My 10-year-old grandson is visiting from Boston and we went for a bike ride today at midday, to a local park. We were riding along a path and saw a woman walking ahead of us with a puppy on a leash and a young girl, maybe three or four years old. As we got closer, I could see that the woman was wearing a hands-free leash – one of those commercial products made for people who jog with their dogs, a waist belt with the leash attached to it. And as I got closer yet, I could see that she was essentially pulling the puppy behind her. The pup was on his feet, but was obviously hot and scared and was resisting at every step.
I took my phone off its handlebar mount and took this picture from a distance. I made an assumption – that this person was not going to be interested in dog-training advice or a stranger’s opinion about practically dragging what looked to be a 4-month-old puppy in the middle of a pretty warm day. And if I saw anything worse, I was going to call my friends at the city animal control department. After I took the picture, I called out in my best cheerful voice, “Hi, coming through on bikes!”
The woman immediately stepped to the side of the path and held her hand out to the little girl (presumably her daughter). She smiled as my grandson and I rode slowly by, and I smiled back and said, “What a cute puppy! But he doesn’t look very happy…”
Her smile disappeared immediately. “He’s getting leash trained,” she said firmly. And then added, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Ah, the dilemma of what to do about what we consider to be training that is, at a very minimum, certain to be ineffective and counterproductive – when we see it in public.
In this case, I didn’t stay to talk to the woman. Her response and demeanor were so determined – so not open to further discussion – that I kept pedaling slowly, before stopping 100 yards or so away to see what the woman did next. Just a minute later, she put the pup and little girl into a car and drove out of the park.
My grandson and I biked to a spot nearby, where we put the bikes down and took a quick dip in the river. As we biked home, we talked about the woman and her pup a bit more. I told my grandson, “It’s like seeing some parent do something pretty mean to their kid. You don’t want to say nothing, but you don’t want to make them even madder.”
I also assured him that if the puppy had actually been getting pulled off his feet, or if she had yanked on the leash or hit him, I would have taken some video and called animal control. “Some people just suck,” said my grandson and I agree! How could she not see that dragging the puppy along by force was not going to result in a dog who trusts or even wants to be with her and her daughter. How could that treatment possibly result in a dog who has good feelings about going on a walk with them?
Does anyone have the perfect thing to say to someone in this situation? Does anyone know a course of action that wouldn’t just make matters worse?
One thing that rarely helps in this situation and can actually make it worse for the dog is trying to shame the person. If I’m concerned about how someone is handling a dog I will try and distract them and engage them in a conversation. I usually try and start by saying what a cute/handsome dog and if they are having a particular problem I say I ‘ve had that problem as well with mine (even if I haven’t) and say I know that behaviour can be frustrating. If you use empathy you have a way into engaging in a meaningful conversation where they will be more likely open to listening to what you have to say next. Then I will explain what might help in the situation and point out how the dog may be feeling about it all. I always carry business cards of local do no harm behaviourist and trainers with me so I can pass them out. If I felt a dog was in immediate danger of being seriously harmed I’d take a much more direct approach. I think most people want to be good dog parents, but just lack the skills and knowledge.
I try to find something I can agree on and use their perspective to guide.
Ex: In a dog training class we were teaching dogs to focus on us. One of the class members stated it wasn’t working because her 12 week old was dominant and was staring her down and challenging her by barking and jumping. This would lead to her yelling and whipping him with the lead.
Would I have read this situation the same way? No, probably not. But de-bunking the dominance theory wasn’t my goal. Improved communication between owner and puppy was.
So instead of explaining why the puppy was likely not barking and jumping because he was dominant I said “okay, it sounds like this is becoming emotionally charged. Let’s take some of the pressure off the situation by asking for less duration and upping our reinforcement rate. Let’s also start tossing the treats a few feet away. That will help Fido decompress and will ease him into the behavior in a less confrontational manner. If we do that he’ll learn that this is a training session and not a battle.”
In reality, Fido was just doing what puppies do in uncertainty. Being whipped with the leash was just escalating everyone’s behaviors. But instead of telling her “don’t ever do that again”, I offered her an alternative behavior. One she couldn’t do while whipping the dog.
You eat a whale one bite at a time, and I think when we see a dog in distress we want to eat the whole whale.
It breaks my heart and/or makes me angry when i see anything like this. I tend to act along the lines of Kathy Marion, above. 🙂 I won’t hesitate to call authorities. It’s the in-between situations that are the trickiest. I find it’s actually easier with children, for example, the mom abusing her kid shopping. I’ll go right over in her face and say “pls, let me help you, I know how hard it is, I remember”. 85% of the time it helps a lot. 15% of the time I get screamed at. That’s fine. It seems like most abusive dog owners are know-it-alls. It will haunt me for months. I saw a tiny Yorkie walking across a massive hot parking lot with young people. I talked to them nicely about it. They picked him up for maybe 2 min., then put him back down. That’s just one example, or course. So I go one of 2 ways. I have a fit on the spot, yell and threaten immediately. Or I try to use compassion, understanding, and reason. Wherever my guts leads me, I guess, and the distress level of the animal. And one more point, years ago, I left my dog in the car with the windows cracked, in the shade, on a cool day to run into the store. I had my stopwatch on my cell on for 3 minutes. When I came out, a woman was waiting at my car. She nicely told me I shouldn’t do that. I’m sure she had no idea how long I was gone, and I’m assuming would’ve called the cops if I was gone long. I thanked her, told her I was super careful and was timing it. I wasn’t insulted at all. Either was my dog.
