Problem dogs: 30-year veteran shares his experience
I REFER to Mr Gabriel Chua's online letter on Monday ('Kampung boy bitten by unprovoked dog'), on his unfortunate experience in being bitten by a tiny dog without provocation. Mr Chua is justified in stating that Ms Jasmine Tan's theory is an excessive generalisation.
Mr Bill Koehler, chief animal trainer at Walt Disney Studios for more than 21 years, wrote in his book, The Koehler Method Of Dog Training, that there are several types of dogs that bite:
- The Protest Biter
- The Real Hood
- The Overly Possessive Dog
- The Chase-Happy Dog
- The Sneak Biter
Mr Chua's bad experience comes under The Sneak Biter. This is the type that lurks in its lair behind a bush or under a table, ready to glide out and nip a human that its imagination has changed into a tiger. A lot is due to its owner's warped sense of responsibility in allowing it to bite people, giving the excuse that it does not understand, that it is just a baby - even when it has turned into a full-grown monster.
Let me share my 30 years of professional experience in rehabilitating some of these problem dogs.
I was helping a friend move some furniture when I noticed a neighbour had an unusually large dog. I was curious and asked her what breed it was. Throughout our conversation, the dog was jumping up and down, trying to clear the gate and bite me. The neighbour said the dog had completed its training in Germany and could sit down, come forward and stay when commanded. I told her the dog had been taught exercises and not 'obedience'.
She later admitted the dog was out of control when she and her husband took it for walks. It would attack any human or animal on the road. They had to wrap themselves round something strong like a lamp post to prevent the dog from biting an innocent passer-by.
The owner engaged my services, and after five days of intensive training on a neutral ground, I gave her a demonstration by placing the dog on a down-stay stance in a busy pavement in Holland Village. The owner and her maid observed it from a nearby fast-food restaurant. People of all shapes and sizes walked past the dog, which remained relaxed in the same position. The owner was very pleased with the result. Later at her house, I showed her how to correct the dog should it misbehave, before handing it back.
The moment the dog entered the gate, it became aggressive and wanted to bite me. I told the owner to use the 'throw chain' and tag the dog's behind. Instead of tagging it, she quietly dropped the throw chain to the ground and said: 'He's my baby and I don't want to hurt him.' The throw chain is an effective piece of equipment I had used to teach her dog to behave.
For the record, I asked Mr Koehler whether he has ever been sued over the 140,000 dogs he supervised in training. He assured me: 'No.'
You can't teach old dogs new tricks
Mr Boey was a retired agriculturist who suffered from high blood pressure. His daughter went on overseas studies and left her six-year-old German shepherd behind. Mr Boey called me after his dog tried to attack another in a park. His dog had a history of terrorising other dogs in the neighbourhood. So fierce was its reputation that neighbours' dogs would retreat into their homes when Mr Boey's dog was taken out to exercise.
When Mr Boey and his dog joined me for a lesson, the first thing it did when it approached the training ground was to charge at the nearest dog. It was chaotic trying to get the class started. So explaining to the class what needed to be done, I told Mr Boey to put his dog on the choke chain correctly, hook onto the longe-line and head forward to the dog 10m in front of him. I specifically reminded Mr Boey he was to continue moving forward and not look back. When I tapped him on the shoulder, he would hand me the loop of the longe-line and keep walking forward.
Mr Boey's German shepherd saw what it thought was an easy target. With the dog lunging forward, and Mr Boey struggling and trying to hold it, I moved towards him and took over the longe-line. With the momentary slackness of the 8m longe-line, I opened and closed my palm, and with a quick about-turn, I headed in the opposite direction. Before the dog could recover from the impact of opposite momentum, I again took him towards the same target. The moment the longe-line tightened as the dog charged, I again dropped the longe-line and headed in the opposite direction. The dog then realised that, the greater the temptation, the more it needed to keep its eyes on me, the handler. We continued the class without trouble and the German shepherd graduated from the novice class in the 10th week off-leash.
Leashing a dog in public just minimises its chance of misbehaviour. It does not address the issue of behaving responsibly and being under control at all times and in all conditions. It is impractical to leash a dog 24 hours a day. It must be made to understand that it must not leave the home unless told to.
