The city council of Bothell, Washington is considering enacting breed specific legislation that would ban residents from owning certain breeds of dogs. All of us at Companion Animal Solutions believe that Breed Specific Legislation is the wrong approach to making our neighborhoods and ourselves safe from vicious dogs. We believe that well written, well enforced dangerous dog legislation betters serves us all by protecting us from dangerous dogs and irresponsible owners without making criminals or victims out of safe dogs and responsible owners. Andrea Kilkenny recently wrote an article for us titled Fun Activities For You and Your Dog and Andrea has participated in them all… with her bully breed dogs. I’m please to present here the letter that Andrea sent to all members of Bothell’s City Council.

Dear Legislator,

Please reconsider your proposed law to ban the American Pitbull Terrier and related breeds, such as the American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier.  As an owner of three bull breed dogs, a Humane Law Enforcement Officer, and a dog trainer, I urge you to please read the information below as it may provide you with some facts you are unaware of.

There are many reasons why breed bans should not be enacted; and why, instead, legislators should focus efforts on dangerous dog laws that are not breed specific.  Legislation that encourages responsible ownership – and which also results in effective and enforced consequences for violators – would help solve many of the problems communities face with reckless dog owners.

From a logistical standpoint, breed bans are difficult to enforce.  One problem is the correct identification of breeds.  Many shelters and animal control facilities currently struggle with this task, and often mislabel dogs.  Often, shelters label any muscular, stocky, or wide-headed dog as a bull breed or bull breed mix, and incorrectly so.  There are many current cases in which DNA tests were conducted to prove a dog’s heritage, and animal control facilities and municipalities have been sued for misidentification. In addition, animal control personnel would be faced with the insurmountable task of having to remove, house, re-locate, and/or euthanize the dogs within a given region.  I have worked for many years in the shelter world, and served many more than that as a volunteer, and still do.  Shelters are already overwhelmed with conducting their day-to-day tasks with limited time, staffing, and resources.  To impose a ban, imposes a burden on them as well.  Best Friends Animal Society, a national welfare organization, has a fiscal calculator which helps estimate cost to cities if they enact breed discriminatory legislation.  According to their calculator, the city of Bothell would spend an estimated $44,000 per year to enact a breed ban.  Couldn’t this money be better spent on dog bite prevention programs, spay/neuter initiatives, and enforcement of animal related ordinances that encourage responsible ownership?

Irresponsible and reckless owners should be targeted, not a breed.  Owners should be held accountable for their actions.  There are many responsibilities that come with maintaining a dog; one of those responsibilities is following local animal ordinances such as those that guide proper containment, vaccinations, identification, leash laws, etc.  Most owners follow these and should not be unduly penalized for the actions of a few.  In addition, there are many responsible owners who have bull breed dogs who are more than just pets.  I am speaking of those owners of bull breed dogs, which provide valuable services to the community in a working capacity:  search and rescue, drug detection, animal-assisted therapy, and humane education.  They, too, should not be jeopardized for the actions of others.  To give you just a few examples of great working dogs that are bull breeds:

Popsicle, a recently retired drug detection dog, is also a rescued pitbull.  He was found – near death, in a freezer – when his owner’s premises were being investigated for illegal activity.  The puppy went from surviving trauma as a dogfighter’s baitdog to becoming one of the top drug detection dogs in our country.  Popsicle won a significant seizure medal when he helped federal Customs agents seize 3,075 pounds of cocaine.

Dakota, also a pitbull, is another fine example of a working dog.  Dakota and owner Kris Crawford have been involved in some of the nation’s high-profile search and rescue efforts including the Columbia mission and the Laci Peterson case.

In Columbia, Ohio, U.S. Customs Department recently “hired” a new recruit – Pete, also a pitbull.  Our own ferry system here in WA utilizes trained pit bulls for the purpose of narcotics and explosives detection.

