ALL FOR THE DOGS

How many times do you hear someone say that what they do to advocate for and rescue dogs is ‘ALL FOR THE DOGS’?  

It’s a common statement made by many and yet how many really do it ‘all for the dogs’?  How many out there honestly and truly set aside ego, the need for recognition and personal feelings about everything from training methods to how a dog is to be kept including all the little differences we may have with others to work solely for the benefit of the dogs?  How many? 

In my experience of three years traveling through the animal welfare/pit bull advocating and rescuing communities I have found many people who share my concerns and goals and who make public claims that everything that they do is ‘all for the dogs’ and yet I have met so few that suspend personal preferences and feelings to do it ‘all for the dogs’.  It’s not that unusual to connect with a new person on social networking that appears on the surface to truly be on the same page as you are when it comes to advocating for or rescuing dogs but who over time finds too many ‘differences’ in opinion and philosophy to continue the association.  Things go along famously, working together for the good of the dogs, until one ventures an opinion on something like let’s say…dog training methodology.  Then you can sense a coldness and a distance all of a sudden and in extreme cases a promise not to associate with you in any way in the future.  You agree to disagree, to continue to work for the dogs together, but they go on to harangue and to admonish you in a not so veiled attempt to convert you around to their way of seeing and/or doing things.  They insist that they are right about whatever issue you are discussing and that because you are not right that you surely can’t be their equal nor can you possibly offer any adequate support for what they are trying to accomplish.  Some gather forces to wage a war of words, and often enough alliances, where it ends up more of an ‘us vs. them’ situation where one side is against the other even though both sides share a common goal and everyone claims that everything that they do is only for the dogs. Yet all the while, while they are fighting against you, they are vehemently claiming that they and only they know the facts, that they are the ones who have it right who can do the best for the dogs and that you will only bring harm to the dogs.

IF it is ALL for the dogs then why allow differences of opinion and philosophy hinder forming an alliance where more can be done for more dogs with less obstacles?  IF it is ALL for the dogs then why be so immature as to be unable to look past another person’s opinions and philosophies so that together more can be accomplished?  IF it is ALL for the dogs then why shut others out when they reach out to be a part of what you are doing for the benefit of your cause?  IF it is ALL for the dogs then why refuse to join forces with someone else on their project simply because you don't see eye to eye on everything or they might get the lion's share of the credit?

Ego seems to permeate all corners of life but I think it’s a bit more prevalent in the animal welfare/pit bull advocating and/or rescuing world.  So many led purely by their emotions who believe that drama is just a fact of the animal welfare community and who go along with whatever drama seems to be out there being passed around.  So many forming friendships that flourish as long as the other person sees things and believes just exactly as they do and that fall to pieces at the slightest indication that there might be a different view or opinion about things lurking in the other person.

Bottom line as I see it is that when we ignore the help of others so that we and only we will get all the credit, whether we do it consciously or not, some dogs are losing the help that they need.  When we fight amongst ourselves about such things as training methodology, prong collars and the like we are robbing the very dogs we claim to care so much for and to be working so hard to help.  

Helping dogs, regardless of in what capacity, is a highly emotional undertaking at the very best.  There are so many dogs failed every single day by us humans; dogs that we are unable to help simply because there is so much to be done and so few of us to do it.  So doesn’t it make sense to work hard to reduce the emotional aspect of helping dogs as much as possible so that we can accomplish more?  Doesn’t it make sense to STOP CEASE AND DESIST our own personal campaigns about dog training methods, kinds of collars, on or off leash and all of the other things that we so often argue about that takes precious time away from our being productive for the dogs?  Doesn’t it make more sense to bite our tongue, hold our head high and work with others who are different than ourselves for the benefit of the dogs as opposed to separating ourselves into groups of people who prefer this kind of training or that kind of collar or whatever the ‘differences’ are?

I often think of all of the people I see out there on social media who are all working toward the same goals for dogs and yet who work alone as if they fear that if they join forces they might get lost in the shuffle and no one will ever really know what our contributions were.  I often think of all of the people out there who go it alone simply because they are intolerant of other ideas and ways.  I often think of the many, many, many, thousands if not more, people out there who could do so much good and save so many dogs together but yet because of personal opinion and differences in beliefs they remain isolated or at the very least form a small select group of people who often do little else except argue with other people about how it should be done and what needs to be done for the dogs.

Maybe, just maybe, it's time for us in the animal welfare, pit bull advocating and rescuing community to cast our differences aside like mature adults and join together for the good of the dogs we all claim that are the sole purpose that we do what we do.

GUNS AND PIT BULLS...

