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Ask Yvette

Dear Yvette,

We back onto a large green space in old South London. Our large breed dog is occasionally taunted by people frequenting the park. I was shocked when a family allowed their children to stick their hands through our tall fence and smack my dog's nose when she ventured near enough for a pat. Can I train HUMANS not to provoke my family companion?
A protective Mom and frustrated Dog Owner

Many dog bites happen in nice families. In most cases the bite is no accident. By this I mean the bite was preventable. Many dog bites happen because few people are educated about animal behavior.

At times I feel bad for the species. No other creature on the earth, including humans is held to the similar standards. Dogs must never get angry. They must tolerate the worst injustices with a wagging tail. Morally they are expected to behave better than most people. Dogs are expected to save Timmy from the well and then catch the bad guy responsible.

Some people expect dogs to sit perched on the pedestal of perfection. What human can match that ideal? And yet we demand it of a dog.

For one minute, let us put dogs back into the animal kingdom. Dogs behave like dogs. As such we can expect that when they are taunted, they may bite. They do not write letters to the editor and they do not file lawsuits.

In order to prevent dog bites, both dog owners and people in the general community need to see an animal as what they truly are – not as what we wish it to be. If a horse startles and kicks someone standing behind them, most horse people will wonder why you'd be naïve enough to stand behind the animal in the first place. Horses kick. If you tackled a frightened cat, most people would expect and struggle and deep scratches. Stray cats scratch.

When someone swats a dog's face, why should we expect anything different than a bite?

And here is the rub. Some dogs tolerate physical manipulation, provocation and punishment. Usually these dogs have been very well socialized. They have been trained and conditioned to behave under duress. They have learned that some people behave badly.

Educated owners work hard. They diligently work at creating what they want in their dog by using socialization and prevention based exercises. Educated owners know that Lassie did not actually listen or understand the words being said. Lassie was cocking his head because his trainer was rattling a package of cookies.

People without dogs need to understand it is never wise to ask for trouble. You never know if a dog will take exception. Allowing your children to interact inappropriately with an animal is like allowing your child to play in the road. It is reckless. One day your child will likely be injured.

Remaining bite free is a two way street. Educated owners respect others by investing the time required to create friendlier dogs and by leashing their animals. Educated people respect the boundaries of animals by asking permission and acting appropriately.

The parents of these children owe you an apology. They should invest some time in educating their children and be grateful that you were supervising your well-socialized dog. Not all dogs behave with this level of grace under pressure.

Yvette is an award winning pet writer and pet behavior columnist. She also is the author of Meeting Milo, a North American dog bite prevention program to reduce the approximately 2 million children bit by dogs annually. She is the owner of AwesomeDogs.ca and works as a behavior consultant in London, Ontario.

This column was originally featured in The Londoner
See more of Yvette... www.awesomedogs.ca
www.meetingmilo.com

Yvette has 2 dogs of her own, KIKI and KAYA. Take a look...

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