Oh Irony, You Saucy Minx

Last October, I wrote a piece for CCPDT (Council for Certified Professional Dog Trainers). The piece started out as a rebuke of media reports calling Cesar Milan a "behaviorist," which is murky territory. With each share of the sensational story, the headline, "Dog Behaviorist Investigated in Pig Attack," and variations on that theme were shared to millions of readers.

Click bait, for realz.

My issue went beyond the dog attacking a pig in a terribly set up "rehabilitation" exercise that resulted in injury to the pig - though make no mistake. I had a huge problem with this aspect, too. 

My issue was with the term behaviorist being used to describe a television personality who, as far as I can tell by checking his website and other social platforms, has never taken a class in animal behavior. This seemed ethically wrong on so many levels.

Not one reporter, media outlet or blog share seemed to dive down on who an animal behaviorist actually is or what they do. 

With that backdrop, I wrote a piece targeted to dog trainers commenting from a dog trainer's perspective on how it's unethical for us to use the term "behaviorist" unless we actually are, and since the lingo is really murky even within related fields of animal behavior, we should just stop. I then went on to define terminology we come across in our field as a guideline for dog trainers and called it a day.

The post, targeted to dog trainers, was shared among dog trainers with much more support and enthusiasm than I expected. I really was prepared for a lot of blowback from dog trainers. That never came. 

What did come was something I didn't expect.

The animal behavior community was pissed.

At first, I didn't see it.

I was on their side!
I'm helping!

Dr. Suzanne Hetts, a highly respected actual applied animal behaviorist and co-owner of Animal Behavior Associates, wrote a response piece and sent it out to the behavior community. She then alerted me in a very short email telling me about it. I immediately felt a crushing wave of anxiety. I read it. I was so mad. "I'm helping! I'm on your side!" kept going through my head as I read the piece that at the time I read as a personal attack. As time went on, I just felt crappy.

It turns out there is a big lesson to learn here. "Helping" isn't helpful when there is a failure to first seek out how (or if!) a party wants or needs help. I was doing my best to define something that I understood in my world, but not on a bigger scale. While animal behaviorists were not my target audience - the piece was written for a dog training newsletter, this population saw it.



And they were justifiably displeased.

I immediately emailed Suzanne after she sent out her very public response.

I was embarrassed, hurt, but still quite defensive of my original piece. She was hurt, and stood by what she wrote, too. We sent emails back and forth for a few days but it was clear as the water was settling we could find common ground. I'm not going to speak for her, that's her story to tell if she wants to, but we were able to start an actual dialogue and it was incredible.

This was a great lesson in how good intentions do not trump actual communication. Had I just taken an extra few minutes or days to reach out to animal behaviorists, I would have written something different. 

But I didn't. 

Suzanne then volunteered to do something that caught me off guard, almost as much as her response piece, particularly given the political climate of the last 7 months. Something she didn't have to do. She went above and beyond.

"Let's do this together." 

And we did.

It took us, no joke, 5 months to write the piece we ended up co-penning. We were invited to publish it in the same newsletter my original post was printed. I learned a ton, and I think she did, too. Plus, I feel that by doing this together, we were able to do something that hasn't really been done yet. We found common ground without being "resource guardy."

I learned that veterinarians can not call themselves specialists unless they are board-certified in the specialty - and that includes behavior. Yet, dog trainers and any ol' Tom, Dick or Harry can say "I'm a behavior specialist" without any credentials to back it up.

Seems a bit unfair.

Additionally, the broad brush of "all animal behaviorists work with pet animals" is wildly inaccurate. Many observe wild behavior, some work in zoos, and some work with pet animals. The field is huge. While some animal behaviorists do work with pets, including veterinary behaviorists (veterinarians who are board-certified in animal behavior), it's a fallacy that all do.

I now see why applied animal behaviorists are so upset! 

Perhaps an indication this is not the animal behaviorist you are looking for:
He gives you this photo and says: "Here's my resume. I'm here to teach your dog to stop humping your slippers."

