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- Here is my dog, Dillon, as a young
puppy, under a year old,
- You don't want to do this without
professional advice. If you tease some dogs, you can get them to bite.
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A major portion
of my business is dealing with dogs that behave threateningly or bite.
There are many complex reasons why dogs bite, and it takes more than
your average dog trainer to properly evaluate and deal with these types
of situations. I am often appalled at the opinions I hear from other dog
trainers when it comes to why dogs bite or threaten. Most dog trainers
have learned what they know from reading a few dog training books, or
from what they heard from someone else, but they really don’t know what
they are talking about. They use the terminology incorrectly, they make
incorrect conclusions and implement incorrect and sometimes dangerous
solutions, and they haven’t the proper experiences working with and
owning aggressive dogs. For example, someone that is primarily a trainer
of Labrador Retrievers or hunting dogs isn't going to be a very good
source of help for dealing with aggression. Labrador Retrievers were
bred to be friendly with people and animals, not do
police work.
A Labrador Retriever trainer
might be able to teach a "Lab" to do the hunting commands and routines,
but they will be at a loss for dealing with an aggressive Rottweiler. In
fact, most of the hunting dog trainers I have spoken to are still in the
"dark ages" when it comes to understanding training or behavior. They
still train in the old, abusive styles of 50 years ago. I even find that
police dog trainers
(except my friend, Armin Winkler) often don't know much about the
behavior of their own dogs. For them, the dog is a tool, like a gun or
club. They know how to arrest someone, but they aren't dog experts. If
you ever watch police dogs work, and if you know something about
protection dog training, you will see that most police dogs have
terrible gripping (biting) skills. That should tell you something about
the quality of the training and handling of most police dogs. I cringe
when I hear trainers talk about "prey aggression" or "fear aggression".
These are improper terms. They are using the terminology incorrectly,
and that means they are also going to implement foolish remedies. They
don’t know what they are talking about and they don’t know what they are
doing. I have seen situations where trainers have put themselves and
others in danger as a result of their recommendations. I have also seen
other trainers recommend that dogs be
put down, when
the dogs were trainable and not vicious.
Here are a couple of
examples of what I am talking about.
Dangerous Dog:
A few years ago, I was asked to evaluate a customer’s dog that had
bitten several people, including family members. As part of my
evaluation, I sometimes ask customers if they have worked with another
trainer. I want to see what has been done with the dog, and to see what
the other person had to say with regards to evaluating the dog. In this
case, they had hired two very well known Seattle area trainers to
evaluate their dog. The first trainer approached the dog incorrectly and
was bitten severely on her forearm… Lesson Over! She left the house
bleeding and that was that. The second trainer was one of those local
"celebrity" trainers. Her evaluation of the situation? The dog had an
evil spirit! So, she recommended that they burn some branches and
rub the ashes all over the outside of their million dollar house! What
kind of garbage evaluation is that? How could anyone in their right mind
call themselves a dog trainer or behaviorist and stay in business doing
that kind of thing? My customers wisely told her they weren’t
interested. They then found me through a referral from their
veterinarian (I get a lot of vet referrals). I spent about ½ hour with
them and the dog. The answer was very clear. The dog was a fear biter.
Simple to figure out, for someone that knows what they are doing. The
dog was dangerous and
I recommended that
they put the dog down.
Bratty Dog:
In another case, I was recommended by another trainer to evaluate
one of their customer’s dogs. This isn't unusual. I get referrals from
other trainers from time to time. This dog had also bitten several
people, including the owner. I spent about ½ hour talking to the
customer and evaluating the dog. The answer was again very clear. This
was a dog that had become a brat. A "brat" is a dog that should have
been corrected as a puppy, but has been allowed to grow up and continue
to do things that are not appropriate for an adult dog. The dog wasn’t
really aggressive, but the dog wasn’t ever corrected for puppy mouthing,
the mouthing had gotten out of control, the owner was scared of the dog,
and the dog was running the household. I recommended my
Basic Obedience
course, which includes
Manners and
Obedience. I remember another dog I worked like this… a very friendly,
one year old, male Lab/ Coonhound mix. The dog would mouth your hands to
get your attention. Unfortunately, his jaws were very strong and he
would bruise people’s hands. Some would call this kind of thing
aggression. It wasn’t aggression, it was just a bratty dog. The problem
was easy to fix and the dog was no problem to train. Again, I
recommended my Basic Obedience course. In the eyes of an unqualified
trainer, they might have labeled these dogs as dangerous, and
implemented the very abusive and unnecessary solutions that you
typically find in most dog training books and classes.
Dogs usually bite for
one or more of the following reasons: Puppy mouthing, Play, Prey
biting, Fear biting, and/or Aggression
It takes a trained
behaviorist to figure out why a dog is biting and to come up with an
appropriate remedy. Sometimes a dog bites because of a combination of
reasons, and you sometimes have to unravel many problems in order to fix
what is going on. Also, some breeds are more prone to biting, and you
have to have knowledge of the breed in order to come up with an
appropriate solution. When you have a dog that bites, it is EXTREMELY
important that you get
a professional evaluation
of your dog. Sometimes these situations can be safely managed and
modified. Sometimes, the dogs have become too dangerous and need to be
put down. Some dogs aren't aggressive... they are vicious. A vicious dog
is one that can't be fixed. It is a dog that is all messed up, either
because of genetics, abuse, neglect or brain injury.
Euthanasia isn't
the kind of decision that you want to leave to your average dog trainer.
They are NOT qualified to make these kinds of evaluations or
recommendations.
Sam Basso
is available to evaluate your situation and your dog. He is also available
to conduct group seminars for veterinarians, groomers, breed clubs,
businesses, and other professionals.
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Call Sam Today
PHOENIX,
AZ AREA: (602) 708-4531
OR, if you are out of this area, inquire about a telephone or
e-Lesson
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