It's Throwback Thursday! Today, here is a picture from five years ago of Badger's mean mug. Badger has been with us for almost eight years now. She was picked up by animal control as a borderline-feral stray living under a condemned trailer, and was heavily pregnant. She dug a burrow at the Bibb County Pound to have her puppies in, and when I saw a post from the pound reaching out for a rescue offer before she whelped, I felt a connection and busted my butt finding her a rescue placement. She had her puppies the day after I pulled her from the pound.
I did not anticipate that Badger would ever become my dog. However, she quickly demonstrated some severe and ultimately dangerous behavioral issues, starting with biting the ACO who removed her from the burrow. What we hoped was a fluke from stress and fear unfortunately turned out to be a temperament issue. She racked up a serious bite history in foster care, and also demonstrated extremely severe resource guarding, as well as dog reactivity. The rescue's last straw was when she mauled one of her own weanling puppies for attempting to eat from the same tray; they told me if I did not want her, they would euthanize.
If I did not have the means to safely work with, contain, and manage this dog, euthanasia would have been the correct choice. At ACS, we recognize that behavior euthanasia, while deeply tragic, is sometimes the only way to give a dog peace and protect others from harm when a dog can not function safely or happily in the human world. Badger is inarguably a dangerous dog, and I go to great lengths to balance keeping her happy with keeping myself and others safe. The good news is, she has not had a single bite incident under my care, she has come a LONG way with resource guarding, and while she still dislikes most dogs, she does like Bolt. She is generally a happy, silly dog, but she will never be a trustworthy one, and having a constant awareness of and respect for that is how we ensure she is safely managed.
I recognize that dangerous dogs are a hot-button issue, and can assure you that if I ever feel I can no longer safely manage Badger, I will not hesitate to say goodbye. I do not recommend people take on dangerous dogs if they lack experience with reactivity and/or aggression, or lack the means to ensure safe containment and management. A rescue environment differs from a typical household environment, and people who want a pet dog deserve a dog that is companionable, safe, and easy to live with. The average household is equipped for a pet, not a project, and that is perfectly okay.
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Experienced vet put herself in a position vulnerable to an attack, judge finds.
Well Vetlings, it has been a while, it if I may distract you from the mess of current global politics for a little while, I’d like to point out some industry specific ones for a little while.
In the above article, a dog owner was initially found liable, and then the decision reversed, for her dog attacking a vet outside the clinic badly enough to break the vet’s arm. Details are in the article but some of the salient ones are:
The 40kg+ Rottweiler was outside the clinic, on a leash held by a 13 year old boy.
No muzzle
25 people descended on the court house on the day with placards in support of freeing the dog which mauled the vet.
The dog was known to be aggressive, which is why the vet had told them to wait in the car.
The vet was said to have got herself in between the dog and the owners (mother abs son) and that was part of why the judge considered the owner not responsible for the attack.
Which is pretty horrifying to read, because if that dog had been under the owners control, or the 13yo son, the vet shouldn’t have been ‘between the dog and the owners’.
This sounds like “known dangerous dog on street and not being controlled by owners, vet tries to salvage the situation before any clients, pets or other bystanders get hurt”.
The points I’m hoping Vetlings take from this article are:
Vets are considered a position of authority and to be ‘in control’ of the situation, even when realistically not. In this case, the judge decided that the vet put herself at risk and so the owner was not responsible for the attack.
There are crowds of people that think a vet getting mauled is okay as it’s ‘part of the job’ as long as the poor widdle doggie is okay.
If the situation looks bad, make them leave. You can’t afford that damage or that liability. If the client didn’t follow instructions or give sedatives as prescribed, just send them home. They won’t thank you for being a ‘hero’ and risking your neck to treat the patient.
It’s also worth noting that if the situation had unfolded differently, for example if the dog had escaped the 13yo and bitten someone else, or bitten the owner, then there is a real chance that the vet would still have been found responsible for that too, as there is a general view that the vet should be in control of the situation.
So if you are not in control of the situation, make the situation end. The law probably won’t back you up, and neither will vocal sections of social media.
Oh, and if you’re practicing in NZ, you might want to take a mental note of the name.