Suzanne gave me an opportunity to explain what we dog trainers are up against, too, and I felt like she heard every word. First, there is a media and entertainment industry that promotes "behaviorists" who have no background, so in order to compete in that market, we have a population who have adopted the word in a way to be heard above the noise. We have people who email, call and text us, pleading for help - they need a behaviorist to help them with a jumping dog. A trainer for a biting dog. A behavioralist (not a word in dog training) for an 8-week-old puppy. The public is confused on these terms. We are also dealing with individuals hanging out their shingles without an ounce of dog training experience and have to compete with them, too. We are trying to meet clients and students where they are, but we have no Merriam-Webster definitions to give them. (Which is why some of us, myself included, tried to clarify these terms, but are met with blow-back. Justifiably.)

What Suzanne and I discovered, through communication and really taking a moment to see things from a different perspective, is that we really need animal behaviorists to take the lead on defining those terms so we can all lead with more clarity.

It's not on people like me to define terms at an industry, even if there is a vacuum and a great need. It's just not my place. And I get that now. I can't turn this boat around.

Cop: Turn around
Me: Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round.
Cop: Turn around!
Me: Every..
*gets tased*
— Jeff (@usermcuserface) May 5, 2017

It would have been so easy to just write a response to her response on this blog, put it out there for the Internet to see, dig my heels, "defend myself" (whatever that means!) and defend what I wrote. I actually started something to that effect in a moment of anger 9 months ago. In writing this piece, I discovered it, and deleted it a few minutes ago. I was mad. I was angry. I didn't even open the draft because I just knew it would be bad.

Been there.

So instead of yelling via the Internet, I read what she wrote in her piece, in her emails back and forth, and I realized the irony of my original piece. "Guys, language matters and we aren't doing anyone any favors by not fully understanding the language we are using." I was using wrong language left and right and that was perfectly clear once Suzanne and I started to talk.

Oh, Irony, you saucy minx.

#Irony

It was important to listen. Critical.
Not listen to counter-attack.
Just...listen.

It's not easy to say "I'm sorry." Especially when intentions are good.

I had no intention of defining Dr. Hett's profession AT her, but that's exactly what I did. It doesn't matter what my intention was - it's how it was received.

In the same way someone "intending" to say hi to a shy dog is not permission to come into that dog's space.

How catcalling might seem like it's intended as a compliment, but it's not.

I get that now.

We have both been working incredibly hard in our industries to combat inaccurate language and terminology while trying to help the animals we love. As our industries continue to evolve and overlap in some ways, it's important to remember that these industries will continue evolving and there will be conflict.

It's how we deal with it as individuals.

Thanks to the power of the Internet we were able to take a breather, listen to each other and really write something that could be a game-changer.

We found common ground and ran with it.

This is that piece.

While Suzanne took the lead on a lot of it, given that she is an applied animal behaviorist and our writing styles are totally different, we created something meaningful. There is a lot of give and take in here. I even got in a Car Talk joke which honestly, was more important to me than I realized at the time. This really is our piece. Together. Collaboration in the face of something that could have devolved into something messy, angry, and regrettable on my end.

It might not be an earth-shattering read for those not in this industry, but the journey was more meaningful. In all honestly, there is no single piece of work that I'm more proud of to have my name attached to in any way.

So, if you read this, Dr. Hetts. Thank you.

Home Turf

Hi everyone !

 Several weeks ago, I saw Dr. Nicholas Dodman present on separation anxiety at the Nine-Zero Hotel in Boston. It was such a lovely presentation (and I applied some of what was learned on Captain Love's separation sadness at departures). After the talk, my dear friend and colleague, Vivian, introduced me to the organizers of the event - Cold Noses Foundation. They seemed excited to hear about "Considerations for the City Dog" and invited me to present on the book!

 Suffice it to say, I'm really excited.

 I'm also a bit nervous.

But still totally, 100% excited.

