Recently, at the end of May, the American Veterinary Medical Association sponsored the 2013 Dog Bite Prevention Week. The sad thing about dog bites is that most bites could have been prevented. However, this is a good thing as well, because it means that by educating people about dog behavior and about how to safely interact with dogs, we can reduce the number of bites in the future.
One thing I often observe is that dog lovers assume that because they love all dogs, that all dogs should also love them. This certainly is not the case!
Yet, I often see people walk right up to a strange dog and begin petting the dog, without asking for permission from the owner and without paying any attention to the dog’s body language. Just because you want to pet the dog, does not mean the dog wants to interact with you. And, with a fearful or reactive dog, this is a great way to potentially get bit.
Before you interact with a dog you don’t know, always ask the owner. And, teach your children to do this as well. Importantly, if someone says “no” or seems hesitant, don’t ask again or press them.
Aimee, a positive trainer and blogger, had an interesting blog post last week about her two reactive dogs. Both dogs have made great progress in their training, but can still be uncomfortable and fearful around strangers. She sometimes has people try to approach and interact with her dogs because her dogs look well trained and because the person is not afraid of dogs.
Aimee writes:
I’ve worked really hard to get my dogs to the point where they are now, but well trained does not equal non-reactive. So please, when I ask you to stay away, stay away, I’m trying to be a responsible dog owner by keeping you safe. And don’t believe that by showing no fear my dogs are going to be lolling in your laps with their tongues hanging out, because that’s simply not the case. Don’t be some poor dog’s first bite victim simply because you failed to listen.
Have you been in situations like this before? How do you deal with people when they try to do things that would be unsafe or unpleasant for your animals?
Hopefully, efforts such as Dog Bite Prevention Week can help educate people about dog bites and help teach children and adults how to behave appropriately around dogs. For more information about dog bites and dog bite prevention, check out this section on the AVMA website.
Thank you for writing about this Mary! It is such an important topic and for those of us with reactive dogs it becomes frustrating and honestly kind of embarrassing. It makes you feel like there is something wrong with you and your dogs and that they are bad dogs or not normal or whatever which is a tough feeling and for those dog owners who are trying to overcome this I can see how they could feel pressured to just see how it goes and the outcome of that could be disastrous for everyone involved 🙁 I’m fortunate to have the knowledge I have and hope that one day the general public will have it as well so everyone (dogs included) can be safer and happier.
Hi Aimee,
I liked the post on your blog, so I was happy to share!
I agree with you — I think people often feel pressured to let other people pet or interact with their dog. Even if it’s embarrassing to tell someone “no,” that they can’t pet you dog, it’s much safer than creating a situation where someone could potentially get hurt or where the dog would be uncomfortable.
~Mary
Until students at Teachers Colleges are taught how to behave around dogs, and then the topic becomes a crucial part of the Primary School syllabus, I think we will always be left with the job of protecting our dogs from ignorant or rude people.
I spent a couple of years presenting the SPOT (Safe Pets Out There) Progarm to Infants Classes in the local schools here, and was appalled by the number of teachers who either interrupted to give contrary advice (usually, of course,” PAT the Dog on the head!” 🙁 or wouldn’t stay in the room (as required) to hear the program.
Yet I felt that we were doing invaluable work and over the period you could see a significant improvement in both kiddies’ behaviour and the parents giving sensible advice.
But *they* pulled the rug on us, as funding was withdrawn (despite the fact that we presenters were not paid 🙁
Hi Jenny,
That’s great that you were working to educate both young kids and their teachers. I’m sorry to hear that the funding for your program got cut.
I agree with you that educating teachers would be a great idea. Everyone, teachers, parents, kids, the general public, needs to know about how to safely interact with animals.
~Mary