The tragedy in Santa Barbara this last weekend when a young man killed several people, all innocent of any wrong doing toward him in any way, by both knife and gun was just that; a tragedy.  Trying to wrap one’s mind around what led this person to do what he did and making any sense of any of it seems impossible.  Which is all the more reason why everyone needs to take a step back and take the time to reflect on the ‘true’ source of the problem that ended in these unnecessary and tragic killings is/was.

Right now everyone who thinks guns should not exist or be owned by responsible people is jumping on the ‘ban guns’ bus using this tragedy as a perfect example why guns should be more heavily regulated and even some are suggesting that no one in the general public should have guns at all; not even those responsible people who understand what guns are and the potential for disaster using guns. 

There is a LOT of blame going around at the moment and most, if not all of it, seems to be focusing on guns as if any gun at any time could come to life and begin to kill of its own accord free of any human involvement whatsoever.  Once again we Americans, with our very fine tuned knee jerk reaction reflex, are focusing attention and placing blame on an inanimate object or an object that in and of itself is typically harmless until in the hands of a human being.   Once again we forget that logic exists and run in droves to either condemn or defend an inanimate object with tempers flaring and accusations flying.  Once again there is little or no mention of the human being who executed a detailed plan that had no doubt, according to their own words, been brewing for some time in the mind of the human.

This horrendous act was perpetrated by a human being.  This human being thought it through from every angle, apparently according to his own words, and then executed it with calm resolve as if executing a plan to do something totally normal by most human standards.  The mind of the person who did this with such calm resolve obviously was not a mind that operates like the vast majority of people but was a mind that has focused so much energy and intent on his inability to attract women that it became an obsession with him; an obsession that dictated to him, in his mind, that he had to do something about it, that he had to punish others for it.  The young man wrote a 137 page diatribe for crying out loud.  Extremely few of us would ever go to that length even if we were really, really, really pissed and upset about something.  Could it be that the young man who committed this heinous attack on innocents was nothing like most of the rest of us?  Could it be that he was an example of the extreme's that very few of us would go to when felling rejected or disrespected?  Could it be that we have much more to fear from others like him than from the inanimate objects that are their weapon of choice?

This was something well thought out and executed; something that he more than likely thought about most of his waking hours day after day after day.  Was he insane?  Was he mentally ill?  Or was he simply a privileged young man who perhaps had never been shown that disappointment and rejection happens to us all and that we get over it…we move on…we grow from the experience?  At any rate from the sound of what has been revealed so far from his diatribe and the u-tube video he made just prior to carrying out his plan this person would have formulated a plan with or without guns and would have found some way, any way, to exact his revenge on all beautiful young college girls because a few had not found him attractive or date-worthy.  But no one seems to focus on that or even care about it.  No one seems to be looking any further than one of the tools he utilized, he also stabbed his roommates to death but no one seems to care about that, nor do they seem to care about anything but the gun(s) and the way they feel about guns personally.

The gun issue so reminds me of the pit bull issue.  It doesn’t really matter to most people that there are humans involved that have complete control over the guns or the dogs.  All that matters is that the guns/dogs caused harm, always as if on their own without any involvement whatsoever from human beings, and that something must be done so it never…ever…not ever…happens again.  Many people are of the mind that if the gun/dog didn’t even exist that the injuries and fatalities would never have happened nor could anything like them occur in the future as if guns are the only tools we can use to harm or kill others or as if pit bulls are the only kind of dogs that can harm or kill.  I can’t say that I understand that logic at all.  I don’t understand how so many people can become so blinded by fear that they neglect to consider the involvement of human beings.  Maybe it’s because if one human is held responsible for their actions then we too must be held responsible for all of ours.  Maybe it’s because people don’t understand or like the idea that if one human could do such a heinous thing that another can and therefore we could given the right circumstances and mindset. 

Holding the ‘tool’ responsible for the ‘deed’ is in my estimation one of the least productive and most asinine things we as a society can do.  Take away one tool and humans find another, take that tool away and we will find another and another and another.  The bottom line is that we humans more than likely will never stop hurting and killing one another, we will never stop being irresponsible dog owners that have no control over our dogs, we will never stop allowing rejection and disappointment to drive us to harm or kill others as our revenge on them for hurting our feelings, we will never stop allowing our dogs to roam at large or be around those who can’t defend themselves unsupervised.  These things and many more are things that humanity does and until humanity looks within and fixes the issues that drives these acts and more by using insight, empathy, compassion and help for those who need it these situations will occur AND they will occur long after there are no more guns or pit bulls should those who choose to hold the guns/dogs completely responsible get their way. 

