Officer has face mauled by police K9 [truncated]

MailOnline h/t Your Jewish News ^ | 22 April 2014 | DAILY MAIL REPORTER

[expat1000]

Murray County Deputy Greg Morrison put his arm around the FULL TITLE: Officer has face mauled by police K9 when he tried to take selfie with it

AA Georgia deputy sheriff was rushed to the hospital Monday after a police bit his face, ripping open his chin and lip. Murray County Deputy Greg Morrison put his arm around the Malinois after a job well done in an attempt to take a selfie with his cell phone. But the professional pup was in no mood for camaraderie and proved it with a vicious snap at Morrison's chin. 'It’s an act of aggression to them whenever you do that,' Major Greg Fowler told the Dalton Daily Citizen, referring to Morrison's ill advised decision to wrap an arm around the dog.

[Salamander]

Yup.
They have to or they’ll fall off.

They’re the only pet you’ll ever have that will cheerfully hug you right back.

[well, without ripping your face off like a chimp would, anyway]

:)

[MarMema]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_Lm49XVkGQ

[MarMema]

I like Turid. She has been criticized for going too far with her signals but I love her videos.

[thackney]

BTTT

[thackney]

I’d even let you hug me.

Be careful, I'm pretty sure he bites.

[freekitty]

Yes they are. I am familiar with them due to a man here in TX who raises them and trains police dogs. He explained their temperament and history.

[freekitty]

That’s great. I have a really good neighbor who can be kind of dumb(like we all can)sometimes. I was showing him my dogs one day in the courtyard. There were two females and one male all intact. He actually bent his face down to kiss the male. It’s wonder he didn’t get bitten. The fence was between them thank heavens. You never do that especially with intact dogs. The male was protecting the females. One of the females was trying to move to the front and the male just grabbed her by the neck(did not hurt her)and made her lay down. That’s how the males control the females.

BTW, the neighbor is really a great guy. :)

[freekitty]

Also, don’t be surprised. A lot of people aren’t aware. I only learned about it when someone who did know started telling me some things about dogs and why they act they way they do. She was a good teacher.

[LeoWindhorse]

I am really pleased that this is the breed some of our top level special operators consider their teammate . Perfect choice .They earn it .

[Eaker]

Further proof you are full of it. It appears this dog is in misery. Southern Oregon Humane Society's photo.

I RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY!

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid. As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.

She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship. A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.

Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes. I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.

I rescued a human today. XOXOXO

[Eaker]

I bet your posts look pretty stupid now that you are sober.

If you are sober that is...........

I even changed my tag line in y’all’s honor.

[MarMema]

You have strong feelings and I think your heart is in the right place, but one picture is not science. I am not talking about trees, but the forest.

"...the number one bite provocation in domestic dogs is some variation on a behavior we humans consider unprovocative, or even friendly, **approach or even reaching out with a hand**. "

Jean Donaldson, page 58, Culture Clash.

[MarMema]

Dog Bite Prevention Week: Dogs Don't Like Hugs

Dogs Don't like Hugs and Kisses

Don't hug your pet — and other tips to prevent dog bites

DON'T HUG-YOUR-DOG DAY

DON'T Hug Your Dog Day! DANGER!

Does your dog REALLY want a hug?

Why Dogs Should Never Be Hugged

Do not HUG dogs. Dogs do not hug each other. Dogs mount each other to mate, show dominance, or to try to get a reaction from another dog. Hugging a dog might get a reaction you do not want, a nip or a bite. Hugging a dog is rude.

Of course, I would not recommend hugging a dog for a very important reason that is related to but extends beyond that fact that dogs typically detest it. Many dogs bite when they are hugged.

Dogs Don't like Hugs & Kisses - Teach your kids not to hug or kiss a dog on the face. Hugging the family dog or face-to-face contact are common causes of bites to the face

Hugs are a frequent cause of dog bites to children - most dogs don't like hugging. Dogs just aren't a "hugging" species; they don't crave ventral contact like we primates do. When I tell this to my clients, they often respond with expressions of disbelief, and occasionally, indignance. "But my dog loves being hugged!" Frequently, when we watch the dog, his body language tells a different story - we see body language which includes "whale eye" (seeing much of the whites of the dog's eyes), looking away, lip licking, yawning, pulling away from the handler.

