[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: St. Louis tragedy -- Temperaments--Long and Controversial
- From: Cinosam GSD <cinosamgsd@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Pinehillgsds@xxxxxxx, showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 08:43:59 -0800 (PST)
I'm not forgiving...I'm trying to give examples of dogs that bite that are not
frothing at the mouth and lunging at people as they walk by which is an obvious
temperament issue. I would hope the list could come up with some other
examples of dogs that bite that are not looking to kill so we could talk
discuss them.
However back to the point that any dog that bites has a temperament issue.
What do you do with a dog at that point? So lets say we have a dog that bites
after you step on it's foot...or startle it as it's sleeping. Do you put it
down? Do you place it in a hope without children and hope that people heed
your warnings about this dog's bad temperament. Obviously you don't breed it
because it has a temperament issue, right? What about any puppies that it may
have produced. Do you contact all previous owners and warn them to watch their
puppies carefully for signs of temperament issues.
And why don't we as breeders advertise our dogs as guaranteed not to bite.
Assuming that after years of breeding we know our temperaments are outstanding,
why don't we see at least a verbal guarantee that this puppy will not bite or
see breeders advertising these lines as biteless dogs. Remember there is no
excuse for a dog that bites and any dog that does has a temperament issue, so
it would stand to reason that if we have good temperaments year after year most
puppies that we produce will not bite (okay unless it's an intruder), so why
not promote that? And why do we tell our puppy buyers to socialize there
puppies. Again, if the temperament is outstanding, why would they need to?
Of course I'm being a little over the top, but as far as I'm concerned, any
dog (any animal) with teeth is capable of biting and should always be treated
with respect and until I know all the details of a bite incident, I won't label
a dog as having a bad temperament, so I guess in that way, I am forgiving.
Cindy
cinosamgsd.com
Pinehillgsds@xxxxxxx wrote:
In a message dated 1/17/2007 11:17:35 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
cinosamgsd@xxxxxxxxx writes:
Everyone keeps offering up stories of dogs lunging or attacking or frothing
at the mouth.....OBVIOUSLY....these dogs have bad temperaments........are these
the only examples of dog bites we can think of? ATTACKS are one thing, a dog
biting you because you stepped on it's foot and then looking apologetic
afterward MIGHT be quite another.....
Cindy
cinosamgsd.com
Geeze Cindy, you are a lot more forgiving than I. I can't Imagine owning a dog
that would bite if I stepped on it's foot. I step on feet and tails all the
time. Sometimes they get out of the way and other times (like when I'm loading
the dishwasher and they want to "help"), they look disgusted and don't move.
What happens when you quick a nail? Or when something hurts them and you have
to have a look-see (like say when Justin ate a bunch of bees this summer and I
needed to "see")? Or when they have to behave for something unpleasant that
might sting? What happens when you are struggling to assist with a breech
birth? Do you excuse it if your bitch bites? Or do you have nylon muzzles and
help around when you perceive they aren't going to like something?
My dogs are around small children. (Other peoples', I don't have any.) They
get tread on, bumped into on a routine basis. I've had both OB and breed
judges trip and fall into a dog on the ring. What then?
I won't feed a dog that's too dumb to distinguish a real threat (intruder)
from a perceived threat (an "ouch" from being tread on.). That's not to say
I'm heavy handed, in fact quite the opposite. But I've lived with too many
good ones to make excuses for a dog that isn't.
I can understand reading some bozo in a newspaper thinking the St. Louis dog
might be ok to live out his life in a pen on its own. After all, he's some
bozo in a newspaper. What boggles my mind is perceived "dog people" on a dog
list make excuses when it comes to temperament.
It's black and white to me. If you step on your dog's foot, it shouldn't
bite. If someone else steps on your dog's foot, it shouldn't bite.
Kathy
member GSDCA, DVGSDC
three generations of Dual Titled TC'd Champions live here!
visit Pine Hill German Shepherd Dogs
Cindy
www.cinosamgsd.com
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