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[Mammoth Jones]

Hey, any chance you could be more of a passive-agressive dick?

Say it or shut the fuck up, don't offer backhand insincere apologies so that you can get your little "I want to say something, but..." comment in.

People who defend pit bulls are insane. Comments like



are fucking insanity. Please don't ever have children.

You're simply wrong. The overwhelming majority if pits don't explode into rage fests randomly. I've been bit by pits, dobermans, chihuahuas, German Shepard, poodles, shitzu, golden retriever.

You take a wet shit all over the discussion when you label anyone that disagrees and "insane". We gave our now 72 year old mother a pit mix as a guard dog at night. And while he's dying of cancer now that dog has served awesomely. Ironically it's the golden retriever that bit the worst.

All dogs are dangerous around small children.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

Sounds more like horrible parenting on your part.

Edit: and I'd really like to see a picture to see if it's actually a pit bull.

Sounds like you're a moron.

It's a pit bull.

I love how everyone thinks that they know how easy it is to keep a one year old separated from a supposedly sweet and docile dog for two weeks when they share a house. If the concern was truly so high surrounding these dogs, we shouldn't have them.

You can't compare it to a swimming pool with the cover off, because that's an object that must be approached unsupervised to cause harm. This dog bit unprovoked and under supervision. We went two weeks keeping the two separate out of caution and the stupid dog took the first opening it got.

I have a dog. I chose not to get a dog where this is even a mild concern. Any time a pit bull is involved, however, it's a constant worry, no matter how nice the dog reportedly is.

Also, this isn't a dog that is unknown to us. We've visited and stayed with it before. She's familiar with my kids. This wasn't a case where the dog was weirded out by unknown people in the home. The last visit was two weeks as well, and the one before it 11 days, both other visits being this year.

So over a month combined time with the dog we've always managed to keep it at bay and in one split second they come together we have an issue and you want to blame parenting? Piss off.

 

[Zoe]

I haven't read the whole thread, so: Is he doing better now?

It boggles my mind that they waited so long to get care, but it seems as if he's okay:

He played ok today, obviously with some fussiness. He's not in dire shape, so he'll be ok to come home. My wife even sent a pic of him smiling, bloody band-aids and all.

The doctor says that he's fine. They scrubbed his wound out and gave her some antibacterial ointment to keep on it. No stitches, but we're to keep it clean (obviously) and covered for a day or two. The angle of the bite made the puncture go through the skin, but his skull isn't damaged. He's bruised, but the bite mostly missed the mark. I'm assuming that someone, probably my 4-year old, tugged on him in the nick of time just as the dog bit down.

They didn't press on the dog much more than its history. Doesn't look like any authorities will get involved. To avoid the drama, we won't press the matter, but I would like to see it taken and put down to avoid future grief. At least we live two states away, and after they pack up tomorrow morning, they're coming home.

 

[nateeasy]

Id shoot the fucking dog

 

[joelseph]

For what it's worth, by law if you take your child to the ER and say the injury is from "falling down" they will treat the dog bite and not take the dog.

Dogs and kids don't mix. Hope your little guy bounces back quick, he is a cutie!

 

[MC Safety]

You're simply wrong. The overwhelming majority if pits don't explode into rage fests randomly. I've been bit by pits, dobermans, chihuahuas, German Shepard, poodles, shitzu, golden retriever.

That is an awful lot of dog bites.

 

[Dark Octave]

My brother has a husky and I have two kids less than two years old. I watch them like a hawk when the dog is near. The one that's able to walk will provoke the dog and to be honest, I'm impressed by the dog's calmness and understanding (or fear of my brother). She has growled in the past but never bitten.

I have a friend who has a long scar above his eyebrow from a dog attack when he was a kid. That's on him for life. I also was attacked while petting my friend's dog when I was a kid. All I did was walk up to him, pet him and the dog jumped up and snapped me. I was lucky that instead of biting my face off, the flat surface of his tooth hit my forhead. Later on, that dog jumped in my backyard and ripped the skin of my dog's throat off.

 

[Odrion]

It's weird that generally on Neogaf anecdotal evidence is called out and criticized. Unless it's a pitbull thread, then it's all hugs and "Aw my girlfriend's cousin's dentist has a pitbull and it's the sweetest thing in the world!"

That study about chiahuahuas being one of the most aggressive breeds is right. They get extremely antsy and aggressive around strangers, especially other dogs and children. They're not the sort of dog you can just walk up to and pet. Luckily, mine has only resorted to barking for aggression, and I've been training her off that.

