Here's a story from the Chronicle Herald here in Halifax:
'Oh my God, he’s ripping her apart'
911 phone call described brutal attack on woman by large dog
By BRIAN MEDEL Yarmouth Bureau
Tue, Mar 29 - 4:54 AM
YARMOUTH — Friends and family members of a Yarmouth woman viciously mauled by a dog on the weekend waited Monday for any word from Halifax doctors about her condition.
Noella Ann McIntosh, 45, was savagely attacked by what people said was a large pit bull terrier-type of dog in a gravel parking lot behind a tobacco shop on south Main Street.
Police would not reveal the identity of the victim, but close friends said McIntosh was attacked late Saturday afternoon.
The dog appeared to be out of control and put up a fierce fight as two RCMP officers tried to pull the animal from the bleeding woman, said a witness.
Police shot the dog.
The witness, who asked not to be named, said she saw the dog jump up on McIntosh and thought the animal may have been doing what dogs sometimes do — jump up to be patted.
It was soon apparent this was no ordinary confrontation.
McIntosh was not patting the dog. She was being savagely attacked and the witness called 911.
"Oh my God, he’s ripping her apart," the witness told the 911 operator.
"There (are) a lot of people who saw it. People driving by saw it.
"When it was first happening, she was conscious because I heard her holler ‘Help me.’ "
The witness called 911 and begged the operator to send help to Hueston Street, which intersects Main.
The witness drove her car over to the parking lot and blew the horn, trying to distract the dog. It didn’t work. The dog appeared to be in a frenzied state.
Two Yarmouth RCMP officers were in the area and arrived within seconds.
The dog did not even look up when the officers rushed up, said the woman.
The dog put up a ferocious fight as officers tried to pull it away from the bleeding victim.
"They had no choice. They had to shoot the dog," said the witness.
She heard a loud pop and the 35-kilogram animal crashed to the ground.
RCMP Cpl. Paul Pittman said police would like more witnesses to contact them as they continue their investigation.
Investigators have not yet been able to talk with the victim, Pittman said.
The woman sustained head and upper torso wounds and was rushed to Yarmouth Regional Hospital, where she was stabilized and prepared for transfer to the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax.
On Monday, a Capital district health authority spokesman said McIntosh remains in serious condition.
Arnold Evans, McIntosh’s boyfriend, does not have a telephone and relies on other family members and McIntosh’s children to keep him informed.
"They came and got me," Evans said Monday, referring to the minutes after Saturday’s attack.
He was allowed to see McIntosh for a few minutes at Yarmouth Regional Hospital before she was transferred to Halifax.
Evans said she was heavily sedated and he could not talk to her.
The dog attacked her throat and face, he said.
"They got one of them," Evans said about the dog that officers shot.
But the owner has other vicious dogs, he said.
One of those dogs bit someone else within the last two years, said Pittman.
___________________________________________________________________________
From the Herald article there is no mention of the circumstances of where and why this attack happened, but CBC.ca provides more details:
"The owner of the dog, Gary Woods, said he wasn't home at the time, but nine-year-old Zeke and a second pit bull were inside.
Woods said he didn't know why the woman, a former tenant, walked into the apartment. He said she knew about the dogs.
There are two doors to get into the apartment. A sign on the lower one warns visitors to knock.
RCMP said police were called on an earlier occasion about a dog attacking someone in the building, but no charges were laid, and it's not known if it was the same dog."
__________________________________________________________________________
First I'd like to say shame on the herald for not including these details in their report. While I don't condone a woman being attacked, there is a marked difference between "A dog attacked someone" and "a dog attacked someone who was entering his home uninvited and behind several doors and warning signs"
Another question is the previous attack and why nothing was done to remove these dogs if they did attack a person. Haven't we seen dogs in Halifax impounded for months just for attacking another dog?
Pitbulls are some of the friendliest, nicest dogs you'll ever meet, but like all dogs and creatures, if they are abused or mistreated these types of things can sadly happen. The only problem with pitbulls is they are attractive to these nefarious types of individuals who put spiked collars on them and do harsh training with them, (if any training).
