Archive for February, 2012
Family Matters: Supervision Required Between Kids and Dogs
And family includes your dogs. You love your kids, you love your dogs. You think that each should automatically love one another, right? After all, you do. But this is where common sense needs to prevail. Your dogs are predators at heart. They are not furry children.
Unless they have been raised with your kids from birth, they don’t know what babies or small children are. Some dogs still don’t quite get it despite the from birth connection. It is a parent’s job to both manage the situation and make introductions in an appropriate manner as well as training better interactions as needed.
Babies should never be left unattended with dogs.
The link below tells the sad tale of a baby losing his life at the tender age of two days. This happened because he was left unsupervised, on the floor with a multiple dog household loose in the home, including a new dog who was in pain from an injury. I am going to try very hard to not point fingers. This young mother needs some education on dogs and babies combined. Since she is already a mother to two older children and from all reports, an animal lover who rescues those in need, I will assume that she thinks the best of all she deals with. But that is a dangerous move when you have just adopted a new dog. Erring on the side of caution is best.
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2012/02/16/child-bitten-by-dog-in-mckeesport/
New dogs need time to adjust to their new surroundings. Especially when they have an injury as this dog did, a treated at home injury at that. Based on the reports that describe what happened, what actually transpired was a best case scenario, as tragic as that is. There were four dogs in this home. There were reportedly two dogs with access to the baby during this short time. That is two dogs too many.
It is easy to kill an infant, especially one that young and fragile. Their heads are tender. They break easily. The fact that this baby was reportedly only bitten, not mauled, is a strong indicator that a curious dog was the problem. My own recently deceased pride and joy, Merlin, gently nibbled at a newborn when he was about this dog’s age. Fortunately, he was supervised so that is as far as that went. They were separated from such close access immediately. He was curious and he had no idea what the strange creature before him was. Those who knew Merlin at all, know that he was as far from aggressive as it gets.
Things could have been so much worse when a multiple dog household is involved, especially one that quite probably was lacking in training for the dogs. The pack mentality is quick to take hold. It’s the same as with crowds with people. It’s undesirable but normal. The babies could have been used as a tug toy.
Dogs are just that: dogs. They are not humans. I cannot stress that enough. They do not have same reasoning skills to tell them that this loud and smelly inhabitant of the basket on the floor is not a toy. Some breeds act more on instinct than others without training. Siberian Huskies are one of them. This is normal. Dogs do not possess malicious intent. This dog did not commit a crime. It would be a different story if he had killed an adult human. That is a lot harder to do and would require some serious aggression. It takes much less to harm an infant. It is tragic all around that this baby had to lose his life but it in no way makes any sense that the dog should lose his as well.
This dog has no idea what he did. He does, however, I am sure, now realize that something very bad has happened since his life has been very scary since the whole ordeal transpired. There is a wonderful man who wants to help this dog. He has already paid for his former owners fines as well as provided the newly named Helo with proper veterinary care for his broken leg. Helo was seized from his new loving home to serve out his quarantine in a kennel. Unless the new owner appeals, Helo will be euthanized at the end of the quarantine. The new owner is appealing. I applaud him. This dog deserves a chance at a normal life in a caring home with a family that understands a dog’s needs. I urge anyone reading to donate to his cause. Helo will thank you.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_783483.html
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Helping-Helo/259668777441094?sk=wall
Walk This Way?? Please don’t approach us!!
On leash, off leash; this topic can rival religion or politics. So can the choice to socialize or not when walking one’s dogs. For some people, walking their dogs is their quiet time of the day, being alone with their thoughts, while connecting with their loved ones. For others, it’s a time to connect with other dog lovers who are doing the same. These two purposes are at odds with one another so the potential for conflict is great.
To socialize or not to socialize, that is the question!
It’s not just myself that I protect. My dogs are amazingly well trained but they are still dogs whose first instinct is to protect. They are first and foremost mostly guarding breeds. The exception is Trent, whose heritage is not a guarding breed but he does have a history of being frightened and therefore reactive, towards dogs who’s approach leaves something to be desired. He has come a long way with this issue. My goal is no setbacks.
