The Save Phineas Facebook Page or People are Stupid Part II

Briard Puppies from Mon Amie Briards

It is a wonder to me that people aren't bitten more often by dogs.   The Huffinton Post ran an article about how not to get bitten.  It centered upon a news anchor that loved dogs, but was a special kind of stupid around them.  The dog was clearly showing signs of anxiety which she did not read or understand.  She was more caught up in her own " I just love animals" and swooped in for a kiss and got nailed (bitten).  It is unfortunate that the dog  happened to be a pit bull type.  But it wasn't his breed, it was the behavior of the human that triggered this.  The three breeds most likely to bite are the Dachshund, the Chihuahua and the Jack Russell terrier.  Cocker Spaniels are also at the top of the list. 

Reality Check Folks:  Sticking your face into a dogs face is considered aggressive particularly if you are staring in their eyes.  How many ways can I say:  Don't Do It.

Having people stick their faces in your dog's face happens a lot.  I had Nana at a small town that is also a state park.  Nana is cute and attracts attention.  A young girl asked to pet her.  I said yes, and put Nana in a sit position.  My idea of "Can I pet your dog" was clearly different from hers.  She immediately swooped in, stuck her face in Nana's and started loving on her.  All I could think of is "Oh !@#$" .

 Being who I am I couldn't help but say:

"It's really not a good idea to put your face in a dogs face, it is a good way to get bitten".
"Oh, I never get bitten"  she said.
"You get bitten all the time" her Mother said.

Nana was a good girl and did nothing.  Maybe the girl learned something, maybe she didn't.  I did, no one gets to pet my dog; because Nana and I will be the one that will pay the price for someone's stupidity. 

Some dogs are vicious, broken or mentally unstable and that wasn't a breed statement.    I am not one of those who thinks there are no bad dogs only bad owners.  I do think there are lots of bad owners and stupid owners and owners that should never be allowed to have dogs and they have great dogs; and some bad dogs can have really good owners.   Some dogs should be put on the extermination list, but not without a fair trial and an opportunity to have the case reviewed by knowledgeable dog behaviorists not local county officials.  Blanket zero tolerance laws are bad laws.  Unless you plan to start putting children who bite on death row we need to stop putting dogs there unless they really have earned it.

The Save Phineas Facebook Page or People Are Stupid Part 1

I came across a page on facebook the other day and it put my panties in a twist.  I love dogs, but I could do without 90% of most people.  According to the Phineas Facebook Page   a yellow lab, named Phineas mouthed a child that had fallen on one of the children he lives with. No skin was broken, but the dog was confiscated the next day by officials, impounded and a movement has begun to get this dog off death row. Now I am not sure where the truth lies here, but I expect the dog intervened to protect his child. He very well might have grabbed the arm of the child to pull him off his the other child. Obviously if no skin was broken this was not a wanton attack. I'm not saying it didn't scare the child, but if a yellow lab was trying to do harm it certainly could have.  Dogs use their mouths to communicate and some dogs are "mouthier" than others. They have been bred to different functions (the original GMO experiment).

There has been a huge movement for zero tolerance for dogs that mouth, nip, or scratch  a human being.  In some counties, they are immediately confiscated and owners are given the option to re-home the dog, have it destroyed or move to some other county.  Some counties don't bother with options and just put the dog on the extermination list.  On the other hand there is a huge tolerance for humans that harm dogs.  Dogs may be kicked, hit, tied to chains and left in the cold or heat without shelter, water.  They can be confined to small cages for hours or days.  We even allow all kinds of medical experimentation on them so we can then euthanize them, cut them open and see how it all turned out.

Cattle dogs

A Heeler is a cattle dog, and they don't move cattle by sitting on the sidelines and politely pointing a paw in the direction they want the cattle to move.  They dive in there and nip at the cattle's heels, moving a herd by use of their mouth.  They are a member of the herding group and this group tends to be more protective and mouthy then some of the other breeds in my opinion.  We bred them that way.  We needed a dog that would move livestock and protect them from predators.  They aren't vicious, but they sure do communicate with their mouths.  If it's moving they have a tendency to want to herd it and they nip to get the job done. 

Does this make them vicious?  No.  A rancher does not want a dog that mauls or savages his livestock.  There is a big difference between a dog that nips to communicate and a dog that bites with intention to harm.  Unfortunately, too many humans can't tell the difference and dogs pay the penalty.  Owning a herding breed  offers some unique training demands.  To herd is instinctive, teaching them what to herd is a training objective.  Yes, to cattle.  No, to running children.

The Briard is a dog bred to herd and protect, it is in their DNA.  I was at my friend's house who does dog sitting for me and others in her home.  She generally has no more than 5 dogs at any one time.  We were sitting on the deck while the current group of 5 dogs were milling around.  A young Australian shepherd

Australian Shepherd

was down below us in the yard trying to engage a 1 year old, very small, rescue terrier with little experience of other dogs  This sweet little dog had spent the first 6 months of his life in a shelter.  He is somewhat timid; well, okay.....actually he screams like a girl if he feels threatened.  The Aussie was doing the play bow and tring to engage the small dog in they game of: now I'm going to chase you, then you chase me.  She hadn't even touched the little dog and was a good 10 feet from him,  but this poor little terrier was overwhelmed by this leaping, bowing Aussie and started to scream and leapt backwards to escape.   The Aussie was thinking GREAT!  It's play time!   At the first scream, my big, goofy Briard leapt off the deck and jumped between both dogs, gave the Aussie the "look" which immediately sent the Aussie up on the deck to sit. Then Nana looked around to see where the little black dog had gone, coursing until she located him under my friend's chair.  As soon as Nana determined all was well she settled down on the deck to watch over her domain until she was needed again.   This was no gang up on the little dog behavior.  Nana was intervening to protect a member of her flock.   Nana is a dominate female and the self appointed guardian of her flock whether it is a flock of dogs or people. 

More in part 2 of how stupid people are around dogs.