ARE YOU PART OF THE PROBLEM, OR THE SOLUTION?
By Melissa French

Breed Discrimination. Those are two words that certain rescue groups hate to hear. When there is discrimination within city ordinances or even in dog-related businesses against certain breeds, it is an injustice for everyone. And let’s face it; we all know that the problems are not with the breeds themselves, but with irresponsible people that own them.

When we look through history, why are laws made? Are they made because there are a huge number of people causing problems? NO. Laws are made because there are a few people that make it tough for the rest of us. You know as well as I do, the laws in cities against certain breeds are on the books because there are a few incidents. But the level of horror regarding some of those incidents is insurmountable, especially with regards to dogs.

If you read my article last month, you read about my (and Riot’s) experience with a person whose breed of choice was Pit Bull. You also read that this person had this dog in a public place with no leash, and certainly no control. As a person with dogs, I find this horribly irresponsible and I am appalled that this goes on regularly.

A large number of us choose to do the right thing with regards to our dogs. We choose to promote spay/neuter, socialize, and train our dogs. However, even under the most responsible situations, people still get bitten. There is a great website, www.peteducation.com, that gives lots of information on how to keep our children and families safe.

But the problem is that while some of us choose to attempt to do the right things; err of the side of caution when it comes to our dogs, and do what we can to insure safety, there are large numbers of people out there who choose to turn away from their responsibilities.

According to the Centers for Disease control, Americans have a 1 in 50 chance of being bitten by a dog each year. WHAT??!!! I was infuriated at those statistics. And you should be, too! Why are our dogs biting people? We are supposed to be in control of our dogs to help to insure that biting does not occur.

If you research the dog-biting-people epidemic (and I believe that there is truly an epidemic), you will find that most of the problems stem from the following:

1. Lack of sexual alteration (spay/neuter), which leads to high probabilities of territorial aggression.

2. Lack of restraint of our dogs which leads to dogs running loose on our streets (and if left sexually unaltered leads to loose dogs being territorially aggressive)

3. Lack of training and socialization of our dogs, which share our communities with lots of people (which, if left sexually unaltered leads to untrained dogs running loose being territorially aggressive)

4. Denial of all three of these and excuses for our dogs’ behaviors

While we still have a long way to go to educate a large portion of our communities regarding spaying and neutering our dogs. A lot of the problems are right next-door. While I understand that health is a huge portion of our dogs’ well being, I am extremely tired of health being the first priority over temperament. I am sure that a lot of people reading this article would like to debate that issue with me. But look at it this way…How much fun is a dog that is extremely healthy, but anti-social because an owner delayed getting a dog spayed/neutered? I have to admit that a un-neutered male has the biggest issues with temperament than an un-sprayed female, but there are still associated behavioral problems for both. (I am not speaking from anything but statistical information that anyone is more than able to acquire from the Internet.) There may be medical studies out there that say that lack of hormones increases the possibility of hip displasia. As a rule, this issue usually affects older adult dogs. How can our dogs become older adults if they are exhibiting behavioral issues associated with a late spay or neuter such as biting? Another issue is an ABSOLUTE risk of puppies becoming ill by being social early in their vaccination schedule. But, again, how much fun is having a puppy that is un-socialized? Is the risk of illness, or death, worth having a social puppy and eventually a social adult dog? I, personally, think that it is! Particularly in today’s society with large groups of people living within feet of each other.

What can we do about this? We need to spread the word about Spay/Neuter Kansas City and all of the other groups that help with low cost spay/neuters. (I am sorry that I can not list them all in this article) If you are reading this article and don’t know anything about Spay/Neuter Kansas City, please educate yourself by going to www.snkc.net to learn more. They need all kinds of help!! Make a donation of money or your time to any of these organizations. This is extremely helpful and you may even save a child’s life.

According to www.onlinelaywersource.com, “Dogs that aren't spayed or neutered are 3 times more likely to bite and the most common biters are males between the ages of 1 and 5 years old.” Let me try to help interpret this. At nine months of age, a dog is feeling the changes in his body and hormones as he reaches adolescence. Adolescent dogs enjoy testing boundaries and learning who is in control. At eighteen months of age, these boundaries, (or the lack there of), are being established. By age three, a dog has not only matured sexually, but has established territory and dominance levels within their pack, in other words, with our human family.