Pitbulls excel in the areas of detection, search and rescue, pet therapy, and other working fields because of their high intelligence, affection and loyalty towards humans, and strong work ethic.  The United Kennel Club notes in their description of the American Pitbull Terrier (APBT) breed characteristics:

The essential characteristics of the American Pit Bull Terrier are strength, confidence, and zest for life. This breed is eager to please and brimming over with enthusiasm. APBTs make excellent family companions and have always been noted for their love of children.

The APBT is not the best choice for a guard dog since they are extremely friendly, even with strangers. Aggressive behavior toward humans is uncharacteristic of the breed and highly undesirable. This breed does very well in performance events because of its high level of intelligence and its willingness to work.

Similar characteristics can be found in the American Kennel Club breed description of a related breed, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier:

Its character is one of indomitable courage, high intelligence and tenacity. Coupled with its affection for its friends, and children in particular, its quietness and trustworthy stability make it an all-purpose dog.

Another fact to consider is that renowned and reputable animal organizations, such as the American Kennel Club (AKC), The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) all do NOT support BSL.  Each of these organizations encourages dangerous dog legislation that is not breed specific.  Information about writing humane law, including dangerous dog laws, can be found on each of these organizations’ websites, or by contacting their national or regional headquarters.  In a 2001 journal article published by AVMA, their Canine Aggression Task Force suggest that community-wide dog bite prevention programs, not Breed Specific Legislation, is a better solution to preventing dog bites:

“An often asked question is which breed or breeds of dogs are most “dangerous?”  This inquiry can be prompted by a serious attack by a specific dog, or it may be the result of media driven portrayals of a specific breed as “dangerous.”  Although this is a common concern, singling out 1 or 2 breeds for control can result in a false sense of accomplishment.  Doing so ignores the true scope of the problem and will not result in a responsible approach to protecting a community’s citizens.”

In addition, please consider the idea that irresponsible owners will find another breed to train and handle for illegal or undesirable purposes when the current fad breed – the pit bull – is banned.  We are already witnessing this occurrence here in the States.  While the APBT maintains its popularity, there are a growing number of larger-sized dogs such as the Mastiff, Dogo Argentino, and Presa Canario being sought and even imported by irresponsible people.  Banning a breed does not solve the problem.  Historically, in our nation, different breeds have been wrongly generalized as ‘dangerous;’  the German Shepherd, the Doberman, and the Rottweiler have all been previous victims of media hype.

Furthermore, an increasing amount of research demonstrates that breed is not a defining characteristic in reported bites.  Instead, some identifiable commonalities seem to be:  intact dogs – of various breeds, including “unsuspecting” breeds such as the Golden and Labrador Retrievers, unsupervised situations involving children, and chained dogs.  Studies reported in the Journal of Veterinary Medicine Association, Pediatrics, and Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program clearly illustrate that there are identifiable and preventable circumstances under which any dog can bite.  In my many years of experience employed at a shelter in Iowa City, we saw dogs of all breed types who had been involved in bites.  No one breed should be singled out.  Each dog should be looked at individually and judged individually for its actions.  Those animals with aggression problems or bite histories that pose a threat to the community should be euthanized to prevent further injuries and to maintain a safe community.  Currently, the National Canine Research Council (NCRC) has done an outstanding job of documenting bite statistics, and providing information on the factors identified in bites.  Consider the difference between family dogs and ‘resident’ dogs as outlined by NCRC.  Resident dogs are yard dogs, dogs obtained for guarding purposes, dogs that are chained or kept outside; these are not family pets, and are often the victims of abuse, neglect, and mismanagement.  Family dogs would be unduly punished if breed specific laws are enacted.  Please consider visiting Karen Delise’s site for accurate, data-based materials on dog bites and dog bite prevention:

