Comments on: On Pit Bulls and Courts of Law

By: dollslikeus

dollslikeus — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:10:09 +0000

I saw a child ten months old who could have been beatiful but she got mauled by a pit bull .
I think it is some owners but after seeing that I wouldn’t want a dog like that .
Owners have to keep pets in the house o9r out on a leach or a big fence they cannot jump I have had my husky shepherd lose more then once when he was younger but today he is to old to jump the fence .
Since I am a seinor I couldn’t chase hiom and get him I had to wait for him to come back .

By: safety training course - On Pit Bulls and Courts of Law

safety training course - On Pit Bulls and Courts of Law — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 03:30:25 +0000

[...] On the other hand horses who are hurt in the course of training may decide to take matters into their own hooves and that can be dangerous. (Over 250 people a year are killed by horses, as opposed to 31 by dogs last year. … by animalbehavior at 1:46 PM [...]

By: animalbehavior

animalbehavior — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:24:18 +0000

Thanks for this response! I agree, most pet owner’s don’t want to apply safer gear, and they really, really, really want to take their dogs out in public or have them loose in their houses around guests. They want a magic pill that doesn’t require that they change anything they are doing.

Regarding the gear, I once had a client whose husband wouldn’t let her use a leash with two points of contact because it made it look like a service dog. I guess it takes all kinds.

By: Nancy Frensley

Nancy Frensley — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 23:28:59 +0000

At this point I have almost 30 years of experience with dogs and have worked all this time in humane society environment as trainer, behavior counselor and educator. I preach on a daily basis about taking untrained, potentially dangerous dogs i nto the public while they are exhibiting aggressive tendencies and also have clients who have let outright biters live loose in their home when people visit or come to the door for years.

Not only is keeping dogs safely contained until they behave appropriately a safety concern, dogs who can practice their aggressive tendencies at will do not rehabilitate well. And how many of us are faced with clients who look at us with tears in their eyes and ask, “You mean he can’t be taken out or loose in the house anymore?”

On equipment, you’re right. Really effective equipment has not yet been invented for the large, lungey reactive dog. The closest I’ve come is a regular harness with a head harness attached to the chest ring and either two leashes or a service lead attached to both the head harness and back ring of the body harness. This gives you two points of control but good luck getting the average pet owner to use this configuration. Most of them are just overwhelmed with dealing with both control points and shifting between control points as needed. Why is it so easy for me?

I do think that most people who wind up with an aggressive dog are responsible and want to do the right thing but have a really hard time with giving up their dogs’ ” rights” to freedom and walks.

By: animalbehavior

animalbehavior — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:45:57 +0000

Thanks for this awesome response, Claudia! I am not a horse woman, as you can see, so I appreciate the clarifications… and I can certainly see how if a horse is putting up vigorous resistance that leading him is the least of your worries!

I think there is a place for head gear- certainly your situation is one of them.

One point I wanted to make is that those people who handle animals known to be powerful and who don’t typically live in the living room are respectful of the power of the animal and handle him or her while taking great care. Many very loving owners, unfortunately, think that because it is a dog different rules apply and that they need not take the same safety precautions that the handlers of large animals take.

Fortunately many or most clearly understand this and are quite responsible!

By: Claudia J Hill

Claudia J Hill — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:36:40 +0000

This was a very interesting article and I enjoyed reading it. I have a 107 lb German Shepherd Dog who is my service dog. He has the sweetest and least aggressive temperament in the world and is extremely well trained and socialized, but I use a Gentle Leader halter on him when we go into public as well as his harness and backpack. Partly this is because I have been a trick horse trainer for over thirty years and am very well practised at using headgear to control and teach very large animals, but it’s also because he is very strong and should he ever become aggressive I want to be able to crontrol him. My condition leaves me weak and easily overbalanced, so I need all the help I can get.

By the way, horses will lunge into a halter–a frightened horse will lunge into a spade bit or a bicycle chain bit (anyone who uses one around me will find that controlling their horse is the least of their problems!). The secret is lateral pressure rather than pulling against the horse’s strength. Lateral pressure can be very light. And earning your horse’s trust. And, of course, proper training.