Many people see these mass killings by guns and also people being harmed or killed by pit bull type dogs as a sign that we need to eliminate these things from our midst entirely so we can be a safer society.   What I see these continued horrendous and tragic incidents being a sign of is that it’s high time we humans STOPPED blaming the tool and started blaming ourselves, the society we have created together and the individual human beings that perpetrated the crime or neglect that resulted in injury or death. 

In the end do we need better gun control laws?  Surely we must; although the gun(s) used in Santa Barbara were purchased legally by a person who by all outward appearances was a nice young man, a ‘normal’ person.  Do we need better animal control laws?  Surely we do because humans are not understanding the importance of taking complete and full responsibility for the actions of the dogs or pets they take into their care.

So why am I going on and on about this when a vast majority of the people who read it will balk at the idea of taking focus off of the gun/pit bull issue.  Sure many of you will fume at the very thought of anyone with half a brain thinking/believing that guns are okay to own or that pit bulls are okay to have when both of them have caused so much pain and suffering for so many in the past.  What many won’t see or understand is that it is BECAUSE of where we place our focus when these tragedies occur that we continue to have them with such frequency.  NOT because there are still guns.  NOT because there are still pit bulls.  But because we have yet to place the blame and our focus on the one common denominator in every single incident where people have been harmed or killed since time immemorial and that one common denominator is the human being who used the gun against others or who allowed the dog to be out of control that harmed someone/something.

These incidents are painful and so very tragic but instead of allowing them to bring us together as one solid community that will work on improving things for the future we use them to divide us in ways that don’t really matter because we are all focusing on the wrong end of the gun/leash and that gets us nowhere.  If it did get us somewhere then these incidents would be on the decrease but as anyone who is exposed to the news media anywhere can tell you they are on the increase.  If anything I’ve written sinks into one person’s mind and helps them see where focus needs to be made in order to every truly fix these problems every word will be worth it.  Sure most will be closed off to any idea that guns or pit bulls are acceptable on any level and the rest will think me some sort of gun toting vicious dog raising idiot who has their head in the sand…but I say to those who choose that perspective that if my head is in the sand theirs is right there next to mine deeply embedded in the sand of fear and lack of logic where there is absolutely no real honest idea of how to fix the problem.

BEFORE YOU GET A DOG

Getting a dog is a lot of fun especially for those who love dogs.  

It can be quite an exciting and joyous occasion for most families. However, there are people who do not understand fully the responsibilities of having a dog until they already have one.  Some people will choose to step up to the plate, accept the responsibility and do what needs to be done even if they must do research and seek help from professionals.  Some people unfortunately don’t recognize how involved even the most basic care is required for a dog to be happy, healthy and a safe companion.  When how much work and dedication is involved is realized by some people they either end up returning the dog to where they got it from, re-homing the dog, surrendering the dog to a shelter or worse yet inadvertently through ignorance and/or the unwillingness to do what is needed abuse the dog; sometimes even unto death for the dog.

Breeders, shelters and rescues can only do so much to ensure that someone taking one of their dogs will fully accept the lifelong commitment required to have a dog and so unfortunately some dogs end up in shelters and depending on the condition of the dog physically and/or behaviorally the dog may end up being euthanized.  So perhaps the onus on understanding what is involved with having a dog successfully should begin to fall on the public which logically needs to begin with recognizing what a dog truly needs to be a happy, healthy and well-behaved companion/family member.

Based on what I’ve seen and heard over the past three years as a pit bull advocate through my associations with people in the animal welfare/animal rights community there are some basic but extremely important factors that every person needs to seriously consider prior to taking on the responsibility of having a dog.  I would like to think that if people are considering getting a dog they will be interested in determining first of all what is required to have a dog successfully.

To be clear I am NO expert but based on what I've heard around and seen here’s a list of things to ask oneself and answer honestly BEFORE getting a dog.