http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/

Lastly, as a responsible owner of two rescued pitbulls and one purebred Staffordshire Bull Terrier, I respectfully appeal to you on a personal level.  My dogs are well trained, supervised, abide by city laws, and are ambassadors for their breeds.  One of them competes in organized dog sports and competitions for flyball, disc, and agility.  All three of them have appeared regularly on a local TV show in Iowa City, aired on public access, providing dog training tips and humane education on a show created to foster adoption at the city’s shelter we used to work at.   My Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Rumble, and I are registered with the Delta Society as a Pet Partners team; he and I have participated in therapy, demos, and humane education at facilities for the elderly, schools, and neighborhood centers.   I think it is unfair that I, and other responsible owners, should suffer the consequences due to the inappropriate and often, illegal, actions of others.  Rumble and I are part of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of Puget Sound which has members in Bothell, and we have competed in disc dog events in your city.  A ban would prevent us from being able to do so in the future.

I fully support efforts to create safer communities for both dogs and humans and I believe that non-breed specific/vicious dog legislation, when properly written in the law and enforced, can help achieve that aim.

Sincerely, Andrea Kilkenny

I live with Mojo. Mojo will be 9 soon, and shows no sign of slowing down. I have to say, he’s better than when he was oh say, 2, but at almost 9, if it weren’t for his graying face, you would not know he is a senior dog. I love my Mojo, but I also realize that many people would find him extremely frustrating, and I often wonder had I not adopted him, if he would have stayed in one home or been shuffled around from one exasperated owner to the next, or been returned to the shelter. Coupled with his energy level are some other factors that make him a challenging dog: high intelligence and strong determination. Put that in a sporty, lean, muscular high energy package, and you could have a recipe for disaster.

Over the years, and with the help of many great dog sport friends and trainers, I found I was able to better my communication and relationship with Mojo, and to find outlets for his energy. Here are some things that work for us:

Workout! I aim for a big 60+ minute walk daily, but I may not always get that in, and that is okay, because we have other options. Vary where you walk to keep things stimulating. The scents, sights, and sounds on a walk are mental stimulation. By changing your path or location, you can make the walk have that much more ‘bang for the buck.’ I like to try different parks.

Take a hike! Buy a backpack for your dog. Mojo sports the Ruffwear backpack – a gift from our friends Julie and Laurie at Leash On Life in Iowa City. I let Mojo carry all our stuff: extra leash, camera, water bottles, collapsing water dish, keys, cell phone, etc.

Get a weight pull harness and let him pull! You don’t have to enter a competition, you can have him pull for fun. Sled pulling has been a great energy burner for Mojo in those long Iowa winters. We recommend CDPits Harnesses. Tell ‘em Mojo sent ya!

Photo by Justin O'Brien

Work to Eat! I rarely feed from a bowl. Some of our favorite toys include Kongs, Premier Waggle, Premier Tug a Jug, Everlasting Treat Ball, Lucky Dog rubber turkey leg, Buster Cube. These toys can be stuffed with kibble and treats – we use a combination of both. Some additional tips: vary what you put in the toy AND vary which toy you give your dog. I rotate them to keep things interesting!

Have some class! Enroll your dog in an obedience class that uses positive reinforcement methods. Now, some of you with excitable dogs worry about what your dog will be like in class. My suggestions: talk with the trainer first, see if there is a smaller size group, and find out the trainer’s experience with excitable dogs. Over the years, I have found there are two types of trainer reactions to dogs like Mojo: instructors who don’t know what to do with a dog like him, and instructors who EMBRACE him.

Find a sport! Agility, flyball, disc, and tracking are just some of the fine dog sports out there. I have taken Mojo through a number of sport classes or club practices for the mental and physical stimulation. Again, do not feel your overall goal should be to compete; my Mojo has never stepped into a ring. We have taken classes for fun, to keep him learning new things, and for the exercise. Often times, people feel pressure when in sport classes, as if they must work towards a competitive level. Not the case. There are many instructors and training clubs out there who will let you work with your dog for fun.

