Fox\'s THE PULSE: Bad Dogs
Did anyone else watch this last night? I'm sorry I did. They dedicated a segment toward "educating" the public on dog attacks. They went through the usual statistics, talked about a few horrible incidents, then demonstrated how to protect yourself against a vicious dog attack.
Problem is, the dogs used in the demonstration appeared to be properly protection trained. Very intense stuff. The kind of stuff of which you don't want to be on the receiving end. Now, I very seriously doubt that your average dog attack involves animals that react the way these did. Just because Zeke the drug dealer taught his dog how to shake a tire doesn't make the dog protection trained, and Fox failed to make that distinction.
I'm usually a statistics advocate...I'd rather base my opinions on fact rather than assumptions. Yes, I understand that a large dog will do more damage than a small dog while carrying out the same behavior. But I have a huge problem with the CDC's bite/breed numbers. These numbers are based on REPORTED bites, not ALL bites.
Many of the dog owners I know have large-breed dogs: Bullmastiffs, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, etc. I've yet to be bitten by any of their dogs. Or ANY large dog, for that matter. But I have been bitten by small dogs. Many times. Over food. Over a toy. Over their master. Did it hurt? Not really. Did it leave a permanent mark? No. Did I report it? No.
The blue-haired little old lady fails to see why her precious Shih-Tsu should be corrected for growling/snapping at the stranger who gets too close. But the responsible large-breed dog owner realizes the potential for disaster, and takes the appropriate steps to properly obedience train. And there's the secret. Just one more example of a few bad people/dogs giving the rest of the good people/dogs a bad name.
Rant complete.
Did anyone else watch this last night? I'm sorry I did. They dedicated a segment toward "educating" the public on dog attacks. They went through the usual statistics, talked about a few horrible incidents, then demonstrated how to protect yourself against a vicious dog attack.
Problem is, the dogs used in the demonstration appeared to be properly protection trained. Very intense stuff. The kind of stuff of which you don't want to be on the receiving end. Now, I very seriously doubt that your average dog attack involves animals that react the way these did. Just because Zeke the drug dealer taught his dog how to shake a tire doesn't make the dog protection trained, and Fox failed to make that distinction.
I'm usually a statistics advocate...I'd rather base my opinions on fact rather than assumptions. Yes, I understand that a large dog will do more damage than a small dog while carrying out the same behavior. But I have a huge problem with the CDC's bite/breed numbers. These numbers are based on REPORTED bites, not ALL bites.
Many of the dog owners I know have large-breed dogs: Bullmastiffs, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, etc. I've yet to be bitten by any of their dogs. Or ANY large dog, for that matter. But I have been bitten by small dogs. Many times. Over food. Over a toy. Over their master. Did it hurt? Not really. Did it leave a permanent mark? No. Did I report it? No.
The blue-haired little old lady fails to see why her precious Shih-Tsu should be corrected for growling/snapping at the stranger who gets too close. But the responsible large-breed dog owner realizes the potential for disaster, and takes the appropriate steps to properly obedience train. And there's the secret. Just one more example of a few bad people/dogs giving the rest of the good people/dogs a bad name.
Rant complete.
