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Photo courtesy of BL 1961

Sharing your experiences out on the Internet can be a good thing but it also can be misleading to those who don’t know any better.

I read a post this morning where the blogger shared her personal life but wish she would have done some education in the process.

There is another blogger who has a pretty large following but who I quit reading when he started being irresponsible in spouting his beliefs on the subject of proper pet diets.

The problem with the Internet is that many people don’t sort through the material they are reading and take much of it as gospel.

The pet industry as a whole has changed to adapt to the desires and needs of the pet parents aka pet guardians aka pet owners aka companion animal custodians.

Some of the pet trends are disturbing to me–the ones that really make me crazy are the ones that actually harm the animals.

Now this post overlaps with but also goes beyond what I wrote in Ten Stupid Mistakes Pet Owners Make.

So, without much further ado I want to rant about the pet trends I find most disturbing.

Pet Accessories & Pets AS Accessories

I recently read, One Nation Under Dog which gives a good comprehensive view of the pet industry and trends as they stand today.

Two of those trends include pets as accessories AND pet accessories.

Some pets like being dressed up because they get a lot of attention. But many don’t like it at all.

However what disturbs me about this humanization trend is that animals become, not a unique breed or species, but they morph into live dress up dolls for their humans.

The problem goes beyond that though–in many situations people are using dogs as accessories (Wow does that “insert small dog breed here” look great in your designer bag aka pet carrier!

Puh-lease!

Now I know some animals get cold and need sweaters or coats but a dress for every day of the week?

And how many of those animals being carried also suffer from weight problems or other issues?

Who’s the Boss?

Now because I am into training and behavior–what really disturbs me is the trend where people are the ones being trained by the animals.

Any animal trainer worth his or her salt knows that you have to train the humans–but most pet households allow the animals to take charge.

What does this mean?

Well, it means it is good for the dog training and behavior business!

But seriously, it translates into behavior problems, health problems, and unruly critters whose owners make excuses for the mess they have created.

Some how it always becomes the animal’s fault and the critter ends up excluded from family life, travel, and left outside when it is possible…and others end up relinquished to shelters.

Pet Health

Pet health and grooming habits really suffer when pet wellness practices are not up to speed.

If you cannot trim the nails, inspect the ears, brush or comb your pet–there is a problem. These are practices that should be daily or weekly habits that the animal enjoys.

Last week I actually met people who were taking their pups out into canine traffic areas when the pups did not have ANY vaccinations.

Now there is a debate over inoculations BUT exposing an animal to the risk of disease is irresponsible because deaths from distemper and parvo-virus are tragic.

Each spring animals head to the groomer to be shaved because the owners won’t (or can’t) groom them. Under those matted coats are some pretty disgusting things–such as parasites, infections, and skin problems.

The ultimate problem in this category is that people do not get their animals into the vet or groomer or “insert other pet professional here” until it is a serious problem.

Pet Obesity

Using food to create a bond with animals has gone to a whole new level with an endless supply of treats, snacks, or meals simply because “the pet looks hungry” or “he deserves it.”

When over 40% of the pet households contain animals that are overweight or obese it signals a larger problem–which includes more disease, shorter life spans, and other complications.

Legal Beagles

Now there are a whole lot of new legal issues facing pet households when it comes to providing for pets after an owner dies, through a divorce, and when they damage property or bite someone.

But there are also laws on the books to regulate animals and where they can go but for some reason there are a whole lot of people who think that the laws don’t apply to them.

Just this last week, during my travels, I met people who had dogs off leash on a beach where it was not legal.

The local beach patrol fenced off an area for the nesting area of an endangered species because both animals and humans won’t stay out otherwise.

Did I mention that the dogs crapped all over the place and that the owners never cleaned up after them? It wasn’t a dog beach either.

In my area, the dog excrement poses threats to local wildlife (disease and parasites) and on the beach it becomes a health hazard not just to people but to wildlife in the ocean.

Why do we now have to rely on animal services to enforce laws when common courtesy or common sense should reign supreme?

Now it is your turn–what pet trends do you find disturbing?