The problem for me isn't aggression in the breed. It's how dangerous they can become if they attack. A chihuahua bite is a mild annoyance, a pitbull will puncture your 1-year-old's skull.

 

[Intheflorsh]

Yep. One pit bull ran up to my dog (from behind, completely unprovoked) and bit into her neck, nearly killing her. Vet bills were insane, luckily I got the owner to pay for them.

Fuck pit bulls.

 

[FStop7]

I'm sorry about your son, but this is not the dog's fault. Sorry. No breed would just go up to a small child and take a bite out of their skull unless provoked somehow. I've seen how small children act around dogs before, and honestly it's a miracle more aren't bitten.

Also, please tell me why a one year old boy was on the floor with a dog, that wasn't your own, nearby?

As usual, you're full of shit.

When I was around 7 years old I was attacked by a German shepard. I was walking home from my neighbor's house as the owner was riding by on his bike, with his unleashed dog running alongside. The dog saw me and charged. It chased me, knocked me down, and tore up my leg.

 

[Slackbladder]

Sorry to hear that OP.
I was bitten by a Golden Retriever (yeah, seems surprising), our family dog when I was 8 or 9. Left two nasty gashes on my left arm. No, I wasn't teasing her or being an ass. Most of the family was in the room watching tv. I'm the youngest in the family too. She was standing just in front of me when I went to pet her on her back. That's when she turned and bit me. She knew she had done something wrong because she let go immediately and cowered whilst my father (who had been sitting next to me) pretty much picked her up and threw her into the garden. She was put down the next day.
Thing is there was no build up, no growling, no threatening behaviour. She snapped. If she had been a more aggressive breed it could have been a lot worse. If I had been 4 or 5 years old it could've been much worse.
The dog was well treated and my sister sdored her, which in turn may have been the problem. As far as I am concerned dogs need to be dominated. They are not naturally family pets. They were bred to hunt or track or fight or guard. Living in a human family does not come naturally. It is a perversion of their natural pack instincts. They have to be dominated, not cruelly obviously but in a way that the dog knows it is the lowest member of the pack. As soon as it thinks otherwise you're going to have trouble. Not necessarily aggression but bad behaviour.
There are plans in the UK to bring in laws to make owners directly responsible for dogs that attack. I agree. Dogs can't change their nature. But owners can be better owners.

 

[Odrion]

It doesn't matter if a breed is the most zen breed on the planet. If their bite is capable of severe damage or death they shouldn't be allowed for domestic ownership.

 

[Shags]

Friend's pit bull is afraid of cats, if you try to introduce them the dog will start crying and run away.

But yeah let's kill all pit bulls.

 

[thelatestmodel]

"it's not the owner's fault. They just train the pitbull incorrectly. Blah blah blah."

Pitbulls are dangerous and no one should own these horrible dogs.

I hate to say it but I agree. Pit bulls are awful and not suitable pet material at all.

Yes, they can be great if trained properly. I'm sure they're very sweet. That doesn't get rid of the fact that pit bulls were originally bred as fighting dogs and as such have a shorter fuse than other breeds.

 

[Mael]

Man this thread is a total downer, poor kid.
Hope he's ok.

Btw pitbulls are pretty much banned here, there's restrictions to owning them.
I mean you need to get them stuffs that block their jaws, they must be sterelised, you can't breed, sell them, sell their offspring and so on.
They did this here because they were fucking fed up of stories with kids being maimed by pitbulls.

 

[Dude Abides]

Sounds more like horrible parenting on your part.

Edit: and I'd really like to see a picture to see if it's actually a pit bull.

Sounds more like horrible reading on your part.

 

[obijkenobi]

Sounds like you're a moron.



It's a pit bull.

I love how everyone thinks that they know how easy it is to keep a one year old separated from a supposedly sweet and docile dog for two weeks when they share a house. If the concern was truly so high surrounding these dogs, we shouldn't have them.

You can't compare it to a swimming pool with the cover off, because that's an object that must be approached unsupervised to cause harm. This dog bit unprovoked and under supervision. We went two weeks keeping the two separate out of caution and the stupid dog took the first opening it got.

I have a dog. I chose not to get a dog where this is even a mild concern. Any time a pit bull is involved, however, it's a constant worry, no matter how nice the dog reportedly is.

Also, this isn't a dog that is unknown to us. We've visited and stayed with it before. She's familiar with my kids. This wasn't a case where the dog was weirded out by unknown people in the home. The last visit was two weeks as well, and the one before it 11 days, both other visits being this year.