 The presentation is on 6/21, downtown Boston. The tickets (like the tickets for Dr. Dodman) are $15.00 and all the money goes back to help Cold Noses Foundation set up spay/neuter programs & educational programs around the globe to prevent homeless pets - a huge part of what #HandsOnFirst is all about. Not only am I flattered to be given the privilege to speak, but I'm proud to be given the opportunity to have my talk give back to something I wholeheartedly support and have been publicly speaking about for the better part of the year:

 Here on DogCast Radio.
 Here with Don Hanson & Kate Dutra (part 1 & part 2 ).
 At Tufts Cummings School (for the veterinarian behavior club)
 At Massachusetts Vet Tech Association.
 Here is the webinar for the Pet Professional Guild.
And here for Raising Canine coming this October.

But this one - to get a platform in my home city to have the ticket sales go back to fixing the biggest issue I see in the training industry over the last decade? It's really, really incredible and I'm really looking forward to it.

If you are near Boston on 6/21, I'd love your support - come down to NineZero to see this presentation (which covers many of the topics in the book, including #HandsOnFirst). If you can't come, you can still make a huge difference. I'd really appreciate you'd tell your city-dog owning friends and pet professionals about this talk. It's really not about listening to me blab on about dogs. It's about starting to look at  environment as an impact on urban pups and what we can do to be better stewards for our city-dwelling canines. That, and you're supporting a pretty sweet cause: a group putting a dent in pet overpopulation problems in underfunded areas around the world. I think that's something we can all support.

And just in case you are curious: Yes, the hotel has a bar. It's on the second floor.

~M3

Take A Step Back

A terrible incident occurred at the Cincinnati Zoo over the weekend. A young boy got through the enclosure and dropped 12' into the Gorilla World exhibit. We've all seen the video and I'm not going to sensationalize this event by posting it here. I will say that the full video is really hard to watch as a mother and as someone who works with animals every day.

As with any tragedy involving animals and humans, particularly young children, emotional responses run strong. It appears everyone has turned to the Internet and social media to arm chair quarterback what should have happened. There are petitions on both "sides" (though I hesitate to use that term because this is way more complex than a black & white issue). Some petitions are calling for criminal charges to be filed against the parents of the child who got through this enclosure and involve child protective services.

Some petitions are looking to shut down the zoo's exhibit, or the zoo itself.

Harambe (credit: Cincinnati Zoo website)

It's too easy to just yell and scream when something goes wrong. It's easy to think we know all the facts.

We really just don't.

The aftermath, though not nearly as global, reminds me of the Save Neville petitions from last year. This was a case that I reference in many of my presentations because of the perfect intersection between the animal and human worlds, and what happens when we just jump into the fray without knowing the full story.

The quick and dirty that was passed around Facebook:

A Change.org petition states that a family with a young child was looking to adopt a dog. They entered a pen with Neville and “other dogs” that were playing. The staff advised the family not to put the child on the ground, but they did anyway and when the toddler grabbed Neville, Neville bit the youngster in the face. As a result of that single bite wound Neville is court ordered to be euthanized.

The facts of the case that were absent, not discussed, or not fully understood by well-intending individuals included how many dogs were in the pen, and some huge educational gaps on the part of the shelter in how people meet their potential dog. The internet sent petitions calling for protective services to be called on the "negligent" parents, and others called for the shelter to get shut down. If you break it apart, it's really another case of not having all the facts. Once all the facts were presented, it turned out there was a much more to suss out, and a much more rational solution. (More on the Neville Case, go here.)

I think the bigger take away here is stop and take a step back. I think we would all do better to listen to the experts, consider there are two families (a zoological family and a family with a small child) who are grieving. We should stop with the online petitions unless there is a full appreciation of every intricacy as to what happened, which includes listening to zoologists and animal behaviorists (people who have earned a PhD in animal behavior). 

Petitions and yelling will not bring back Harambe. Petitions and yelling will not undo the heavy burden of guilt and second-thinking that the family has undoubtedly been dealing with since this incident knowing their child could have died, their child was in danger, and an endangered gorilla is now dead - and now the internet backlash calling for Child Protective Services or shutting down the zoo.

This incident comes at a moment when every week the morning news mentions "tourists approach rare animal and animal is killed," or "person is killed by wild animal while trying to get a selfie."

It is  time for us to look at how we engage with animals.

There have been dozens of news pieces just this year on people walking up to wild animals - a baby dolphin died because people wanted to take a selfie.