Track! I was amazed after my first few tracking sessions with Mojo. Watching him work and focus on the scent, and seeing the change in his behavior from bouncy boy out of the crate, ready to work, to calm relaxed dog post-track was awesome! There are great books about tracking, and a fun beginner one we like is Fun Nosework for Dogs by Roy Hunter.

Very Tricky! Mojo is about the most non-retrieving dog I have ever met. Watches tennis balls and things sail over his head. Using a clicker, I taught him to retrieve a tennis ball, and gradually we shaped this with other objects, such as a dumbbell and even a frisbee. When I don’t have time for a big walk, we practice retrieves. He also has developed a rather large tricks repertoire, which are fun for him to show off and also for those of you with bully breeds, nothing breaks fear or stigma like a pit bull with cute parlor tricks. A few or our fave tricks are: take a bow, pray for the pit bulls, sit pretty, gimme your nose, etc.

Go Cruisin’, K-9 Cruisin that is! The K-9 Cruiser is a bike attachment that allows your dog to safely run alongside. I bought one for Mojo when he was about 6 or 7, and I almost cried during our first ride. He was grinning, and seemed to be saying, “this is the speed I’ve been wanting to go all my life!” I wish I knew about that handy invention when he was 2!

Swim! Find a canine pool (if you live in Seattle, I recommend Spawz and Bow Wow Fun Town) and get your dog paddling!

Let’s Play! Playdates with doggie friends or walks with doggie friends.

Wait for It! Practice self control exercises and focus work. We love Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt and In Focus by Judy Keller.

Please visit our Youtube site to see Mojo in many of the above activities:
www.youtube.com/pitzncatz

Do you have favorite activities you like to engage in with your dog? Leave a comment and tell us about it. Got pictures of your dog hiking, pulling, swimming, participating in dog sports, or just having fun? Submit them to us at info@companionanimalsolutions.com.

I teach puppy classes.  It’s a weird category, and people have different expectations from a class called “puppy class” or “puppy kindergarten.”  If you take my flyball class, you expect to be taught how to do flyball and help teach your dog to do flyball.  If you take a class in competition obedience, you know you’ll be learning, among other things, how to teach your dog to heel, front, finish, sit, stand, down and stay.  What is puppy class for?  Doesn’t your puppy already know how to be a puppy?

Yes – in fact, for many, that’s the problem!  They want help in teaching their puppy to be clean in the house, not bite them with that mouthful of needles, and not play tug with their pants leg.  Also, it would be nice if the pupper didn’t scream when put in his crate.  But at the same time, puppy owners’ last class was often a more traditional obedience class, and perhaps without thinking about it, they expect to do some sits, downs, stays, and heeling.

Truthfully, what I could cover in a puppy class would fill pages of bulleted lists.  Puppies are sponges! The trouble is… well, there just isn’t time to teach them “everything.”  We have an hour a week for perhaps six weeks.  So my goal is to pare it down to a list of Stuff That Is Critical to Learn Now and Which They Quite Possibly Won’t Learn Anywhere Else In Time.

What is this “now” – this “in time”?  Puppies are in a critical developmental period that ends around 13-16 weeks, depending on which study you read and on the breed and the individual puppy.  If the puppy has not learned certain kinds of skills by this age, she is at a much higher risk of being fearful of new things, and, as we know, fear generates all sorts of uncomfortable and difficult consequences such as inability to go out into the world, or aggression, or stress-related illnesses.  Some pups are genetically bolder than others, but if we can get these skills installed by, we’ll call it 14 weeks for purposes of this entry, then we’ve maximized their potential.

During this period, puppies are learning the two most essential skills in life:

1. How to relate socially to other animals of her own species and in the case of dogs, with humans, their “substitute” packmates. Technically, this is what is known as socialization though dog people tend to use the word more broadly

2. How to handle novel things in their environments.

You’ll notice that sit, down, and heel are not on this list.

A class may be our only chance to teach the puppies’ owners how to teach their pups new skills and to solve problems that are bound to arise.  Many dogs’ only class ever is Puppy Kindergarten, so it’s our opportunity to help owners understand learning, teaching and management.

