Not sure if everyone heard about the dog that attacked a news anchor woman in Colorado on live TV ( I think it hit national news) but I thought this site discussing the behavior of dogs and reading their body language was interesting. Even though it isn't specific to shibas, this is good info on reading any dog's behavior.
I did see that on Yahoo. I feel bad for the girl but she really shouldn't of put her face in a strange dogs face. Now the poor dog is being held for "observation". It's just so sad the dog has to take the wrap for someone being careless and lacking common sense. I wish everyone could read that article tkfush!
Ill get hated for this comment, but just because she put her face in front of the dog doesnt make it her fault. Would you blame her for getting mugged if she walked down a dark alley in compton and got shot? Sure she shouldnt be walking there, but i will not excuse the criminal because she put herself in a bad place. If a dog attacks a person who is not harming the dog something has to be done. And let the hate begin.
First off, dogs are NOT people. I know we all love our dogs and think that they are members of the family (which, in most cases, they are), but they are not people. They do not have the cognitive function that people do and in most cases, unless TAUGHT BY PEOPLE do not know right from wrong (or at least what people think is right and wrong).
So comparing a dog, that we really do not have any knowledge of, to a criminal is like comparing an apple to a brick wall. They really have nothing in common except they are inanimate objects. A dog, who has not been taught that biting a stranger is not acceptable does not know any better. A criminal (assuming he is a member of society and not some dude that has lived under a rock his entire life) knows that the act he is about to commit is wrong and/or against the law.
Should the dog have attacked that reporter... I have no idea. I was not there, I do not know that dog or its history. Could that dog have been harmed by someone who got in his face? Possibly. Could that dog have perceived a threat by the reporter? Probably. This is not saying that the reporter was at fault here. But it was definitely not the dogs fault. The reporter was very stupid by putting their face near a strange dogs face. And all of these instances could have EASILY been avoided.
Now... Let me ask you to put yourself in the dog's situation. (Again, dogs are NOT people, but this might help you understand the situation from the dog's point of view.)
Imagine that you are a person in a strange country. You know nothing of their language or customs. A very large man comes at you very quickly, wearing very strange clothing. There is also strange equipment around that you are not sure what it does or its intent. The man comes over, not cautiously, but with intent. He towers over you and starts talking in his really strange language. You try to indicate to the man that you are uncomfortable with his presence and would like him to back away from you. The man either does not understand what you are trying to convey or ignores your pleas. He then leans over you and puts his face inches from yours while talking in his strange language.
You have two choices... If you are a submissive person, you will shrink back and maybe scream or cry. If you are a more assertive person, you will probably be on the defensive and might opt to lash out by kicking at the man, shoving him, hitting him, or hell... biting him in order to get your personal space back.
Casey, with Bella and Nola, hanging out in the mountains of Virginia. I Wander, I Ride
Your right dogs are not people. I find extremely inhumane that people are blaming a human, one thats life is now changed because her face was attacked. I believe reporters need a good face to have a job. She cant even feel her top lip anymore. Yet people here are blaming her. Nevermind how she feels or her family. Oh that poor dog though.
The report was also about the dog. Why wouldnt she believe she could get close to a dog when the owner was completely up for her dog being a subject?
I think the big problem was that the interview took place RIGHT after the dog was rescued from the river. So her putting her face next to him was a bad idea for multiple reasons A. He was probably still scared and in shock from being in a freezing cold river and pulled out by a bunch of people he didnt know B. Immediately after, he gets put onto a set with super bright lights and high pitched sounds (husband used to work on news show) C. you are over stimulated, your owner doesnt notice and some strange lady you've never seen before, sticks her face in yours.
After going through that, I likely would have bit her too. However I do think some of the blame belongs with the owner. He could have asked to do the interview later and thus given his dog some time to relax, but he chose not to. If you watch the video, you can tell the dog was stressed and his owner wasnt attempting to fix it.
just a final note, from what I understand, the dog is only being held to ensure he doesn't have rabies and the owner is being cited for a leash law violation.
Just keep in mind also that this dog underwent an extremly stressful situation a few days before this. He was caught in freezing water swimming for his life for hours before he was rescued. Then to be put on a news set with strange people well you have to see how stressed out that would make any animal or human. Nobody would be 100% themselves for awhile.
I do feel sorry for the lady that got surgery but she will be alright. Hopefully she will learn not to get too close to animals that are under stress and not familiar with her.
I would never stick my face in a strange dogs face.
She did not know the dog, she did not know the dogs history and she invaded his space. He felt uncomfortable and he reacted. The owner should have been able to read the dog's signs of being uncomfortable and the reporter should have never stuck her face in the dog's face. It is NOT the dog's fault.
Dont parent's teach their children to not pet strange dogs? This woman should know better than to stick her face in a strange dog's face. It looked like she was going to give the dog a kiss. Not to mention that the poor dog went through major trauma the day before he went on tv.
