I’m always interested in listening to people share their views, concepts, and theories regarding their dog-related issues. As a trainer, this insight helps us better understand and address the problems between people and their dogs.

I’m also keen on observing the opinions of those who publicly make assertions about dogs—especially when those assertions may be inaccurate.

My staff and I conducted extensive research on every person and topic we covered in our PBS series, The World of Dogs. We exercised the same level of diligence on Dog Talk, and our radio show, SPEAK, was diverse yet always grounded in fact-checking the issues presented by our guests.

Recently, I read an article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about dog attacks. There is truly nothing more tragic than incidents of vicious animal aggression.

However, I am deeply concerned—almost to the point of contention—about the demonization of specific breeds.

I’ve included a copy of the Arkansas article for your reference, along with an article written by HSUS representative Cynthia Armstrong. Her strong, authoritative perspective was logical, yet I found it to be quite critical of the Arkansas author’s objectivity—perhaps due to a lack of more thorough research.

Hi Pat,

I read the article you texted me yesterday. I noticed right away he didn’t cite which study he is referring to, but I think I know where he is getting his information. It’s obvious the writer is ignorant of the facts that lead to dangerous encounters between dogs and people. As you know, declaring a particular breed dangerous is a very simplistic and uninformed ‘solution’. His call to action to initiate legislation should be targeted at human caregivers rather than their dogs. I’ve attached an article I wrote for OKC Pets Magazine for their September/October 2018 issue. These are the arguments I would use in any Facebook post or op-ed to the Arkansas Democrat challenging his assertions that certain breeds are inherently dangerous. Fortunately, in Oklahoma we still have a state law that prohibits municipalities from enacting ordinances or policies that discriminate on the basis of breed. The law has been challenged several times by legislators who held a bias toward pit bulls, but we successfully lobbied against those attempts and the law still stands!

Good to talk to you yesterday and thank you for sharing the newspaper piece with me. It’s important to educate this writer. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know!

Cynthia Armstrong

Many dog owners believe raising a dog is similar to raising a child. Therefore, when I hear an owner mentioning this subject about training issues, I always ask them to clarify their specific methods for handling human baby behaviors. In most instances, puppies are not allowed the same considerations and latitudes we let our kids. So does having good human parental skills make a dog owner a better dog raiser?

When you give birth to a baby and bring them home from the hospital, that baby requires 24-hour continuous care. The baby pees and poops and has to be changed. A feed schedule is necessary, and a cuddling constant is a must for the baby to accept touch.

Caring, intelligent parents understand the need to teach their infants to love and trust. So when an owner brings a pup home, in the best-case scenario, this baby dog will have had all the nurturing experience they initially need from the mother dog. If she has done her job, the pup’s mom and the breeder have given the puppy an open mind and a trusting attitude.

However, because behavior issues come to dogs at different times as they mature, the challenge for dog owners is to recognize the need for a pup’s behavioral management in a way that won’t prohibit their curiosity and ability to make good decisions on their own.

This fact works for kids too! So we can acknowledge that there are similarities in raising dogs and humans. The difference is pretty stark, though, when it comes to discipline. For example, the human parent can be legally incarcerated if harsh physical force is used to correct a child’s behavioral problems. Pets don’t have that kind of protection in many areas.

Since dogs develop and mature physically and metabolically much faster than humans, they quickly experience adolescence. This is when pups need to learn social boundaries and the consequences of bad choices.

Here is where it gets interesting. Training through positive reinforcement can teach a dog social correctness quicker than a human adolescent. If we could hold a treat above our teenaged kid’s heads and say sit or stay or even listen and have them immediately respond well, that would be super, but that is not going to happen.

Conversely, dogs learn to manipulate their owner at a younger age than human kids. This could be the dog’s advanced maturity. We know that every body movement you and your dog exhibit to one another is information more salient than any human yelling or dog barking combined. Dogs learn to read their owners quickly and well. For dogs, interactions with their owners are necessary to fulfill their survival needs. So they know the certain body, head, and eye movements in a language they can understand. We, as owners, do learn to interpret our dog’s language and comply. It makes living with a dog easier.

Is that a dog’s genius form of communication? Or manipulation? It is, my dear friends, the application of manipulation! My friend Brenda Aloff says that women are more easily manipulated by their dogs than men. When I asked a couple of my psychologist friends, they told me that women probably are more influenced by their dogs, and men are more inclined to be swayed by their kids, especially their daughters. However, dogs jump into 1st place for manipulation if they don’t have kids. Especially if they’re female dogs (imagine that!)

