Over the past week, I have been involved in a few different situations, all with different clients, that had a common theme, respect. Particularly, the respect given (or not given) to owners who are trying to work with their dogs out in public. This particular blog post is not just for dog owners. It is for anyone who encounters someone with a dog who is not behaving appropriately, maybe even aggressively, and the owner is obviously trying to work through the dog's issues.
The first topic I would like to address is off-leash dogs, dogs on retractable leashes, or dogs that are ON a leash but are allowed to run up to other dogs. I wanted to share my opinion on the following issue because I have spoken to many owners who say that it never occurred to them how their dog being off-leash could effect other dogs around them. I cannot stress enough how disrespectful it is to allow your dog to roam freely in close proximity to their dogs without asking the owners if they are comfortable with it.
Usually when I tell an owner this, their rebuttal is, "But MY dog is very friendly, it LOVES other dogs and would never hurt anyone!" The issue I have with this statement is that I have heard it too many times before and the dog proves the owner wrong.
Even if you are correct and they wouldn't ever hurt anyone, your forgetting that there are at least two dogs in this situation, and the OTHER dog may not share your dog's feelings of friendliness.
Let's imagine that, instead of your dog, you are out for a walk with your child. Would you not ask the owner before you allowed your child could greet the dog?
It is the polite thing to do with your dog as well! Let's say the other dog is shy, reserved, or maybe even aggressive. If your dog approaches the other dog off leash, not only are you putting your own dog into danger, guess who is liable if anything happens? The person whose dog is off-leash.
You may think that people who own aggressive dogs have no business being out in public, however, as long as they have adequately secured their dog (i.e. the leash) and your dog is unrestrained and comes up to theirs, YOU are responsible, even if the other dog is the aggressor. Besides, how would they ever go about remedying the problem without taking them out in public for some training sessions?
Which brings me to my next topic: how the general public reacts to owners who are working with aggressive dogs in public. Many of my clients are very hesitant to go out and work with their dogs because of what people might think. I have been out at several city parks with a few of my clients working through their dog's issues and have seen firsthand how some people react to us. Let me tell you, I can't blame them for dreading these training sessions because you can feel the contempt lingering in the air long after some of the people pass by. You can almost hear them thinking, "they have no business being out in public with that dog!"
The problem is, most aggression issues are fear-based. In other words, most do NOT show aggression purely for the fun of it, but because they are over-whelmed or over stimulated. How are we to get them over those fears and rehabilitate them without taking them out in public? The answer is we cannot. So next time you see an owner trying to do the responsible thing and work through their dog's aggression issues, instead of dirty looks, try being encouraging to the owner, who needs all the support they can get.
I was working with one particular dog at a park in Topeka recently who was acting just as I have been describing. Each time someone passed by the dog growled and lunged (I was working responsibly, standing at least 10 feet off of the trail), every time someone passed by, the dog seemed to get worse, and why wouldn't it? It was scared, it barked at them, and then they left. The longer we went on, the more difficult it got until I saw a man approaching with a dog, I thought, "Oh here we go again", and began working my dog, trying to improve her reactions. Suddenly I hear the man say, "Beautiful dog", as she is barking and lunging towards him! He stopped, instructed his dog to sit quietly, and I said "Thank you, we are currently working through some socialization issues." To that he replied, "Don't worry, it will just take some time." and then he quietly went on with his walk. Not only did his words of encouragement help me feel better about the situation, by stopping and not allowing my dog to "scare him away" with her barking and lunging, it stopped the inevitable reward my dog was getting before. What a wonderful gesture of kindness that was!
Now, a note to my fellow owners who are out working with aggressive dogs, if someone does have the decency to stop and offer help or simply encouragement. Fight the urge to secretly wish they would just go away because it would make our dog "go back to normal" more quickly. Believe me, my first instinct when he uttered the first sentence was "Oh great, now I have to work my dog while he sits here and chats", but I quickly realized he was affording me the opportunity to actually be effective in my training session!