Lauren
Sinister ~ 3 yr old black male GSD 3.11.09 Malice ~ 9 mth old black female GSD 6.19.11
I'm not going to fault the lady. It's up to the owner to know their dog. If the dog has shown aggressive behavior in the past, then he shouldn't have allowed the reporter to touch his dog. If his dog has never lashed out like that, then I'll chalk it up to it being an accident. In either case I feel bad for the reporter
The whole incident was just a bad situation. This news station actually does a lot for the Denver Humane Society and they even bring in dogs all the time that are up for adoption. I know this station said they arn't going to stop this but they will take better precautions. Maybe they should have had a dog behavioralist on the set (especially after everything that dog went through!) but I think what my take away is, is I want to get better at reading my dog's language. Looking at the break down of the warning signs, I know I would not have read them correctly! Granted I wasn't there so I can't 'feel' the 'energy' in the room but strictly from watching the video as a person who hasn't studied dog behavior, I didn't catch it all!
For example, the ears back. I know when a cat does this, bad news! But my Yuki puts her ears back everyday when I come home from work! It is coupled with her tail wagging so hard that it's more of a whole body wiggle, but when I saw the dog on the new ear's go back, I though maybe he was comfortable. So I think this is a HUGE sign to me that I need to look into dog behavior more. And not just so I understand my dog, it's more so when I'm at the park or store or somewhere, I can better get a read on someone else's dog!
I think it's a bit of everyone's fault owner should been keeping an eye on his dog and told her not to get to close as he might be still scared and who knows maybe this dog doesn't like strangers or has low tolerance for faces in his face?
Saya doesn't mind, but she was handled and taught being handled and stuff is good thing.. I only put my face close to her's when I'm checking her teeth or cleaning her face..
I think a dog who went through this shouldn't been in an interview type thing till it's settled down.
It's already happened so can't change it hopefully people know not to put faces in dog space like that..
I know where Lucylu is coming from lot seem to be more on dog's side saying lady was at fault, but she is a anchor woman not a dog behaviorist so she wouldn't know what signs or whats right thing to do.
Owner should informed her or something coarse maybe owner didn't know that his dog didn't like strangers face close by maybe his dog did fine with him so he thought she would be OK? Either way sad thing to happen..
Most kids don't know how behave with a dog when meeting one for first time till they're told to maybe she never been around dogs or dogs she been around are very social and lovey with people so she didn't know how to be with a dog like this.
I hope she recovers OK and doesn't loose her job. I know face is everything, but who knows..
Sandra, that was a really good, balanced article. I agreed with it. While I don't think anyone should put his/her face in that close to a strange dog, it is also a terrible thing that happened. I agree that there are reasons for the dog to do this--stress of the last couple of days, being tightly restrained in a new, scary place, etc. Casey did a good job of elaborating how this might seem to a dog.
But I think the writer of the piece Sandra linked brought up some good points: the dog seems to have shown stress, but gone from that to a serious bite (with little inhibition) rather quickly, and that's troubling too. It seems to me this whole thing was a very unfortunate event with some problems on both sides, and that blame--either way--is not particularly useful.
Perhaps an opportunity can be made here for educating people about how NOT to approach dogs.
She should have been smarter about it, no offense but my niece who isn't even 2 knows better. Granted the owner should have seen how he was reacting non verbally. It's unfortunate that she got bitten, but this stuff happens. Hopefully dog owners everywhere and news anchors will take necessary precautions in similar situations in the future.
While the video screams at me this dog is nervous I also realize most people can't read dogs. Unless you read books on behavior and hang around a lot of dogs, you can't or won't even have a reason to understand. So I don't think people should say the anchor knew better. I admit as an owner of a leash reactive dog, it gets frustrating when people run up to ken, but its my responsibility to warn them. I will say, kissing anything at random is something most people would not do, and I guess the reporter was just trying to go for the cute factor.
The only person I blame is the owner in this situation. He knew his dog was uncomfortable, his own body language is saying that. Its evidenced by how he was holding his collar, his posture, tone of voice, and not using a leash. However its possible he was nervous to be on tv and his dog reacted to that. I feel sorry for that anchor, and for the dog. I knew a dogo, really good dog, with a steady temperment. Im worried the breed is going to get an even worst reputation, when before there wasn't any merit to them being targeted other than they looked like other "dangerous" breeds.
@tkfush One of the books I read in the last year while trying to educate myself about dog behavior was "For the Love of a Dog" by Patricia McConnell. It has quite a few sections about dog behavior and some tips about how to read canid body language. If I remember correctly, it breaks down four behaviors into component parts and how to diagnose them from a general standpoint. She also points out that a lot of it comes with looking for it. So if you go to training classes or dog parks you can get a lot of experience just watching. She has a lot of books, which many have recommended, but this is the only one I've read. It was a good read (a little sappy), but what I got most out of it were the details about body language.
:( I took my sisters mini doberman to the dog park. And a 12 years old kid, stuck his face into the dog's face before I could warn him not to. Luckily for me the kid was fine. The mini doberman didn't bite him, just lunged at him as a warning to back away. The kid was shaken up a bit, but I carried my little Pom mix and slowly explain to him that he should never stick his face near a dog he doesn't know, unless the owner says it'll be ok. I told him my pom mix was fine, he leaned forward, she licked his face and he was all better :)