A baby bison died when tourists thought the calf looked "cold" and they put it in the back of their truck.

There are many, many more stories just like this, from 2016 alone.

We have to pay attention around animals. We have to respect their right to be on this planet just as much as we are, and if we aren't fully absorbed in the moment and think about the consequences of our actions or inactions, animals or people can die.

This is just as true for dogs, bison, dolphins and 400 pound endangered gorillas. We have to do better.

If the zoo didn't act in the way they did, this boy would likely have died.

As heart breaking as this is, it still could have been much, much worse had the two female gorillas not been called out of the enclosure by quick thinking staff that have taken the time over the years to prepare as much as possible for something like this.

This could have been much, much worse if the child died, too.

This could have been much, much worse if the boy's mother jumped in after her son.

If the parents removed the boy from the exhibit, he might not have gone in the enclosure...but how many of you have had the experience of watching a 3 or 4 year old child? It's HARD. They are fast. They are small. I've had Aislyn disappear on me for a few seconds (which seemed like minutes) and I had my eyes on her as we were walking through a mall. It doesn't take much for an accident to happen, even if you do everything right.

I'm not here to judge the parents - and I'm not here to judge the zoo's actions. Most of you know my stance: let the pros do what they need to do in an emergency. I'm a dog trainer, not a zoologist. I trust Jack Hannah, Jane Goodall, and Thane Maynard in this case as it relates to animals they understand. I would not trust them if they were explaining how to make the perfect pizza sauce - I'd look to someone who is an expert. 

Well, maybe an expert without anger management issues.

I also trust that if there are any safety protocols the Cincinnati Zoo (or other zoos) can employ after this incident, they will do it if it doesn't negatively impact the quality of life of the resident animals. Lastly, I trust that the family involved has learned a great deal and they don't need petitions calling for child protective services. Mom didn't toss her baby into the gorilla pen. It's a wake up call for all of us to be aware of ourselves, our kids, and the animals around us.

I think that we all need to take a step back, and figure out how we can live with animals in the wild, and in captivity, in a respectful manner and take this down a notch so we can have a respectful discussion.

-M3


As with any blog posts that might trigger significant emotional response, I will delete any and all comments that are not conducive to the conversation. I will not allow this to be a place to blame anyone involved in this case. It's a tragic story and these are real people, real animals and real employees. This is a safe place. Any name calling, blaming, threats or other comments will be immediately deleted. For those involved in this incident, I'm truly sorry for your experience and I hope some good can come of this event going forward. -M3

Notably Missing From The Cesar Millan Investigation "Reporting"

There is a post going around my Facebook feed (which is admittedly 85% dog

folk) documenting an investigation of animal cruelty against Cesar Millan. He filmed a dog with a known history of killing pigs, and let it into a pen with pigs. One of the pigs suffered an injury to it's ear

(Reporting varies, stating the ear was "nipped and bled," all the way through to "bit a chunk of the ear off". I can't find a reputable source on  severity of the pig's injury.)

In all the reporting of this story, there is one thing that absolutely has to be addressed that's gone on for far too long. This is the thing that would perhaps quell some of the discussion of if Mr. Millan is "abusing animals" or if he's "God's gift to canine kind." The one thing that needs to be addressed is this:

Any and all reporting on Cesar Millan needs to stop referring to him as a

"self-taught behaviorist".

In the dog industry, a behaviorist is someone who:

• Has received a certification from a science based group, usually after presenting 1500+ hours of dog behavior documentation and taking a lengthy exam going over stress signals, medication, anatomy, physiology, tools, and teaching ability.

OR

• Has a PhD in an animal related field (like zoology)

OR

• Is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine who is accredited as a veterinary behaviorist through the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists.  There are only around 75 certified behaviorists through the ACVB, and Mr. Millan's name is not on the list.

The news outlets reporting on this really need to ask questions and educate the public about the following:

• What is a behaviorist?
• How do I find a reputable one?

By explaining what a behaviorist does and who a behaviorist is, we can avoid the tired argument of if Cesar helps dogs or not. Instead of a really emotional argument based on ambiguity, there are terms that should be defined in the reporting, and that might help clear some things up regarding Mr. Millan.

