The Aggressive Dog and Rescue

I'm posting this excellent article as this topic has been on the forefront in a couple of rescues recently. While I understand why people want to save dogs, even the biters, it's not realistic most of the time.



The Aggressive Dog and
Rescue


We see
the same e-mail, and hear the same message on the answering machine, many times
each month:


"My
dog has bitten my son's friend (or daughter, or neighbor) and I can't keep him
any more. He just needs a home with out kids or out on a farm where I
know he'll be happy."


Inaddition
to owners asking us to accept their aggressive dogs into our program, we
sometimes have shelters or other well-meaning rescuers hoping that a miracle
will happen for the dog that can no longer live with the family who has loved
and cared for him. Many feel that the dog can be trained or rehabilitated to a
point where he will be safe. Others feel that the perfect solution for the dog
is an adult-only home where there wont be any risk of aggression. Some argue
that they have been successful in working with their own dogs who have growled,
snarled and snapped, and they feel that rescues should do the same.

The saddest part about receiving calls from families with aggressive dogs is
that some of those dogs can be helped provided he or she is in a home with an
experienced owner committed to working with a knowledgeable trainer. The
reality, however, is that most owners do not have the desire to work through
such issues. Most dogs are fortunate just to get walked for twenty minutes a
day. Very few are offered the luxury of extra attention and training when
behavioral issues arise. While most owners are not willing to consult a
trainer, we always do encourage families to contact a behaviorist when we feel the
dog can be safely managed in the current home environment.

So what options are available to families with dogs that snarl, growl and try
to bite? Unfortunately, not many. The reason? Families that come to rescue to
adopt a dog want a family companion they can trust. They want a dog that they
can take to the park, be around company when the kids friends are over, and
have around their own children safely without any fear of aggression. The
average person looking to adopt has neither the knowledge nor the skills (nor
desire to learn) how to work with a dog that threatens to bite. And what about
those adult-only homes? In real life its hard to find people who don't have
children, don't have grandchildren, and who never invite nieces, nephews or
friends with kids to visit.

The average time for adoption of a young, healthy purebred dog is approximately
two weeks. Dogs that require additional training and that are not yet
housebroken can take extra time to adopt out. In the same time a rescue houses
one aggressive dog, the organization could have cared for dozens and dozens of
adoptable dogs, placing them into permanent homes. Accepting an aggressive dog
into rescue means turning away other nice tempered dogs that need assistance.

The final reason we do not accept aggressive dogs into our adoption program is
we recognize our responsibility to ensure the safety of the community. In
recent months many clubs and rescue organizations have had their general
liability insurance policies canceled due to the inordinate number of claims
received by the insurance industry from those bitten by dogs. Not only does our
liability carrier prohibit our acceptance of aggressive dogs into our program,
we also feel an obligation to our adoptive families to ensure they are taking
home a dog that will be safe around them and their children.

While we wish we could say it is rare that we receive calls for help from
families with aggressive dogs, it has become far too common. We wish more
families were able and willing to work with trainers before the dog begins to
bite. Unfortunately, few are. In those instances, humane euthanasia is the only
safe alternative for dogs that are aggressive.

I presume the issue has been resolved. We all understand that rescues of all sorts are overburdened, underbudgeted, with no end of phone calls and pleas and desperate owners who are begging that rescue accept their animal. Why? Because the owner is pretty sure that a shelter will not be able to find it a home, or it will be placed and come back, and in the end---be euthanised. Trying to help one difficult dog may compromise the admission or placement of several other dogs who present fewer problems on admission and will fit into a strange environment with happy heart and wagging tail. The animal I presume we are talking about, had had at least one litter almost certainly other litters. If the issue of aggression was a bred into the dog then the trait may well have been passed onto one, some or all of the puppies. We'll discover that when the puppies begin to be dumped in shelters or relinquished to rescue. The foster family has already said that they may not foster again. We can thank a byb somewhere for this, a byb who is not above producing just a few more animals to sell on CL and make money to fix the car. All in all, the whole thing is sad. Just sad.