1. What is my personal reason for getting a dog?  Am I giving into a spouse or child against my better judgment or is this something that I really want?
2. Do I expect my dog to fulfill all of my emotional needs, to be my sole source of unconditional love, OR do I honestly want to give a dog a wonderful home while getting a great companion?
3.  What kind of dog do I want?  Am I interested in a breed I think is cute or am I looking for a dog that will suit my lifestyle, that will match my own energy level and abilities as a dog owner?
4. Am I prepared to have a dog in that do I have the time, the energy, the finances and place for a dog?  Am I ready, regardless of the size of my home or yard, to take my dog for a walk EVERY day for exercise?
5.  Am I ready and willing to have a dog live inside of my home as a family member?
6. Am I ready and willing to be a proper ‘parent’ to my dog?  Do I realize that a dog requires more than shelter, food, water and vetting to be a safe and happy member of my family?
7. Am I ready and willing to do whatever it takes to assure that my dog is safe around all other living things?  Will I be willing to seek training assistance should my dog’s behavior become a problem?
8. Am I ready and willing to teach all members of my family how to interact with the dog and handle it properly as well as to require them to do so?
9. Am I prepared to keep the dog, no matter what, for the entire length of its life even through old age and the possible medical issues that come with it?
10.  If something happens that I can’t take care of my dog do I have a commitment from friends/family to take over the care of my dog?  Am I committed to making arrangements for the dog in the case that I can no longer care for it? 

If the answer to each and every question above is a firm, resounding and confident YES then you are more than likely ready to get a dog and have taken into consideration some of the more important aspects of having a dog.  If you can’t answer YES with confidence to every question then perhaps it’s time to rethink getting a dog right now and wait until you are better prepared emotionally and are better qualified to have a dog.

The excitement and joy of getting a dog only lasts for a short while but a dog’s life is anywhere from six or seven to fifteen or sixteen years depending on the breed of dog.  So the question is whether or not one is prepared to fully meet that commitment until the end.

Things happen.  Life happens and typically the trauma’s, tribulations and emergencies we are faced with are unplanned so that is understood (well at least it’s understood by me) but the more we think through getting a dog before we get it the less likely that our dog will end up back to the breeder, back to the shelter, surrendered to a shelter, will have to be re-homed or have to be euthanized.

Give A "TWEET" 4 Dogs!

But My Dog Needs a LOT of Doggy Friends!!!

There is some controversy out and about social media about dog parks today and about the importance of our dogs having doggie friends.  The controversy about dog parks is about how safe they are for our dogs, about whether or not we should frequent them and about just how important it is to our dogs to play with other dogs at the dog park.  The controversy about our dogs needing other dog friends seems to be the product of well-meaning dog 'parents' assigning human needs and feelings to dogs.

Dog Parks

I'm sure that there's plenty of 'scientific' evidence to support the pros and cons of dogs parks but what about using some common sense?  Can't we just simply use our common sense to ferret this issue out for ourselves?

Common sense like our dogs are dogs; they are not our children that require our efforts and support to make sure that they are well-socialized so that they will be able to get along with others and therefore will be accepted by other humans.  Our dogs, whether people out there like it or not, are pack, or if you prefer 'family', oriented.  Our dogs, if gone feral, with few exceptions will gravitate to a group to be a part of and will find their place (status) in that pack without any help from us and also without aggression issues.  They don't care who their family or pack is or how big it is; they just simply instinctively gravitate toward being a part of a group; regardless of what specie makes up that group.  So why is it that we humans assign our own human emotional needs to be popular among our peers to our dogs and then focus so much energy on getting them to the nearest dog park to play with their doggie friends?  Why is it that we insist on making our dogs get out there and make doggie friends and then when something happens, as it will eventually happen between dogs, we become anxious when our dogs are around other dogs?  

One has to wonder how many perfectly social dogs are out there who could get along well with other 'stable' dogs if only their human could get over a past event?  And one has to wonder just how many of those incidents that have caused the human to be wary of their dog around other dogs happened in a dog park?  I'd wager at least 50% or more of the incidents that have caused a human being to be anxious about their dog around other dogs happened in a dog park and the dog suffers from that anxiety the rest of his life or until the human wakes up and smells the 'self-confidence'.

We have got to start seeing dog parks for what is really going on there and not just as a happy fun place for our dogs to play; like a playground at a park for kids.  With very, very few exceptions every dog that goes to a dog park arrives there in an elevated state of excitement. Then once inside the park their human parent sends them off with all of the other excited dogs to play excitedly.  Excitement, whether we want to accept it or not, can be one of our dogs worst enemies and also their biggest obstacle to acceptable behavior.  When a dog is overly excited typically they go deaf.  They don't hear us calling for them and they don't pay attention to us at all.  I have seen far too many dog meetings that started great transform into a fight simply because one dog was overly excited and the other dog didn't appreciate it.  Sadly enough we humans love seeing our dogs excited; we believe that when they are excited that they are 'happy' but they are just excited and it can get them into trouble very quickly if we don't control that excitement.  I have a pit bull that is basically 'bullet proof' behavior-wise.  He is often complimented on his calm demeanor and acceptable behavior.  He gets along well with other dogs.  No worries right?  Well if I didn't keep an eye on his excitement it would be a totally different story with him.  How do I know?  I've seen it.  He started out that way and he was 'horrible' as a puppy; nothing less than a house wrecking, nibbling, nipping, jumping, crazy, out of control bundle of excitement.  It was only through helping him  learn that the excitement wasn't wanted and that calm earned him attention, affection, freedoms and perks that he changed. However even though he's a changed dog no dog parks for us.  It's not worth the risk of his cheese slipping off his cracker for a millisecond while I'm looking the other way and him getting into an altercation with someone else's dog.