When you research the wild dogs from which our dogs are derived, you will learn that by this time the little battles that have happened between pack members have established pack order and the more dominant dogs are reigning. (Who is reigning in your home?) By the time a dog is five years old, or maybe even sooner, he will no longer tolerate any test of dominance without doing his best to keep his place in the hierarchy line. And any behavior that has been nurtured up to this point (i.e. fear, dominance, submission, etc.) is the behavior that takes priority in your dog’s life.

When we neuter our male dogs, we can sometimes preserve the puppy-like behavior we so dearly love about our dogs. It doesn’t mean they can’t still mature, and become territorial, but most often that can be dealt with through training and early socialization prior to the adolescence issues popping up. By the way, muscle and bone mass doesn’t just rely on hormones. Muscle and bone mass can be built through exceptional nutrition and much-needed long-term exercise.

But what about some of those people that like “TOUGH” dogs? What about people who believe that a male dog isn’t a male without his testicles? How do we convince them that their dog’s aggressive nature that is a result of not neutering is completely their fault and responsibility? Especially when they enjoy the growl their dog gives another dog. Sometimes these people even like to see their dog scuffle with another. This means that these people nurture these behaviors in their dogs, which can lead to unsocial behavior.

What can we do to make THESE people responsible for their dogs’ issues? The Centers for Disease Control found out that between 1997 and 1998, 27 fatalities occurred as a result of a dog bite. Of those doing the biting, 60% were pit bulls and Rottweilers and 67% of those fatalities were from unrestrained dogs ON their own property. Might we deduce that it might be territorial behavior?

In my profession, I have so many people that say, “...But I want my dog to be protective!” This means that they usually go for the very dogs that cause these biting statistics. But the term protective is very subjective in nature. Most of the time, they wish to have a dog that will bark to warn a possible intruder that there is a dog present. But in dog language, “protective” means something else entirely. When you are thinking “protective” you send so many signals right to your dog that tell your dog what you want from him. Do you really want your dog standing up for you and making those decisions? Are dogs always capable of making the right decisions? How is your dog supposed to know who is friend or foe? How can we expect them to just “KNOW”? How fair is that?

Since we have dogs in our communities that are made to be unpredictable by us, what are we going to do about it? Well, some cities are taking the “Dangerous Dog” approach and treating any dogs that have been reported and found to be aggressive, have to fall under special circumstances and are kept track of by the city. The problem with this is that usually a dog has to bite someone, or threaten someone severely to be considered a “Dangerous Dog”. Other cities try to circumvent that particular problem by establishing that certain breeds that have a history of causing the majority of the incidents to be banned from that city. Why is this a problem? Because people that adore those breeds, usually Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Bull Terriers, Stafford shire Terriers, American Bull Dogs, and others like them, find this reprehensible and an uneducated approach.

Many times I do a training consultation and I have the couple sitting across from me expressing their shock at their current dog’s behavior. They can’t understand why their last Doberman wasn’t the same as their puppy of today. I get this a lot about many, many different breeds. My theory is this….Think of puppies years ago before the “save them all” approach of today. When the ole farmer’s dog down the road had puppies and we wanted one, we waited until they were old enough, usually 6 weeks, and we ran down the road to pick one out. But usually, we had been allowed to play with the puppies early on. We could carry them around, put them in a wagon, dress them in dolls clothes, and generally have a great time with them.

Back then litters of puppies were much smaller than they are today. My theory about this is that mom, usually left outdoors, moved those puppies several times prior to the weaning process. In moving I imagine that one or two would scream at mom for picking them up. Due to this, mom probably left those puppies. I firmly believe that back years ago it was survival of the fittest, and the most compliant to mom. This would promote hierarchy, or “pecking order”.

These days, puppies are born in a whelping box, and mom can leave, but pups usually are not moved. It isn’t survival of the fittest anymore, as we wish nothing but the best for our dogs. And there isn’t any need for compliance towards the canine mom, let alone the human one.