So over a month combined time with the dog we've always managed to keep it at bay and in one split second they come together we have an issue and you want to blame parenting? Piss off.

Hey bro, as a fellow NBAager, im glad to hear the news. Question for you. If they dont put down the dog, will you take the kids there anymore?

 

[Jag]

I'm a dog lover and raised two kids around them but the truth is ANY dog can attack. Especially little kids with jerky movements. They just look like prey to the dog's primitive hunting brain and they feel dominant to little kids who can't boss them around.

We never left our kids alone with the dogs when they were really little regardless how sweet and loving the dog is. It's the price you pay if you want to have both.

Edit: Basically, I love our dogs, but I never trust them with little little kids.

 

[.GqueB.]

...This reads so insincerely.

Ha. I thought the same and didn't say anything. It's the "Aww". I'm so used to seeing that in front of sarcasm.

 

[FStop7]

It doesn't matter if a breed is the most zen breed on the planet. If their bite is capable of severe damage or death they shouldn't be allowed for domestic ownership.

Any decent sized dog is capable of causing severe damage, regardless of breed.

You have to consider the general temperament of the breed as well as the personality of the individual animal. Both count for a lot.

Pits have a bad reputation for a reason.

 

[Odrion]

Man this thread is a total downer, poor kid.
Hope he's ok.

Btw pitbulls are pretty much banned here, there's restrictions to owning them.
I mean you need to get them stuffs that block their jaws, they must be sterelised, you can't breed, sell them, sell their offspring and so on.
They did this here because they were fucking fed up of stories with kids being maimed by pitbulls.

Yeah, it's insane how certain people think pitbull bans will result in a literal pitbull holocaust.

It doesn't, there's just restrictions put in place that will decrease their number overtime.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

My cousin has a pitbull, she is awesome. My evidence > others.

 

[Shags]

Yeah, it's insane how certain people think pitbull bans will result in a literal pitbull holocaust.

It doesn't, there's just restrictions put in place that will decrease their number overtime.

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/10/leaked_photos_of_dead_pit_bull.php

There's also a nice documentary on Netflix about the myths surrounding pit bulls.
Edit it's caled "beyond the myth" I think

 

[kirblar]

Sorry to hear that OP.
I was bitten by a Golden Retriever (yeah, seems surprising), our family dog when I was 8 or 9. Left two nasty gashes on my left arm. No, I wasn't teasing her or being an ass. Most of the family was in the room watching tv. I'm the youngest in the family too. She was standing just in front of me when I went to pet her on her back. That's when she turned and bit me. She knew she had done something wrong because she let go immediately and cowered whilst my father (who had been sitting next to me) pretty much picked her up and threw her into the garden. She was put down the next day.
Thing is there was no build up, no growling, no threatening behaviour. She snapped. If she had been a more aggressive breed it could have been a lot worse. If I had been 4 or 5 years old it could've been much worse.
The dog was well treated and my sister sdored her, which in turn may have been the problem. As far as I am concerned dogs need to be dominated. They are not naturally family pets. They were bred to hunt or track or fight or guard. Living in a human family does not come naturally. It is a perversion of their natural pack instincts. They have to be dominated, not cruelly obviously but in a way that the dog knows it is the lowest member of the pack. As soon as it thinks otherwise you're going to have trouble. Not necessarily aggression but bad behaviour.
There are plans in the UK to bring in laws to make owners directly responsible for dogs that attack. I agree. Dogs can't change their nature. But owners can be better owners.

This is definitely a "dog" problem in general. There's unfortunately a history of dogs randomly attacking infants out there- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/dog-kills-baby. You don't seem to hear about this type of incident occurring with smaller breeds though - always big dogs. edit: Just saw Jag's post above - that might explain why.

 

[jmdajr]

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/10/leaked_photos_of_dead_pit_bull.php

There's also a nice documentary on Netflix about the myths surrounding pit bulls.

Anyone attacked by such animals is not going to care.

 

[Viejo]

These dogs should not be owned period. All dogs bite; I agree. However, when a pitbull bites they are vicious. Pitbulls have a bite that they clamp down and shake, causing massive tissue damage. They have strong jaws and do not let go (even though the whole lock jaw myth has been disproven). Secondly, they have a high tolerance for pain. Third, they generally do not show clear outward signs of aggression. They can be wagging their tail and lunge at you. These dogs were bred for these "desirable" traits and that is in their nature. There is a reason Miami has had a ban on them for 20 odd years, and the repeal of it was just shot down. Sure, there may be a nice pitbull out there, but I would rather have these dogs banned than have another person mauled by these beasts. They are too dangerous.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

Hey bro, as a fellow NBAager, im glad to hear the news. Question for you. If they dont put down the dog, will you take the kids there anymore?

