It ain't rocket science

A story in today's Star highlights an issue which is overdue for tackling. To wit - what the HELL happened to common sense and teaching children how to behave around dogs??

I feel for the child - it must have been a frightening and  painful experience, one which hopefully has not left her with a lifetime aversion to dogs.  But seriously!!  Not ONE, but TWO parents left young children unsupervised in the backyard with a strange (relatively) dog who the pet-sitter and neighbour (Vanessa Vandenberghe) had been warned was reactive, albeit to strange dogs.

Vandenberghe states:

While the Booths had warned her to watch Panny near other dogs, she said they “absolutely did not tell me to be careful with Panny and unfamiliar children,” or of the need to supervise him around kids.

First, this was the first and only offence by Panny; prior exposure to children had been positive. Second, and MORE important, who in the name of GOD needs to "tell someone" to be careful with a dog around children?  When did our society stop using their common sense?

Kealin and the pups

I am so tired of the abdication of responsibility that is so prevalent in our society today. Parents seem to point fingers and blame everyone but themselves.  Even the Santa Clause parade is  banned from throwing CANDIES because some idiot   sued them for "pain, injury and suffering" .  Throughout the school years of my four children I saw parents refusing responsibility for their childrens' issues, blaming the school, blaming the teacher, blaming the other parents, blaming the other kids instead of standing up and admitting they had dropped the ball.  Great role models for our next generations ....

The lack of parental supervision and awareness of even the most basic dog "etiquette" has been brought home to me again and again when out with my own two dogs.  Both rescues, both with their own complex set of issues and triggers, I am astounded again and again when kids come running up, often yelling and loud, waving their hands and wanting to throw their arms around their necks.  And mum or dad standing complacently yards away, telling me fondly how "much little Johnny loves animals".  They are invariably pissed and outraged when I tell them they need to teach their kids how to behave around dogs and just as invariably they put the onus on me and tell me "you shouldn't be out with those dogs if they aren't friendly".  

Well, GUESS what, stupid parent!  I HAVE taken responsibility. Which is why I don't bring Finn to places where there are a lot of people and chaos.  She is fearful and as such, possibly prone to fear biting (she hasn't yet, but I know the possibility exists).  So she doesn't get to go to Pet Smart or to rallies or to anywhere I can be sandbagged by stupid people.  

Llyr, who was very aggressive when I got him (territorial aggression related to being chained to a doghouse for his first three years in a backyard), CAN be trusted if I am out with him.  I know how to read him and how to gauge his reactions.  By nature, he loves people and kids, and while his anxiety and bred in the bone reactiveness is still there, he has decent self-discipline and more importantly, looks to me every time for cues.

Which does not excuse the kid who JUMPED on his back in Pet Smart... or the 7 year old that SMACKED him because he "looked scary" when we walked (quietly) by him nor does it exonerate the numerous kids that have thrown themselves at him and tried to ride him (he is very tall and large) but most of all it doesn't excuse the parents who have FAILED abysmally to teach their children even the most basic dog knowledge.

Some things don't change. As a kid, my mother drilled into us a few basic rule when it came to dogs (and we always had them; further, I NEVER saw a dog that my mother couldn't pet or touch - even guard dogs couldn't resist her):

Rule 1: NEVER approach a strange dog without asking permission from the owner - if the owner is NOT there, then leave it alone.

Rule 2: Once you have had permission, NEVER put your face near a dog.

Rule 3:  Put your hand out and let the dog sniff it and come to YOU.

I'm sure there were other adages but these three certainly worked and were fairly universal when I was growing up. Dogs ran free then - were seldom spayed or neutered - and pretty well every family had one - but I grew up without knowing ONE kid that ever got bitten.

If I were public media - I would use this as an example of
nasty dogs - these are my dogs and they're PLAYING!!

I hope Audrey recovers from her bite. I hope with all my heart that she doesn't scar and that she learns to trust dogs again.  But killing Panny is NOT the solution.  The myth that if once a dog bites, they'll bite again is just THAT - a myth.  We do not know what went on in the backyard that morning - whether the children provoked the dog, whether they stepped on her accidentally and she simply reacted, whether it was fear or indeed, whether it was aggression.

But one bite by a dog should not carry with it a death sentence.  

And these parents need to swallow their guilt and step up to the plate and admit it was their irresponsibility which lead to this in the first place.