So in a nutshell the dog park is a place of excitement where we are taking our excited dog, letting them run off to play and then getting upset when something happens.  Although dog parks are a wonderful idea and would be a perfect place to help a dog socialize IF everyone else made sure that their dog was calm and friendly I just don't believe that in practice they work; at least not while humans are humans!

My Dog's Doggie Friends

When it comes to our dogs having to have other doggie friends some of us tend to believe that it's just not that necessary for our dogs to be happy, fulfilled dogs while a member of our family. 

I think the biggest thing is that we have got to stop assigning human feelings and needs to our dogs.  If our dogs are capable of 'feeling' lonely then that would only be because we aren't being engaged enough with them or we aren't including them in enough of our activities or we aren't giving them the exercise that they need.  It is not essential that our dogs be around other dogs.  That doesn't mean that they can't, it just means that it's not essential to their well being as a dog. Concurrently they can all be around other dogs but ONLY if we humans learn about canine behavior, from not one but any source we can, and then know our dogs...NOT know our dogs in that we put our own emotions, anxieties and fears onto them but know our dogs in how they are independent of our own needs or emotions.  They don't HAVE to be friends with every dog they meet but on the other hand if we humans can get our stuff together emotionally they CAN get along with nearly every dog that they meet.  Either way it's we humans that determine how our dogs get along with other dogs.  

Even if our dog has a dog aggression issue then it's our responsibility to work on it, getting help if needed, so that they won't be anxious about other dogs.  In the end it's going to be our feelings about a situation and how well we believe we can handle whatever happens that is going to determine how things go when our dog aggressive dog meets another dog.  We can't approach our dog meeting another dog as if something bad is sure to happen or by holding a memory of a bad meeting in our heads but we must approach it knowing that if something happens that we are perfectly capable of handling it calmly and successfully without anyone getting hurt.  I have a dog that is fearful and anxious around other dogs in spite of the fact that I approach him being around other dogs in a calm, rational way without any fears or ideas about what will happen.  As a result I never know when he's going to be cool and when he's going to be a pill...but in the end no matter how he behaves I am the one who is in charge of the meeting and I can handle whatever happens.

There are a lot of people out there, some who claim that 'science' proves that their opinion is reality, who believe that a dog that has had an issue or that continues to have issues with other dogs simply needs to avoid all contact with other dogs.  Some of them are trying by having scheduled meetings with other dogs and their owners to have a 'safe' walk usually meaning that the dogs never meet one another and only get to about six feet or so from one another.  Well I'd have to say that at least it's a start, an honest one and they are working on the issue; that is the positive thing about these people.  However some of these people believe that this is it (the six foot rule); that this is as close as their dog can ever get to another dog and simply continue to have their dogs within a distance that won't allow them to become anxious or agitated.  A distance the 'human' feels is 'safe' based on their dogs reactions when if the truth be known is probably based much more on how close the human feels is safe which goes right down the leash to the dog on the other end eventually setting the dog off when they get too close for the humans comfort.  While I am totally on board with helping dogs feel comfortable around other dogs, even if six feet or more away from the other dog, I would like to see work done to gradually lessen that distance so that in time the dog is comfortable close to other dogs.  Of course having a group made up only of dogs that are uncomfortable around other dogs might be one of the main reasons why so many of the dogs that participate in these 'safe' groups never seem to get better and never graduate to being able to be around other dogs up close.  Dogs are influenced by their canine peers.  Anyone who has ever been in a shelter or a place where there are a lot of dogs knows this.  One dog barks and it sets the whole group off. So logically having a group of dogs that are all uncomfortable around other dogs would mean that there can't be much progress made because there are no stable dogs to influence the other dogs.  I hope that these 'safe' groups will consider this the next time they meet.  Get some easy going dog friendly dogs to join you; you might be really surprised at the result.