Above: Cheeta of Tarzan Fame. People have a hard time managing pets–never mind managing exotic animal pets.

There are a lot of problems pet owners and exotic animal handlers encounter with their animals.

In many cases these issues can be traced back to a human (or humans) who has (have) failed to take action–which inadvertently escalated the issue.

Errors occur through

• the failure to address the issue(s) early on,
• rewarding the wrong behavior(s),
• ignoring group dynamics,
• not reading what the animal is communicating clearly,
• or not understanding the animal (species, breed, individual).

Recently a privately owned chimpanzee attacked a person in Stamford, Connecticut. The issue was unfortunate, however it is also a good example of common errors people can make.

Here are some of the errors I’ve identified:

• The chimpanzee owner did not respect the animal for what he was–a large male chimp.
• The animal was not housed or managed properly.
• Training was poor or completely absent.
• Regulations were ignored and they were not enforced by the agencies in charge.
• No contingency plan existed to mitigate an incident.

Now on the dog owning side of things. These same issues exist. I often see out of control behavior or aggression in households where

• The pet owners do not respect or understand the animal for what they are–canines.
• Animals are not properly managed.
• Training is poor or rules are absent.
• In some cases, the county or city rules are ignored.
• Pet owners have no idea how to stop an incident from occurring.

The difference between the two is that dogs have been selectively bred for thousands of years to be amiable to living with humans.

The same can be true of most truly domesticated animals–but it doesn’t mean that people are any more skilled when dealing with them.

Let’s look at this a little closer.

Respect

Respecting an animal does not mean you treat it like a human.

It means you do your research as to just what the predisposition of the animal is–the nature of it.

This can be accomplished by looking at the natural history of the animal and how it lives with others of its same species.

Getting around the specific species or breeds can open your eyes further.

In the case of domestic animals this means looking at breed traits of the dog and behavior of dogs–not wolves.

Reading helps but I find it is valuable to just get out and watch animals. Seeing them interact in a variety of circumstances is eye opening.

In fact, one of the first assignments my students get is to watch their animals. I give details on how to do that in my audio class (free to subscribers).

Recently one new client asked me how she could understand her animals. She failed to really observe her animals and although I was pointing out the nuances during our lesson–she wasn’t really seeing.

This is a common problem in many pet owning households and surprisingly in a number of zoo handlers–they don’t really see clearly and so fail to glean a true understanding of what is playing out–or what the animal is communicating.

Management & Training

The proper management and training of animals is another area where people fail.

In some cases, pet households can get away with small exceptions to the rule and avoid issues.

In others, failure to manage results in disastrous consequences.

Travis the chimp is one example of failure of management and training. He was a wild animal that was treated like a human and then died because of the failure of the owner to manage him properly.

He also clearly was not trained to respond to the directives of his owner.

If you read up on chimpanzee behavior, it becomes clear that he was being a dominate male and exhibiting the natural predispositions found in chimpanzees.

On the pet owning front this can be seen when an animal if free to roam without restraint, in the lack of responsiveness (training), in the lack of proper housing (or abuse of human living quarters), and the lack of guidelines (or as the dog whisperer says, “rules, boundaries, and limitations”).

Dogs that jump on visitors or owners, paw or nudge to communicate their demands, bolt through doors or gates, and any other pet behavior problems show symptoms of the failure to manage AND a lack of training.

People often do not take action to prevent problems–most are motivated to seek help only after the problems are firmly entrenched.

Some people even refuse to admit there is a problem when pets growl over food or show other aggression to humans or other animals…this is the ultimate denial and shows great misunderstanding of the issues involved in cross species cohabitation.

Ignoring Ordinances

Now the fact that Travis the chimp was allowed to travel freely in public makes me wonder why more incidents did not happen. There were a few–they were reported but the authorities did not take action.

At least one previous bite and an escape into traffic indicated that this animal’s behavior was escalating into more unruly behavior–or normal chimp behavior.

Since no previous steps were taken to mitigate this escalation, the result was a larger devastating and deadly incident.

In the pet loving world where I live, there are people who believe their dogs should be able to roam free–despite the local leash laws that also apply to the forest trails.