Kissing and Hugging A Dog: Not a Good Idea

Just some other people like me who don't know anything...have a great day.

[Salamander]

And that is the inherent problem with “dog training”.

I can’t even number the books I own...and probably not one of them truly agrees with any other one.

I have them running the spectrum of the outdated brutality of Koehler to the too-warm-and-fuzzy “not even any stern looks allowed” new-agey crap.

The truth is somewhere in the middle.

They have recently shown that dogs are not as closely related to wolves as once thought, therefore, *some* of the training based on “pack mentality” may no longer be entirely relevant.

Alpha-rolling is passe’ but often, in its place, almost *too* much ‘sensitivity’ has arisen.

Dogs need structure and a leader.

If they do not feel they have a leader, they will become very stressed and attempt to lead, themselves.

I do not agree with the crucifixion of Millan.

Most of the dogs he deals with have only two choices left in life.
Be worked by him or be put down.

I read an excerpt of one of your book recommendations but bailed as soon as the term “strangle collar” was used.

That, along with “electrocution” when speaking of e-collars is, to me, bargain basement histrionics founded in nothing but irrational emotionalism.

My two main rescue breeds are Ibizan Hounds and Dobermanns.

Dobermanns were always pretty easy to rehabilitate, no matter what past horrors they’d seen.

Ibizans, however, are so primitive and just barely “domesticated” that rehabbing them was much harder.
Their primitive survival instincts imprint bad experiences on their brains much more indelibly.
They feel as though they cannot afford to ever forget a past danger.
This is a really great quality for a wild dog but a bit of a glitch for a pet.
Add to that the classic sight hound personality, which makes “normal training” a real challenge and you have to totally rethink your whole paradigm.

Most Ibizans who die unnatural deaths do so under a car.
An e-collar is literally a lifesaver.
Who would not prefer to zap their beloved but run-amok dog rather than scrape it off the highway?

The collars do not “electrocute” dogs.
Not even close.
I have tested them on my bare leg and if I can stand it at 10 with no ‘protective fur’, it’s not ‘electrocuting’ any dogs.

Above all things, I despise intellectual dishonesty.

Calling some necessary training aids by medieval, fear-inducing names is intellectually dishonest and panders to the pETA mindset.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Leerburg.
They get results and some of their advice is sound.
They also jerk their dogs off their feet when teaching to heel.
I am not a fan.

Slip collars have their place.
Muzzles have their place.
E-collars have their place.
Prong collars have their place.

Any one of the above can literally mean the difference between life and death for some dogs.

I am a huge advocate of saving seemingly hopeless dogs and often, people simply give up because they ‘can’t bear’ to use the tools they need to because they look so “cruel”.

No.
“Cruel” is being shot by a cop for running amok.
“Cruel” is being killed with a needle because your owner gave up.

I think that the tension here was caused by stating absolutes.

ALL dogs...etc etc.

Yes.

All dogs could bite given the right/wrong situation.
Most dogs do not.
Ironically, I’m the one constantly warning that even the smallest Chihuahua is *still* a dog with dangerous teeth.

I have posted the collage of people letting kids crush dogs to themselves for ‘cute hits’ on the internet.

I do not let kids hug my dogs, even *if* my dogs are okay with it.
Things can suddenly go wrong.
It teaches kids that it’s safe to do so with my dogs, so why shouldn’t it be safe to do so with somebody else’s dog.

I do not want to be responsible for some little kid getting bit because I ‘taught’ them that all strange dogs are fun.

As with every other living thing, all dogs are singular entities.

A “method” can address and even somewhat predict how a particular dog *may* act/react but no one method has every answer.

Every dog needs customized training, usually drawing from many different training disciplines.