I don't know if the issue is resolved or not, Ellen. I just thought given the discussion that has been flying back and forth on the internet and through emails that this might be a useful article for people. Not just because of the current situation, but because people often don't understand why rescues can't always take in a dog with aggression or have to make hard decisions about it. This isn't to open a discussion about any specific dog.

Sadly, what to do with a dog that can't seem to live with others is an ongoing issue in all rescues and is seen with increasing frequency. And up here in Toronto, people will sue you as quickly over a dog to dog bite as a dog to human bite.

I don't think all forms of aggression in dogs need to end in despair. But some forms aren't fixable, in my experience. And while some of the aggression that isn't "fixable" might be manageable, it's often unrealistic to expect it to be managed appropriately or humanely.

When I evaluate dogs for aggression, some of the last questions I ask, if the dog is in fact aggressive, are "Can this be managed? And is it do-able and realistic to expect it to be managed? And is the management required leaving dog and owner with any kind of quality?"

Ya' know ... this discussion steps right in line with another discussion I am in regarding Cesar Millan.

I am interacting with someone who says Millan's techniques are humane and sensible for the majority of pups in training. I believe Millan's methods are (only) most effective with aggressive and/or 'behaving badly' canines.

Questions to keep in mind ...

a. How many folks surrender pups of aggressive demeanor - and never once take any responsibility for the dog's behavior? (i/e: human abuse, human teasing, conditioning, etc.)

b. How many folks would rather surrender a 'bad dog' than work on positive behavior modification?

c. How many pups are, intrinsically, mean dogs? (We had one, and we tried from puppydom to two years to work with Baron - to no avail. We had to surrender him to "Orphans of the Storm", a local shelter).

It breaks my heart every time I go to the pound or shelter, and see very unhappy, aggressive pups 'behind bars'. I wonder how those pups got that way, and I always wonder what their fate will be.

Give me about five acres and a suit of armor, and I would probably adopt them all - in separate housing units (pens), of course.

I am interacting with someone who
says Millan's techniques are humane and sensible for the majority of
pups in training. I believe Millan's methods are (only) most effective
with aggressive and/or 'behaving badly' canines.
I would heartily disagree with this. In fact, his techniques should not be used on aggressive animals as his techniques may suppress behaviour or train an animal to give NO warning before biting or attacking, but it doesn't fix aggression--especially fear aggression. His techniques are most likely to shut the animal down or to increase the fear aggression at some point. I don't think his techniques are appropriate for any dog.

Questions to keep in mind ...

a.
How many folks surrender pups of aggressive demeanor - and never once
take any responsibility for the dog's behavior? (i/e: human abuse,
human teasing, conditioning, etc.) Most people have little to no real understanding of dogs, their behaviour, their learning or how they perceive us and our actions towards them. I've been working with dogs for almost 40 years, taking classes and studying under behaviourists and trainer I admire and I realize how very little of the dog's inner world I actually see and understand. And that's with me devoting a significant amount of my awake time studying and observing dogs and their behaviour.

b. How many folks would rather surrender a 'bad dog' than work on positive behavior modification? Most people don't have the patience or the desire for the slow process of positive training, much less positive rehab. And getting in a solid reputable trainer/behaviourist is expensive.

c.
How many pups are, intrinsically, mean dogs? (We had one, and we
tried from puppydom to two years to work with Baron - to no avail. We
had to surrender him to "Orphans of the Storm", a local shelter). If a dog is intrinisically aggressive, it should be euthanized--not rehomed, not dumped in a shelter. The owner of an intrinsically aggressive dog needs to step up to the plate and let that dog go. In very rare instances severely aggressive animals can live in relative happiness and safety--assuming they aren't human aggressive--in the VERY rare sanctuaries like Best Friends. These are few and far between and are staffed by highly trained and highly skilled people--not just good intentioned volunteers.

It
breaks my heart every time I go to the pound or shelter, and see very
unhappy, aggressive pups 'behind bars'. I wonder how those pups got
that way, and I always wonder what their fate will be. Some dogs just are wired wrong. Dogs can be crazy. And you can't fix that. You can drug it into submission, contain it for life, but I question how much quality that animal has and what kind of neurological firestorm they live with day in and day out.