Sorry but criminals always think they have the right to do what they’re doing or how they’re acting in their own mind.
That said – nice but assertive statement bringing the issue at hand to light usually works.
If not – and continued abuse…state Sheriff will be called – that usually sinks in that they’re in the wrong…
Obviously if past that point, Highly Recommend calling Sheriff’s office – state you’re witnessing animal abuse, the facts and that you will file a complaint if needed – they will respond with animal control in tow.
Every dispatcher & sheriff I’ve talked to in regards to these occurrences say they will respond – they despise those situations – defenseless animal(s)! Abused by ignorant humans.
Especially if heat related!
Was always told a puppy/dog doesn’t walk in front of you or behind you, they should walk beside you. If they walk in front of you it shows aggression, behind you, fearfulness/submissive but beside you confident and this is how I’ve always tried to train mine.
In my case, I actually prefer that my small pup to walk in front of me, it’s not aggression at all. I live in a urban area where her finding chicken wing and rib bones in the street or tossed on grassy spots is an almost daily occurrence (3 takeout places within 2 blocks). I want to be able to see her lunging for bones (or other spilled food, or dead rats/mice) to be able to stop her reaching them, or to immediately realize and get her to drop it (or trade).
I also pick up in a poop bag any bones we spot — a public service to prevent the next dog from getting them. And to foil my pup, who remembers where she found a bone at the curb and tries to direct our walks back to it in following days.
That is not true. It is based on an outdated theory of “dominence” which has been since proven to be false. Just let the dog enjoy its short life, it has the emotionall intelligence of a three-year-old-child, let them just enjoy their walks and don’t be a control freak.
Most of these comments relate the confrontation they use with offenders. Sadly, they seem proud of this. They would never use it w/an animal, but expect it will work w/an agitated, likely wounded “animal”. There’s no mention of the calm we’re supposed to use when we’re dealing w/our, or other animals.
It’s hardly surprising that there’s never a positive result.
I believe it is our duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. If you sense that you also might be danger it is best to call the authorities (hopefully they will respond in a timely manner). If possible take video, as much applicable description, date(s) and time and dates.
I am fortunate in that my brother is a veterinarian and he is in a position to intervene and is taken seriously when he contacts authorities and or approaches abusers. I also also use tell those who are putting there animals in danger that my brother is a vet when asked “what do you know”.
Perhaps others can use similar information such as ” i will ask/tell my vet about this” it does not sound sound as threatening (maybe). But never put yourself in danger if you do most likely the animal will encounter more abuse. One more tip-If I see someone jogging with a dog on a hot day, especially short snouted dogs. I will offer their dog water and if i am permitted to do so explain to the person that they could kill their dog by running under hot conditions. Some people mean well but are just unaware of how best to care for animals.
PLEASE excuse my grammar and spelling
On a recent way-below-freezing winter day, with snow on the ground, I saw a guy jerking on his dog’s leash while walking him. The dog was showing obvious love and a desire to please his human despite the harsh treatment, so I pulled over and rolled down the window to talk to him. I first gave amazed praise at how much he loved his dog to be out in this weather. Then I said that I was once a leash jerker too until a kind stranger did what almost no one will do: she offered 5 friendly non-judgmental minutes of her time to show me a simple trick that would completely eliminate the need to jerk on the leash ever again. I apologized 2-3 times for sticking my nose into his business, but since the love between them was so obvious, I hoped he might want the information that did me so much good. I then quickly said a couple of things about how quickly praise & treats vs harshness can turn things around, and how glad I was to get rid of my frustrated anger since my dogs then became great little walkers. He was a little brusque and waved off the offer to get out of my car to help (thank goodness, man was it cold that day!). But he eased up with the harshness and as I drove away, I saw in my rear-view mirror that he was digging into his front jeans pocket – hopefully to get treats?
Unfortunately, no. Probably the best I can suggest is to stop and speak, to the person with the dog, in a friendly way.
Accusations build resentment, I have is the past been chastised by strangers when they really did NOT understand the situation.
I had a dog with anorexia, and was seeing the vet, yet strangers would accost me and accuse me of various misdemeanours,
I also one bonked a dog on the head with a plastic bag containing uncrushed milk thistles, collected for the goose, the get her to come out of a neighbour’s from garden, And SHE then loudly
accused my of beating my dog 🙁
What to do when the person is your son? He lives in my guest house and his first 2 dogs were older and well behaved. Then he got a puppy, with no training. Expecting her to know how to come when called and walking off leash has been a problem. I cringe every time I hear him yell, but he won’t listen to me about the honey/vinegar thing.
Would you please explain this honey/vinegar thing you spoke of? I have a high energy one year old golden retriever, looking for a natural way to help him.
She means that dogs and all animals respond better to kindness than to meanness. And in actual fact that is the only real way to train a dog. honey = kindness / vinegar = meanness