People, if you are reading this and own a dog I have one thing to say to you;
STOP telling people that your dog doesn’t bite! I cringe every time I hear someone say this and I correct people that are close to me when I hear them say this. Every dog, I don’t care what breed and I don’t care what temperament, EVERY dog has the potential to bite. It’s what dogs do, it’s their defense mechanism; they bite.
I own three dogs, all three are loving mush balls who love people, especially children, love to play, love to be petted, love, love, love attention, but when I am asked if the dog will bite the first thing I say is “Well he is a dog.” I then follow it up with a “He hasn’t bitten anyone yet, but he is a dog.”
Some nimrod outside in my neighborhood yesterday said “Well train him not to bite!”
No shit Sherlock, we train them not to bite for “no” reason, we do what is necessary to help them develop an even and loving temperament but we can’t train a dog not to bite, it is what dogs do.
If a dog is threatened his first defense is actually to run away from trouble, well I should clarify and say it is my 120lb Lab/Rottie cross’ first line of defense. He is non-aggressive in nature, but he will bear fang and lunge if he feels cornered. Make no mistake about it, for he is dog.
Raise your hand in anger towards me and all three of my gentle babies (and maybe even their sister the cat too) will bear fang and lunge at you. I am Alpha, I am female, I am Momma, and I am their security in the big bad world.
Just STOP telling people that your dog will not bite them, and then you won’t have to do so much double back talking when the dog actually does bite someone. Also learn the signs of potential bites waiting to happen. Don’t force yourself into a dog’s personal space; wait to be invited into it. They’ll love you all the more for it. Just because you are human and ‘supposedly’ smarter (and I use the term loosely because I have come across some humans that my dogs are clearly more intelligent than) it doesn’t mean that you are automatically going to be considered an alpha dog in the pack. An intruder to the pack is an intruder to the pack and it doesn’t matter if you walk on four feet or two.
And to my neighbors at the end of the street with the BEAUTIFUL pit bull… SHAME ON YOU for not protecting your dog!
I sincerely believe that there are no bad dogs, just bad owners and the fact that our city’s by-law enforcement spent the better part of the day on our street because of your ignorance to that fact makes me sad for the beautiful creature that you were supposed to be in charge of.
He is dog, he knows no better than what he did. In fact he was doing his job and doing it well and now because of not being protected enough by you, he may well be put down because his humans weren’t looking out for him.
I will not say that you did not care for him, he’s a very friendly, loving animal, his coat shiny, his temperament adorable, his demeanor like that of a two year old child (Look at me! See me! I’m here you know? Look at me!) But you dropped the ball yesterday and he hurt another neighborhood dog and now he may suffer for it.
Not good. Not good at all.
It makes me sad and I have been praying that what appears to be a freak accident is ruled just that so that he may live, but people? You have to get it together; you CAN NOT own a dog like that and not be atop of all of the issues that come with.
Of course the neighbors are going to be antsy and nervous having a pit on the street. Of course they are going to label him a “BAD DOG” just because of his breed. Of course they are going to look for things to pick on you about when it comes to him and guess what? It’s YOUR job to protect the animal in your care; it is not HIS job to convince the neighborhood that he is a “safe” animal. That’s YOUR job and today I give you and ‘F’ for that little task.
Poor, poor puppies… both the attacker and the injured. They are both innocent animals and were just doing what dogs do. They were dog.