Guest Anonymous Posted July 25, 2002 Share Posted July 25, 2002 [b]Canine Care Dos and Dont's Do's • Ask a dog's owner if it's okay to pet the dog. Not every dog likes kids or strangers. • Let the dog come to you. • Hold your hand out to the dog. Let him sniff your hand to get to know you, then gently pet him. • Speak in a soft, soothing voice that relaxes and does not challenge the dog. • If you see a stray dog or a dog acting strangely, tell an adult. Avoid contact with the animal. Walk into the house. • Be still "like a tree" if a strange dog approaches you. If you run, the dog may chase you. • If a dog knocks you over, roll into a ball, cover your head like a turtle in a shell, keep your face down, and stay still. Don'ts • Don't approach an unfamiliar dog. • Don't stare a dog right in the eye. It may be challenging to the dog and may encourage a dominant animal to challenge you back, i.e. bite. • Don't pet a dog that's behind a fence, on a chain or in a car. Many dogs are territorial; it may consider the yard or car its territory, and it may bite you. • Don't disturb a dog that's caring for puppies. Mother dogs are naturally very protective of their young. • Don't disturb a dog that is sleeping or eating; you may startle it, and it may bite. • Don't take a dog's toy unless the dog brings it to you; dogs can be very possessive of their toys. • Don't play with a dog unless supervised by an adult. • Don't play with a dog without letting it see and sniff you first, even if it is with its owner. It needs to smell you to get to know you. • Don't run from a dog. It activates the dog's chase instinct. - Wisconsin Humane Society, American Society of Plastic Surgeons and Family Safety & Health magazine Know the Warning Signs Dogs usually give some type of warning before they bite. Such signs include: Growling, snarling or aggressive barking. Head low or tail between the legs. These are signs of fear, and fearful dogs can be just as dangerous as aggressive ones. Fur raised up, ears erect, body stiff, tail high. He's saying, "Stay away from me, or I'll do something drastic!" Being unnaturally still or unresponsive. Many fighting breeds have been bred for their ability to disguise aggressive intentions. Finally, a dog in pain will bite anyone who touches him - even his owner. [/b] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 26, 2002 Share Posted July 26, 2002 WOW!! thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
science_doc Posted July 31, 2002 Share Posted July 31, 2002 cool post Hollywood, Along those lines I have something to share. As you all know I'm a novice to dogs and now realize I have a full blow case of the virus (please refer to the other post not a "real" illness). When I was first getting to know my lab/husky mix she would make a growling type sound whenever I was doing something she didn't like. I FREAKED out, thinking that I had adopted a killer dog who was seconds away from bitting my arms off. Then I started to communicate with the various rescues in my area and I got some awesome advice from someone that this behavior was likely to be a mutated version of the husky wooooo woooo woooo sound I have become completely convinced that ALL novice dog owners should be forced to get some lessons in dog behavior BEFORE they bring their new wonder home. I look back now and realize that I was a COMPLETE idot and I considered myself "well prepared". I wonder what would happen if people were forced to take some kind of informative 2 hour class before they bought/adopted their first dog? I know just wishful thinking, but this is the kind of thinking that leads to change :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 31, 2002 Share Posted July 31, 2002 [quote name='science_doc']cool post Hollywood, Along those lines I have something to share. As you all know I'm a novice to dogs and now realize I have a full blow case of the virus (please refer to the other post not a "real" illness). When I was first getting to know my lab/husky mix she would make a growling type sound whenever I was doing something she didn't like. I FREAKED out, thinking that I had adopted a killer dog who was seconds away from bitting my arms off. Then I started to communicate with the various rescues in my area and I got some awesome advice from someone that this behavior was likely to be a mutated version of the husky wooooo woooo woooo sound I have become completely convinced that ALL novice dog owners should be forced to get some lessons in dog behavior BEFORE they bring their new wonder home. I look back now and realize that I was a COMPLETE idot and I considered myself "well prepared". I wonder what would happen if people were forced to take some kind of informative 2 hour class before they bought/adopted their first dog? I know just wishful thinking, but this is the kind of thinking that leads to change :wink:[/quote] Hey, I think taking the class is a [u][b]great [/b][/u]idea....the problem would be enforcing it.... :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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