In short, Mr. Millan can call himself a behaviorist.

I can call myself an astronaut.

Neither are true.

This post should help you figure out how to find reputable help for behavior related issues.

And here is a link to Considerations for the City Dog- a book that dedicates an entire chapter explaining the differences of these professionals.

In short, if you are looking for behavior help, look for credentials and know what your behavior professional had to do before earning the  "Behavior Consultant", "Applied Animal Behaviorist" or "Veterinary Behaviorist" title before hiring. Do your due diligence for your dog's sake. If someone calls himself or herself a behaviorist, ask what they did to earn the title, and who gave them the credentials.

Good luck,

-M3

Muzzle Up!

Here is a post I wrote for 2 Dogs Treats last week. I thought it was an important one to share here in its entirety. 

Muzzle Up!

If you are reading this right now, you might think muzzles are only for “bad dogs.” Dogs that are aggressive, dangerous or mean.

I hope to change your mind by the end of this post.

I will introduce and discuss the many reasons for acclimating every dog to a basket muzzle, particularly in an urban environment. Your vet would argue (rightfully) that all dogs should be comfortable wearing a muzzle and I have to agree.

A Labrador Retriever wearing a Basket Muzzle. 
(Courtesy of TheLabradorSite.com)

Before I list the many reasons that pet professionals are pro-muzzle, I want you to think for a minute. What circumstances would a muzzle be useful? Think about veterinarians, the law, natural disasters. Now can you think of any other reason to muzzle train your pup?

Here is a short list:

• Veterinarians might have to muzzle your dog if he is seriously injured. When our greyhound broke his leg at home, my instinct was to grab his basket muzzle, put it on him, and then evaluate the situation. When a dog is in excruciating pain (such as a broken leg), their instinct is to prevent more pain. Even the best behaved dogs that would never otherwise bite their owners have bitten owners, passer bys and veterinarians - all of which were trying to help the dog. You can’t help your dog if you are also going to the ER for a significant dog bite, so put the muzzle on Sparky first and then assess the situation.
• Dogs that eat EVERYTHING. If you have a dog who has had to go to the veterinarian more than once this summer for parasites because your dog eats everything on walks, a muzzle might be a great option for preventing illness and more vet bills. This also applies to labradors who eat rocks, poop (coprophagia) or other forms ofpica.
• Local evacuations: With more and more natural disasters nationally, the chances of evacuation due to natural disaster are (sadly) increasing. Many people do not want to leave their pets behind in case of emergency, and many choose to ignore evacuation requests because of their pets. Don’t risk your life, or your pets life. Many evacuation sites will allow you to bring your pet IF it’s in a crate and muzzled. When a dog is stressed out, the likelihood of a bite increases so for everyone's protection, your pets need to be muzzled and / or crated. If you haven’t started crate training, here is a great place to start.
• Reactive Dogs: There are aggressive dogs (dogs that for a variety of reasons charge and bite) and there arereactive dogs. Dogs like my former dog, Sadie, who had a large personal space bubble and was perfectly fine as long as no other dog came into her space. If they did, then she would react by lunging, barking, and loudly express her displeasure at the intruder. It’s an even harder situation when the dog coming into her space is a “friendly” dog who “just wants to say hi.” Sorry, this might be unpopular, but as the owner of a reactive dog (like thousands of you in cities) your dog’s friendliness has absolutely nothing to do with my dog’s comfort. Your dog’s “good intentions” is not permission to come into any dog’s space. Full stop. This is why leash laws exist - it’s not just for the safety of your dog, but for the dogs that are uncomfortable their surroundings. If you do not have the ability to call your dog from any distraction (including other dogs) your dog should be leashed until trained. With that said, as an added bonus, a dog like Sadie could have worn a muzzle - which would have been a visual cue to the FDO (friendly dog’s owner) that this dog should not have her space infringed upon. Sometimes a little extra security goes a long, long way.
• If you are in a busy environment and other people ignore pleas to not get in your dog's face. If you are someone who says “yes, I know he’s cute, and he likes people but I think he’s overwhelmed now,” a muzzle is a good visual marker for people to give a little bit of space so this dog can take a quick break.
• Bully Breeds: If you own a bully breed, or a banned breed (there are 75 of them in the USA - is your dog on this list?), a muzzle might be a necessary evil for you to keep your dog. In some cases, you can only walk your banned breed down the street of your neighborhood, regardless of temperament, with a muzzle. If you think breed bans are just for ‘pit bulls’ and other bully breeds, then you’re in for a surprise because in some cases, Chihuahuas, American Eskimo Dogs and Golden Retrievers are on the list. If you are the owner of these dogs in a locale that bans these breeds, you are now going to start feeling the heat in the way that bully breed owners have been for decades. It’s time to stop BSL (breed specific legislation) and instead employ individual risk assessment per individual dogs.