Actually, skills like sit and heel, or tricks like shake or roll over can be taught and learned any time in life.  We teach some of them in puppy class because they are useful skills for other purposes.  A puppy who has a nice solid sit isn’t eating the couch or jumping on visitors!  Also, a peppy sit is a great tool for the pup to learn to use to say “please,” to politely request interaction.  We can use “sit” to start making life rewards contingent on good behavior (“nothing in life is free” or “sit to say please” programs).  So yes, we do teach sit (and down).

Socialization doesn’t mean taking your pup out willy-nilly and throwing the world at him.  Just as he is very sensitive to learning good things right now, he is also going to be sensitive to bad experiences.  He’s more likely to have one-trial learning; for a genetically skittish dog, one bad experience with a man with a hat can make for years of fear of men with hats.  Class should expose puppies to some new and odd things in a brief, upbeat and yet low-key way.  Puppies can have an opportunity to wander onto and off of odd flooring or tippy surfaces.  They can notice wheelchairs or crutches being used, or hats being worn.  They can meet all the other owners in the class.  But they won’t be forced to deal with anything scary to them.  “Pass the puppy” is a good game if it allows the puppy to check out new folks at his own speed; it can be a disaster if a terrified, squirming pup is forcibly held by a series of strangers!  And look for the instructor to explain how to do more socializing out in the world: in a way that’s not scary, but is thorough.  The instructor should mention that this is time-sensitive and suggest possible stimuli to expose the puppies to (trains, people of different races than its owners, people who use crutches or walk with a limp, crowds, cows, grass, concrete, and dogs with many different looks).  She or he should also bring some stimuli into the class so the puppies are correctly exposed in the class, and the owners can see correct exposure techniques modeled.  The instructor should help the owners observe the pups’ body language to identify fearful or aggressive responses so that owners can respond quickly in the real world.

What about puppy play?  It’s important for puppies to play with puppies, but it’s not important for them to do it a lot.  In play, they learn a lot about inhibiting their bites; we think that’s probably why Mother Nature gave them all those horrible needles!  They also learn that if they play too rough, another puppy might get mad and retaliate, or might leave… or that the human in charge will end the game.  We need our dogs to care about us and respond to us under conditions of distraction, so play should always be serving multiple purposes: In addition to allowing the pups to say hi, burn off steam, and practice their inter-dog skills, it can be used to allow the owners to practice recalls from a big distraction, and can be used as a reward for good behavior.  If I can show an owner with a socially driven puppy how we can use releasing the pup to go play with her boyfriend as a reward for sitting when she really, really wants to get away and go do her thing, then the pup’s just learned a lesson in self-control… and the owner’s just learned a huge lesson about controlling reinforcers!

The one obedience skill I try to emphasize in puppy class, besides a snappy sit, is loose leash walking.  Why?  Because it is a huge issue for owners once the pups get a little stronger, and once the dog has learned to pull, it is very, very hard for the dog unlearn.  Then we end up using some kind of aversive, and/or the dog stops getting walked, desocializes and perhaps ends up being rehomed.  It’s such a critical issue that I like to get everyone started early.

Finally, we use talking time in puppy class to go over basic strategies for accepting and handling puppy biting, housetraining, alone time, and puppy relations with young kids and elderly dogs in the home.  We also use talking time to gently restrain and massage the pups to help them relax.  Learning to relax out of arousal is a key adult skill and the earlier we help them learn it, the better they will function as adults.

In Part Two of this blog, I talked about some obvious health risks imposed by the proposed City of Seattle breed-specific legislation.  I do, however, see some portions of the law that impress me at first glance.

