Solutions…
…Parents Against Canine Killers
OVERVIEW
Since most dog maulings are due to 2 breeds, why not just ban those breeds?
Read More: Breed Bans
Measures that have shown promise emphasize education and accountability of dog owners and education of at risk populations:
UNTIL THE EPIDEMIC IS CONTAINED, WE MUST WARN THE CHILDREN AND SENIORS
We must create classroom materials for educators, pamphlets for obstetricians’ offices, pediatricians’ offices, senior centers - we need to warn the people most affected.
Dog Owner Responsibility:
Dog owners should be made aware that they are civilly and criminally liable for the actions of their dog. Read More: Dog owner responsibility
- With the small and/or young dog, the solution is parental supervision.
- With the larger dog, more measures are indicated. A parent may not be able to save a child from significant injury even if he is present, if the dog is of sufficient size, strength and aggressive temperament.
- A large dog, 30 to 40 pounds and greater can pose a significant threat to an adult as well as to a child, even when parental supervision is not an issue.
Since the owner has a large impact on the danger their dog represents, the owner must assume full responsibility for the dog, so that they will take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of those around them. Read More: Owner charged up to 15 years in prison.
Dog Owner Education:
Early socialization and training can greatly influence the dog’s behavior.
Read More: Why dogs attack, Choosing your pet,
Choosing your dog,
For Parents,
Imprint Training and Early Socialization to Children
Dog Owner Identification
Dog Owner Identification through micro chipping their dogs.
Read more: Mandatory Microchipping
An owner assuming full responsibility for their dog, means allowing the dog to be tracked back to the owner in the event of a dog attack. Usually the owner of the dog is known, but sometimes the owner is not known or ownership is disputed after an attack has occurred.
We will briefly touch on microchipping here, for a more in depth discussion, please read: Microchipping
The irresponsible dog owner must be identified and held accountable. Inconveniently, as with hand gun licensing, this will necessitate licensing all dogs large enough to be a threat. Unfortunately, it is likely that the most resistant owners would be the ones who are irresponsible in other ways as well. We need incentives for the inconvenienced and enforcement for the violators.
It is too late to wait until the large dog has had his first recorded offense before linking the identity to his owner. The first offense that is actually reported and recorded could well be a severe mauling. Identifying the dog owner needs to be done up front. You don’t wait until multiple people have been shot before registering a gun. If it has the capability of causing lethal injury, that’s enough.
Just providing a means of identification of dogs that have already been labeled “potentially dangerous” because they have already attacked is like saying it’s okay to drunk drive as long as you haven’t seriously injured someone yet. In fact, you don’t even need to have a license to drive until you have a recorded drunk driving offense that caused substantial injury to another party and they made a personal choice to report you. ( Don’t fade out on me because this sounds too ludicrous, it really is this bad.)
The solution needs to be preemptive. The dog owner should know that he will be held accountable to ensure that he takes meaningful preventative measures. Read more: Proper containment of an attack dog. The dog owner needs to know ahead of time that he won’t be able to develop an acute case of ownership amnesia after an attack has occurred.
The chance to save a child or elderly person from the horror and pain of a severe dog mauling, coupled with incentives that we need to create, may be enough to overcome the inconvenience. Too often, dogs with violent attack histories are recycled into families with small children.
To create compliance and reduce resistance to this important program we need an incentive program. AVMA report - A Community Approach to Dog Bite Prevention. We need to solicit donations of pet products, pet food and pet services from pet food stores, veterinarians, groomers and dog trainers to reward dog owners for having their dog micro chipped. Making the micro chipping procedure easy, accessible, affordable, and convenient will greatly promote the process.
Read More: Microchipping
REEVALUATION OF ANTIQUATED LAWS SUCH AS THE ONE BITE RULE:
Reevaluation of antiquated laws such as the one bite rule.
