She says she never saw it coming -- but should have

The media makes my head hurt.

A Deland,FL woman was bitten by her dog today.  According to the media report, she never saw it coming.

"I didn't believe he would ever hurt me...ever".

However the dog ended up attacking her other dog..a Samoyed. The woman ended up getting a shot gun and shooting the dog in her home 3x with a shot gun and killing it.

Her dog was a pit bull mix, and she warned other 'pit bull' owners that the dogs will eventually turn on you. "They do. They turn. I don't care how nice you are, one day..."

However, if you follow along, NONE of this should be a surprise to anyone.

The dog had recently growled at the woman. The woman reports taking the dog on frequent car trips to the grocery store and that the dog slept in her bed "like a husband."

When you hear something like that, besides being a bit creepy, it instantly sends up red flags of someone who has humanized their dog -- and as such, did not set up boundries for their dog. Dogs are dogs. And need to be treated like dogs, not as humans. You need to set up clearly that you are the leader, the dog is the follower. You're not equals.

If the dog growls at you, it is establishing boundaries for you. If set the dog up to be in a position of leadership over you, you are asking for trouble. Correct the dog. Set boundaries.  It seems that this time of boundry-less relationship is more common for owners of small dogs, but it can be a problem when people do it with large dogs.

The dog will never "just turn on you". It will show you signs that something is wrong. We must put people in a situation -- through educating them on canine behavior -- to read the signs of their dogs so they understand that they either need to correct the situation -- or hire a trainer in order to correct the behavior. 

But if someone needs a shot gun to gain control over their own dog, they were never in control of that relationsip.  And given that she didn't realize that the dog growling at her was a problem, then I can't imagine other signs the dog was giving that went completely unnoticed.

She had humanized the dog, and put it on an equal playing field with herself. 

It just irritates me that the media would rather let statements like those of this woman perpetuate myths about dogs "turning on you" instead of talking to real live trainers and dog experts that would be able toe educate people on canine behavior and educating people on what to look out for.  The sooner we can do that, the better off we'll all be.

Comments

[YesBiscuit!]

You are exactly right. It's the "Fido would never hurt me" people who end up being the "Dogs will turn on you in a heartbeat" people. Training, discipline, boundaries, etc. I don't understand why so many trainers are down on Cesar Milan - he says it right! Be the pack leader.

[Barb]

The over-reaction is typical of people who humanize their dogs too... once "Baby" starts acting like a DOG and does something his "parent" finds repulsive or frightening then the love and adoration tend to quickly turn to absolute hatred. Being shot certainly seems over the top but in truth it probably beats being turned in to a kill shelter.

[Rinalia]

Well, I "humanize" my dogs all the time. Doesn't mean I don't realize they are dogs and will act as such. One can find a fair balance that addresses a dog's needs while also addressing my own, personal neurosis when it comes to the dynamic duo. :)

It would never cross my mind to use a shotgun to shoot up my dog before, during or after a dog fight or even after they bit me (which neither has tried to do as of yet). What the heck?

[MichelleD]

I'm not going to click on the link but based on her getting bit while breaking up a fight - I don't really see that as "out of the blue it attacked me" on any possible level. Even if the dog had never exibited an ounce of aggression before that fight (doubtful) - you're trying to tell me that two dogs biting each other didn't tip you off that YOU could be bit if you got in the middle of it!?!

Please don't let this einstein near a lawn mower!

[Carianne]

Does anybody else think this reads like a bad romance novel?

On a more serious note, or maybe not, WTF is wrong with people???? This lady was a pitophile and should go to jail for taking advantage of her dog in these ways...

[Linda Kaim]

It is so common for people to blame their dogs actions on anyone but themselves. So many people just don't realize that they are almost wholly responsible for their dogs' behavior.

It is an unfortunate reality with the rise in popularity of "pocket pet" child substitutes and relationship substitutes. Dogs are what we make them and the foolhardy media does nothing to contradict that. They prefer 'good copy' to facts, anything to sell newspapers...

[lori]

My four Dachshunds sleep with me and my husband every night and I am wondering are you guys saying that is bad for them?

They seem to love burrowing down into the covers at the bottom of the bed.

I understand they have dog behavior because they are dogs.

I did get bitten by a dog that I was rescuing and I felt betrayed but I do not think that I am some sort of nut.

I would never shoot an animal.

I think that when you spend your life around dogs day in and day out that you are more at risk for being bitten than those people who are not ever around dogs. The odds you know. Sort of like the odds are that swimmers are more likely to drown than people who are scared of water and do not go near it or something.

I can not imagine that the owner of this dog, loved him and shot him. PERIOD.

[MichelleD]

Lori, you might have been asking a rhetorical question but in case anyone is wondering...

I think the dogs sleeping in bed is fine as long as the dogs know they're place - most people posting here probably let their dogs sleep in their bed. Problem is some people let them take over...for instance, if you make your dogs sleep on the floor one night will they growl at you or throw a big fit and not listen? If so there is a problem that you need to address.

To Linda's point, people hardly want to parent their children these days too!

The more I think about it though, maybe what the woman meant by the dog sleeping in bed "like a husband" is just that it farted and snored a lot?!