Incredibly unscientific browsing of the suspended dog register, I wanted to see what breeds have multiple suspended dogs (from either show or sport, for either human aggression or dog aggression):
This is about 4 years late but thank you both for your comments on that pitbull post (the one where a pitbull dragged a baby out by their diaper I believe). I had a very bad experience as a kid with pitbulls and neither side of the "ban or ignore" debate really helped me, but learning why they are that way and that there was a third, much better option to help them and us put a part of me to rest.
(with reference to this post)
thank you! that means a lot to both of us. (julis writing.)
there are parts of that post I would say differently or take back entirely--thanks to embark, it turns out there's a lot of purebred APBTs floating around in shelters--but the bulk of it?
yeah, we bred dogs to attack and kill other dogs, and that comes with a strong risk of redirecting onto humans over it. we've also spent 50 years demonizing those dogs, and so a substantial portion of people breeding bully breeds are doing so with the intent of producing demon dogs, and that has consequences.
at the same time, there are fighting-line ("game bred") pit bulls who would never hurt a fly, and i have personally met some very aggressive goldens.
all dogs are predators with strong jaws, and any dog over about 10 lbs (and probably several under that!) can break bone. any dog can do lifelong damage to a child. some dogs come from lines which make biting people more likely. there's nothing wrong with that. I personally want to compete in bitesports and that means deliberately seeking out a dog with some percentage of "wants to bite people". that's okay! I will keep other people and dogs safe when I own those future dogs.
...but that's only fine and safe if you know that's what you're getting into.
(you and other people reading this post may also be interested in THIS post and discussion.)
An update on Nova's reactivity and dog aggression/friendliness and how it's all related to his resource guarding (duh me).
Before
So Nova used to be very reactive. He's gotten in fights with dogs. He's bitten dogs. He's snapped at puppies. He's made a dog bleed. On leash, off-leash, you name it. Small dog, big dog, giant breed, you betcha. He's gone for anyone. He used to be triggered more by big fluffy dogs, particularly huskies, malamutes, and Samoyeds. But, really, anyone was at risk. Any dog accepted in Nova's inner circle first passed a lengthy selection process that went on inside Nova's head. Sometimes long exposure to a dog from a distance, with treats given every time he looked towards it, helped ease his reactivity. There was an instance where he went from rabid dog to friendly dog by doing just that. It wasn't a reliable technique despite several good results. He also had lived with at least one other dog his entire life, either Koa or Laska. We lived with Koa and a boxer for the last few months in the states.
Today
We've been in France for the last 6 months. We don't live with another dog, but we do see dogs every day, often the same ones. I take him out for 1hr walk every day after class. 20min to get to the park, 20min doing parkour at the park, 20min to get home. At home, he has the pleasure of living with two other housemates as well. He's content. His needs are met.
The first month or so, I avoided other dogs on walks to avoid piling up any problems as I was still dealing with the move. The biggest thing, however, is that I stopped taking my treat pouch on walks. I got lazy, essentially. I was happy to be back in my hometown, and I was glad to let myself slowly re-adapt to this lifestyle.
Turns out, this was an excellent decision. No taking the treat pouch. No treats have been distributed on walks since then. None. Not treats, not kibble, nothing.
Result? Nova stopped seeing me as a food dispenser. Nova stopped worrying about food on walks. Nova stopped worrying about his resource being threatened. Thus, Nova stopped resource-guarding me. Nova became "friendly". He greets other dogs, now. He's nice to them, and sometimes he even offers to play. It's clear he's not the best-socialized dog-he gets the zoomies with old dogs who aren't up to play, or with dogs clearly exhibiting aggression. He gets shy and reserved with playful dogs. He's still very stiff when another dog sniffs him-which, you'd say, "that's not good", but it's Nova's way of climbing those stairs to being okay with the interaction. A second later and he's acting normal sniffing the other dog. He's unsure, and he's not 100% comfortable, but he's still seeking the greeting and goes through the interaction with flying colors. I still make sure the greeting is destined to go well-I watch for any sign that may say otherwise, I keep the interaction short. I act very nonchalantly (continue on walking, calling Nova's name, or letting the leash looser if he's leashed) (if he's not on a leash, it's bc we're on a hike with minimal chances of encountering dogs, or we're at the park doing parkour.)
Nova hasn't gotten into a fight since we got back to France. Nova hasn't resource guarded in the company of strangers (dogs) once. He's shown his teeth at the appropriate moments. He's told off a dachshund who tried humping him. But he hasn't even acted aggressively when we've both been spooked by the sudden presence of a dog.