Its nice to see the majority of comments and "agree/disagree" on the cbc site seem against any calls for breed banning or other such laws, and it seems the general public understand that its about care and treatment, not genetics. While genetics can play a part and you can in fact breed aggression, this is rarely done outside of illegal fighting rings. In my opinion the majority of pitbulls have the same risk of human aggression as any other dog. The problem of course with pitbulls is they are very powerful and an aggressive pitbull is going to cause a lot more damage than an aggressive pomeranian.
So please don't get turned off the breed - sadly theres a lot of these dogs in shelters that need good homes and many will make excellent pets.
Update: I had a chance through an online chat at our local newspaper to ask scientists Jane Goodall what she thought about BSL and pitbulls, here's her response:
Dr. Goodall: Unfortunately, many dogs like this are actually trained to be aggressive.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Leash Dog-Dog Reactions
I'm not sure if its TV shows or just natural human reaction but it seems that whenever a dog reacts/lunges/barks at another dog while on leash, the reaction of the owner is to always jerk the leash and yell at the dog.
Even dogs that are simply tugging to investigate or greet another dog while on leash are routinely jerked back into walking position by many owners.
Many people I believe are at a loss for what to do when your dog is reacting either aggressively or curiously to another stimulus while on leash, and both require very different methods of treatment - however one thing in common is that jerking your dogs leash doesn't help.
If your dog is reacting aggressively to another dog/person/stimulus jerking the leash and yelling at the dog will start to classically condition your dog. The dog is going to start to form this picture in his mind:
Dogs show up = my neck hurts and I get jerked around thus = dogs are bad news.
Now many people will observe that if your jerk a dog enough he may stop to react (yup we see this on TV shows) - this is true, but that doesn't mean his reaction is cured, but rather suppressed. Likely that same dog, once free of his leash, would react on his building emotional state that dogs = bad and an attack is very likely. This is not a dog you could trust off leash when he is "safe" from his punishers.
So jerking your dogs leash does nothing to cure or fix the emotional state of WHY he is reacting that way, but simply temporarily suppresses it. If your an addicted smoker, I can tie your hands up and take away your cigarette package and then stand back and say "Look he's not smoking" and thus claim my solution has cured you.
The problem of course is soon as you have your free will and mobility back, you'd head right out to buy another pack.
The key is to cure the emotional state of why the dog is reacting, and the only true way to do this is through that same pattern of classical conditioning.
Instead of dogs = my leash jerked = dogs are bad, you change the equation in your dogs mind to:
dogs = I get lots of treats thus = dogs are awesome!
I won't go into all the finer detail of how this is done, these types of corrections are best done with the help of a qualified trainer. If you'd like to learn more however there's plenty of books in my online store that cover this topic, FIGHT! by jean donaldson is a good one.
The key point to note here is that your not creating an expectation that your dog will get a treat every time another dog shows up. What your doing is changing the emotional state, so that even if he doesn't get a treat when a dog shows up, the past history of that happening will give him a positive view of the approaching dog, instead of a negative one. Phasing out the treats will still leave your dog with a positive mindset, even when the treats are no longer flowing freely. You can also train operant behaviors around other dogs if you need to, like sitting or coming to you if off leash.
If your dog is simply trying to investigate something, say he wants to sniff that pile of poop on the sidewalk, is jerking him away going form an equation of:
poop = my leash getting jerked = poop is bad?
Not likely (but it could), but it will certainly lead to other issues.
First, it will damage your relationship with your dog. Whenever you inflict pain on your dog, your not going to be his most favorite person, that's just universal for all species.
Second, Your dog isn't going to have any clear expectations on how to get what he wants. Unless you've trained him to "leave it" jerking him away from things doesn't teach him why he shouldn't be going after that object, or how to avoid the punishment. What else can't I sniff at along this walk? How do I stop from getting jerked around so much? If you don't answer these questions for you dog, he's going to be hopelessly confused and upset.
