I got a Flip Video camera for my birthday! I had a lot of fun putting together this amateur video of Strummer meeting and greeting and socializing with other dogs at the Off-Leash Recreational Area at Nunziato Field here in Somerville. My analysis of the dogs' behavior reflects my personal observations as an attentive pet owner. Human communities have no reason to tolerate any dog that has, unprovoked, attacked a human being. That a dog that "mauled" a six-year-old boy yesterday, according to the stories in today's Globe and Herald, was shot and killed by Boston Police is entirely appropriate. It is also unfortunate. CBS 4 Boston also did a story on the shooting of the dog this morning. The story, "Another pit bull attack in the Boston area," is available online in the CBS4 Video Library . Karen Pryor explains, in her book, aptly titled Don't Shoot the Dog (New York: Bantam, 1999), that "shooting the animal" is one of eight methods of getting rid of undesirable behavior exhibited by the animal. She points out that, with this method, "you will never have that behavioral problem with that subject again" (100). And indeed, "Beaver" or "Joe" (as the dog is alternately called in the Globe and Herald articles) will never attack another human again. But shooting the dog does nothing to change the behavior that put "Joe" in the position to "maul" a six-year-old boy in the first place: the irresponsible behavior of Joe's owner. Joe's owner failed to adequately socialize his dog: an adequately socialized dog does not maul six-year-old boys--or anyone else, for that matter--unprovoked. Joe's owner failed to adequately restrain his dog: What was Joe doing, unsupervised, where he had access to a six-year-old boy? What was Joe doing, unsupervised, in an outdoor pen from which he could escape? And last, but not least, Joe's owner failed to protect his dog. What was Joe doing, unsupervised, in a place where the boy, according to the Herald, "often threw rocks at the animal in his pen." Responsible dog ownership means raising your dog in such a way that he behaves appropriately in the human community in which he lives. It also means protecting your dog from being abused by sociopaths. No dog should ever be left outside unsupervised. Update (30 June 2004): Mayor Menino ill-advisedly signed the breed specific legislation yesterday, as reported in the Globe today.February 23, 2008
Canine Social Behavior
June 29, 2004
How to stop dog attacks
