Large Fierce Mammal

In the wake of my previous article, I’d like to pause and review. What did I learn from my experience with Pepper in the cemetery?

First and foremost, I learned that no matter how many precautions you take, Murphy’s Law will prevail in dog handling just as thoroughly as it does in every other endeavour. My policies and procedures that had seemed to serve me well for so many years became completely useless in the face of a situation that was worsening faster than every step I took towards mitigation, and while Pepper at no point actually meant to menace the child involved, the net effect of his behaviour was as though he did. Add to that the fact that the kid involved wouldn’t or couldn’t comply with my commands to stop, necessitating pursuit on my part, and it becomes even more likely he reverted at some point to running from me more than from Pepper.

Up until that day in the Hillcrest Cemetery, I had met many people, children and adults alike, who were fearful of dogs to one degree or another, but the boy in the Pepper case exhibited behaviours that I had never witnessed in a person who was permitted to walk around loose. Nevertheless, what happened had been a wakeup call. Going forward, I had to proceed as if everybody I encountered was going to behave the same way. After the incident played out to its conclusion, I changed the game plan for all activities that involved taking my dogs off my property. I continued taking Pepper to demonstrations when asked, but not before serving written notice to the organizers that only people known to be dog friendly be permitted to attend. Before bringing a dog into the venue, I first addressed the group and once again asked that anyone fearful of dogs leave the room. When out walking and asked by anyone I encountered if my dog was friendly or if it was OK for them to pet the dog, the standing answer became, “No, he/she is in training.” This is still our policy, and we likewise recommend it to everyone. We do not walk or work with a dog off lead at any time unless the environment is as 100% under our control as it is possible to be

People often fail to grasp their own threshold of tolerance in the face of fear inducing influences, and parents routinely misjudge this with their children. Back in 2008, Mrs. LFM and I had a meeting with a professional photographer in our home at which time the woman involved, a dog lover, met our pack of dogs on their home ground. There wasn’t much interaction, but it was calm and successful, and she subsequently got in contact with us after talking about them with her family. She had to drop by on another date, and asked if her daughter, approximately 8 years old at the time, could come along. We agreed with the usual caveat.

On the day, mother and daughter came into our kitchen, stood side by side as our dogs approached for a sniff, and then every one fled to their beds in panic as the child emitted ear splitting shrieks while attempting to climb onto her mother’s head. Had she not been inside the house, I’m quite sure she would have bolted just like the boy in the cemetery.

So, if I were taking every precaution I presently do and still encountered a person whose behaviour seems perfectly designed to undermine everything I’ve done, these days I’d make a formal complaint of my own to ensure it’s a matter of record that someone behaved provocatively, regardless of that person’s age. I completely accept responsibility for what my dogs do just as I will in handling a horse, operating a motor vehicle, a chain saw, a knife, or a firearm, and if the actions of anyone else put me and mine at any risk, I expect the same in return. If the provocateur happens to be a child, then parental responsibility comes into play just as thoroughly in the face of my dog as it would if the same child threw a rock off an overpass into speeding traffic. The world is not a child proof daycare centre, nor should anyone reasonably expect it to be, and this is particularly important to grasp if you are the owner of a dog that recognizably belongs to one of the demonized breeds. I have personal knowledge of at least one person, the owner of a well socialized Rottweiler, who no longer takes his dog into dog friendly stores and public spaces because he got tired of the passive aggressive mutterings of other patrons making reference to , “… taking that thing out in public.” Acceptable social conduct in the presence of unknown people and other animals is a volatile skill in dogs that requires constant exposure to maintain. Yet, routinely, we see clients stepping back from taking perfectly behaved dogs, that are more sociable than most people, into public spaces in the face of ill conceived, and mostly media driven, displays of animosity from the public. The dogs become more territorial as they are sequestered, particularly if their owners begin visibly avoiding anyone encountered when out walking with them.

More on this when we return next time.