Could these tips on dogs save lives?
It’s rare when a dog attack kills someone. That and the victim’s age—a 14-month-old boy—made the attack last week in the town of Walworth all the more tragic. Two pit bulls owned by a young woman attacked her and the toddler she was babysitting when they were outside her apartment. The woman survived; the dogs were euthanized.
It was no surprise that, in the aftermath, PETA sent us a letter to the editor offering “lifesaving dog-bite prevention tips.” That letter, by Lindsay Pollard-Post of the PETA Foundation in Norfolk, Va., appears in today’s Gazette.
Most of the letter made sense to me. It suggested always spaying or neutering your dog because “unaltered dogs tend to be more territorial and more aggressive.” It said to promptly report animal cruelty because dogfighters and those who use canines as “guard dogs” often use cruel tactics to make dogs more aggressive and more likely to attack. It also suggested never leaving animals and children unattended together. That’s because, Pollard-Post wrote, animals and kids can be unpredictable. Even the friendliest dog might bite if it’s unaccustomed to children or if a child startles the dog while it’s sleeping. People in my family are well aware of that last point.
Here’s where Pollard-Post’s letter bothered me, however. “Never chain or cage dogs,” she wrote. “The lack of socialization and inability to escape perceived threats make chained dogs nearly three times more likely to attack than dogs who are not tethered.”
Molly is the second cairn terrier my wife and I have owned—and Cheryl had another before we met. Like Trapper before her, Molly sleeps in a large cage. She’s also there when we leave home for part of the day. It’s her “home,” a place she feels safe. Sometimes she’ll lie down on her bed in the open cage even when we’re around the house.
Before we got Molly from a breeder, we were screened through the Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network. A required visit from a network representative was apparently in large part to make sure we didn’t have an underground “fence” because terriers are known to run through them. The rescue didn’t seem to have a problem with the fact we would be using a cage and a rope to confine a dog outside.
Yes, Trapper usually went wild barking when he was in the driveway on his rope and someone passed by. Our efforts to train him failed—as a terrier, it was his nature to alert us to passersby. Molly will bark, too, but not so obsessively. I wouldn’t want someone to approach her without us there. Yet I also can’t imagine letting her run loose outside, only to chase another dog, a squirrel or a rabbit and risk losing her or being hit by a car.
Greg Peck can be reached at (608) 755-8278 or gpeck@gazettextra.com. Or follow him on Twitter or Facebook
Mar 17, 2013 at 12:31 p.m.
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Just to clarify, PETA encourages dog guardians who don't have fenced yards to take their dogs for leashed excursions outdoors, daily walks, and visits to fenced dog parks—never to let dogs run loose outdoors unattended.
PETA urges everyone never to chain dogs because it is cruel and dangerous. Chaining these highly social pack animals alone day after day causes many dogs to go mad from loneliness, constant confinement, and stress. The statistic mentioned in Ms. Pollard-Post's letter was from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that chained dogs are nearly three times as likely to attack as those who aren't tethered. Children are often their victims, because they innocently wander close to a chained dog, causing the dog to feel threatened. With no option of flight, some dogs will fight to defend their territory.
Keeping dogs caged or crated is harmful for many of the same reasons. We encourage dog guardians who must leave their dogs while they work to come home during the day to take their dogs outdoors, hire a trusted caretaker to walk their dogs during the day, and/or install a doggie door with access to a securely fenced yard.
Mar 14, 2013 at 8:36 p.m.
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Copied from the United Kennel Club. "The essential characteristics of the American Pit Bull Terrier are strength, confidence, and zest for life. APBTs make excellent family companions and have always been noted for their love of children.The APBT is not the best choice for a guard dog since they are extremely friendly, even with strangers. Aggressive behavior toward humans is uncharacteristic of the breed and highly undesirable. Disqualifications: Viciousness or extreme shyness."
Mar 14, 2013 at 8:29 p.m.
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Sigma40. Pit bulls were not originally used as fighting dogs. The Bull terrier breed were the original fighting dogs while pitbuls were the family breed. Did you know the RCA dog is a pitbull and that President Roosevelt owned a pitbull? Copied quote "With time, the dogs became more commonly domesticated due to their loyalty, loving and gentle nature with their owners.[5] In America, farmers and ranchers used their APBTs for protection, as catch dogs for semi-wild cattle and hogs, to hunt, and to drive livestock.[6] The dog was used during World War I and World War II as a way of delivering messages on the battlefield."
Mar 14, 2013 at 4:30 p.m.
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I agree with Hooters. I doubt a crate or lead when needed is PETA issue. It's the poor animals who suffer psychologically from being caged or tied up 24/7, kept separate from their pack (family), with nothing stimulating to do and receiving no socialization. That is torture for a dog, and they can go crazy from that. That is no life for ANY being. I often wonder why people even bother having a dog if they keep it confined 24/7. If I was running the world, I would outlaw that.
Mar 14, 2013 at 9:49 a.m.
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re the 3/13 Sound Off on pit bulls: pit bulls used to be known as "nanny dogs" and are shown in vintage photos as a loved family pet and yes, it does go back to the owners and breeders. if the Sound Off caller did research, I bet he/she'd find that more parents kill their kids each year than ALL dogs combined....maybe we should remove kids from the dangerous situation of being cared for a parent and just put them in institutions where they would be safe.
Mar 13, 2013 at 5:40 p.m.
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I think it's more about how people use a cage or a tie up situation. It's sad to see dogs live on the end of a rope or chain...away from the family. And it's also hard to see a dog kept in a cage all the time. But I don't think there is anything wrong with the way you (Greg) utilize a cage or tie up. We are fortunate to have a fenced in back yard. I worry about turning our dogs loose in the front yard even when we are out there with them. They see another dog or animal to chase and "they gone" I am 99% sure that neither of our dogs will hurt a person passing by and 75% sure that they won't fight with another dog being walked by our house. But you can't expect the people walking their dogs to be totally at ease with a loose dog running up on them and their leashed pet. And when it comes to dogs (as it is with kids) you can never say never and never be 100% sure about anything!
Mar 13, 2013 at 12:34 p.m.
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I see all the time people say about pit bulls..."its not the breed, its the owner" when they go bad.
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Why do people use these breeds to fight then? And not Labs, poodles, or Great Danes?
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Also, why were these dogs euthanized? How do you know the toddler did not provoke the dog? That said it would be the gaurdian of the toddlers fault and the babysitter should be facing charges.
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