So if our dogs and kids take advantage of us occasionally (probably daily), research shows that we don’t seem to mind. We love them anyway! Maybe it’s because it’s the way we’ve raised them. Yep, I concede. We’ve made them who they are, and I’m glad.

Give your dogs and kids a hug for me!
Pat

Understanding dogs requires learning their body language. Human methods of communication are complex. Since dogs don’t verbalize the same as they can’t easily communicate their thoughts and responses, they rely on body language to speak with us. Your dog studies the physical movements and the energy level of your vocal activity and puts it together to respond to your interaction with them.

Trying to understand you and how to please you are the necessary efforts that ensure your dog’s survival. Sadly people who are inconsistent in their behavior make a dog’s job harder. So your dog will attempt to connect with you through body signals. Pay close attention to their movements in response to your communication.

Please learn to read your dog’s body language. It’ll make your’s and your dog’s lives together awesome! Remember, each time you interact with your dog, you’re teaching that dog something about you, him or herself, and the world around them; please make each day of communication with the pet member of your family one of patience, compassion, and love.

Let’s discuss euthanasia. A grim, dreaded word taken from the Greeks meaning “A good death.” Is that an oxymoron? Yet it is a peaceful way of leaving as opposed to a fearful, inhumane exit from life. Most of us experience the sad, stomach-churning decision we have to make for our animals much too often. Yet, our pets depend upon our wisdom and emotional strength to help alleviate their suffering when they are too old and or too infirmed to enjoy the quality of life.

I’ve had dogs in my youth who have lived to the ripe old age of twenty, not in the best of health, mind you, but hanging on. Looking back, I realize that I kept them alive simply because I rationalized my inability to face the decision to let them go, but thinking that they would let me know when they were “ready.” Silly me, no, selfish me. Was I so emotionally attached to my dogs, so dependant upon their unconditional love, the gratifying nurturing experience I received as I cared for them year after year? It’s an easy state to slip into because sometimes it’s majorly difficult to receive that feeling from humans. So it would seem that I kept them struggling to live because I needed them.

Having said that, so much has changed. In this era of modern medicine and treatments for animals, pets can prolong the quality of their lives far beyond those of their ancestors. We are all, of course, very grateful to the veterinary colleges and research organizations for giving us and our beloved pets more time to enjoy our companionship.

Still, there will come that moment when we must decide to give that last loving gift to our friend with whom we have had a blessed bond of mutual love. It is the gift of eternal peace, no more pain, no more confusion. We embrace our precious pet one last time and whisper, “I will always hold you in my heart, and I will never forget you.” It’s never easy; it isn’t meant to be. It takes much love and courage, but it enables us to complete our responsibility to the animals who we choose to be in our lives.

So as long as we are biting the bullet today concerning this topic of conversation, let’s discuss another aspect of Euthanasia ending the lives of dogs who are considered very dangerous to humans and other animals. Touchy subject? You betcha.

I openly, vehemently oppose breed-specific discrimination. Every dog should be judged by its character! Every breed of dog was originally bred for a specific purpose. Centuries ago, humans designed all the different breeds basically for herding, hunting, protection, and companionship. They aided us in obtaining food sources, followed us into battle, and watched over our children in our absence. My research tells me that we have always tended to pit our strongest dogs against another on occasions of war and even in casual encounters. However, that fact is not one of which to be proud. Breeding dogs for animal blood sports has produced some breeds whose DNA contains an element of aggressiveness that can be prone to trigger at inappropriate times.

The lack of impulse control seems to be exacerbated through mishandling by uneducated owners who purchase certain breeds for the protection image the animal offers them. The dogs are hardly ever socialized or obedience trained. Not being well cared for or being abused can turn any breed of dog into an aggressive unadoptable pet. Mishandling an animal with fighting DNA is dangerous. Under these circumstances, these dogs haven’t a chance to find loving homes in some areas of this state and country. The stats are overwhelming as to how many pets of this kind get euthanized daily.

I had to decide recently to have a young, healthy dog put to sleep. I found this dog abandoned in Packing Town. He was temperament tested and observed for weeks by the trainers and handlers I chose to evaluate him before searching for the right permanent home. My heart sank when I was told that he lacked impulse control and demonstrated aggression towards his kennel mates and human trainers and handlers. They deemed him un-adoptable. This dog was handsome and energetic. I wanted so badly to find him a forever home, but the reality was that he could someday trigger and might fatally harm another pet or human. It was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make.

