The Real Dog Blog

This can easily be avoided

So I usually post once every couple weeks and yet this is my third post this week! I'm apparently on a soapbox issue. Today, I received an email about this incident involving an injury to a maltese at a dog park. It's titled "DOG ATTACK RAISES CONCERNS" The only concern it raised for me is that pet professionals are not doing a very good job of teaching dog owners what is safe and what is not safe when they are socializing their dogs and frequenting dog parks.

Instead the article starts out with these sentences: "Shiloh, a 10-pound Pomeranian Maltese Shih Tzu mix, bears the scars of a wicked attack. Across his shaved back is a 4-inch gash sewn back together with stitches. A pair of tubes extends from both sides of the injured area to allow toxins to weep out. "He has puncture wounds that go through several layers of tissue," said Amie Seiberlich, who regularly takes Shiloh and her two other dogs to Lafayette's Great Bark Dog Park. On Sunday, she said, a greyhound turned mean at the park and nearly killed Shiloh. The little dog was spared more severe injury by a Good Samaritan who draped himself over the animal to protect it."

I feel badly for Shiloh and for his owners that had to go through this. Shiloh is very luck to be alive. If the greyhound had wanted to kill him, he could easily have done so. If the greyhound had shaken him rather than simply bitten down and punctured/torn tissue (ok, still not a good thing) he could have died of internal injuries.

The article discusses this whole incident as an entirely unpredictable, out of the blue situation resulting from a vicious animal that didn't have prior training. Park officials and others are going to put some signs up telling people not to bring vicious animals into the park and they are going to put together a task force on dog park safety.

A task force on dog park safety should start with the premise that large dogs and small dogs should be separated! It doesn't matter how well they might play with other dogs at home. Large dogs and small dogs in an off-leash pack of dogs is generally a bad idea. In this particular scenario, putting a greyhound off leash in an enclosure with any tiny dog is a recipe for disaster. Greyhounds are, after all, bred to chase small (around 10 pound) animals! If you asked me one of the most predictable scenarios for a dog attack in a dog park setting, I'd probably tell you it would be any sighthound (such as a Greyhound) and a tiny, fluffy dog.

We just need to teach owners that those things are predictable so incidents like this don't happen. Dog parks should have separate small and large dog play areas.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox for now.

Update on Jasper

Since posting my last entry, I've heard from many of you about Jasper and other similar events. Jane, Jasper's owner also emailed. Thanks, Jane! I am including a follow up video about Jasper's progress. It starts with the media report of the event, but watch till the end to see amazing photos of Jasper's improving health. I am also including some information I sent out to those on my dog daycare newsletter.

This information is geared toward owners of businesses that operate dog daycares or run playgroups. However, it's important for dog owners to know about these things too if they are going to let their dog play off leash with other dogs. Playgroups have huge benefits when they are done right, but it's important to understand some of the things that can happen when they are not handled properly.

1) Pack mentality is a real thing! Dogs act differently when they are in a group. I equate it to teenagers. My daughter, when she is alone, is pretty reasonable. Put her with a group of other girls and they often do some crazy stunts! There is power in a group.

2) Predatory Drift is something you should understand. High pitched yelping and fast moving objects can stir a predatory behavior in dogs that can result in deadly fights. This is most likely to happen when large and small dogs are grouped together which is one of the main reasons I recommend separating dogs by size in addition to temperament and playstyle.

3) Staff members should supervise the dogs and should be trained to predict dog behavior. IT IS possible. Read Off-Leash Dog Play. If you don't think behavior is predictable, I'd also recommend reading The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker. It's not a dog book, but it will give you great insight into just how predictable things can be. Dog behavior can be predicted by those who understand it and observe it enough. That should be the goal of any daycare owner!

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Dog Injury in Dog Daycare

Sometimes people wonder why I am so adamant that dogs be supervised 100% of the time when they are in a playgroup setting. Well, it's because things happen FAST in the dog world. Playing can get out of hand quickly and the results are not always good. But it's not just supervision that is important...those watching have to know what they are seeing in order to make a difference. if you don't understand dog behavior, then supervision won't matter. Here is a video about a dog that was seriously injured in a daycare setting. Thankfully the dog lived, but others don't. This is the sad reality of what can happen when things don't work well in a playgroup. Learn how to properly supervise your dog!

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$1 Million Dollar Law Suit Over Dog Bite

Here's an interesting article about a man who picked up someone elses dog at a dog park. The dog was agitated, in a scuffle at the time. The man was bitten and is now suing the owner of the dog. I think we'll see more suits like this in the future.