A Time For Reflection

December 28, 2008 by Dog Service Network
Filed under Dog Ownership, Dog Training, Doggie News, Obedience Training, Socialization

Leave a Comment

The horrific attack by two Rottweiler’s on five-month-old Cadey-Lee Deacon, who subsequently died of her injuries. Has led to an outcry to ban this breed and licence all dogs and dog owners.

This terrible tragedy strikes a chord in all right minded people. We ask ourselves how could it happen, and why did it happen. The press as expected moved into top gear reporting further attacks by Rottweiler’s and other breeds, including what was described as an Irish Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

For those in the know, many of the so-called Irish Staffordshire Bull Terrier’s are in fact American Pit Bull Terriers, banned in Britain under the 1991 dangerous dogs act. That ill thought out legislation came about as a knee jerk reaction by the Government, to the national press and the general publics reaction to reports of dog attacks in the early 1990s..

Other dogs banned under the same bill are the Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino, and the Fila Brasileiro. All these dogs were ordered to be muzzled in public, castrated or spayed and kept on a lead at all times. Effectively removing the breed from the UK when they all died off..

So how have we still got American Pit Bulls in the UK? Very simple really, they were not banned in Southern Ireland. There are no border controls regarding the movement of dogs between Eire and the UK mainland, therefore they are coming in and being sold through the back door.

It is important to note that, in the UK, dangerous dogs are classified by “type”, not by “breed label”. This means that whether a dog is considered dangerous, and therefore prohibited, will depend on a judgment about its physical characteristics, and whether they match the description of a prohibited ‘type’.

A little known fact was that the 1991 Act was amended by the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997. The 1997 Act removed the mandatory destruction order provisions of the 1991 Act by giving the courts discretion on sentencing, and re-opened the Index of Exempted Dogs for those prohibited dogs which the courts consider would not pose a risk to the public. Only courts can direct that a dog can be placed on the list of exempted dogs.

So what went terribly wrong in the Cadey-Lee Deacon tragedy? I believe this was caused by a number of factors.

First of all these dogs were used and kept as guard dogs, they were left to patrol a flat roof area which formed part of public house called “The Rocket” in New Parks, a somewhat notorious estate in Leicester. These dogs were known to be aggressive and distrustful of strangers and were kept Away from people.

Cadey-Lee’s parents were looking after the pub, whilst the Landlord was away on a holiday break, it was the Landlord and his partner that owned the dogs, therefore the dogs would be more nervous and excitable, given that the owners were not present, and others, perhaps not so well known were on the premises.

The parents did not leave the dogs with Cadey-Lee, apparently, someone left a fire door open and they got access to the child through that. I doubt if these dogs attacked this baby to protect the premises. It is more likely that initially they were attracted by curiosity. The baby may have been whimpering or crying and that may have stimulated the dogs.

There prey or predatory instinct may have then taken over, the sounds stimulating the part of the brain that deals with hunting and chase. They may have considered Cadey-Lee an injured animal or even toy or plaything. It was a tragedy waiting to happen.

So what could have been done to alter this awful train of events. First of all the Rottweiler is a natural guarding breed. Without early socialisation with both humans and dogs they can end up suspicious and in rare cases aggressive.

Puppy socialisation and ongoing obedience training is a must for all dogs not just Rottweiler’s. But especially when we own guarding breeds. The majority of Rottweiler’s that I treat are pussycats, wanting to play sometimes over boisterous but rarely aggressive. That is not to say I have not had to deal with aggression in these dogs. I have had to treat aggressive tendencies in almost every breed you could think of.

The critical periods up to 24 weeks and particularly the 7 to 14 week period, sets the behaviour pattern for the dog for life. Introducing pups to children, other dogs, traffic, household appliances, adults and babies, in a kind unthreatening way, in controlled circumstances is an absolute must. I cannot stress this enough, ignore this socialisation opportunity at your peril.

The majority of the cases I treat regarding aggression are related to poor socialisation at an early age. Nearly all of these cases are fear related, rather than a dominance issue. It has been suggested that 80% of all behavioural problems are caused because of the lack of handling, training, and early socialisation, during the early weeks and months of a puppies life.

