[Dailydrool] Elmo and the pit bull

[Pamela McQuade]

When a dog is attacked as Elmo was, I think the people who deal with the issue have to take into account the fact that the attackee can become dog aggressive.
 
Our Abner got attacked by a dog that might or might not have been part pit bull. He certainly wasn't fully pit. After that, Abner always barked at other dogs before they could get near him. Despite his aggression issues with me, Abs was a real wuss at heart. Barking at other dogs was a warning that he was scared, really. But it made it difficult to bring him around other dogs--though he never had a problem with his own breed, for some reason, so we could still take him to rescue events. We always made sure he didn't get close enough to a strange dog to do it harm. But if he had, it all would have been because of the bite he got from that dog who attacked him without provocation.
 
Chaining dogs is a good way to encourage aggression. So I would ask animal control to make sure the owner no longer chains the dogs and starts behavioral training. Whether or not this works is up to the owner, really. How much energy is he willing to put into rehabbing the dog? Will he act responsibly to keep other people and animals safe while he is doing that?
 
Putting a dog to sleep should happen only after all other efforts have failed. But so few people are willing to put in the effort to work with a dog. The knee-jerk reaction is to put an aggressive dog to sleep, so many people do. I think whether or not a dog can be saved should be a decision made in concert by vets, behaviorists, and people who are willing to do the work of rehabbing the dog.
 
Having said all this, I know every rescue has probably had to make the hard decision to put a dog down when all reasonable efforts have failed. I am not condemning anyone here. I'm just responding to Nancy's comments about pit bulls and Elmo's experience. 
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets
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