Whenever there’s a debate over whether an “aggressive” dog could, or should, be “saved,” such as the recent case with a certain cookie-named dog, I always wonder how much people actually understand dog aggression. Based on the number of arguments along the line of “I rescued an abused dog once that just needed to learn to trust people,” I’m guessing the average knowledge library on this issue has some seriously empty shelves.

Aggressive dogs aren’t just distraught children who need a hug. Dogs are faster, stronger, and have much sharper teeth than humans. A dog bite is not the same as your puppy nipping you in play. It’s painful and can do serious damage. Despite all the things that are wrong with way the media reports dog bites, the potential damage is not a lie and is not unique to just that one dog. I wonder how much people really realize this when they’re so quick to want to release a dog deemed aggressive into society. I wonder if they’ve ever met a truly aggressive dog. Maybe some have, but I’d bet many haven’t (which is a good thing because if aggression was that common, we’d have a problematic relationship with our best friend).

Aggression is a deviant behavior, meaning it’s outside the normal reaction you’d expect. That doesn’t mean all types of aggression can’t be managed or that you have a “bad” dog (for instance, aggression toward other dogs*), or that aggressive dogs don’t deserve a chance. But the difference between certain types of “regular” dog behavior and aggressive behavior is an important distinction because a lot of people assume they’ve witnessed aggression when they haven’t. Read the rest of this entry »

I thought I’d take a minute to weigh-in on this story, mostly because just about everything I’ve heard/read involves a whole lot of conclusion jumping. (The link above goes to the official show site where you can read Ellen’s blog and find her updates.  Choosing this link was not choosing a side, it’s just one that was easy to find and straight to one of the sources).

It seems like people are either coming out and attacking Ellen for her irresponsible behavior around this dog, or going after the rescue (and by extension, all rescues) for taking the dog away. But there are a whole lot of unknowns.

1) The Cats – supposedly the dog was given away because it was not a good match for the cats.

Rescue Concerns: I assume they knew about the cats.  I’d hope they even did a home visit where they saw the dog interact with the cats. Was Ellen educated on acclimating her resident pets with a new dog? If someone is going to give a dog away within a week, usually something comes up in conversation to let you know they’re very worried about everyone getting along.

Ellen Concerns: A week is rarely enough time to know if animals are going to get used to each other, especially when dealing with cats.  If the dog tried to kill one of the cats or the cats were having kitty panic attacks, then it’s understandable.  Otherwise, it’s common to need at least 2-4 weeks of controlled interactions to let everyone settle in.

2) The Transaction – Ellen paid something like $800, which in some sources said was supposed to include training, but did not include neuter.

Rescue Concerns: The dog was adopted out unneutered? And it wasn’t followed up on within a week to make sure it was neutered (at which time they would have learned about the problems)? I don’t have a problem with the amount of money.  I don’t know a single rescue that doesn’t lose money on their dogs, so if you have an adopter that is able and willing to pay more, then there’s nothing wrong about that…but to not even neuter the dog?

Ellen Concerns: I don’t know what the expectations were for the training, but I’m not a big fan of doggie boot camp, where the owners aren’t involved.  Most dogs do not listen equally to everyone they come across – for some even small voice inflections will throw them off, for others, they need someone who has established guidelines and hierarchy with them. I think sending a dog off to be trained can help them get a sense of basic commands, but you still need to learn how to be a trainer yourself.  You need to practice with the dog and expect to have to get the rules straight all over again once they’re home.  I’m not sure how much this was a factor, but for any future adoption/training deals, there needs to be realistic expectations.

3) The Takeback – Ellen gave the dog to her hairdresser, the rescue took it back because they have a no small dogs with small kids policy and Ellen didn’t follow her contract

Rescue Concerns: I understand not wanting people to screw with your contract, but was the end result a good home for the dog? Did they check it out or just take the dog away to prove a point?  Would they have proven the same point whether or not they were dealing with a celebrity? Is the no kids policy (which lots of places have for small dogs) relevant to this particular dog? Finally, how did this all go down? Most rescuers do wonderful work, but I have seen some who have a tendency to get sanctimonious.  Was the situation explained to Ellen and the hairdresser or was it all just confiscation and disparaging remarks? I feel like a little conversation could have gone a long way here…

Ellen Concerns: Yeah, the contract should have been read and followed. Breaking down on the show was probably not the best way to go because it has resulted in a lot of bad feelings toward rescues, which was probably not her intention as an animal lover. Some people claim the whole thing was contrived.  If she was using her celebrity against the rescue group, then that’s as bad as if they were using her celebrity against her in their actions…it should be about the dog.

Which is really the whole point that no one is paying attention to…what was in the best interest of the dog? Sure, I’d be annoyed if someone gave away one of my rescues without telling me.  But the dog had been in the house for two weeks already.  If it was a good home, I’m not sure I’d jump to take the dog away just on principle. As a rescuer, as with most things in life, it’s important to have guidelines and reasons for the decisions that you make.  But it’s also equally important to be prepared to be flexible.  I think everyone in rescue has had people who didn’t look great on paper but turned out to the best homes, and others who had a flawless application, but were horrible pet owners. Dogs are living things, and each one is different, so sometimes there’s only so much you can do to squeeze their needs into a checkbox on a form.

Like I said up front, I don’t think there are enough details out there about this situation, I can only hope that in the rescuer/Ellen/hairdresser triangle, they’re truly keeping the dog’s interests in mind.