Pink, custom, blinged out muzzle for this beauty! 
For more information about this particular piece, visit RedStarCafe

There are great resources for muzzles, including the popular Muzzle Up Project. This website lays out even more resources and reasons for muzzles, and works hard to erase the stigma of muzzles. The Karen Pryor website also is addressing the muzzle issue.

With all of that said, muzzles are still used on dogs that are aggressive, so it’s important to give space to ANY dog wearing a muzzle. Until we can all get on board and ask every dog owner if it’s ok to say hello to their dog (and keep going if the answer is “No,” for any reason!), then muzzles are a necessity.

And, in some cases, are really, really cute :)

2 Dogs Treats owner Christian enters J-Lo in a Halloween contest. J-Lo is wearing a Duck Muzzle - a functional muzzle designed to take some of the stigma out of muzzling dogs. Good boy, Christian! You’re doing an AWESOME job advocating for your pup!

So next time you see a dog in a muzzle, there is no reason to be alarmed. The owner is protecting their dogs from illness, good intentions and eating terrible things. They are advocating for their dog’s space. They are teaching their dogs that muzzles are no big deal in the event of an emergency. These are good dog owners who are being proactive and protective for a variety of reasons.

Training goal: Get a muzzle and start teaching your pup to wear it. You don’t have to have your dog wear it all the time, but you can start getting your dog used to it. Your vet, trainer and others will thank you for it in the event of an unforeseen circumstance. The time to try a muzzle is not when you’re being evacuated or your dog has broken his leg - the time for muzzles is when you can teach them to wear it comfortably, and treat it like a party trick.

Until next time! 
Melissa McCue-McGrath, CPDT-KA

Author Considerations for the City Dog | Co-Training Director NEDTC.org | Co-Conspirator at CarTalk FIDO

Why I Won't Sign The "Save Neville" Petition

There is a post circulating like CRAZY on Facebook. It’s called “Save Neville.” The Change.org petition states that a family with a young child was looking to adopt a dog. They entered a pen with Neville and “other dogs” that were playing. The staff advised the family not to put the child on the ground, but they did anyway and when the toddler grabbed Neville, Neville bit the youngster in the face. As a result of that single bite wound Neville is court ordered to be euthanized.

Upon hearing that story, I’d sign that petition! This dog is misunderstood. His face is so cute! It seems to be one bite. This dog might not be placed with kids in the home, but surely this is a dog worth saving, right? I mean, the parents clearly didn’t listen and the responsibility is on them...right?

Here is a great lesson in making sure you have all the facts before jumping on a Change.org bandwagon, especially if it seems like the petition is one-sided.

According to a news piece on this story, there were up to five dogs in the pen with Neville and they were all playing. As a professional, I read that as “jazzed up.” The shelter said they told the family not to put the child down (citing common sense) but the family denies being told. This part is he-said-she-said and can’t be proven unless the surveillance camera (which is part of the case) can point to the staff saying, “Hey, don’t put your kid on the ground.” When the 2-year-old reached up to “hug” Neville after hugging and shaking the dog previously, the dog turned and bit the child in the face which resulted in 16 stitches at a local hospital.

The photo of the child’s wounds was notably absent from the petition.

That does not sound like a single bite wound, though maybe it is? It *could* be a quick bite to the delicate skin where 8 top teeth met 8 bottom teeth resulting in 16 stitches (or something like that.) It could also be 3 teeth grabbing and shaking the toddler which would scale significantly higher on the Dunbar Bite Scale.