Under Seattle’s version of BSL, owners must complete a dog training or owner instruction course “that impresses upon owners of fighting breed dogs their responsibilities to properly socialize, supervise, and care for their dog, and which teaches them practical knowledge and tools to help their dog be a good canine citizen.” This is fantastic, and I wish that it were required of all dog owners, not just the ones whose dogs may have an element of a “fighting breed” in the mix. As any behaviorist or dog trainer worth their salt will tell you, and as our consultants at Companion Animal Solutions often explain when working with aggressive dogs, socialization can make a huge difference in the life of a dog.  Severe lack of socialization can produce a dog who appears to have been physically abused. Dogs that don’t learn to handle and enjoy a variety of environments, people, dogs and experiences when they are young will not know how to react to those situations later in life, which can result in dangerous fear aggression. My only beef with this portion of the law is that, while it does say that the Director will “vet and pre-approve” the programs that fulfill this requirement, it does not specifically state the training techniques that will be used in these programs.

If all of these breeds are required to go to training classes where aversive training methods are used, this legislation could become a self-fulfilling prophecy: we think these dogs are aggressive, we train them using aggressive methods, and lo and behold, these dogs become aggressive. One reason that Companion Animal Solutions uses and advocates the use of positive reinforcement in training and behavior modification is that more traditional techniques involving leash corrections and choke chains or prong collars can result in serious behavioral fallout. Especially during critical socialization periods, but even later in life, dogs are learning associations between environments or situations and their internal state (fearful, comfortable, in pain, etc). If these dogs associate all of their training experiences (which just happen to be human interactions) with pain or discomfort, we cannot expect them to enjoy training or worse, enjoy being around humans.

It also strikes me as ironic that this law will require owners of “fighting breeds” to learn about properly socializing their dogs while simultaneously making it much more difficult for them to actually do so. The breeds that this law applies to will no longer be able to enter any public building (including pet stores that allow dogs) with the exception of dog day care, boarding, and veterinary facilities, and, if the dog is muzzled and in a crate or kennel, bus and train stations. Unless acting as a service dog, these breeds will not be allowed in any public parks, including dog parks. The places where these dogs will be able to socialize? Outside, with a muzzle on. One hopes that the training classes the owners attend will teach them how to get their dogs to enjoy wearing a muzzle, and that the other dogs these breeds come in contact with during their critical socialization period will have been exposed to enough dogs in muzzles that they won’t react fearfully or aggressively towards the sight of a dog in a muzzle, and that owners will make sure that the muzzle they choose allows their dog to take treats, drink water, and pant. But this isn’t required by law, just that these breeds be in a muzzle and out of public buildings, and that owners be aware of the importance of proper socialization. (Service dogs will be exempt from muzzling only if the muzzle will interfere with their duties, such as retrieving items for their owners, etc.)

For all these complaints, there is one portion of the legislation that I wholeheartedly encourage, and that’s the section addressing tethering. Under this law, owners of the specified breeds would not be allowed to leave their dogs tethered and unattended either in public or on private property. Chaining/tethering is a hot enough topic to deserve its own blog post, so I won’t go into great detail at this time. Suffice it to say, chained or tethered dogs are at risk for extreme boredom, neglect, exposure to the elements, and exposure to people or other dogs that may threaten, intimidate or harass them, with no escape route. When options in a dangerous situation are fight or flight, and flight is removed… bites happen. I don’t see a problem with dogs that are tethered, fighting breed or otherwise, having required supervision.

When weighing the pros and cons of Seattle’s potential version of BSL, I found plenty of faults. Some portions of the law seem to invite inhumane treatment while other sections contradicted each other. I do not support BSL to begin with, and while I am glad that the legislation did not require euthanasia (as happened in Denver, CO when its breed ban was enacted), I was appalled by the apparent lack of concern the bill’s drafters had for the safety and quality of life of the dogs that would qualify under this draft. Generally, I consider Seattle a fairly progressive city as far as dogs are concerned, but this law doesn’t demonstrate that at all.

We’d like to hear any comments you have about Breed Specific Legislation. Is your area considering one? Has your area already enacted one and what were the results? Thanks for reading about this important issue.