Give me
about five acres and a suit of armor, and I would probably adopt them
all - in separate housing units (pens), of course. I appreciate that you are saying this with good intentions, but this notion that dogs can live happy lives in runs and pens, etc is mostly myth. As I said above, Best Friends does deal with dogs that have significant and severe issues and cannot be adopted out. They make it work. But they are skilled and, most importantly, realistic about what can and cannot happen with some dogs. They don`t take safety lightly and they don`t take quality of life for the dog lightly.

This is an issue that people need to start taking seriously. And that people need to realize is not always fixed by dedication and good intentions. There ARE worse things than humane euthanasia--and some of the ways that people manage aggressive dogs are worse than humane euthanasia, in my opinion. An aggressive dog in the shelter WILL get euthanized. Don`t kid yourself. And most rescues can`t take in a dog that has serious dog to dog aggression issues. It`s why I do shelter evaluations so I can have some idea of what kind of dog I might be bringing into the rescue and even then, I don`t always see what the true dog is like until they have scoped out the home and settled in. Then you see what you have on your hands and sometimes, it`s not a safe dog. The dog that honeymoons nicely for a couple of weeks and then starts lashing out is a dog I worry about. That`s not fear. That`s a whole other kettle of aggression.

If you are interested in learning more about reading dogs and assessing aggression, I recommend two DVDs by Sarah Kalnajs. Here is her link:

http://www.bluedogtraining.com/aboutSarah.html

She has two excellent videos--The Language of Dogs and Am I Safe?

She has one of the best aggression checklists I've ever seen and I use it routinely when I'm evaluating a dog, especially one in our rescue, regarding aggression.

I was about 6 years old when my parents surrendered Baron to the shelter. I am now 52 years old. The attitudes, means, and philosophies concerning unwanted domesticated pets were quite different back in 1967. Baron was very cute and cuddly, however, on final count, he was deemed part wolf, part Siberian Husky, part German Shepherd, etc., etc. He was a chewer of uncontrollable measures, and he struck out at me, as a little kid, in an aggressive manner - not puppy-like at all.

~~~~~

I am an eternal optimist (and a cheerleader, and all the rest of the good stuff that stands in the way of my being initially realistic - despite my intelligence and sensibility).

I am the type of person who would rescue the entire canine world if I could. That's how much I love dogs.

~~~~~

As I stated in part of the argument with my friend, Toby, Bubba, and I became accredited Therapy Partners in Arizona. Never, never, ever in any of the courses was it suggested that successful means of behavioral training/modification included the ways Millan proposes to be successful.

The only reason why I qualified Millan's methods is because I cannot envision his methods as being advantageous in any other circumstance - except where 'brute' force might be entertained.

Many times my fingers type ahead of my mind. I apologize if I ruffled anyone's feathers.

Going off on another tangent ...

Our purpose is not to see through each other, but
to see each other through.
-Unknown

I like that, and, in my little universe of the world, it reminds me to be empathetic of myself and others.

I guess part of my willingness to embrace problematic animals comes from what I went through in 2004. My husband had passed away from complications of fungal pneumonia in November, 2002 - two days after my 42'd birthday.. Ironically, I was plagued with viral pneumonia in January of 2004, and spent two weeks on life-support - all by myself in Arizona. When they 'brought me back', I had to learn how to think again, speak again, walk again, eat again, etc., etc. It took over one year to make sense of my 'scrambled eggs for brains'. It was quite the enlightening experience.

A lot of introspection took place within that time. I learned the utmost importance of giving every creature 'a chance' - a chance to develop, a chance to change.