The reason for the divide between these two types of dog walkers is very simple. The more private group, as a whole, understands a good bit more about dog behavior than the more social group. In my experience, the more social group has either very tolerant dogs or one of the breeds that has little in the way of body awareness but a strong love for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, loving everyone is not a bad thing but respecting others personal space is equally important. The loving everyone breeds tend to primarily include Labrador and Golden Retrievers, though there are exceptions within all breeds.
Overly social dogs are fond of the direct approach. This is typically frowned upon by the majority of the dog world. Humans stride straight at one another, arms outstretched for that all important bonding ritual, the handshake. This exact scenario is considered a direct threat to most dogs. Dogs meet one another by a curving approach, never straight on. They avoid eye contact when meeting strangers while we humans seek it. Dogs feel threatened by prolonged direct eye contact. So do humans for that matter but civility is required by us. Animals are different. They act on instinct. A fearful dog will feel the fight or flight instinct faster than other dogs, though all will feel it when inappropriate.
Well meaning strangers sadly think that it’s okay to let their off leash or even on leash dogs head directly towards other dogs that are strangers to them. They just want to say hi. This causes anyone on the receiving end of such an ordeal, to either recoil in terror, head hastily in the other direction, shout at the human (and dogs) approaching to stop RIGHT NOW PLEASE, or all of the above when necessary. Any can come off as un-friendly. This could not be further from the truth. We just want to keep ourselves and mostly, our dogs safe. Please do not mistake dog behavior knowledge for rudeness.
I and others who are both private by nature as well as “in training” with our dogs, just want something different from a walk or hike than you and your social butterfly dog do. Please respect that. If you meet us in another context, we probably have a lot in common, among the commonalities, a great love for our dogs. View us as a friend whose privacy you respect. Socialize with those who invite it. If you see someone with a dog who doesn’t immediately head your way, then waive and head the other direction, leashing your dog immediately (if off leash) especially if the locale requires it. We will thank you profusely in our heads and hearts.
Dear readers, I know how I handle the above situation. How do you handle it? I can’t wait to hear!
Status Quo or No: Deciding to Add to the Crew
When is it time to add a fourth dog?
This brings me to the subject at hand. I miss having four dogs. Of course, I REALLY want that fourth dog to be Merlin. Of that, there is no question. He is imprinted on my soul and I think of him many times daily. But until we met again, he is only in my memory. So I am torn. Kera may not have many days left and I want to assure her of my commitment to her without any competition for her attention. But I also wonder whether the addition of the right crew member may give her a morale boost. And what if she does have many days left and I am waiting for naught? ‘Tis a dilemma.
There are a couple of dogs that I have in mind. One is a dog that I spent a lot of time and effort in trying to get him to safety. He was on the run, after only a few days in a new adoptive home that a local shelter placed him into. He resembles my Siri. BB, as is his nickname, was finally captured in late January after wandering the local woods since August.
To say that I have been worried is a vast understatement. Now that he is back at the shelter, he is on a low activity requirement until medically cleared. He escaped from his adoptive home just after being released from his heartworm treatment just. He was supposed to be calm for six months. No one told him though. How he is with other dogs remains to be seen. However he is very much in my mind as an addition, should it be meant to be. By the way, he is a Rottweiler/ GSD mix, just like Siri, though with a head size double hers!
The other immediate option is my friend’s “puppy”, a Doberman/Caucasian Ovcharka mix, who is from an “oops” litter, that I was tempted by when that litter was born. He was returned shortly after adoption due to the adopter not being particularly knowledgeable about housetraining. Amazingly, despite his stellar qualities, now a few months past the age of one year, he is still with my friend. I have not yet met him, although he is listed on my rescue website. I wrote a blog about these puppies a year ago. Does this mean that this may be meant to be? I don’t know.
And of course, the right dog may be neither. I don’t feel ready for either choice. He (and I am sure that I want a “he”) may be a dog who has yet to appear. The answer to this whole thing is not readily apparent and I struggle with this whole subject.
I feel that Siri and Trent are ready for a new addition yet I don’t wish to short change Kera. I have always known when it was the right dog to include permanently in my life in the past. This has never been a light decision for me. So I look for “signs” that it will be the right thing to do.
Hearing how others have made this decision will help. Please tell me how you solved this dilemma.