What is the Dunbar Bite Scale? If you call a professional like me into your home if your dog nips, bites, or wounds another party (person or dog), the scale I use to quantify those bites is the Dunbar Bite Scale. If you scroll down through the linked article, there are great cartoons that aren’t too graphic that illustrate perfectly how I scale a bite from Level 1 (air snap/ dog bit and “missed”) to Level 6 (death to the victim). There are only 6 levels, but they are quantifiable and can tell us a lot. How riled up was the dog? Given the severity of the bite, was the dog reacting to stimuli (a kid grabbing him?) or “looking for trouble” (charging and attacking the victim). Dogs don’t tend to start biting at level 3, 4 or 5...so the higher up the bite scale tends to indicate a bite history. This bite scale is really important in my line of work and professionals like me work hard to get this information out there. I think every bite needs to be quantified and an appropriate plan should be in place. All of this is dependent on the stress of the dog and the bite level of previous bites.

DrSophiaYin.com : Available as a free download among other fantastic resources.

I feel if we can change the way we talk about dog bites, we can stop victim blaming and stop our knee-jerk reaction to the poor dog who just didn’t know any better. I’m not saying I don’t sympathize with the situation, or want to save the dog - but this type of banter needs to stop:

 

“The parents should have known better.”

“The kid shouldn’t have hugged the dog.”

“Yes, the kid got 16 stitches, but he won’t likely have permanent damage.”

“I’ll take Neville. Say he ran away and give him to me.”

“The parents should have been bitten.”
"Euthanize the parents, not Neville." "The parents brought this upon themselves. I have no respect for them."

These are all, sadly, comments taken directly from the Change.org petition. It’s hear- breaking. This happens every time there is a dog put on doggie death row, but we have to change the way we talk about and handle dog bites and ethical rescue/adoption in this country if we really want to save these dogs.

Again, I’m not saying this dog is dangerous. I don’t have all the facts - and that’s why I’m not weighing in on if he should have a stay of execution. Some dogs are dangerous. Some dogs should not be homed. Sometimes it’s the people, but sometimes it IS the dog. Sometimes it’s the environment. Sometimes it’s poor placement from the shelters. And sometimes it’s the people. All the people. Including the shelter employees. We need to stop saying “there are no bad dogs, only bad people” because that isn’t fair to the 2-year-old kid in this case who has to deal with stitches and maybe long-term fear of dogs. Yes, there were people in this case who made this worse, but canine genetics might have also played a part in this case, and the dog might not have been ok with kids. That’s not for me to say because (again) I haven’t met this dog or seen the file. It is, however, food for thought. There is much more here than an online petition.

In this case, I see several failures and teachable moments:

• On the part of the parents who put a kid in a pen with multiple dogs, but maybe they didn’t know better - and knowing that “hugging” dogs is bad is just now getting iton the zeitgeist. Not everyone knows this, so that’s not fair to put on the parents. We are all still learning. Also, not every person is a dog expert, and we’re learning more every day. Yet, if they ignored shelter staff, then this is on them, too.
• On the part of the shelter for having a family with a young child meet more than one dog in a pen.
• On the part of the shelter for not knowing subtle stress signals in dogs if any were given, or likely triggers in dogs (for instance: 5 dogs zipping around and a toddler reaching for one of them).
• On the part of the shelter for not immediately intervening when the toddler moved towards Neville. The parents might not be experts, but the shelter staff should know better...but maybe they don’t. Again, we are all still learning, and many shelters don’t have access to the tools they need. Their good intentions are there, and needed to save dogs, but they need more tools to make better decisions when introducing families to pets.
• On the part of the shelter for not removing the family if an employee did say, “Hey, I don’t advise you putting your child on the ground.” That would be a great time to reassess the situation if there were warnings about putting the toddler on the ground. Maybe then pick a suitable match and bring the family into a single room to meet the dog - a room with a poster on “how not to say hi to dogs.”