So in short - if your dog does something you don't like on leash, please don't make your first reaction to jerk him around. Certainly if your dog is lunging or about to attack you need to manage the situation, but once everyone is safe, please don't be the person that stands there yelling "NO" and jerking up on the leash well after the encounter has passed, your not doing your dog, or yourself, any favors.
Even dogs that are simply tugging to investigate or greet another dog while on leash are routinely jerked back into walking position by many owners.
Many people I believe are at a loss for what to do when your dog is reacting either aggressively or curiously to another stimulus while on leash, and both require very different methods of treatment - however one thing in common is that jerking your dogs leash doesn't help.
If your dog is reacting aggressively to another dog/person/stimulus jerking the leash and yelling at the dog will start to classically condition your dog. The dog is going to start to form this picture in his mind:
Dogs show up = my neck hurts and I get jerked around thus = dogs are bad news.
Now many people will observe that if your jerk a dog enough he may stop to react (yup we see this on TV shows) - this is true, but that doesn't mean his reaction is cured, but rather suppressed. Likely that same dog, once free of his leash, would react on his building emotional state that dogs = bad and an attack is very likely. This is not a dog you could trust off leash when he is "safe" from his punishers.
So jerking your dogs leash does nothing to cure or fix the emotional state of WHY he is reacting that way, but simply temporarily suppresses it. If your an addicted smoker, I can tie your hands up and take away your cigarette package and then stand back and say "Look he's not smoking" and thus claim my solution has cured you.
The problem of course is soon as you have your free will and mobility back, you'd head right out to buy another pack.
The key is to cure the emotional state of why the dog is reacting, and the only true way to do this is through that same pattern of classical conditioning.
Instead of dogs = my leash jerked = dogs are bad, you change the equation in your dogs mind to:
dogs = I get lots of treats thus = dogs are awesome!
I won't go into all the finer detail of how this is done, these types of corrections are best done with the help of a qualified trainer. If you'd like to learn more however there's plenty of books in my online store that cover this topic, FIGHT! by jean donaldson is a good one.
The key point to note here is that your not creating an expectation that your dog will get a treat every time another dog shows up. What your doing is changing the emotional state, so that even if he doesn't get a treat when a dog shows up, the past history of that happening will give him a positive view of the approaching dog, instead of a negative one. Phasing out the treats will still leave your dog with a positive mindset, even when the treats are no longer flowing freely. You can also train operant behaviors around other dogs if you need to, like sitting or coming to you if off leash.
If your dog is simply trying to investigate something, say he wants to sniff that pile of poop on the sidewalk, is jerking him away going form an equation of:
poop = my leash getting jerked = poop is bad?
Not likely (but it could), but it will certainly lead to other issues.
First, it will damage your relationship with your dog. Whenever you inflict pain on your dog, your not going to be his most favorite person, that's just universal for all species.
Second, Your dog isn't going to have any clear expectations on how to get what he wants. Unless you've trained him to "leave it" jerking him away from things doesn't teach him why he shouldn't be going after that object, or how to avoid the punishment. What else can't I sniff at along this walk? How do I stop from getting jerked around so much? If you don't answer these questions for you dog, he's going to be hopelessly confused and upset.
So in short - if your dog does something you don't like on leash, please don't make your first reaction to jerk him around. Certainly if your dog is lunging or about to attack you need to manage the situation, but once everyone is safe, please don't be the person that stands there yelling "NO" and jerking up on the leash well after the encounter has passed, your not doing your dog, or yourself, any favors.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Golden Rule Training Store
Finally, after several months the golden rule training store is online. I will be selling items from a company called VIP products, most famously known for their "Tuffy" line of products.
So why is a dog trainer selling toys, trying to make extra income? Not really, I've kept my prices really low that I don't really see myself making that much money off this - but rather one of the things I noticed on a number of consultations is the lack of dog toys.
I mostly see big dogs in my consultations, I'd say pit bulls, mastiffs and shepards are likely my top dogs I see. I don't believe its anything to do with the breed but rather when a large powerful dog has issues, theres a lot more reason to act than if a tiny teacup dog has them. I know many people who just 'deal' with aggression from their tiny dog, but pick up the phone quick if their 150 lbs mastiff growls.
