Your recommendation to standardize best practices across shelters to mitigate risks is excellent. I truly hope the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) will step up. Have you had the opportunity to speak with them about this?
How do you deal with the owners that have more or less trained the pitbulls to attack people for protection of their property? There's also the problem of children antagonizing dogs as well, and getting bitten. I have seen this happen, and the dog bit the child because having your ears pulled all the time and ridden like a horse is mostly incredibly painful for the dog. Despite myself and the mother of the child, shouting at the child to STOP, he would not. I could see the signs in the dog's body language too, those signs when they feel cornered and have no other recourse but to be an animal....because that's what they are. The child was bitten and the dog was put down. :(
Squizz, thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns. Your questions touch on very important issues that we face in the realm of animal welfare and public safety.
Dealing with Owners Who Train Pit Bulls to Attack: Owners who train their dogs to be aggressive pose a significant challenge. Clearly, this owner is unaware of the liability he is creating for himself. It is crucial for local animal control and humane societies to address these types of situations through a combination of education, legal measures, and community engagement. Educating owners about responsible pet ownership and the consequences of training dogs to be aggressive is essential. Legal measures, such as stricter penalties for those who train dogs to attack, can also serve as a deterrent. Additionally, community programs that promote responsible pet ownership can help change attitudes and behaviors.
Children Antagonizing Dogs: The situation you described with the child and the dog is heartbreaking and highlights the need for better education on how to interact with animals. Children should be taught from a young age how to treat animals with respect and recognize signs of distress in dogs. Programs in schools and community centers that focus on humane education can play a vital role in preventing such incidents. It's also important for parents and guardians to supervise interactions between children and dogs to ensure safety for both.
Thank you for your thoughtful questions and for being an advocate for responsible pet ownership and animal welfare.
There are so many starting points. Dogs under these stressful conditions are going to be more reactive because they feel unsafe and unloved.
This is an across species phenomenon.
The first course of action is healing human beings.
The second is to understand that humans distorted the dominance model in packs and in doing so inadvertently created more stress for them and the dogs.
The dogs who have been abused must learn what safety and love are.
Children want to hug dogs—how many people know that to a dog, a stranger hugging them is a threat?
Running toward a dog who you don’t know is charging in dog language.
How many ways are humans threatening dogs that they are unaware of?
We don’t know what we don’t know.
We do know that beings of all species who have been abused need to heal from the trauma before healthy, loving, safe relationships can be formed.
Well said, AMS. When we consider how long man and dog have co-evolved together, you would think we would have a much better understanding of our interpersonal dynamics. However, in many ways, it almost seems as though we just met...
Your recommendation to standardize best practices across shelters to mitigate risks is excellent. I truly hope the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA) will step up. Have you had the opportunity to speak with them about this?
Only that my articles have been passed along to the President for consideration, and a promise that he'll respond at some point...
That’s good though!
As my mom used to say, 'it's better than getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick...'
Very interesting. I appreciate your knowledge of the subject and I'm glad that you shared it
How do you deal with the owners that have more or less trained the pitbulls to attack people for protection of their property? There's also the problem of children antagonizing dogs as well, and getting bitten. I have seen this happen, and the dog bit the child because having your ears pulled all the time and ridden like a horse is mostly incredibly painful for the dog. Despite myself and the mother of the child, shouting at the child to STOP, he would not. I could see the signs in the dog's body language too, those signs when they feel cornered and have no other recourse but to be an animal....because that's what they are. The child was bitten and the dog was put down. :(
Squizz, thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns. Your questions touch on very important issues that we face in the realm of animal welfare and public safety.
Dealing with Owners Who Train Pit Bulls to Attack: Owners who train their dogs to be aggressive pose a significant challenge. Clearly, this owner is unaware of the liability he is creating for himself. It is crucial for local animal control and humane societies to address these types of situations through a combination of education, legal measures, and community engagement. Educating owners about responsible pet ownership and the consequences of training dogs to be aggressive is essential. Legal measures, such as stricter penalties for those who train dogs to attack, can also serve as a deterrent. Additionally, community programs that promote responsible pet ownership can help change attitudes and behaviors.
Children Antagonizing Dogs: The situation you described with the child and the dog is heartbreaking and highlights the need for better education on how to interact with animals. Children should be taught from a young age how to treat animals with respect and recognize signs of distress in dogs. Programs in schools and community centers that focus on humane education can play a vital role in preventing such incidents. It's also important for parents and guardians to supervise interactions between children and dogs to ensure safety for both.
Thank you for your thoughtful questions and for being an advocate for responsible pet ownership and animal welfare.
There are so many starting points. Dogs under these stressful conditions are going to be more reactive because they feel unsafe and unloved.
This is an across species phenomenon.
The first course of action is healing human beings.
The second is to understand that humans distorted the dominance model in packs and in doing so inadvertently created more stress for them and the dogs.
The dogs who have been abused must learn what safety and love are.
Children want to hug dogs—how many people know that to a dog, a stranger hugging them is a threat?
Running toward a dog who you don’t know is charging in dog language.
How many ways are humans threatening dogs that they are unaware of?
We don’t know what we don’t know.
We do know that beings of all species who have been abused need to heal from the trauma before healthy, loving, safe relationships can be formed.
Compassion and education are starting points.
Well said, AMS. When we consider how long man and dog have co-evolved together, you would think we would have a much better understanding of our interpersonal dynamics. However, in many ways, it almost seems as though we just met...