Socialization, dog bites and muzzling

There were two separate articles in different places (and different countries) about how socializing dogs can help prevent dog bites.  You can read the two stories here and here.

By socialization, experts are referring to getting dogs used to different environments: Different people of different sizes, shapes and colors, other animals, around things like crutches, bicycles and wheelchairs, etc.  The idea is that once a dog has been introduced to a certain type of enviornment and have learned that it is ok, they will be able to handle it better the next time.

There are obviously key times for this - -when a puppy is younger, they are much easier to socialize because everything is new to them and they're  used to the newness. However, this doesn't mean that older dogs adopted from shelters can't be socialized, it just takes a little more work.

I bring this all up because one of the major flaws that many cities that approach "restrictions" on certain types of dogs are basically promoting anti-social behavior.  So let's take a city that wants to "do something" about their dog bite problem and has decided that instead of banning certain types of dogs, that it would be better to enforce restrictions on certain types of dogs.  So what do the laws entail?

Being sure animals are "properly confined" so they aren't intermingling with the public

When they are in public, let's make sure they are leashed and muzzled (muzzles will cause dogs to become skittish, especially around other dogs, because they have no means at all to protect themselves).

So what have we done? We've actually encouraged, and forced, the dogs we deem to be problems into situations where it is virtually impossible to adequately socialize them.  By passing these types of laws, we're actually INCREASING the likelihood that a dog will become aggressive, not lessening it.

This is yet another reason why we need to listen to animal experts when making animal laws. These are the people who understand behaviors, and consequences, of the actions of a city council.

For more on socialization, here's my take -- and a wonderful article from Marjorie at Good Pooch on the topic.

BTW: Hat Tip to Bad Rap for the photo which I blatantly stole.