I ~wish~ there was One Book or One Method that was absolutely always right for every dog on earth.

But there is not.

I really like Turid and do not feel she goes too far.

Our clouded eyes only pick up dog signals that are almost too blatant to ignore, and often, dogs seem to know that we’re linguistically impaired and compensate by amplifying the signals into what is, for them, a screaming fit.

Tiny movements our eyes miss are, to other dogs, virtual semaphore performances.

If anybody thinks dogs are a complex proposition, try dealing with an 8’ very hungry Boa who has virtually no ‘body language’ to speak of and can’t even hear a ‘command’, let alone be bothered to heed it.

You learn the meaning of “subtlety” really fast.

I wish Turid would write a book about snakes.

:)

[freekitty]

Yes they do; but don’t forget about GSD. They are really good at police work.

[MarMema]

Many of your points are exactly right - and many of them are well said. One of my friends trained walruses and dolphins before working with dogs. She did it with food. Just food. If you can do that with a walrus you can do it with a dog. good walruses

That said, there really is no need for a shock collar or prong collar unless you don't want to put in the time to shape or capture behaviors. They might work, they might not harm a dog long term, but they are always the lazy way.

We chose to save an 8 yo fox terrier mix from an LA shelter about 4 months ago and brought him north to live with us. He is super reactive with larger dogs and we have them. Life has been hard, but he is making progress. Sometimes we break out the doggie helpers.

The hardest thing to do is to remember to give him something very yummy when he is sitting near one of the larger dogs and NOT barking, reacting, being all worked up. It took years of training, much of it with Kathy, to train myself to remember to do this. The average dog owner does not put in that kind of time and effort. We pretty much live our dogs, quite a few are slowly overcoming serious behavior issues. These behavior fixes take time and don't happen with one or two corrections on television. This is the most damaging thing Cesar does, makes people think you can quick fix a dog by terrorizing it. Dogs ( and humans ) don't learn under stress and in a state of fear. So it doesn't stick.

The other thing is that I think more dogs bite than you think. I spend my "other" time in a hospital and we see a lot of dog bites. Jean Donaldson says she thinks many of them go unreported. Have you read Culture Clash? I bet you would like it.

[MarMema]

Tiny movements our eyes miss are, to other dogs, virtual semaphore performances.

THIS I wanted to save and comment on separately. I could not agree more. This is the best thing you said. One only has to train and learn this from our own arm movements, etc.

[Lazamataz]

Dogs hate mankind.

[Salamander]

And there are those who consider training with treats “lazy”.

You can’t win.

It’s like training dogs by committee.

If you had spent 24 years with sight hound rescue like I have, there are a LOT of grieving owners who wish they’d had a “lazy” e-collar on their [former] dog.

Life or death situations arise in a millisecond with those breeds.

I don’t care if you’ve trained a sight hound to a CDX or not...when a squirrel runs, they -will- chase it.

It’s wet-wired into them.

On this, we’ll just have to disagree.

I can only state what I have experienced personally.

Anything else is a theory, until I have lived it.

I much prefer Dobe rescue.

*Most* of the time, they stop and come back.

Makes life a lot less stressful.

[Salamander]

All of my dogs react to silent hand signals that were taught at the same time as the verbal commands.

Mostly because they may be in a situation where I do not want to make noise and also in the event they go deaf later in life.
[has happened]

I have never followed the “push on their rump” school of thought for teaching to sit.

A treat dangled over their head makes them flop into a sit, naturally and they learn the basic hand command at the same time.

Back in the 70s, my kennel club obedience classes insisted we do that so I had to look like I was when I wasn’t and I always apologized to the dog, who already knew how to sit properly, anyway.

Oh well...I did what they said I had to, to earn the dog’s certificate.

I am always willing to absorb new, better ways of training *but* sometimes it seems that the things I did instinctively 40 years ago worked better than all the new-fangled and often conflicting modern stuff.

I’ve been going back to the ‘old days’ of just watching what the dog is saying rather than fussing with some contrived philosophy.

Life was better and easier when I simply listened.