In addition to the attacks that occur on humans and animals by unleashed dogs (with or without the owner present), there are also issues with wildlife–the spread of disease to coyotes and raccoons, the disturbance of trout spawning grounds, and more.

Within the homes there are many households that are over the limit of the number of animals legally allowed and many dogs are not licensed.

In others, the animals spend long hours outside without mental occupation, exercise, or human interaction…and sometimes restrained on a chain or in a small kennel. (This is a judgment call in many cases).

The problem is that in this area we are sorely lacking in humane officers to enforce the laws but the other problem is that people remain ignorant or irresponsible when it comes to those laws.

And some flat out just think the rules should not apply to them.

We have one local who has received about a dozen tickets from animal control.

He still lets his dogs roam, they don’t wear collars, they scare people, and they terrorize other animals and wildlife in the area.

Whose fault is it that the ordinance are not obeyed or enforced ultimately?

Incident Prevention

In most cases incidents can be prevented by making sure the areas I’ve discussed are addressed.

If the chimp’s owner had been savvy enough to manage, house, and train Travis the chimp properly–would the situation have been avoided?

Perhaps, but wild animal attacks happen even in the best of circumstances.

Certainly if he had been housed properly he would not have opened the door to get out and attack the owner’s friend.

One of my newest clients has been bitten by her dogs several times because she doesn’t know how to predict when an issue might occur–but more importantly she did not know how to stop one.

There are a variety of strategies people can use for animal attacks which I have written about before.

For domestic pets this strategy varies with the situation and I’ll get into this more in the pet parenting school and maybe revisit this topic during dog bite prevention week.

In the meantime find more information for dog issues at these links:

• CDC Dog Bit Prevention

• Dog Gone Safe

• Preventing Dog Bites

• HSUS Preventing Dog Bites

• AKC Tips to Prevent Dog Bites

Every week I see animal attack incidents. Many are dog bite reports, and earlier this week there was a pet chimp attack, but the one that made me shake my head was this story about the python attack on a 3-year-old toddler in Las Vegas.

The parents have been in court facing felony charges for child endangerment, neglect, and abuse.

The whole story was disgusting, and you should read the python attack story in full, but this was especially notable:

The arrests contrast with how authorities dealt with previous animal attack cases, notably two last year in which pit bulls fatally mauled two young children. No one was charged in those cases because prosecutors felt they could not prove that the children were intentionally placed in harm’s way, as the state statutes require.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger said this case is different, partly because it involves a snake.

“We felt that under the circumstances, because the cage was in disrepair and because a python seems to be an inherently dangerous pet, that the abuse and neglect statute applied,” Roger said.

Granted, most people don’t have an 18 foot python in their home–most professionals I know work with multiple handlers for snakes that big.

Snakes are also notorious escape artists–so having a secondary boundary to prevent escapes is a good idea.

Locks, sturdy enclosures, and a secured room are just some strategies for safe confinement.

Now Reticulated Pythons (at least those I have worked with) tend to have hotter (nastier) temperaments than some of the other species I’ve handled–but what irks me even more about this story is that I believe that both domestic and exotic animals pose risks so they all are inherently dangerous pets.

The problem is that people expect more risk with exotics but people also dismiss the risks that domestic animals pose.

This is despite the numerous domestic animal attacks and incidents that occur on a regular basis…plus the many don’t even get reported unless they require a trip to the emergency room or doctor.

I’ve got news:

Any species with claws and teeth is inherently dangerous! (Add hooves, horns, beak…you get the idea.)

The problem is that people do not use due diligence in supervising pets and so incidents happen on a daily basis because of it.

If you have a child and a pet in the household they should NEVER be left unattended because that is when accidents happen.

So what is up with Las Vegas anyway?

Last year there was another snack attack incident in Las Vegas involving a 15 foot Burmese Python that was killed because the father could not get it to release its grip on his child. He said:

Having survived this ordeal the family now says they’ve learned a valuable lesson. “If you got children in the house, you shouldn’t have them,” Katherine’s father said. “If you have one of your own, pay attention.”

Ya think?

The Burmese incident happened last September–guess nobody paid attention.