No. We're not staying there unless the dog is gone or kept in the backyard the entire time.

I also got the full story about how it all happened. I'm about to drive into work, but I'll share it when I get in.

 

[Mael]

Yeah, it's insane how certain people think pitbull bans will result in a literal pitbull holocaust.

It doesn't, there's just restrictions put in place that will decrease their number overtime.

About that....
They're pretty much extinct now in France, as in the ban started more than 10 years ago and with the average lifespan of a dog...
We've also got that muich less stories about dog bites too (we still got them but not so much that you can dedicate sections of black humours to dog bites now)

 

[Valnen]

Yep. Dog ownership should be licensed, with special exceptions to breeds like pits. There are too many ignorant owners.

There should be 2 separate licenses, and they should apply to all dogs/cats. There should be either an ownership license, or a breeding license. Anyone should be able to get an ownership license if they agree to two simple terms. 1. They are absolutely required to get the animal spayed/neutered. 2. They should be required to prove they are capable of taking care of the animal. So if they are getting a big dog they need to prove they can train and handle it. The license would also need to cost some small amount of money. Maybe $20-$30 tops.

A breeding license should be much more difficult to acquire to keep the pet population down. There is a huge overpopulation issue with dogs/cats. It's heart breaking to hera about all the dogs/cats that get put down because nobody wants them.

If you are caught with a pet and don't have a license, you get a warning initially to give you the opportunity to get one. If you fail to do so, your pet(s) are confiscated. Pet ownership is a responsibility that many people can't handle and their animals suffer for it.

 

[Stinkles]

I am having a hard time figuring out what a dog needs to do to be put down, if biting a baby on the head and face doesn't do it.

 

[pulsemyne]

I'm a dog lover and raised two kids around them but the truth is ANY dog can attack. Especially little kids with jerky movements. They just look like prey to the dog's primitive hunting brain and they feel dominant to little kids who can't boss them around.

We never left our kids alone with the dogs when they were really little regardless how sweet and loving the dog is. It's the price you pay if you want to have both.

Spot on. You always have to be careful with dogs around children. Be watchful and vigilant. Children are very unaware of just how much they can provoke a dog. Loud screams and sudden movements can spook any dog. Obviously the child doesn't know this and the dog is...well it's still a dog. Any dog can bite someone. Pitbulls are a strong dog but their bite isn't exceptional. Nor is their temprement overly aggressive. They just get a bad rep due to the name and because of the image.
I was bitten by a neighbors german shepard the other day. That dog had been brought up in kennels and doesn't know how to handle human contact. It's pretty unpredictable with people. If I had kids they wouldn't be left anywhere near the dog. Then again if I had a young baby I wouldn't let my staff near it, even though I trust him completely. Respect the dog and it's inherant nature.

 

[Apoc87]

You can call the authorities and force them to have the dog put down.

Sweet justice

 

[DarkKyo]

You seem so angry at the dog. But it was a one year old in biting distance of a strong dog...

If you left a baby around my Shiba Inus they'd just sniff and lick him. Fuck pit bulls.

 

[depths20XX]

Pit Bulls are ugly. They just look stupid. Don't know why anyone would want one.

 

[Odrion]

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/10/leaked_photos_of_dead_pit_bull.php

There's also a nice documentary on Netflix about the myths surrounding pit bulls.
Edit it's caled "beyond the myth" I think

Okay, maybe it can result in a literal pitbull holocaust. We just need to make sure the right sort of bans take place.

 

[velociraptor]

But they're so sweet. It's the owners not the dogs. Stories about them are just all part of media bias.

Screw this breed. It happened over at my father-in-law's house last night down in California. I'm at home in Utah, and my wife called to let me know. The dog was totally unprovoked. It just bit my kid and left a puncture in his skull on the top of his head and a puncture near his eye. Both punctures have been bleeding off and on still throughout today.

I'd put the dog down, but they're not going to. Good thing I'm here though, because I would have slit the piece of trash dog's throat. I'm so pissed off right now I can barely thing straight, but if I do have one clear thought, it's that these dogs are unnecessary and shouldn't be around. This is the third time in my life now that someone close to me has been injured by an unprovoked attack by a pit bull that was hailed as being so sweet and loving right up until the moment they attacked.

