April 12, 2011
Your solution for a lot of people who have aggressive dogs is to put the dog to sleep. I think this is poor advice.
Full Question:
I came to your web site hoping to find some answers concerning my aggressive German shepherd. I was very upset to see your answer for almost all of the concerned people are to putting their dog to sleep. This is a member of the family. We've had our dog for almost 5 years now, and a lot of the behavior some of these people described relates to our dog (Baldwin). His behavior upsets me, and concerns me whenever anybody new visits our home. But I don't think putting a dog down is the answer. Especially giving advice like that without even meeting the dog.I'm sure you love animals very much, and you mean to do well. But telling families to kill their dogs just like that is horrible. I feel sorry for the people who came to you for simple advice, and came away with the thought in their head that there pet is some kind of monster. I hope for their sake, as well as the dog's sake, that they found another way of dealing with their pets problem.
Ed's Answer:
I suggest that you go to the table of contents and read the article on Preventing Dog Bites in Children. When you see the photos in that article you will see why some people should not own dogs.
Not all dogs need to be put to sleep, many can be trained. But many behavioral problem dogs have owners who are incapable of training a dog, much less a dog with a serious behavioral problem. I will always choose to error on the side of a child and not on the side of a dog.
People are similar to dogs. Some people have hard-temperaments and some people have soft-temperaments. Soft people should not own hard aggressive dogs or dogs with serious nerve problems (If you are confused about what I mean about HARD and SOFT dogs refer to my article about this in the list of training articles.) Soft people do not have the temperament to give hard enough corrections to modify negative behavior in a hard dog. These people should either find new homes for their dogs or put them to sleep.
I suggest that you readjust your point of view and get a little experience about what you are talking about. I don't have patience for foolishness. You have a problem with your dog that has lingered for 5 years. You have still not corrected your problem. This does not say much about your ability to train dogs, your interest in solving the problems of your dog, or about you being a responsible dog owner. So don't lecture me on theory of dog training!
Not all dogs need to be put to sleep, many can be trained. But many behavioral problem dogs have owners who are incapable of training a dog, much less a dog with a serious behavioral problem. I will always choose to error on the side of a child and not on the side of a dog.
People are similar to dogs. Some people have hard-temperaments and some people have soft-temperaments. Soft people should not own hard aggressive dogs or dogs with serious nerve problems (If you are confused about what I mean about HARD and SOFT dogs refer to my article about this in the list of training articles.) Soft people do not have the temperament to give hard enough corrections to modify negative behavior in a hard dog. These people should either find new homes for their dogs or put them to sleep.
I suggest that you readjust your point of view and get a little experience about what you are talking about. I don't have patience for foolishness. You have a problem with your dog that has lingered for 5 years. You have still not corrected your problem. This does not say much about your ability to train dogs, your interest in solving the problems of your dog, or about you being a responsible dog owner. So don't lecture me on theory of dog training!
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