In the end whether or not our dog gets along with other dogs is entirely up to us.  We've got to accept the responsibility for our own anxieties, fears and insecurities and then get a handle on them for the sake of our dogs.  We are the single most important influence on our dog's behavior but we so often won't or don't accept that responsibility and choose instead to believe that the dog came that way or some incident made our dog that way or anything we can think of to free us of having anything to do at all with how our dogs act.  Even if we get a dog that was 'emotionally' damaged it's up to us and is our responsibility to help it, to get help if we need to, to get over it's issues and not be a 'enabler' by helping the dog avoid whatever it is that upsets it.  We can't simply allow the dogs life to be spent in anxiety and fear because we can't recognize the part that we play in the dogs well-being.  We must start to focus on how wonderful the dog will feel when it's absolved of it's anxieties and fears and then work toward that goal for the sake of our dog.

We have to stand up and take responsibility for our dog's behavior; there is not other way to safely and humanely have a dog!

Can't We All Just Get Along???

Okay so we have for the most part established that there are hundreds of thousands of people out in the world today who advocate for dogs/pit bulls, who rescue and rehabilitate dogs/pit bulls and who dedicate themselves to being responsible dog/pit bull owners AND that through social media most of us have met and come to know one another or know of one another on some level.  

There are so many people working so hard to help so many dogs/pit bulls today that it seems somewhat unnerving and so sad to see 'relationships', or the lack thereof, get in the way of helping dogs/pit bulls. By relationships I mean people simply being able to focus on the ways in which we are alike and on the common goals/beliefs/philosophies we share.  I'm not talking BFF's here, that everyone has to be enamored of one another or even has to like one another.  I am simply talking about a decent, civil, mutually beneficial relationship formed to help dogs/pit bulls regardless of the many personal differences we may each have.  I truly would like to think that those of us who even have major differences in opinion on how to handle dogs and how to help those who need our help could set aside those differences long enough to help a dog and their human in need.

In my tenure as a pit bull advocate I have met many, many fine people who are intimately involved in advocating, rescue, rehabilitation and behavioral issues for dogs/pit bulls.  Each and every relationship formed, in my mind, is as good as gold; even if I don't share their philosophies or how they do things.  They are as good as gold because each one of them is another cog in the giant wheel that is grinding forth every moment of every day to help save and find loving responsible homes for dogs/pit bulls and is advocating for dogs/pit bulls in all of the ways they desperately need to be advocated for.  However sadly enough my 'golden relationships' when it comes to my capacity as a pit bull advocate has shrunk over time mostly due to others who will not maintain a relationship with anyone who doesn't see or do things their way one hundred percent.  I have been 'un-friended', and in a few cases 'blocked', on Facebook by people who at one time were among my biggest supporters and a valuable resource for assistance simply because I refuse to convert to their way or because I don't have a problem speaking up when I feel that they are being overly judgmental and/or emotional when we are trying to help a dog/pit bull.  Words cannot express my disappointment in this.  Not because it hurts on a personal level to be un-friended or even blocked on Facebook by someone, because it doesn't, but because with every person who turns away permanently simply because we don't see eye to eye on everything there is one less person to help when a dog is need.

It saddens me greatly as an observer of others in the animal welfare community how often differences of opinion and personality differences can adversely affect an attempt by someone to help a dog/pit bull.  The 'in-fighting' that I have observed wastes time when time is of the essence, diverts the attention away from the case at hand (usually a dog about to be euthanized or in dire need of rescue) and causes an outright uproar in social media that does nothing to help and does everything to make most animal welfare folks look like kooks who are in dire need of some intense psychotherapy or medication or both.  No one is expected to agree on everything, or even on anything, but when we have a common goal to help a living being that is unable to help itself we really need to stop worrying so much about our own personal agenda and what others may or may not do or think and begin to focus on the matter at hand; which is to save the life of a dog/pit bull that may not have anyone but us to advocate for it.  We may be that dog's only chance to live but yet we waste time arguing about training methodology (boy that's a hot button for sure), we waste time trying to psychoanalyze (but usually just to harshly judge) the previous owner of the dog, we get caught up in who is right and who is wrong and all along the clock is ticking and the dog's chances for living are fading fast.  

Is it our ego that dictates that we only work with those who are a lot like us in the animal welfare community or is it simply that we are allowing our emotions to over ride our common sense?  In the end I see so often where many involved in an attempt to help save a dogs/pit bulls life end up in an argument with other people on a point that has little or nothing to do with the issue or who would rather vilify and publicly destroy the person who may or may not be the reason why the dog needs help in the first place than to just put one's shoulder to the wheel, together, and get the dog to a safe place.  