Now I work with folks who have mental and/or physical barriers. (My) God has blessed me with the belief that miracles can happen. With that being said, I will get back to problematic dogs ... I believe many can come back from totally negative behaviors. I also understand many dogs are 'impossibly wired'). I would gladly give an infinite amount of time to attempting to re-habilitate castaway pups. Like I said, I believe in miracles because I am a miracle. I was not expected to live, and I was not expected to regain any semblance of functionality.

~~~~~

Eventually I would like to sponsor some sort of safe-haven for dogs - be it rescue Pugs, or abandoned/surrendered dogs.

Caesar Milan is a dangerous idiot. Dangerous because of the TV show and making people think his tactics are ok to use and he's some sort of smart guy. He's not. His methods are cruel to the animals and simply inhumane.

And that is why I am continuing my campaign to get the idiot off of the Nat. Geo. channel and to discredit his reputation.

I think the single leading cause of dog aggression is lack of socialization. If I could make it my life mission, I would do whatever I could to see to it that when a family gets a puppy, they get that dog out and let him see the world.

Dogs have a socialization window and if that dog is not exposed during that window, there's a pretty good chance he or she will not like novel things that it meets in later life. And that goes for a dog with a pretty level temperament. If the dog has an iffy temperament, but he/she is well socialized, the dog stands a good chance of leading a happy life. If the dog is genetically predisposed to being fearful/cautious, not socializing that dog is a setting the dog up for a short and unhappy life.

Most serious dog aggression is due to fear. Cesar Milan uses unsafe and scientifically unsupported training methods on a dog that is already scared. The public does not see Cesar Milan's failures.

It does take time and patience to deal with aggressive dogs. It also take a great deal of consistency which the average dog owner is just not equipped to provide to their dog. Owners want their aggressive dogs to be safe. Unfortunately, once that dog has been pushed to the point where it feels it has bite, there's already been a line that's been crossed.

I have four dogs at my house right now with aggression issues. They will stay with me until they die. Three of them probably would've been ok dogs if they had been socialized as puppies. The fourth dog is literally crazy. Because sometimes that's what happens, especially if dogs are bred carelessly. I love all four of my aggressive dogs and I know how to deal with them and they will stay with me until they die. But that means that I can't foster any more dogs. I get several calls a month about aggressive PUGS for god's sake. The inn is full here and I don't want any more dogs.

An aggressive dog is a liability. I don't blame any rescue group for refusing them. We humans are so cavalier with the lives of our children and pets. It sucks that rescue groups get to mop up the mess of these cavalier decisions.

Karen:
Thanks for chiming in. And I agree--socialization is a huge issue for many of the aggressive dogs I see. Most of the aggression I see and deal with is fear or resource based--both of which can be dealt with to some degree with a relatively skilled owner. I think resource aggression can be managed by less skilled folks if they understand what the dog considers a resource (the more tangential the resource, the harder most folks find it to deal with) and don't set the dog and themselves up to fail, Having said that, I recently evaluated a dog at the shelter for food/resource aggression and he didn't even bother going for the Assess-A-Hand--he by passed the hand and launched himself from the bowl right into my face. I suggested that dog was a poor candidate for adoption from the shelter.

Fear based aggression, I think, does take a more skilled owner. Most people don't read the early signs of when a dog is getting overwhelmed and only realize the dog is frightened when the dog is in full scale panic. It takes some pretty astute knowledge of dog body language to work with fearful dogs so that you can start developing a program of desensitization.

And yes, some dogs are crazy.

northernwitch wrote:I am interacting with someone who
says Millan's techniques are humane and sensible for the majority of
pups in training. I believe Millan's methods are (only) most effective
with aggressive and/or 'behaving badly' canines.
I would heartily disagree with this. In fact, his techniques should not be used on aggressive animals as his techniques may suppress behaviour or train an animal to give NO warning before biting or attacking, but it doesn't fix aggression--especially fear aggression. His techniques are most likely to shut the animal down or to increase the fear aggression at some point. I don't think his techniques are appropriate for any dog.

Questions to keep in mind ...

a]

I agree wholeheartedly. At BF, they pretty much said that they are seeing an increase in dogs coming in that were made so much worse because the idiot owners (or even sadder, other rescues) used his techniques. As you've said, this makes them unpredictable and more apt to bite without warnings, and that to me, is the scariest type of aggression. If you can't see the animal reacting, then how can you avoid the situation, or even manage it enough to train them?