This could have been much worse, but luckily people were able to intervene. With my wife in the room I don't know how that dog survived, but somehow she refrained from tearing it to pieces. Maybe the blood pouring down our kid's face distracted her. That was probably the reason.

Very sorry to hear that. I hope your son gets better.

I completely agree with you. These aggressive creatures need to be put down. No one should be harbouring such an animal as a pet.

 

[Yado]

Hope your kid recovers swiftly OP. I'd insist that the dog be put down if it attacked a child or anyone else for that matter. What's the point in having a pet that could snap at any moment?

 

[jmdajr]

Pit Bulls are ugly. They just look stupid. Don't know why anyone would want one.

Yeah, not the nicest looking animal. I don't even think they are ugly in a cute way.

 

[velociraptor]

Hope your kid recovers swiftly OP. I'd insist that the dog be put down if it attacked a child.

Yep, they should end the fucker. The injury the OP has described sounds gruesome. How is your son doing now OP?

 

[Branson]

I would have destroyed the dog. I already don't really like dogs much anyway. But it needs to be put down. And have the owners pay for your medical bills.

 

[Odrion]

Yeah, not the nicest looking animal. I don't even think they are ugly in a cute way.

They have a certain "cute monster" look to them that draw in certain pet owners.

 

[kirblar]

I would have destroyed the dog. I already don't really like dogs much anyway. But it needs to be put down. And have the owners pay for your medical bills.

It was adopted 6 months prior. The owners are being stupid.

 

[joelseph]

There should be 2 separate licenses, and they should apply to all dogs/cats. There should be either an ownership license, or a breeding license. Anyone should be able to get an ownership license if they agree to two simple terms. 1. They are absolutely required to get the animal spayed/neutered. 2. They should be required to prove they are capable of taking care of the animal. So if they are getting a big dog they need to prove they can train and handle it. The license would also need to cost some small amount of money. Maybe $20-$30 tops.

A breeding license should be much more difficult to acquire to keep the pet population down. There is a huge overpopulation issue with dogs/cats. It's heart breaking to hera about all the dogs/cats that get put down because nobody wants them.

If you are caught with a pet and don't have a license, you get a warning initially to give you the opportunity to get one. If you fail to do so, your pet(s) are confiscated. Pet ownership is a responsibility that many people can't handle and their animals suffer for it.

Agreed on all points. I would also like to add that I am required to register my dog's rabies vaccine with the city which I think all owners should have to do as well.

 

[flyinpiranha]

As far as I am concerned dogs need to be dominated. They are not naturally family pets. They were bred to hunt or track or fight or guard. Living in a human family does not come naturally. It is a perversion of their natural pack instincts. They have to be dominated, not cruelly obviously but in a way that the dog knows it is the lowest member of the pack. As soon as it thinks otherwise you're going to have trouble. Not necessarily aggression but bad behaviour.
There are plans in the UK to bring in laws to make owners directly responsible for dogs that attack. I agree. Dogs can't change their nature. But owners can be better owners.

This. So much this. A VAST majority of dog issues are because the owner treats them as a child or another "person". They have to be dominated and a lot of breeds require this for mental stability. Every time I see a dog tear up a couch, yard, etc ... it's mostly because of this, an owner walks them a couple times a week, let's them "play in the yard" but they are pack animals. They need the roaming of a walk a lot more than people are willing to give them, and they need to be dominated with a pack leader and shown where they belong in the hierarchy.

It's not mean, it's what they require. They have an inherent desire to be led and the alpha has to be there or they become antsy, wound up, and start taking their boredom/aggression out.

 

[joelseph]

This. So much this. A VAST majority of dog issues are because the owner treats them as a child or another "person". They have to be dominated and a lot of breeds require this for mental stability. Every time I see a dog tear up a couch, yard, etc ... it's mostly because of this, an owner walks them a couple times a week, let's them "play in the yard" but they are pack animals. They need the roaming of a walk a lot more than people are willing to give them, and they need to be dominated with a pack leader and shown where they belong in the hierarchy.

It's not mean, it's what they require. They have an inherent desire to be led and the alpha has to be there or they become antsy, wound up, and start taking their boredom/aggression out.

This theory is extremely misguided. If you study pack mentality in the wild the alpha never disciplines through domination.