The lesson for us all is clear. Please assume the responsibility when you know that your pet is aggressive to the level of probable injury to another animal s or human. Please don’t dump it. The pet who attacks other pets or people is highly confused, and the world will not treat it kindly.

Pet euthanasia is a sad fact of life. Assume the responsibility and choose your actions wisely.

From my heart to your heart,
Pat Becker

I have lived the greater part of my life in a multiple-dog household. For the past 50 years, I have shared my home with as many as 12 at a time all of them in-house. When I lecture on the subject of dog behavior, inevitably, someone will ask the question: “Do you believe in having multiple dogs in a home?” I answer: “Obviously, I believe in having a lot of dogs around; I own and live with several. However, sir, a better question would be, “Do I recommend a multiple dog household?” To this question, my answer would be, “Define multiple.”

Luckily, for many dog owners and their pets, municipalities in most of the larger cities limit the number of pets a family can own. In most places, you are limited to four dogs, while the cat limit is vague. Rurally, it’s darn near impossible to enact pet limit laws.

I wrote a fitting poem early in my career:

“The Pack”

If you have a dog, you’re never lonely.
If you have two, you have a spare.
If you have three and three only
You’ll need a fourth for them to pair.
If you have five, its really heaven
If you have six, that’s three and three
If your pack has risen to seven
Then God will bless you…eventually.

Dogs are basically a social species. According to scientific research, they would prefer to “pack” rather than commune with humans. They can become more attached to their peer group than their owners if neglected. Therefore, we must connect with each dog through training and attention.

Since every dog will have his or her own identity and personality, the playtime spent with each should be tailored to the individual. You should encourage each breed in your group to enjoy a sport in which he or she will excel. Your interaction with them assures value for the dogs to accept you as their ultimate leader.

After canvassing many trainers, we all agreed choosing a certain gender for your group is not as important as choosing dogs with compatible natures. Also, size doesn’t seem to matter as much as one would think-unless adding a giant breed, which can create a spatial problem. Simply getting in the way of a super big dog that could unintentionally step on, push aside or run over the smaller dogs would create more of a challenge. I’ve had Great Danes and Great Pyrenees in groups of average-sized to small dogs. It’s doable but precarious. However, small dogs seem to adjust easily to larger breeds and vice versa. So if you decide to get a companion dog, how do you introduce the two? I like to have a friend with me, holding the leash of the new dog on her right side while I lead my dog on my left side. This way, the two of us are walking side by side, separating the dogs.

It’s important to choose a neutral, quiet, enclosed location. Keep a calm, casual demeanor as they venture into the other’s space. You’ll know right away whether or not they can be friends. If they’ve exhibited no aggression, release them in the enclosure. If one tries to force himself on the other in play, distract him with a treat and move forward, encouraging him to follow you.

If the new dog is younger,l it will be natural for him to try to engage with the older dog in play, but the older dog may need time to adjust to the high energy of the other. What about how the dogs conduct themselves in the house? When my five dogs are outside, they play together well. I don’t interfere unless there is danger involved. However, when they are inside, they play by my rules. We enjoy one another’s a company, and life is simple. High energy activities are reserved for outdoor time.

When considering multiple dogs, these are important questions to ask:

1) “Can I afford to feed four dogs?”
2) “Can I afford the cost of semi-annual veterinary checkups?”
3) “Can I afford the cost of training classes to teach them basic obedience?”
4) The biggest “can I afford” question is, “Do I have the time to make the proper care of my dogs a priority?”

Think long and hard about the magnitude of such a commitment. Too many families have become overwhelmed and had to surrender their dogs. We call this action “a multiple pet crisis” – a familiar, scary alert for folks who work at rescues and shelters. Each month, they get calls from folks -usually older women- who’ve accumulated so many pets they can no longer afford to care for them.

It is an ongoing emotional issue for most shelter volunteers and employees. Day after day, they witness the injustice yet remain determined to save as many pets as possible. But you can help; why not consider fostering a pet? As you treat them as your own, they learn to trust again. And when they are ready, wonderful homes will be provided by people who have chosen them to be their own.

You can have a multiple dog household and help make a difference for every special dog that comes into your life. Call a local rescue today and become a foster!

Hugs!
Pat Becker