It's clear it's gotten quieter in his head. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's still a full-blown circus going up there, but the anxiety regarding food is gone. And thus, I have a much more stable dog at the other end of the leash.
What are our reinforcers, you ask? I still train with him, of course, though I am happy the bulk of it is done already. Today, we use play and freedom as rewards. It makes our walks much more interactive and much more pleasant, too. I feel like I am constantly conversing with Nova. We're constantly telling each other things, doing things, and directly interacting with our surroundings. A reward for ignoring a dog is to jump on a bench five meters away. A reward for listening during our walk is to be let off leash immediately as we get to the park. His reward for having perfect recall is to high-five me (he loves it) and "okay!" -> his cue to go do whatever he wants. Sometimes he goes back to sniff or goes up ahead to explore, sometimes he stays with me.
This means that we can walk in the park off-leash and I don't have to worry about Nova causing trouble. Most of the time now, he ignores dogs. He'd rather be with me and play. It also means that, even during a walk where we're kind of both doing our own thing (him sniffing, me on my phone) I can recall him and say "leave it" as he's running towards me and ignoring the dog he's running past.
It's a relief, and a happiness that is beyond description seeing Nova like this. I wish I had done this from the start, not using treats for his training. He's incredibly food motivated and will work tooth and nail even for a piece of lettuce, but the anxiety he gets from it is not worth it.
He's still not the silent, "at peace" dog, he is very vocal and very expressive still and has many things to say on a daily basis, including seeing dogs. But it's not aggression, it's not resource guarding, it's curiosity, want, general basic reactivity (like, "holy heck what is THAT?!", "It's a fluffy bush, Nova", "No DUDE, I swear, it's not that", "yes it is now come on and stop being weird", "BUT BRO", etc.) (or, "omg can i go see that dog over there pls...", "no", "im literally cryin why are u so mean:(", "dude stop whining", etc.) It's not 100% perfect, he is still Nova, after all.
But...he is much happier and much more stable in that nogging of his, and that's what matters.
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I'm 110% tired of people condoning and refusing to manage awful behaviour from smaller dogs.
I was walking my leashed dog around the neighbourhood the other night and a women with her two Maltese dogs was out on her front lawn. Both dogs had no leashes, no collars, nothing on them. We were across the street as far away from them as possible and I was feeding my dog as we passed to help manage her dog reactivity (excitement based), so she wasn't even looking at these other dogs.
One of the Maltese dogs charged at us snarling and trying to attack my dog. I had to fend this shit of a dog off physically with my feet while restraining my own dog behind my back to prevent my dog from being attacked unprovoked while the owner hesitated to pick her dog up.
Some people may find this funny. What damage could a small dog like that really do? But I've seen the bite wounds on colleagues and friends from small dogs like that. These dogs often have minimal bite inhibition and minimal warning. I have been preparing for these encounters since getting my dog because she is an American Staffordshire terrier and will absolutely be blamed and may be labelled a dangerous dog if she is forced to react to a small dog attacking her.
There should be the same level of intolerance for small dog aggression as there is for larger breeds.
hestia is the rescued belgian shepherd dog of a friend of mine— and six months ago, hestia went missing. she was suspected to have been stolen by purebred/“pretty dog” grifters in the area, and her owner, bella, has been tirelessly searching for her ever since she went missing with all the resources available.
hestia has been found, but in horribly rough shape. she was already an incredibly fearful dog to begin with due to suspected neglect/abuse in her past, but now her trauma has only been amplified: she has multiple scars on her face from an unknown dog attack, is malnourished and dehydrated, and can’t be around other dogs out of fear. any and all funds donated will be going towards getting hestia home, safe, and with the best veterinary care possible. she’s going to be evaluated by a veterinary behaviorist, and her owner, bella, is already experienced in severe aggression cases and is equipped to handle hestia’s issues, who will also be posting regular updates about hestia.
My dog would have fought King Kong if I had let him and believe with every fiber of his being that he would win.
The reason he was great at search work, building, area, tracking, was because he wanted to fight the man when he found him. Nothing else mattered and no obstacle was too great for him to overcome in his desire to engage in combat.
Was he "sound" in the head? Absolutely NOT, categorically! Did he care about his well being? Not at all. Was he the worst dog ever to live with? Without question, YES!
Hired Dog on this thread (26 September 2019).
I haven't been this entertained on a dog forum in years.