Helping dogs/pit bulls is not for everyone nor is it for the faint hearted among us.  It can be emotionally draining even in the best of times and can be devastating emotionally in the worst of times but in the end we can't lose sight of why we are helping.  We do it for the dogs, right? What we do really is to help the dogs isn't it?  It's not about us, right?  So then why oh why do we allow so much personal/emotional crap to get in the way of maintaining relationships with people who can help us do what we do?  Why is it that we so often choose to cut our nose off to spite our face rather than simply decide that how this other person views things doesn't really matter as long as the dog/pit bull is safe?  

So the next time you are thinking about giving someone else some crap over training methodology or what a huge piece of shit a dog's current or former owner may be perhaps it might serve the entire animal welfare community better if you simply decided that it really is about saving the dog(s)/pit bull(s) and that it doesn't really matter if you agree with this other person or even like them...the main thing is to help the dog!!!

Photo provided by Sarah Reategui (Lovers Not Fighters Pit Bull Rescue)

Ambassadorship Wins the Day

As a pit bull advocate I know we all live for those little moments when we know that we've helped change someone's mind and heart about pit bulls.  Most of us have learned that we can't tell people about pit bulls but must show them.  For most of us those moments when we are able to give someone a positive experience that challenges their fear of pit bulls come few and far between, if ever at all.  Last night in my own home I was blessed with one of those wonderful miracle moments and wanted to share it with a very specific and important message.

This week some old and very dear friends we haven't seen in a long time have been visiting us from far away.  They have been sightseeing during the day when we are at work and spending the evenings with us catching up on old news (we will call our friends David and Holly).  Last evening our friends asked if some other friends of theirs, who are traveling to attend the same wedding that David and Holly are, could stop in and visit with them in our home.  We had never met these people but knew that if they were friends of David and Holly's that we would enjoy their company so of course we responded with a yes.  When our friends' friends arrived we made sure that our two pit bulls, Max and Scooby, behaved themselves and asked our friends friends (we'll call them Janie and Ron) to obey the 'no touch, no talk, no eye contact' rule that we try to enforce for people entering our home.  Janie and Ron gladly obliged while Max and Scooby sniffed them all over.  Scooby got a whiff of Janie and Ron's dog (that was out in their motor-home on the street in front of the house) and started to growl.  He didn't really threaten them in any way but simply growled nervously and gave a little half bark from time to time; more a chuff than a bark really.  We assured our new guests that we would control Scooby and to just allow him to continue to sniff them while not attempting to engage him themselves.  We wanted him to feel comfortable around them and knew this would be a good way to let him know that they posed no threat to him.

Our newly arrived guests took their seats in our family room and we started to visit, getting to know them, while Max and Scooby milled around continuing to sniff them and they being great guests didn't try to engage either of our dogs. Scooby continued to sniff and then growl a bit from time to time at which time we told him to stop and asked him to go lie down which he did. After a while Scooby relaxed and laid at Ron's feet but would get up from time to time to re-sniff our new guests and then give a little warning growl or chuff to let us know he wasn't quite sure about the scent of their dog on them.  Janie seemed a bit nervous about Scooby and even Max and as we talked to get to know one another she started talking about how they, pit bulls, got such a bad rap and that she had just recently learned how bad it was for pit bulls when they had to answer the question on their homeowners insurance policy application of whether or not they had a pit bull.  She went on to say that she had until then had no idea just how tough it was to have a pit bull as a family pet and then she dropped the bombshell I hadn't expected;  she was deathly afraid of pit bulls.  She was afraid even though she knew intellectually that it wasn't the breed of dog that determined that it was dangerous but how the dog was handled by the human.  I had told her a few moments earlier that I was a pit bull advocate and after her admission of her fear we started to talk about pit bulls.  I felt no judgment of her for her fear but only tried to share some information about these dogs, and dogs in general, with her.  As the evening wore on and she eagerly took in the information I was sharing with her about Breed Specific Legislation and such she started to relax more and more.  Scooby kept getting up, sniffing her and then growling under his breath which made her very wary of him, especially when I remarked that I really didn't think he would ever bite anyone but that I wasn't going to allow him to do it so we will never find out.  I believe that our being able to manage Scooby's growling really helped because she was able to see that we had complete control over our dog and that we wouldn't allow him to harm her.  I also think that providing her with information like he has no words so his growling is the only way he has to tell us that he's uncertain and that his growling was based on his own fear and/or nervousness also helped her see him and his actions in a less threatening light. Janie is very intuitive in that she expressed to me that a part of the issue that may have contributed to Scooby's nervousness was her own feelings/attitude; her own fear.  She also acknowledged that in order to overcome our fears we must face them and so to her credit she just kept doing her best to relax and to allow the dogs to acclimate to her.  

