On Mon, 8 Jun 1998 21:58:57 -0700, Patti Brunkala wrote:
I'm sure I'm the unpopular opinion and am setting myself up here, but
I would expect my dog not to bite. I'd expect him to back off like it
sounds like that dog did. I'd be shocked beyond belief if any of mine
*did bite if that happened (I'm not a naive dog owner, but I do know
my dogs). You can bet *I* would bite when I saw the neighbor do that
though. I'm of the opinion that you can't give a dog the impression
that biting is "ok" under any circumstances. Each instance is
difference, but that's the rule I've always stuck by. Growing is
NEVER ok, and neither is nippping hands as pups nor is biting. Under
any circumstances. If I fail to protect my dog against people who are
going to hurt him, then I don't want *him to have to pay with his
life. And more times than not that's what happens. Other people have
dogs in other situations than I have mine in so they're opinions on
this are quite different, I'm sure. But that's what I, personally,
would expect from my dogs.
>Anyway, today the pyr was running around the yard, barked a few times,
>warning others that her children (4 boys all Elementary school age) were in
>the backyard and she was there to protect them! <g> One of the nextdoor
>neighbors yelled at the pyr to shut up. So the pyr walks over to that part
>of the fence and barks at her. The neighbor climbs up on the wooden fence,
>reaches over it, and smacks the pyr in the face! My friend told the
>neighbor that if she hit the dog again, she (my friend) would hit her! The
>neighbor went in the house & slammed the door.
>
>I told my friend to be sure and let them know that the pyr could bite them
>if they reach their hand through or over the fence anymore. Kind of the
>posted "no trespassing" sign thing. What I'm wondering, in todays society,
>does the dog owner have any recourse at all? Can she call the cops for
>animal cruelty or abuse? If the neighbor does end up getting bit because
>she continues to torment the dog, will my friend be liable? You can
>certainly call the police when someone hits your child, can you do the same
>with hitting your dog, or would they just laugh? (you can certainly tell
>I'm emotionally involved in this!)
>
>This dog has not shown any aggression before, but I'm not sure how much
>provocation might elicit a bad response.
Mitzi Potter OKC OK
Pyrs-R-Us@popline.com
http://www.popline.com/quinnz/mit.html