If you are interested in the psychology of dogs I suggest reading the following book:

 

[NathanMcMahon]

This. So much this. A VAST majority of dog issues are because the owner treats them as a child or another "person". They have to be dominated and a lot of breeds require this for mental stability. Every time I see a dog tear up a couch, yard, etc ... it's mostly because of this, an owner walks them a couple times a week, let's them "play in the yard" but they are pack animals. They need the roaming of a walk a lot more than people are willing to give them, and they need to be dominated with a pack leader and shown where they belong in the hierarchy.

It's not mean, it's what they require. They have an inherent desire to be led and the alpha has to be there or they become antsy, wound up, and start taking their boredom/aggression out.

Walk a couple of times a week? That happens a lot? What the fuck.

 

[faridmon]

I really hate dogs (cats are way superior, I am sorry) but put the dog down? Come on guys, that is too harsh. Its not the dogs fault that it wasn't trained properly.... If even that was the case.

I hope your child is OK. I would be scared shitless if that happened.

 

[Mael]

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/10/leaked_photos_of_dead_pit_bull.php

There's also a nice documentary on Netflix about the myths surrounding pit bulls.
Edit it's caled "beyond the myth" I think

Comment section :

3,487 in twenty years? Pit owners should be very happy with this number. It is a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the number euthanized in shelters across the country where there is no BSL. I do not advocate for or against BSL. But in comparison, look at the number of dogs euthanized in these select counties in North Carolina in 2010. These figures are from the state. I don't know what percentage of these dogs are pits, but should it matter? They were all unwanted, surrendered, and allowed to be born with no thought for their futures. From just these counties:

CALDWELL CO. ANIMAL CARE&CONTROL SHELTER2010 dog euthanizations, 2,275

CLEVELAND COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER2010 dog euthanizations, 3,007

CUMBERLAND COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL2010 dog euthanizations, 5,193

DAVIDSON COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER2010 dog euthanizations, 2,846

DURHAM CO ANIMAL SHELTER2010 dog euthanizations, 2,469

FORSYTH COUNTY DEPT OF ANIMAL CONTROL2010 dog euthanizations, 3,103

GUILFORD COUNTY UNITED ANIMAL COALITION2010 dog euthanizations, 3,477

IREDELL COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL2010 dog euthanizations, 2,104

CHARLOTTE/MECKLENBURG ANIMAL CONTROL2010 dog euthanizations, 4,768

RANDOLPH CO. HEALTH DEPARTMENT2010 dog euthanizations, 2,643

ROWAN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER2010 dog euthanizations, 2,475

...

 

[flyinpiranha]

This theory is extremely misguided. If you study pack mentality in the wild the alpha never disciplines through domination.

After re-reading my post. You are right. I shouldn't have used the word "dominated" but honestly, can't think of a better one, probably "respected leader" or assertive.

I wasn't talking about hitting and yelling and such. It's a pretty complicated issue that I tried to wrap up in a paragraph which isn't possible.

EDIT: Just ordered that book. Research seems fascinating.

Walk a couple of times a week? That happens a lot? What the fuck.

Yeah, I've seen some in shelters here with this explanation. I live in Portland, OR so it's "rainy" a lot of the year. NOT AN EXCUSE. But I also knew some owners in college with smaller breeds I am not familiar with (I'm more familiar with Retrievers and G. Sheps) but they'd let them run in the hall of their apartment complex if it was raining. Drove me absolutely insane.

How would you dominate a dog practically?

I explained above that it was probably poor word choice on my part. A pack is a complicated thing and the problem with most 'studies' is that they are looking at groomed pack behavior and not necessarily 'wild' behavior. I have read some studies and a book or two (that I can't recall, this was years and years ago) so my knowledge may be outdated! But the pack leader isn't really 'dominant' (seriously, poor word choice on my part) as much as they are an assertive leader and their is a mutual respect. You shouldn't have a dog looking for a 'chink' in the armor to become the leader, it should be a mutual existence. I may look into that book above mentioned as it was one of the topics I got into early on in college years ago as a hobby.

 

[entremet]

This. So much this. A VAST majority of dog issues are because the owner treats them as a child or another "person". They have to be dominated and a lot of breeds require this for mental stability. Every time I see a dog tear up a couch, yard, etc ... it's mostly because of this, an owner walks them a couple times a week, let's them "play in the yard" but they are pack animals. They need the roaming of a walk a lot more than people are willing to give them, and they need to be dominated with a pack leader and shown where they belong in the hierarchy.

It's not mean, it's what they require. They have an inherent desire to be led and the alpha has to be there or they become antsy, wound up, and start taking their boredom/aggression out.

How would you dominate a dog practically?