Names and addresses wanted!
By Ross McCarthy MBIPDT MCFBA
Reading through David Cavill's introduction to the February issue of DM discussing the subject of Victoria Stillwell's programme and her advising the euthanasia of a cocker spaniel prompted me to write this month about the role of a behaviour practitioner in this regard.
Firstly I must state that I have not seen Victoria's programme and so therefore can not comment on that at all.
What has somewhat surprised me is the amount of people that came forward after that programme offering the dog a home or commenting that ‘proper' dog trainers would have solved the problem. Well, for those same people, who would like to re-home a dog that bites people, I suggest that you forward me by e-mail your name, address and telephone number. I will then create a database of people who wish to take on these dogs. It is not just one dog that needs a home, it is thousands.
The actual figures of dogs euthanased each year for behavioural problems appear not to be kept, certainly not by the BVA or the BSAVA, but I have heard countless times that this is the main cause of euthanasia in dogs under a year of age.
I guess what happens to most of the people that are not involved in either training, behaviour or rescue work is that they close their eyes to the mass of canine problems around them. Unfortunately, a number of recent incidents reported in the press have again altered pet owners views about the reality of dog ownership. This has unfortunately had an affect of many large breed dogs being turned into rescue homes and people contacting dog wardens and the police to report types of dog that may be vaguely similar to dogs on the DDA list of banned breeds. Massive numbers of dogs are destroyed each week due to these events. There is little fuss or commotion over this dreadful scenario that worsens each day, but there is apparently a large backlash over one dog euthanased for aberrant behaviour. I have had a sudden influx of cases concerning dogs and children.
Unfortunately, with this job comes a large amount of responsibility. When one embarks on altering an aggressive dogs behaviour, there is always risk and it is that risk which must be assessed and decisions made based on that. For example, a Yorkshire terrier that is aggressive to family members and lives with a couple in their thirty's presents limited risk. However, that same dog living with a toddler and a baby along with an elderly person those risks are increased – same dog, same problem, but different circumstances; we call this contextual aggression. When you are proffering advice about a problem and informing people what to do to begin to manage their dog and reform the behaviour, by default you take on the responsibility for that advice and if subsequently the dog bites the child, then legally you may be answerable for that advice.
Only with very few dogs that I see each year, do I advise re-homing the dog. As many of you will be aware, a dog that has a problem with aggression in one environment may not display that aggression in another environment with different handling.
If the risk is too great for the circumstances in which the dog resides at present, rehoming the dog may be advised. The crux of the problem however is that when that dog is offered for rehoming - assuming that people are honest and advise any potential new owners of the behavioural problems, their dog may not be wanted.
People often comment to me that a certain dog needs a nice home, on a farm with a man that lives alone…well for all those farmers who live alone and want an aggressive dog – let me know and I will create a list of those as well. These places simply do not exist – certainly not in the numbers needed - if at all.
Two of my own German Shepherds are rescue dogs, both have had five homes prior to mine and both had bitten people before I obtained them. I was aware of that and chose to take the dogs and create myself an immense amount of hard work, getting family members, friends and colleagues to help with their socialisation and training around unfamiliar people. This takes months to get to a stage that one can begin to relax when people come to visit and those people that you meet in the street. Most people are simply not prepared to put in the amount of work it takes to get close to owning a normal tempered dog from a dog with a defective temperament when there are already so many nice tempered dogs available for rehoming.
So after the suitable home can not be found, the dog may be euthanased and that unfortunately is the reality. Who makes that decision of course is the dogs owner, but a behaviour practitioner may advise on that course of action. To advise such a decision one must have a sound understanding of dog behaviour and realise the limits of reformation training. Of course all dogs can be improved behaviourally, but improving is not the same as solving. The improvement may not be enough for the family circumstances.
There are of course some dogs, usually through no fault of their own that are not suitable for any home. The risks are simply too great and again the dog will most likely be euthanased. Myself and my colleagues take far more risks (always making the owners aware of those risks) with dog aggression that many behaviour counsellors that I have met. Our primary aim is to keep the dog living in the home and to remove or reduce to the owners' satisfaction the aggression.
Dog rescue organisations destroy dogs in great numbers each year that they deem ‘non-rehomable' and these are the dog's whose owners are not so caring and diligent as to seek help and advice for retraining their dog. We know from experience that many dogs are destroyed under the heading of medical reasons which may be untrue. Is it the homes that can not tell the truth or their support sponsors who can not accept the truth and continue to donate money to the home.
The cause generally of these problems as with most behavioural problems to lesser degrees is lack of owner knowledge during puppyhood or breed selection. The dog may then be passed from home to home, perfecting the use of aggression. We as people are destroying thousands of dogs every year. I have a friend who runs an independent rescue organisation, she attends a dog pound in Wales every week and rescues as many dogs as she can based on those she thinks that she can re-home easily– the rest are euthanased before her next visit where she collects as many more dogs as she can fit in her van. Whilst this is going on, many breeders are churning out puppies after puppies. There are just too many dogs around and the problem is sure to worsen.
If you wish to help some of these dogs then all of the animal welfare charities will be grateful for your help, be is financial or through dog walking, temporary care in your home or permanent adoption.
It is an unfortunate truth that despite us believing that we are a nation of animal lovers, dogs are being killed through no fault of their own due in many cases to human error - often unwittingly, sometimes deliberately.
We need to make proper dog training and care available and essential for all dog owners. I would like to see compulsory registration and examinations for all dog owners, but the chances of that I suppose is virtually nil. All those people involved in the dog sector just need to make sure we can help as many dogs as possible. Prevention, as they say is better than cure.
Conversely, and fortunately for our dogs – thousands of dogs are rehomed and many people do help. It is simply numbers. Too many dogs seeking too few homes available.
