I pulled Andy and my daughter out of 4-H
Becky (my 10-year-old who is saving up for a sheepie) is Andy's handler. She worked all winter long on him, and he does pretty good. He's definitely goofy at times, but she has him ready for his CGC testing, which meant he was ready for 4-H. I used to be a huge proponent of 4-H for both dogs and kids. I'm really beginning to change my mind. We pulled Becky and Andy out of dog project because Andy was attacked by a pomeranian/chihuahua. Do you know what happens when a 6 pound pom-chi attacks a 60 pound bernedoodle?  The little dog wasn't hurt, and neither was Andy. BUT because Andy is 10 times bigger, the leaders had to decide if he was still welcome in the club. There was an interrogation... I mean "interview". I had to prove that Andy had indeed finished his Obedience 2 class and was eligible to test for his CGC. The parents of the other dog/kid admitted that their dog hates Andy, and that their daughter wasn't following the rules of spacing. The leaders seemed disinclined to believe that Andy does fine with small animals including other small dogs (even though he's never had a problem with the other small dogs in class). So with that, my husband and I decided that Andy didn't need 4-H. Becky can take cake decorating instead. We didn't want Andy to be the victim of another attack, and then be kicked out of 4-H for good. We didn't want Becky to go through what she did last year. I just am mad that this happened to Becky and Andy. If you had told me that she could get that dog to perform commands with more reliability than our collie I would never have believed you. He's such an easy-going goofball. I'm upset that the owner of the little dog didn't have to go through the same crap that we did. I'm upset that they didn't even consider kicking her out. That dog had snarled, lunged and gone after Andy from the first time they met, and the leaders didn't even notice. But because Andy is the largest dog in class, he's obviously a bad dog.  |
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| This is an ongoing problem with large dog vs. small dog mentality. Many (not all!) small dog owners allow their dogs to engage in behaviors that would never be tolerated in larger dogs - growling, excessive barking, jumping and nipping. They seem to think that because they can simply pick them up and carry them away from the situation (usually still snarling and nipping) that it's not really a problem. They're simply "too small" to be a threat. And if an issue comes up between two dogs, the larger is generally "blamed" because they can hurt the smaller dog more easily - even if they didn't initiate the problem. 4H does a lot of good things, but I will say that you can't always count on having an experienced, professional trainer for the handling classes. I'm sorry you had to pull Andy and Becky out of class, but it sounds like you did exactly the right thing. This little chi-ranian is not receiving clear communication from its owners on boundaries, and if the leaders aren't going to help them address it now, it's only going to get worse. Better to get Becky out before the little bugger goes after one of the kids. She'll have a blast decorating cakes - it's a great, creative outlet. (And might earn her a little money if she gets good at it! Ahem - sheepie savings!!)  |
I'm so sorry to hear what happened to Becky and Andy.  And it doesn't have to be that way. Compare your experience to a similar experience that Tiggy and I had a while back at agility training. Tiggy was in a sit with her back to a terrier who was working off lead across the other side of the room. The terrier became upset at a golden that he couldn't get to and I saw him look around and focus on Tiggy so I made sure to keep her attention on me with treats. Unfortunately Mr terrier attacked Tiggy anyway. No damage was done, mainly due to Tiggy being in full coat. The instructor was observant and the terrier was asked to leave the class. I was asked to provide an account of events verbally and in writing. I wanted to be fair and advised that Tiggy had previously upset the terrier by running up to him when she was working off lead, I thought she may have frightened him due to her size. Apparently there had been previous problems with large dogs and the terrier was asked to stop coming. There were no assumptions based on size or breed and the terrier had been given a second chance previously. All very fair and balanced, which is all you ask for. |
| I am sorry your daughter and Andy had to go through this. The club is only as good as the people leading it. |
so sorry that you all went through that....hoping the little bugger will cause problems with another and finally get kicked out. Karma  |
| It happened to Monty at dog agility group. A Sheba-Inu attacked Monty latching onto his leg and Monty defended himself but did not hurt the dog but barred his teeth and made snarling noises. One of the other instructors who was not teaching us came running over pinning Monty to the ground because she thought Monty had instigated it, because it is the big dog baring his teeth - jumping to conclusions. Anyway my instructor knew perfectly well that it was the Sheba-Inu who was at fault as he had tried to go for Monty before, she whispered to Monty - you should have finished him off. The other dog was not allowed back into the next class session, they recommended it go to behavioral/obedience classes first. It's a pity your instructor didn't approach it this way. You should find another training place as it is a pity to stop because of this incident. |
| We considered putting Becky and Andy into a different 4-H class, but ultimately left it up to Becky. She said she wanted to take a year off of dog 4-H. We took Andy to one trainer for his Obedience classes, and I know that she would have been happy with this pair in her group. So there is a very small chihuahua that is allowed to run the neighborhood. At first it would annoy us, then one day, when the little ankle biter was annoying the dogs while on a walk, my oldest commanded Opal to sit. The tiny chihuahua disappeared under all that collie fluff and tail. Now, whenever it gets to close to her backside, Opal will automatically sit on it.  |
bekalm wrote: We considered putting Becky and Andy into a different 4-H class, but ultimately left it up to Becky. She said she wanted to take a year off of dog 4-H. We took Andy to one trainer for his Obedience classes, and I know that she would have been happy with this pair in her group. So there is a very small chihuahua that is allowed to run the neighborhood. At first it would annoy us, then one day, when the little ankle biter was annoying the dogs while on a walk, my oldest commanded Opal to sit. The tiny chihuahua disappeared under all that collie fluff and tail. Now, whenever it gets to close to her backside, Opal will automatically sit on it. Excellent!!! That would make a priceless video. |
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