When the Experts Are Wrong

When I read the June issue of Dog Fancy Magazine I was appalled at the answer given to one poor dog owner about what to do regarding her six- month-old giant-breed puppy who was constantly biting her and her children. Although the woman owning the puppy referred to the behavior as “mouthing”, the dogs teeth were purposefully contacting skin in such a way as to create pain.

Owners, trying to down-play the behavior, frequently call this “mouthing”. However, when teeth meet skin on purpose, this is a bite. It doesn’t matter that skin isn’t broken. What matters is the intent. When the intent is to control, intimidate, and exert dominance, it is something that should be addressed as the very serious problem it is. The exception to this rule are many retrieving breeds whose ulterior motive for grabbing your arm is to have the sensation of carrying something in their mouth. However, this was not a retriever. This was a breed who will reach a weight exceeding one hundred pounds and who can inflict serious harm if their dominant behaviors are not curtailed.
As an expert witness for the prosecution on countless dog attack cases, the most damage I’ve ever seen done to a person by a single dog was done by a member of this breed. This is not something to take lightly.

What did the expert tell the dog owner to do? She told the woman to say, “oops” and walk away.
In her defense, she did say to teach the dog obedience commands and give the dog other outlets for seeking attention. However, telling the dog “oops” and walking away will do nothing to curtail the dog’s behavior if the behavior is dominant in nature instead of attention seeking. It will only reinforce the dog’s dominant traits as the target victims (his family) are not objecting to the dog’s behavior in a way that he can easily understand.

I’m guessing this trainer gave this advice because it is the politically correct advice to give. “Behavior Shaping” is the current politically correct method of training dogs. Created and initiated by behaviorists, the method looks great on paper but frequently doesn’t work in reality. It takes weeks or months of consistent work to successfully shape behaviors. Most pet owners do not exhibit the necessary consistency nor do they have the time to wait for the behaviors to change.
What the trainer should have said is that the behavior in question was potentially serious and in need of a professional evaluation to determine intent.

This would address the problem within the context that it should be addressed and motivate the owner to contact someone who can help her determine the seriousness of the problem and do something about it.

Being politically correct has its place. But not when it does more harm than good.

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