Rose42

I agree with stiff penalties for actual abuse. But people get emotional about dogs and thats why these laws get in.

Some dogs stink because of allergies, some because of what's fed to them and others... just stink. lol

emarine

If you trust the dog why chain it unless the dog is a weapon …

Rose42

The chain is for the dog's protection - a second level of containment. If you were ever in the military you'd have heard the saying - two is one and one is none which applies to many things.

If the dog is a weapon then its useless on a chain. That's like keeping a gun in a locked safe that you have to open when the SHTF. By then its usually too late.

Dogs are living creatures not robots. No dog is 100% foolproof and I've gotten many a dog to do things their owners swore they'd never do - both in and out of their presence. Its not hard to do. I didn't do it to shame them I did it to open their eyes (they're all good owners). There are far more good owners out there than bad but to animal rightists we're all bad.

There are some people who can't afford fences either and I wouldn't deny them a dog for that. Dogs can reach places inside us that no other human can. They don't care what you look like, if you're rich or poor, if you're not too bright, they'll never go behind your back and betray you and they are always happy to see you. They are like no other animal. I can't imagine ever being without one.

JoyV

All the feral dogs I've ever met or dealt with (and I've bee a dog trainer for 50 years) were skinny, parasite ridden, and fearful to the point of panic. If that is not suffering, we live on different planets!

Rose42

What do feral dogs have to do with this?

emarine

Ok I'm starting to see your point... maybe trump needs a dog considering he demands loyalty over excellence ...

Rose42

No question he could use one.

JoyV

My comment was in response to wolf counselor who wrote, "Dogs suffer more by human hands than they do in the wild."

Rose42

Ah. I couldn’t agree more.

Ricktloml

That is comparing apples to oranges. Almost all my dogs, (I have had a multiple dog household for 40+ years,) have been dumped. Most likely some of my dogs were abused as well as left to starve, (my Ginger, a Chocolate Lab mix,) hyperventilated the first few times she had a bath, I don't know what happened to her in the tub before coming to live with me, (she and her 4 pups were dumped, I found homes for the pups, no room at any no-k**l shelter, so I kept mom,) but it scared her badly. She now after 5 years, takes her bath, with resignation, but no fear. Both human abuse, and feral want and need are bad, and sad for dogs, Ginger wanted attention more than food the first time I saw her.

Richard Rowland

It appears as aggression, however, it's being defensive. A dog chained to a dog house without ever being released to romp or explore eventually realizes that they are captive, there is no escape from harm. So if a person approaches that is unfamiliar to the dog, the natural instinct is to become defensive, especially if eye contact is made.

I've learned that if one turns there back and avoids eye contact while letting the dog approach from behind to sniff and get a sense that no danger exists is a good strategy. However, there are dogs that are aggressive in all situations, these types present danger to everyone except perhaps their owner, but that's no guarantee either.

bggamers Loc: georgia

Rose42

Dogs shouldn’t be on chains 24x7. There are exceptions for some working dogs but even they are taken off to work.



I am not one to turn my back on a dog. Guess why. Lol. What works for me is not being a threat to the dog which sounds like what you do. They can read us like a book.

JoyV

Many people automatically assume if a dog acts fearful, it has been abused. But this is often not the case. There are several things which can cause a dog to behave fearfully. When you adopt a dog, unless your vet finds a medical reason (and yes their are medical reasons as well as medications which can cause such behavior), it is hard to know what the cause is.

The most common cause is genetic, not abuse. Temperament id highly heritable and hard to breed out of a line.

Then there is lack of stranger human contact before 13 weeks of age. Scott and Fuller did years of studies at the Jackson Behavioral Institute where they determined amongst other things, the critical periods in a dog's life. What they termed the socialization period begins 1 to 2 days before week three and lasts through week 13. Puppies having minimal human contact during that time, or only contact with the household; will become shy of people.

Then there are medical reasons and medicine side effects.

And finally there is trauma such as abuse. One way you can determine whether or not the dog has inherited a good temperament but do to trauma is behaving skittishly, is whether it becomes confident within a matter of weeks once the dog is physically well and in a good environment. A healthy dog with a confident inherited temperament, and who was socialized as a pup; will bounce back from even extreme trauma.

Rose42

Often behavior thought of as fearful is just avoidance. Dogs don’t fear like humans do. Flight isn’t necessarily fear.

Some breeds have a natural suspicion of strangers which isn’t fear and exposing them to strangers doesn’t change that - not when well bred. Its how they’re supposed to be.

Whether a dog becomes skittish also has a lot to do with the owner/handler and how they interact. A well bred dog will look bad with a bad handler and a poorly bred dog can look good with a good handler - to a point.