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Dogs are not people in furry costumes
18/10/2006
GIVEN recent press coverage you may be forgiven for thinking the UK is overrun with vicious, killer dogs.
The horrific death of a five-month-old baby by two Rottweilers was immediately followed by another attack on a five-year-old boy in a completely unrelated incident.
Now, I hear two Rottweilers escaped from guarding a post office and attacked John Stalker's wife. So what's going on?
Walt Disney may have been an artistic genius, but he has done our pets no favours whatsoever. By attributing human characteristics to animals (anthropomorphism) Disney has encouraged us to regard our dogs as people in furry costumes.
Above all else dogs need a pack leader, but it's impossible to exude leadership when you treat your dog like a child. It sends all the wrong signals and a dog without a leader is a problem dog.
Walk through any park and you'll see dogs careering around, jumping on each other while witless handlers call it 'play'. Later on that 'play' will turn into aggression simply because owners have no understanding of pack mentality. Pack animals DO NOT play, they practice fighting and by the time their owners realise it, it's too late.
What do owners bother to learn about their dog's genetic make up? From what I see…very little. A handler I knew was in the habit of encouraging his Rhodesian Ridgeback to jump up and wrestle. That dog eventually ripped off his owner's ear.
Had he taken the trouble to find out anything about the genetic profile of the breed, he'd have known that Ridgebacks are face biters and allowing an excited Ridgeback to jump up was madness.
Tug 'o' wars, wrestling and rough games in general are never to be encouraged with any dog, but with some breeds it's a direct path to trouble.
Dogs aren't born aggressive, aggression is trained into them by witless owners.
No-one who understands dogs would leave two untrained Rottweilers wandering their premises. You may as well have a brace of tigers on the loose with no guarantee you won't be the one they'll rip to pieces.
Even professionally schooled police dogs turn on their handlers from time to time. How stupid is it to assume that two untrained Rottweilers will attack only unauthorised intruders?
Look, I'm sick of seeing dogs take the rap for ignorant owners. Let's stop calling them our 'babies' and start respecting them as dogs. Your dog is NOT a member of your family; you are a member of his pack. Find out about his genetic make up, learn how to communicate with him but, most of all, show some LEADERSHIP.
If all else fails, buy a talking pig.
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21/10/2006 at 23:38