Read More: "One Bite" Rule In Texas
EDUCATION OF AT RISK POPULATIONS:
WE MUST EDUCATE THE CHILDREN, SENIORS AND GRANDPARENTS
Classroom materials for educators, pamphlets for obstetricians’ offices, pediatricians’ offices, and senior centers will help reach the people most affected by dog attacks and dog maulings.
Please Help: We need donations and volunteers
Read more: For Educators, For Parents, For Seniors
IMPRINT TRAINING AND EARLY SOCIALIZATION: Early socialization done in the form of imprint training is ultimately the best and most efficient time spent in improving relations between people and their dogs.
Critical imprinting periods are times in a young animal’s life when his nature and views of the world are not yet set in stone. His thoughts are more pliable and can be deeply affected by what he sees and feels at that time. Human intervention during these very critical times in a young animal’s life has far reaching effects of future behavior. As time passes, and he leave this formative time, it is more difficult to make meaningful changes at the deep level that is only open a relatively short time. It is a window of opportunity, that becomes sealed off by time.
Dog trainers can help you with training and provide helpful insight on matters of imprint training, but to imprint a puppy onto your family, taking time with him with your own family is necessary.
Ideally, imprint training is done when the puppy is young and the adult has time to desensitize the puppy and reward the puppy extensively. You can find books on imprint training which go into the process in much more depth:
This would be best demonstrated by video, so that nothing gets lost in the translation.
To get you started:
* Start when the puppy is young. The breeder can begin basic imprint training at day 1. This highlights the importance of choosing a breeder with an interest and expertise in producing loving family dogs.
* When you acquire the puppy, usually at around 8 weeks of age, continue the process and imprint your own family and specific circumstances on the puppy.
* Do everything a child might do to the puppy, but in a way that causes the puppy pleasure and joy and/ or is related to immediate rewards.
* Playfully and lovingly handle the puppy all over his body, including the face and other sensitive areas, repeatedly and in a gentle way.
* Always continue a specific desensitization, the repeated touching until he is used to it, until puppy is happy and content, never “ending on a bad note.” It is important that it continues well beyond any point that the puppy shows resistance. Constantly back up, to something he enjoys, and then proceed forward again.
* Only begin if you have enough time to patiently and gently follow through until the puppy is quite exhausted and extremely happy. If you stop when he shows resistance, you will be reinforcing the exact opposite of what you are hoping to achieve.
* Touch him anywhere a child might accidentally touch him.
* Handle his head and face, restricting his movements in a gradually increasing and always gentle and loving way, teaching him to trust that being held still does not equal pain. Give him lots of praise and reward, so that he looks forward to these sessions.
* Put your face right up to him like a child will.
* Finally, and ever so gently, briefly, and lovingly, tug on his tail, immediately followed by reinforcement.
Early socialization to children:
Introduce children into the process, with close supervision, after the puppy is thoroughly used to everything. Close supervision involves hand over hand prompting at first, (the adult hand guides the child’s hand in every motion) then fades to elbow prompting (the adult has contact with the child’s elbow) over time. Eventually fade to prompting at the level of the shoulder. Finally presence of the adult beside the child and puppy is enough. The nature of the child and puppy affect how rapidly prompts can be faded.
It starts with petting over the back and shoulder, gradually working toward gently rolling him onto his back and touching all areas of his body. It needs to be done in a way that is kind and enjoyable.
Make sure the child does not hurt the puppy! That goes for his whole life. If you don’t want an attack dog, don’t allow others to attack him.( Beware poorly controlled dogs at dog parks)
You want the dog to know that the child is above him. Gentle and loving socialization, where the child is quite literally above the puppy must be done with adult supervision. Again, it is extremely important that the child is not allowed to hurt the puppy. To protect his loving nature and his all important trust in you, you must protect him.
Once imprint trained, keep him comfortable, happy and safe throughout his life, with plenty of food and attention.
Read more: Why dogs bite, and Triggers, and For Parents.