Modern Dog Blog

This comment was sent in by Jan Carr, and since she actually reads the blog (yay!), I thought it deserved a response
“Re: the bite incident

As you reflect on this incident, in hindsight, was there anything you could have done to ward off this aggressive dog that caused the problem? Also, give your long experience as a trainer, were there any signs that the aggressor “might” be a problem?

I have two dogs — a Border Collie and a scruffy terrier mix of about the same size — and over the last two yearsI have taken them to the local dog parks, we have managed to stay out of trouble by simply walking — instead of milling around with the other dogs.

Also, I have found Cesar Millans’ preaching about pack leadership and “calm assertiveness” to be very helpful in raising my own dogs and surviving the dog park.

Do you have any opinions on his techniques?”
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Surely moving around in a dog park will keep you out of most trouble - keeps your dogs moving and less likely to get caught up in little scuffles. I have simply found that too many people have absolutely no control over their dogs and don’t seem to care if my dogs are clearly trying to play with ME and NOT their dog. My dogs are happy to play ball on the edges of the park and ignore all other dogs, but they do not take kindly to some strange dog chasing them and trying to body slam the ball out of their mouth. And even though my body language, and my dogs’ body language clearly says, “we are here to play together, not with you” - I find that most people ignore that and let their dog continue to harass us until my dogs feel forced to correct the other dog. I simply refuse to put them or myself into these types of situations any more. It is just not worth it.

Cesar Milan, I really try to have no opinion on. I have not bothered to watch his show, as it just screams “icky used car salesman” to me. What I do know of his methods I am not overly impressed with, he hasn’t cracked some great code, he just happens to have a Tv show. What works for the dogs on Tv certainly may not work for every dog and I think people don’t always see that. If he helps one person have a better relationship with their dog, great, wonderful, go for it. I just hate to see that people get the wrong idea that all problems can be cured in a nice, tidy little half hour show. One must remember the miracles of editing! But, whatever, really what he has done is bring dog training into everyone’s living room - and if someone benefits, that’s lovely. I’m sure I’m not the only dog trainer though that has gotten tired of being asked “What do you think of Cesar?” As if he invented this stuff.

As for the bite incident - it was a fluke, a disaster, an awful collection of mistakes that simply went horribly, horribly wrong. My dogs and I used to be members of an agility club, which allowed you to use their lovely open, grassy, fenced in area to exercise your dogs anytime there wasn’t a class. I usually went when no one else would be there, mid work day, so I could play ball, let my dogs lay in the kiddie pools, and we could all relax and play for a few hours without having to worry about being bothered by other people or dogs. On this particular day, I was there with my gang, and a client joined me with her newborn baby and two pitties. These pitties are lovely with people, and had played with my dogs at the field many times. Another member showed up with a few labs that we had played with before and everyone got along famously. There is plenty of room and lots to do - we were all actively throwing balls and life was grand.

Then one more dog joined the group, a one and a half year old male German Shepherd. I had trained this dog since he was a pup, and he LOVES me. Thinks I belong to him and him alone. I’d had him out at the field many times with all sorts of different dogs. While he did get into a few minor scraps over the ball with my lab, it was never anything serious. He NEVER started a fight, but would not back down from one either. When I saw his owner pull up, I decided to take the male pit bull away from the gate so we could avoid any issues there. That was my first mistake. I leashed him and took him out to the center of the field, and he got wound up and started getting pissy. I saw the shepherd coming in and I threw a ball for him in the other direction - hoping he would chase the ball, give the pit a chance to calm down, and give me a chance to get everyone settled. He didn’t see the ball and instead ran straight towards me, intending to greet me in his usual enthusiastic way. Unfortunately, the pit was restrained next to me, saw the shepherd coming, interpreted it as an attack, and just went apeshit nuts. He immediately attacked the shepherd, and unfortunately I was in between them and he bit my lower leg twice trying to get ahold of the shepherd.

All hell broke loose. Shepherd and pit bull - both close to 100lbs - trying to kill each other, pit bull housemate trying to help him out, their owner unable to help because she had her hands full of a newborn, the shepherd’s owner running in and trying to get ahold of anything, the labs owner desperately trying to help, my dogs jumping in trying to accomplish who knows what, and me in the middle trying to get out. At one point I fell down and got caught underneath them, and thought for sure I was going to die. It took three people three separate tries of getting the dogs apart, but then the pit would break loose, even though he was being held up by his back legs, and he’d go right back and latch on to the shepherd. It just seemed there was no stopping them.

It was one of those experiences that seems like it lasts forever and randomly replays in your mind at the oddest times. When we finally, finally got the shepherd out of the field and loaded into his car, we started doing damage control. Both pit bulls were fairly well torn up, and the male went straight to the emergency room. I know at one point I saw them locked onto each other’s bottom jaws, and it looked like the shepherd had succeeded in tearing part of the pit’s mouth away from his jaw. The shepherd came away with only a few puncture wounds in his neck, but still has lingering dog aggression problems. My lab still has a scar on his nose, and though he and Jester were in the thick of it, there weren’t hurt badly, but it took quite a lot of work to get them past some of the dog aggression and defensiveness. I ended up with sutures, lots of antibiotics, and was laid up for something like six weeks. The bites were considered by animal control to be severe, but the dog was quarantined at home since he wasn’t trying to hurt me, he was going after the other dog. I will always carry scars on my leg, but it’s the mental damage that was the worst.

I had been working with both pit bulls before this, but I have not been able to bring myself to see them again. The shepherd was one of my regular companions, often spending the day with me and assisting with lessons and such - I have only seen him once since. I’m still afraid of off leash dogs that run up to me, especially if I have my dogs. Any sort of scuffle, which I used to squash without even thinking about it, often has me in tears. I just can’t do it anymore. I actually attended a “growly dog” class with my lab, where all the dogs were aggressive but muzzled, just so we could work through some of the panic reactions. It helped, but every time I get a little better, something like this weekend with that stupid bulldog happens and I slide right back.

So to answer your question - I’m not really sure. My biggest mistake was leashing the pit bull and moving him, that set him up to fail. Any time you restrain a dog you increase his frustration, and thus, his aggression level. The dogs had all been together before, perhaps another mistake was trusting that they would be fine on a different day. There would not have been any warding him off, it all happened too fast. The shepherd wasn’t coming to attack, he was coming to say hello. He didn’t start it, that wasn’t his intention, but he surely went nuts when the pit attacked him.

I will always, always regret that these dogs that I loved had to experience this. I am so sorry that their owners had to see it and go through it too. I’m sure I’m not the only one with lingering nightmares. I’m much, much more careful now, and I don’t easily trust dogs to be good with one another. This is why I refuse to go to dog parks - I simply do not trust other dogs. I do everything I can to make sure my dogs don’t get put into those sorts of situations, and I warn all my clients to be very careful. As much as we may love them, they are still dogs, with a mouthful of razor sharp teeth capable of inflicting lots of damage. I am much more aware, and much more respectful of, what a dog’s mouth can do.

Thanks for reading.

Posted on March 22nd, 2008 by michelle
Filed under: The Naked Part, Training