Harry Quek
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Online+Story/STIStory_320168.html
I REFER to Mr Gabriel Chua's online letter on Monday ('Kampung boy bitten by unprovoked dog'), on his unfortunate experience in being bitten by a tiny dog without provocation. Mr Chua is justified in stating that Ms Jasmine Tan's theory is an excessive generalisation.
Mr Bill Koehler, chief animal trainer at Walt Disney Studios for more than 21 years, wrote in his book, The Koehler Method Of Dog Training, that there are several types of dogs that bite:
- The Protest Biter
- The Real Hood
- The Overly Possessive Dog
- The Chase-Happy Dog
- The Sneak Biter
Mr Chua's bad experience comes under The Sneak Biter. This is the type that lurks in its lair behind a bush or under a table, ready to glide out and nip a human that its imagination has changed into a tiger. A lot is due to its owner's warped sense of responsibility in allowing it to bite people, giving the excuse that it does not understand, that it is just a baby - even when it has turned into a full-grown monster.
Let me share my 30 years of professional experience in rehabilitating some of these problem dogs.
I was helping a friend move some furniture when I noticed a neighbour had an unusually large dog. I was curious and asked her what breed it was. Throughout our conversation, the dog was jumping up and down, trying to clear the gate and bite me. The neighbour said the dog had completed its training in Germany and could sit down, come forward and stay when commanded. I told her the dog had been taught exercises and not 'obedience'.
She later admitted the dog was out of control when she and her husband took it for walks. It would attack any human or animal on the road. They had to wrap themselves round something strong like a lamp post to prevent the dog from biting an innocent passer-by.
The owner engaged my services, and after five days of intensive training on a neutral ground, I gave her a demonstration by placing the dog on a down-stay stance in a busy pavement in Holland Village. The owner and her maid observed it from a nearby fast-food restaurant. People of all shapes and sizes walked past the dog, which remained relaxed in the same position. The owner was very pleased with the result. Later at her house, I showed her how to correct the dog should it misbehave, before handing it back.
The moment the dog entered the gate, it became aggressive and wanted to bite me. I told the owner to use the 'throw chain' and tag the dog's behind. Instead of tagging it, she quietly dropped the throw chain to the ground and said: 'He's my baby and I don't want to hurt him.' The throw chain is an effective piece of equipment I had used to teach her dog to behave.
For the record, I asked Mr Koehler whether he has ever been sued over the 140,000 dogs he supervised in training. He assured me: 'No.'
You can't teach old dogs new tricks
Mr Boey was a retired agriculturist who suffered from high blood pressure. His daughter went on overseas studies and left her six-year-old German shepherd behind. Mr Boey called me after his dog tried to attack another in a park. His dog had a history of terrorising other dogs in the neighbourhood. So fierce was its reputation that neighbours' dogs would retreat into their homes when Mr Boey's dog was taken out to exercise.
When Mr Boey and his dog joined me for a lesson, the first thing it did when it approached the training ground was to charge at the nearest dog. It was chaotic trying to get the class started. So explaining to the class what needed to be done, I told Mr Boey to put his dog on the choke chain correctly, hook onto the longe-line and head forward to the dog 10m in front of him. I specifically reminded Mr Boey he was to continue moving forward and not look back. When I tapped him on the shoulder, he would hand me the loop of the longe-line and keep walking forward.
Mr Boey's German shepherd saw what it thought was an easy target. With the dog lunging forward, and Mr Boey struggling and trying to hold it, I moved towards him and took over the longe-line. With the momentary slackness of the 8m longe-line, I opened and closed my palm, and with a quick about-turn, I headed in the opposite direction. Before the dog could recover from the impact of opposite momentum, I again took him towards the same target. The moment the longe-line tightened as the dog charged, I again dropped the longe-line and headed in the opposite direction. The dog then realised that, the greater the temptation, the more it needed to keep its eyes on me, the handler. We continued the class without trouble and the German shepherd graduated from the novice class in the 10th week off-leash.
Leashing a dog in public just minimises its chance of misbehaviour. It does not address the issue of behaving responsibly and being under control at all times and in all conditions. It is impractical to leash a dog 24 hours a day. It must be made to understand that it must not leave the home unless told to.
Harry Quek
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Online+Story/STIStory_320168.html
