Friends Fur Life

I witnessed something today rather appalling, and I just had to make it the topic of today’s post.  I was at a large, nationally-known pet supply chain waiting in line to buy my cat food right next to the store’s hired dog trainer and her Presa Canario (think Mastiff) named Conan.  The trainer was talking to a mother and her small son who couldn’t have been more than two years old.  Conan was laying flat on his side, as he had been trained to do with children around.  The young boy was extremely hesitant around the dog, wanting to pet him and not wanting to at the same time.  The trainer was trying to coax the boy into petting Conan, assuring him that he was perfectly safe.

Now, getting children acclimated to dogs and other animals at an early age is essential to curb fears and to instill love for other creatures.  I applaud the trainer for wanting to encourage the child’s desire to get to know the dog more.  However, what she did next was beyond comprehension. 

Since it was obvious the boy was nervous about petting Conan at the head, the lady moved down to the shoulder, saying, “You want to pet him here?”  He didn’t.  So she moved down to the hip and said, “You want to pet him here?”  Still no.  So she (the PROFESSIONAL TRAINER, mind you) grabbed Conan’s tail and starting yanking it back and forth, telling the toddler to just grab on to the tail and do the same thing she was doing!  I know I should have said something, but I was too thunderstruck at what I was seeing to make my mouth work properly.  This dog-care professional was encouraging a young boy to walk up to a dog and start yanking its tail!

Fast forward to a few months.  I can see it all too clearly.  This same boy, with the image of Conan imbedded in his mind, is going to come across another dog, one who isn’t so well-trained and gentle with children.  Rather than approaching him in the appropriate manner, he is going to walk right up to the dog, grab it by the tail and start yanking it, causing the now irritated dog to take a nice little chunk out of the boy.  The boy will need stitches, if he’s lucky, and the dog will more than likely be put to sleep.  All because this trainer didn’t have the foresight to realize that you do NOT teach a small child to yank a dog’s tail!

I hadn’t posted about this until as of now because I didn’t think it needed mentioning.  I just thought it was common sense.  But after this display today, I knew it was worth bringing to light.  Parents, please, when introducing your child to dogs, teach them the appropriate means of approach.  You walk up slowly to a dog, in a non-threatening pose, and you hold your hand out, palm up, to let it sniff you.  Then if he seems happy and wags his tail, you can proceed to petting.  If he growls, snarls, or otherwise looks grumpy, move along.  It is NOT appropriate to approach a dog by running quickly up to it, waving your arms in a threatening manner (or what may be perceived by a dog as a threatening manner), or making loud, startling noises.  It is also not appropriate to approach a dog from the rear.  Always make sure the dog knows you are approaching it!

As if yanking his tail wasn’t enough, after the boy had at last gained enough courage to pat the dog (thankfully he only gave a cursory swipe to the tail), she had Conan get up to walk away.  After he was up, she was trying to get him to take the rubber chew toy she was holding.  She did so by whacking him lightly on the face and rear until he grabbed it.  Now I, and any other adult, could see that he wasn’t hurt by the action.  However, this child, who was still present, has now witnessed that not only is it ok to yank a strange dog’s tail, it’s also perfectly acceptable to whack him with a toy!  This trainer just put a potentially fatal accident into motion, and I just hope the boy wasn’t paying too much attention to what she was doing and will quickly forget it all.  Because if not, the next time he encounters a dog, this dog might not be so amenable to children, and disastrous results can ensue.

So please, always remember when dealing with dogs, these three important things: 1. All dogs are different in personalities and temperaments.  2. Most dogs hate being startled or scared.  And 3. All dogs have teeth!