Dogs have been in the news a lot lately. Yesterday, three dumb ass kids in Chicago's south suburbs were attacked by a dog (not usually ferocious at all) while trying to climb into the neighbor's swimming pool. The pool is surrounded by a chain-link fence, a Beware of Dog sign was posted on the fence, and the kids hadn't asked permission to use the pool. A woman gardening on the South Side was mauled by two pit bulls, whose owner hadn't restrained or trained them since the last time the dogs had attacked someone. Those dogs were euthanized. A few weeks ago, a dog saved a little boy who was being attacked by another dog. Now, the mayor of San Francisco wants to impose limits on pit bull ownership after a boy was mauled to death by a pit bull.
'Dogs sure are vicious,' you're thinking. 'They're so dangerous and they maul innocent people.' But the problem isn't with the dogs, it's with the people who own them. Because dogs are such loyal companions, because they understand words like 'car ride' and 'dinner time', because they have human-like temperaments, people think that dogs are like humans, except they can't speak our language. Dogs are indeed very smart animals, but they aren't human-smart, they're animal-smart. They rely on instinct, not reason. When dogs attack someone they don't know who is in their territory, they're protecting their homes and their companions. When they randomly attack someone on the street, it's probably because that person smells like something that makes the dog feel threatened, whether it's another animal or a scent that reminds them of a previous experience, or they were startled by a sound or a suddent movement. It's not because they're evil, they're just relying on their instincts.
Animals, like people, have a variety temperaments. Some breeds are known for being easy-going, sweet, and low-maintenance. Other breeds, like pit bulls and other dogs that people train as fighters, are naturally more difficult to properly train (hence why they make such good fighting dogs). Some pit bulls don't want to fight though, and so they get beaten up by the trainers and other dogs. People think that all dogs are naturally sweet and cuddly and they don't want to have to do a lot of work to make them behave. When the dog does misbehave, instead of teaching it how to act properly, they yell at the dog, yank at its leash, and scare it into compliance. But dogs are like children. No matter how nasty they can be, if they're properly taught how to behave, they'll behave. It may take a lot of patience, some alternative teaching methods, and a lot of love, but that's how it is with both animals and people. That's why I cringe every time I hear of a dog attack or of a dog being euthanized for bad behavior. People are lazy and mean, and they'd rather put a dog down for doing what a dog does, instead of giving back to the dog the love that the dog gives to them unconditionally. Chicago Canine Rescue helps rescue dogs from bad homes, teaches the dogs discipline with positive reinforcement, and helps find new, loving homes for the dogs. Sounds like they really have their work cut out for them these days.