Since this terrible tragedy, I have been inundated with calls from people with children or families with a dog that are expecting a baby. I understand their concerns and with all I have said preparation, socialisation, and anticipation is a must.

All dogs whatever breed or size have the potential to be dangerous and in some cases fatal. Lets look at those three areas in turn:

Preparation

If a new baby is due you must start at least three months before the birth to desensitise and prepare your dog for this new member of the family, if this is the first child or you have not had a baby since the arrival of the dog then early preparation is the key. I will not go into this in depth as this was covered in DM recently. You may wish to order this back copy.

If your dog does not know how to sit, stay, lie down, or come when called, then it must be taught to do so. If your dog already knows these commands but is unreliable, practice these obedience exercises until it is reliable.

Three months before the birth, you must do activities that mimic “baby activities”. For example, buy a baby size doll, cradle it, rock it, and walk back and forth. Occasionally rewarding the dog with treats, petting or praise for remaining in a sitting position whilst this occurs The doll should also be wrapped in baby blankets and shown to the dog, which must learn to control itself and to refrain from moving. Because dogs respond with interest to strange sounds, it is a good idea to accustom your dog to the recorded sounds of a baby crying, whimpering, or making other normal “baby” sounds. Ideally, if the opportunity is available, expose your dog – in a controlled manner to ensure the infant’s safety – to real babies of friends or neighbours.

When mother and child come home, it is best if the mother greets the dog without the baby present. Another family member should hold the baby or, better still, put in another room while the mother and dog greet each other. This way, you can avoid reprimanding an excited dog that merely wants to greet the owner and that may jump at the baby in an attempt to get near the mother.

When changing or fussing the new baby then one parent should attend to the baby and the other to the dog. The dog should be in a sit/stay or down/stay and on a lead. Err on the side of caution when determining when your dog is ready to approach your baby close enough to actually s Err on the side of caution when determining when your dog is ready to approach your baby close enough to actually sniff and check the child out.

Socialisation

I have covered this in a number of my articles, which can be viewed, on my website and to some degree above, but to reiterate. Puppy socialisation classes are a necessity. Irrespective if you have other dogs or you are an experienced dog owner, you may well be experienced but your new puppy is not. Puppies learn meeting and greeting far better with pups of a similar age. Take the dog to the park, get children and adults to gently pet and treat your pup in a gentle non-threatening manner.

Avoid frightening or startling you new puppy, especially during the first fear period, which is from 8 to 10.5 weeks of age. This critical period is a real danger point and is instrumental in many fear related behavioural problems in later life; see critical periods on my website.

Anticipation

We know we should never ever leave a child alone with even the kindest and calmest dog, especially if that child is under five. We have more chance of negotiating with a terrorist than we have of convincing a child under five to leave a dog alone, not to poke that pencil through the dog’s eardrum, or a finger in their eye. Yet it still happens.

I believe no child under 12 years old should be left alone with a dog, irrespective of how placid or what breed. We know if our dogs are showing unwarranted or dangerous behaviour, yet sometimes we leave it until it becomes a learned behaviour, before we have it treated. It is then far more difficult to correct. Get it treated as it occurs, not when it becomes life threatening.

The tragedy of Cadey-Lee Deacon will be with us for some considerable time. It could have been avoided by some early common sense Preparation, Socialisation, and Anticipation. That is not to point a finger at Cadey-Lee’s family they have enough on their minds without that, but perhaps we can learn some lessons from this.

All dogs can be aggressive, all dogs can cause serious injuries, what we should never do is blame the breed. Punish the deed not the breed, these two Rottweiler have paid the ultimate price and were rightfully euthanised. It was the circumstances that lead up to this dreadful event that we should question, not whether a breed should be destroyed because of it..

Stan Rawlinson
Tuesday, 03 October 2006

© Copyright: Stan Rawlinson (Doglistener) one of the leading Dog Behaviourists and Obedience Trainers in the UK. Who has owned and worked dogs for over 30 years, starting with Gundogs then moving on to the behavioural and obedience side of Pet Dogs. He now has a successful practice covering London, Surrey and Middlesex. Visit his Web Site for more information and details of his work. www.doglistener.co.uk