Luckily, I have never had to experience a dog bite, but thanks to my parents educating me from a young age, I have never put myself into a situation where I could get hurt. If I see a dog who I am familiar with, I have no problem approaching them. I remember when I was around 8 years old seeing my uncles German Shepherd in their car, at the local market one day. The window was open a crack, and Timmy was barking. He was a large dog, but was in fact very gentle. Knowing him well, I walked up to the car, talking to him as I got closer. Voices all around me were saying "Look at that silly girl," "She is going to get bitten," and things like that. However, I ignored them, and put my hand up to the window. Timmy immediately stopped barking, wagged his tail, and licked my hand through the crack in the window. At no point was I at risk of being bitten, and I knew that, because I knew Timmy well.
Being a dog lover, though, I often stop to admire other, unfamiliar dogs. Walking straight up is a no-no. I always approach without acknowledging the dog, and engage the owner in conversation. I then ask them if the dog is okay with strangers, and if it is ok to stroke them. Even if the dog appears friendly, it is better to be safe than sorry. It is also common courtesy, as the dog may be undergoing some form of training, such as to become a guide dog.
With that in mind, I would like to tell you about a recent experience with my own dogs.
Both of my GSD's have fear-related problems when it comes to men. The male is scared that he is going to be hit, so will get defensive if approached in a threatening manner, and the female is scared of everything. She will run a mile if you even look at her. But many of us who are part of the dog world know that, if escape from a situation is impossible, for example, if the dog is on a lead, or cornered, then they can become fear-aggressive. The advice I always give to people that come to the house is "Ignore them, and they will get used to your presence. Don't, under any circumstances, corner them, or anything like that." After a short time, both dogs will approach, and a little while later, are usually on their backs having their bellies rubbed!! It is purely fear that any man is going to hurt them. They love women, (they live with myself and my mother), but are mistrusting of strangers. However, many of my female friends will just knock and walk in to our house, as the dogs are no threat to them. They enjoy the company and attention!!
However, when out walking (they are ALWAYS on their leads and head-collars, as they are large dogs, who can look threatening, even if they are not), I always ask people not to approach. There is no real reason why I do this, other than the fact that there is a POSSIBILITY that they may view people as a threat. Unfortunately, it was proved that this is a very real possibilty.
I had walked both of them up to the vets to have them weighed, which is a regular thing for me, just to monitor their weights. Most of you will know that even the most fearless of dogs will turn into a quivering wreck at the word "VET." But it all went smoothly. It took a few moments for me to coax the male onto the scales, but he was fine, even with the nurse handling him.
Needless to say, they were very happy to get out of there, and were trying to pull me down the road as fast as possible to get away! So i decided to walk around to my nans, who lives nearby, to get them a drink, and calm them down. They were wonderfully behaved, even though they do not go there very often.
Once they were relaxed again, I set off for the walk home. I managed to get out on to the street, before problems started. Across the road were a gang of boys, the older ones being around the age of 16-18, the younger ones being around 12-14. One of the younger boys spotted the dogs straight away, and shouted "Hey, look at those dogs! I want to stroke them!" At this point, I politely pointed out that I am working with the dogs behaviour, and please do not approach them, as they are scared of males, and not having an escape route, it could be a bad situation. I spoke to one of the older boys, who said it was fine, they understood, and it was no problem. So we carried on walking down either side of the road. After several feet, the same young boy shouted again. "I'm going to stroke the dogs!" Before I had the chance to respond, he ran across the road towards us. Immediately, both dogs viewed this as a threat. The female began barking, urinated and span in a circle, trying to escape. Her vocalisations were high-pitched and she was trying to hide behind my legs. The male did not make a sound, nor did he make any move towards or away, although he was tense, and his tail was tucked between his legs.
Thankfully, as soon as the female began barking, the boy stopped. I corrected the dogs behaviour appropriately, then turned back to the boys. One of the older ones was already shouting at the younger boy, telling him that he should not ignore what the owner says, and that if he had got bitten, it would have been his fault. Of course, at this point, my mind was telling me that if he HAD been bitten, my dogs would have been to blame, even though it was in no way their fault. I had explained the situation to him, and he chose to ignore my advice. I do everything I can to make sure my dogs are not a threat to anyone, but it takes some effort of others to do this. I do not want to have to have my dogs put to sleep as "Dangerous dogs" because someone refused to take my advice. Yes, they didn't know that I am a student of canine behaviour, but they did know they are my dogs, and I know them.
At a point when I thought I couldn't feel any worse about all the effort I am putting in to training the dogs, I noticed an off-duty policeman, who lives at the bottom of the road, walking up on the other side of the road. I thought to myself "Oh great, now he is going to say he is reporting the dogs or something, and they are going to be in trouble." I felt like crying, until he got to the boys, and said to the one who had approached "You stupid boy! You could have been bitten by those dogs! You do not approach any dogs, especially running at them, if you do not know them!"
I looked at him, and started to apologise, hoping for, well, I don't really know what I was expecting. However, he stopped me mid-sentence to reassure me that I did not need to explain, he saw what happened, and the boy was at fault. I apologised again, thanked him, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Even a policeman did not blame the dogs for their reaction.
I walked them home without any more problems, and once I got in the house, I cried. I have dedicated so much time into helping the dogs overcome their problems. The improvement in them is incredible, even though it has taken a lot of time, but there is always a chance that the behaviour could re-emerge, given the situation and opportunity. I try my best to avoid this, but some people seem to think it is okay to ignore the person who obviously knows what is best for their dog.
It is all down to education. I believe it is very important for children to learn respect for animals and people alike from a young age, and appropriate behaviour towards these animals. My 4 year old cousin is fantastic with the dogs, because she has been taught to be respectful. The male shepherd loves her to pieces, and will do anything she asks. It is wonderful to see him with her, although obviously I still keep a very close eye on him.
More effort should go in to educating youngsters, at home and at school. Dogs are always going to be a part of life in this country, but thanks to the idiotic minority, those of us who truly care about them, and what is best for them, are going to end up being punished for their stupidity.
