie was with me. As we're walking along this "gentleman" was with his dog. His dog starts lunging at my dog and growling. He then asks me if MY dog is friendly!)
- Your dog bites anyone? That's a fine.
- More than one bite, unjustified? That's a fine AND you go to jail for a couple of days.
Educating the public to me means that you show them that Breed Specific Legislation, etc. doesn't solve the underlying problem.
Folks such as Cesar Milan are part of the PROBLEM. He gets folks into this quick fix mindset. - i think that they are bad i had a dog who got in a fight and he died i was sad but i got over it.so that is what i think
- I am leaning the way of DogJudge. It is difficult to enforce any of this. There are not enough ways to ensure that people will obey the laws. I do think that people's attention will be caught if it costs them money when they screw up. The more money it costs, the less likely they are to be irresponsible. Look at seatbelt laws. It used to be an impossibility to get people to wear them, but now it is successful in most states.
Unfortunately, I have seen bad things happen to the dogs when some people get fined or charged. They end up loose somewhere, or dropped off at the kill shelter, or worse...
I like New Zealands policy-kind of like not being able to drive without taking that test first!
Goldengal, I want to live in your town! I spent months trying to convince my neighbor across the street that one of those 16 times his dog got out, it might end up as road kill in front of the house. I finally had to convince them to give it up to a local no-kill shelter, where it was adopted out to a responsible family. My heart was in my mouth every time I saw that dog out-she liked to chase cars. - Unfortunately we're never, ever going to be able to make everyone stop being stupid about their dogs. Its a sad fact, but the best you can do is to educate people around you. Dogs are not naturally agressive animals, its how they're raised and conditioned. If people would raise their dogs in the way that the *dog* needs with proper excercise and leadership then we would have problems of people being attacked.
But... sadly people aren't willing to listen to anything like this. All anyone sees is the 'big, scary rottie', or 'its a pittbull so of *course* its mean!'. And then we end up with these breeds being banned. It should be the people who are screened and tested for whether they're suitable to own any animal, let alone ones that require a firmer hand, as opposed to just removing these 'problem' breeds from society.
Chaining a dog out for any period of time is the stupidest thing anyone could do for a dog, especially high energy ones that can be easily frustrated. And then people wonder 'why is my dog so bad?'
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