Do I think we should go back to the way of doing things in the past? NO! I don’t wish harm on anyone’s babies. I do wish we would start doing our best to simulate the process of years ago. We can do that by picking up our puppies by the scruff early on in their life to encourage submissive behavior. When very young puppies (as early as a few days) are picked up by their scruff, they tuck their behinds and tails. I have actually tried to simulate carrying behavior on litters of puppies I have fostered for the humane society. I would pick them up and gently bounce them just barely above the ground as mom might while walking. If their little behinds touched the floor, they would tuck harder. I found as these puppies grew into adult dogs, they seemed to be more submissive then others I had seen. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

We can start encouraging inherent coping mechanisms such as yawning, deep breathing and others like that so that puppies learn to grasp for those as they mature in a human’s home in hopes that the pups would reach for those inherent behaviors at stressful moments verses fight or flight. There are so many things we can do. But mostly, we need to stop humanizing our dogs and excusing their behaviors in a human fashion. We are setting up our domestic canine to become impossible as the years pass.

What can you and I do? Let’s do our part to start helping the dogs that are here today.

1. Let’s encourage early spay/neuter. (Don’t forget to check out www.snkc.net.). According to the AVMA, http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jun04/040601l.asp, “…The AVMA supports the concept of early (8 to 16 weeks of age) spay/neuter in dogs and cats in an effort to reduce the number of unwanted animals of these species. Just as for other veterinary medical and surgical procedures, veterinarians should use their best medical judgment in deciding at what age spay/neuter should be performed on individual animals….”

If the American Veterinary Medical Association says to spay and neuter non-breeding stock early, then why are we waiting until 6 months of age to spay and neuter perfectly healthy dogs when we are going to have a dog as a family companion?

2. Why wait to socialize and train your puppy? According to http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/earlysocialization.html, “…Much study has been done on the critical socialization periods and professionals debate on how to protect the puppy from illness while meeting his need for rich social experiences. It's a reality that puppies are at risk of picking up viruses in the world but "bubble boy" puppies who stay cloistered at home until they are "all done with their shots" can also be at a greater risk of becoming anti-social dogs who can't cope with life.

At a recent seminar, Ian Dunbar DVM, PhD noted that the 'most' critical socialization period starts long before the pup leaves the litter: 3 weeks to 12 weeks - so socialization needs to start with the breeder and continue from there. The books say 7 weeks because that's about the earliest a puppy should leave its litter. Dr. Dunbar's quote is "100 new people by the age of 3 months." That's a lot of people!”

As you will notice when you pull this article up, you will see that a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine wrote it.

We can do other things in our community. If you see a dog running loose, call your local animal control. We must be willing to take care of the dogs out on the streets reeking havoc on our society. And those people that are responsible for letting their dog’s run loose must be reprimanded and educated. Encourage your local animal control to start a “responsible pet ownership” class requiring those responsible for our loose dogs to take such a class. While we wish for “breed discrimination” to be a thing of the past, until we correct the underlying problems, such things will not go away.

If you are bitten, report the bite immediately to your local animal control. There are steps that need to be taken to insure your safety in regards to disease. And the culprit needs to be on record for biting. I am going to be flogged for that statement, but I KNOW that dogs biting people is something that needs to be addressed. Covering up the problem is not making it better, and in fact is making it much worse. We need better statistics on the books. When the CDC is talking about biting dogs, they are taking information from reports of dog-bites. I really feel that the very dogs about which city ordinances are written are the only ones being reported. I firmly believe that the cute little Maltese/Pomeranian/Poodle mix next door bites, too. The little thing is just much too cute to report to authorities. And let’s face it, who wants anyone to know that they got bit by a 2 ½ pound dog?

If you have a dog that has been known through statistics to be a bite-risk, make sure you are doing your part to insure that your dog is NOT a statistic. That is the best we all can do!!! Train, Socialize, and discipline your dog to help him/her become an acceptable member of society. And make sure that your dog is spayed and neutered. If you know of other people that also share your love for your breed-of-choice, encourage them to do the same. Ask yourself, “Am I part of the problem, or part of the solution?”