Here’s the take away: Victim blaming is never...let me repeat, never, ok. The way I see it, everyone “failed” but that doesn’t mean it’s the time to victim blame. I see gaping holes in education and safety protocol. It’s time to look at this event and say, “Hey, we need to do better and we can’t let this happen again.” How do we do that?

• The way to truly save Neville is to have a Certified Behavior Consultant, Applied Animal Behaviorist who works with dogs or a Veterinary Behaviorist assess the dog. They might say that he needs to be euthanized, or they might say he just can't be in a home with kids or loud noises.Regardless, someone with the, knowledge, experience and authority to make this sort of call should be involved. Qualified professionals should have a bigger say as to what happens to Neville than a mob on an online petition . These findings should be presented to the court.
• There needs to be a management plan and a behavior plan in place if he is saved.
• The shelter needs to look over their policies of how families meet dogs (and maybe provide education to their shelter staff, volunteers and community about how to interact with dogs safely.)
• They need to learn about, and teach, stress signals in dogs.
• Investigate using a behavior assessment protocol, like Matchup II and employ programs like Open Paw to make each shelter an educational hub for human/dog safety.
• The shelter needs to be ok if this dog gets euthanized. They also need to make sure they take the proper steps to make sure this never happens again.
• The shelter can ask a qualified, certified animal behaviorist (someone with a PhD in the field and a certification stating they have completed a program in animal science - not just any ol’ person who says they are a behaviorist. They need to back up their profession with actual credentials) to come in and work with them on proper assessment practices and how to manage the dogs and the people who want to adopt these dogs safely.

This dog still might get euthanized, or he might not, but public outcry should not be the thing that saves Neville. Using this as a teachable moment for all parties involved and to start programs in local schools (like Doggone Safe) to teach kids and parents about safe interactions with dogs is a fantastic place to start. Additionally, the Family Paws website and everything at
Living with Kids and Dogs is useful for all parents, even if you don't have dogs. Your kid might come in contact with dogs on walks, or get chased by a dog off leash - the information in these websites is invaluable and can prepare families for the unexpected.

This shelter should take the lead, learn about safe practices, and make sure they are on the hook if Neville bites again - because if they place this dog and he has another incident where someone gets seriously hurt, the shelter who stands by this dog needs to have some accountability.

-M3

----- Update!!! Neville was eventually placed in a home and evaluated by an orthopedic veterinarian who discovered he had a case of hip dysplasia. This could have been a contributing factor, or even the primary factor, in biting this young boy. That said, even with his medical condition, preventative measures would have gone a long way in ensuring Neville wasn't in a position where he needed to protect himself, and the young boy wouldn't have been in a position where he needed 16 stitches.

I love rescue. Every pet we have in our home is adopted and that will be the most likely case case for the rest of our days. With that said, it's imporant to note that everything listed above can certainly help change rescue from a place of simply moving animals into homes that may or may not be appropriate for a particular pet, but change the conversation to one of taking responsible measures to prevent another Neville situation from happening again. Remember, I'm not there, so I don't know first-hand how many, if any of the steps above have been adopted by the shelter to prevent these things from occuring again.

Neville was instead court ordered to register as a dangerous dog, which doesn't really mean much. Registering as a dangerous dog means different things through the country so while this looks like a lot was done, the onus after all of this is still put on Neville. The very thing this rescue was trying to prevent with a court case was to, yes, save his life, but also a major part of their argument was that this wasn't Neville's fault. I still firmly believe after all these years that in order to truly save Neville and dogs like him, steps need to be taken at the facility levely. If a case like Neville occurs at a facility and steps aren't taken to properly introduce kids and dogs, or if steps are not taken to educate the volunteers and staff to prevent this occurance from happening again, then the onus is solidly on the rescue in future cases. *Due to hateful language in the comments section, the comments might have to get shut down. That said, I have reported comments that call me an asshole, or call the parents terrible things. I won't stand for it and will report all comments that are hateful and not helpful to the conversation. If they continue the post will remain up but comments will be disabled. We are all adults, so keep it civil. We can agree to disagree, but any and all personal attacks will be removed and reported immediately. I find it telling that the comments removed were exactly the speech I'm aiming to change. Clearly, there is more work to do.*