One of the main things I hear from all these owners is how their dog 'shreds' their toys. Many of these owners struggle to give their dog enough exercise on a regular basis, so toys become a great outlet for the dogs....except they don't have any!
The "Tuffy" toys are built just for these dogs. The rating system allows for people to choose how strong a toy they need for their particular dog - not every dog needs a 10 level toy!
There is also a lot of fun toys for any dog, not just the toy gobblers! The iballs, squeakers and animals are really fun for any dog, so I hope you'll check out the toys and if your happy with them, pass on to your friends!
Shelters are another reason I got into this product line. Many shelter dogs shred their toys because theres nothing else for them to do, and because of the risk of choking sometimes dogs that shred will lose their toys completely and be left with nothing to do. I'd really like to see the mega tuffy line in shelters all over the province to ensure that even the most stressed out mega chewer can have a toy to play with and relieve stress - I will be putting aside money from all sales to purchase toys for the SPCA here in NS.
So why is a dog trainer selling toys, trying to make extra income? Not really, I've kept my prices really low that I don't really see myself making that much money off this - but rather one of the things I noticed on a number of consultations is the lack of dog toys.
I mostly see big dogs in my consultations, I'd say pit bulls, mastiffs and shepards are likely my top dogs I see. I don't believe its anything to do with the breed but rather when a large powerful dog has issues, theres a lot more reason to act than if a tiny teacup dog has them. I know many people who just 'deal' with aggression from their tiny dog, but pick up the phone quick if their 150 lbs mastiff growls.
One of the main things I hear from all these owners is how their dog 'shreds' their toys. Many of these owners struggle to give their dog enough exercise on a regular basis, so toys become a great outlet for the dogs....except they don't have any!
The "Tuffy" toys are built just for these dogs. The rating system allows for people to choose how strong a toy they need for their particular dog - not every dog needs a 10 level toy!
There is also a lot of fun toys for any dog, not just the toy gobblers! The iballs, squeakers and animals are really fun for any dog, so I hope you'll check out the toys and if your happy with them, pass on to your friends!
Shelters are another reason I got into this product line. Many shelter dogs shred their toys because theres nothing else for them to do, and because of the risk of choking sometimes dogs that shred will lose their toys completely and be left with nothing to do. I'd really like to see the mega tuffy line in shelters all over the province to ensure that even the most stressed out mega chewer can have a toy to play with and relieve stress - I will be putting aside money from all sales to purchase toys for the SPCA here in NS.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Dominance Theory
Well it's been a long time coming but I've finally added my dominance essay to my main website - it can be found at www.goldenruletraining.ca
This has taken me a while to complete, mostly doing research and reading on the subject. I hope you will all find it an interesting read and I've tried to cover the subject in as much detail as I can, with as much reference as possible.
One of the things I've noted is that the dog training industry is high unregulated and anyone can claim to be an expert. I've tried to ensure all my opinions in this document are backed up by scientific experiments and expert researchers. I hope you will find it interesting.
On a personal note - my general obedience classes in Woodside start tonight, these are my first classes away from Petcetera since I've decided to "go it alone". 6 Dogs signed up for the general class so I hope its a fun and educational 6 weeks!
I'm considering getting another dog soon and I seem to be gravitating towards a senior rescue dog. There's something about older dogs without a home that seems to draw me in, so we'll see.
This has taken me a while to complete, mostly doing research and reading on the subject. I hope you will all find it an interesting read and I've tried to cover the subject in as much detail as I can, with as much reference as possible.
One of the things I've noted is that the dog training industry is high unregulated and anyone can claim to be an expert. I've tried to ensure all my opinions in this document are backed up by scientific experiments and expert researchers. I hope you will find it interesting.
On a personal note - my general obedience classes in Woodside start tonight, these are my first classes away from Petcetera since I've decided to "go it alone". 6 Dogs signed up for the general class so I hope its a fun and educational 6 weeks!
I'm considering getting another dog soon and I seem to be gravitating towards a senior rescue dog. There's something about older dogs without a home that seems to draw me in, so we'll see.
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