So next time you are enjoying the park with your dog and you see someone with a furry friend who is a handful, make sure you are giving them the space they need, but also the support. These owners should be commended for trying to rehabilitate a dog in a society where everything is disposable. It is amazing how good you can make someone feel just by showing a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
The first topic I would like to address is off-leash dogs, dogs on retractable leashes, or dogs that are ON a leash but are allowed to run up to other dogs. I wanted to share my opinion on the following issue because I have spoken to many owners who say that it never occurred to them how their dog being off-leash could effect other dogs around them. I cannot stress enough how disrespectful it is to allow your dog to roam freely in close proximity to their dogs without asking the owners if they are comfortable with it.
Usually when I tell an owner this, their rebuttal is, "But MY dog is very friendly, it LOVES other dogs and would never hurt anyone!" The issue I have with this statement is that I have heard it too many times before and the dog proves the owner wrong.
Even if you are correct and they wouldn't ever hurt anyone, your forgetting that there are at least two dogs in this situation, and the OTHER dog may not share your dog's feelings of friendliness.
Let's imagine that, instead of your dog, you are out for a walk with your child. Would you not ask the owner before you allowed your child could greet the dog?
It is the polite thing to do with your dog as well! Let's say the other dog is shy, reserved, or maybe even aggressive. If your dog approaches the other dog off leash, not only are you putting your own dog into danger, guess who is liable if anything happens? The person whose dog is off-leash.
You may think that people who own aggressive dogs have no business being out in public, however, as long as they have adequately secured their dog (i.e. the leash) and your dog is unrestrained and comes up to theirs, YOU are responsible, even if the other dog is the aggressor. Besides, how would they ever go about remedying the problem without taking them out in public for some training sessions?
Which brings me to my next topic: how the general public reacts to owners who are working with aggressive dogs in public. Many of my clients are very hesitant to go out and work with their dogs because of what people might think. I have been out at several city parks with a few of my clients working through their dog's issues and have seen firsthand how some people react to us. Let me tell you, I can't blame them for dreading these training sessions because you can feel the contempt lingering in the air long after some of the people pass by. You can almost hear them thinking, "they have no business being out in public with that dog!"
The problem is, most aggression issues are fear-based. In other words, most do NOT show aggression purely for the fun of it, but because they are over-whelmed or over stimulated. How are we to get them over those fears and rehabilitate them without taking them out in public? The answer is we cannot. So next time you see an owner trying to do the responsible thing and work through their dog's aggression issues, instead of dirty looks, try being encouraging to the owner, who needs all the support they can get.
I was working with one particular dog at a park in Topeka recently who was acting just as I have been describing. Each time someone passed by the dog growled and lunged (I was working responsibly, standing at least 10 feet off of the trail), every time someone passed by, the dog seemed to get worse, and why wouldn't it? It was scared, it barked at them, and then they left. The longer we went on, the more difficult it got until I saw a man approaching with a dog, I thought, "Oh here we go again", and began working my dog, trying to improve her reactions. Suddenly I hear the man say, "Beautiful dog", as she is barking and lunging towards him! He stopped, instructed his dog to sit quietly, and I said "Thank you, we are currently working through some socialization issues." To that he replied, "Don't worry, it will just take some time." and then he quietly went on with his walk. Not only did his words of encouragement help me feel better about the situation, by stopping and not allowing my dog to "scare him away" with her barking and lunging, it stopped the inevitable reward my dog was getting before. What a wonderful gesture of kindness that was!
Now, a note to my fellow owners who are out working with aggressive dogs, if someone does have the decency to stop and offer help or simply encouragement. Fight the urge to secretly wish they would just go away because it would make our dog "go back to normal" more quickly. Believe me, my first instinct when he uttered the first sentence was "Oh great, now I have to work my dog while he sits here and chats", but I quickly realized he was affording me the opportunity to actually be effective in my training session!
So next time you are enjoying the park with your dog and you see someone with a furry friend who is a handful, make sure you are giving them the space they need, but also the support. These owners should be commended for trying to rehabilitate a dog in a society where everything is disposable. It is amazing how good you can make someone feel just by showing a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
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