Max of course is a nearly bullet proof dog so he simply approached her from time to time sniffing, wagging his tail and asking for her attention but she didn't give it aside from just observing him and his manner when he was near her.  She could see, as we discussed the dogs and their behaviors, their different personalities emerge and was beginning to understand how they related to us and to one another differently because of their individual personalities.  I think that seeing that two of the same 'kind' of dogs were so vastly different helped her understand that not all pit bulls are inherently dangerous or even that not all pit bulls have a propensity for nervousness or aggression.  As we talked and she observed she relaxed more and more telling me that she felt as if her being there in our home that evening was meant to be because she knew that being there with our dogs and us was helping her overcome a fear that logically she knew she shouldn't have but had anyway.  At one point with Scooby curled up at Ron's feet obviously very relaxed Max got up and went to Janie.  His demeanor was the usual Max only he wasn't attempting to push the limits and crawl up in our guests lap like he usually does, which I found quite surprising.  His body language showed that he was relaxed around her and was not interested in harming her in any way.  As he approached her she looked down at him, still I think a bit nervous, and watched as he walked up to her calmly and then licked her hand a few times. Then he simply walked away as if to say to her, "See?  I mean you no harm; I just want to be your friend."  She drew her hand up to her chest smiling widely and giggling she said, "he licked me," as if her favorite celebrity or someone she admired greatly had just talked to her or held her hand.  It was obvious that she enjoyed it and treasured it. I know that with Max's calm and kind gesture a bit more of her fear faded away and was replaced with an affection for these loving cuddle-bugs that so many pit bulls tend to be.

We continued to talk about pit bulls and then our other dogs Zeus and Odin who are no longer with us in this world for quite a while and I know, because she told me again and again, that on this evening a mind was set at ease, a heart was softened and a fear was lessened greatly.  I feel so very blessed to have been able to help her with this fear and to have found a new friend; one that I think just might become a pit bull advocate in her own right some day.  What a true blessing for us all and we owe it all to Max being a perfect pit bull ambassador and Scooby helping us demonstrate that even when dogs have anxiety or nervous issues all is not lost and that it truly is the human being in charge that determines whether or not that dog acts out against others because of his issues.  I hope I gained trust last night from both Janie and from Scooby as nothing bad happened, we worked through it all with calm and assertive guidance and it ended very well for everyone involved.

Okay so here is the message I wanted to share with everyone.  We all know how many people out there believe the myths, misinformation and media hype about pit bulls and about the people who have them.  We also know, from our experiences on line with the misinformed, that there are no words, no pictures, no stories, no anecdotes and no amount of factual information that we can impart to people to allay their fears about pit bulls when not face to face.  We have learned that to them we are simply those crazy pit bull loving idiots who choose to live in denial that our dogs will turn on us or someone else and will sooner or later kill someone or something. So if words cannot change their minds and hearts what do we do?  We make sure that our dogs are calm, obedient, well-behaved, well-socialized and balanced dogs regardless of what 'method' we may choose (as long as it does not involve yelling, hitting, kicking or punishing our dogs) and then get 'out there' with our pit bull ambassadors so we can show people what kind of dogs they are because we are responsible dog owners.  This my friends is the only way we will ever end BSL and all of the other ills that plague pit bulls and their responsible owners today.  Most people will not believe it until they see it so we must provide as many people as possible with a positive pit bull experience up close and personal-like as often as we can. Together, if we take on this mission, we will manifest a change in how pit bulls are perceived, how they are treated and how we are treated as dog owners by law enforcement, the authorities, our government bodies and just the public in general.  

This is a mission that anyone can take on and accomplish.  You don't have to be an advocate.  You don't have to do anything but have a pit bull to help people view our dogs and us in a completely different way.  I urge you all to 'get involved' simply by doing whatever you need to do to help your pit bull be an ambassador for the group of bully breeds that are referred to as pit bulls.  We can do this.  Together we can absolutely change things for the better.

Some of the ways that some people are doing this is through what is referred to as Bully Walks.  What better example of what great dogs pit bulls can be when in the hands of responsible dog owners than to see a group, large or small, of people walking together with their pit bulls when there is no fighting going on between the dogs and the owners are just simply everyday regular folks no different than the people who are watching us?

If you are interested in coordinating a walk where you live I'd be happy to help in any way that I can.  I can be reached through Facebook at The Coast to Coast Bully Walk and/or The Portland Pit Bull Parade (I've provided links below to both Facebook pages).

The Coast to Coast Bully Walk:  https://www.facebook.com/CoastToCoastBullyWalk?ref=tn_tnmn

The Portland Pit Bull Parade:  https://www.facebook.com/home.php