This is reposted with permission from the blog http://smartdog.typepad.com/ by one of our favorite dog trainers, Laurie Luck of Smart Dog University
I dont have the luxury of watching "feel good" segments or programs that contain dogs. Because I "do dogs" for a living, I see all the little signs, the communication signals a dog is sending, and nothing is ever cute anymore, but rather just filled with warning and distress signals from dogs.
Take this mornings "feel good" segment on The Today Show for example. It piqued my interest because it was about a service dog for a little girl who is connected to an oxygen tank 24 hours a day. The family procured a service dog to carry the oxygen tank for the three-year old girl.
The anchors on the show, the parents, and the little girl were oblivious to the many signs from the dog that he wasnt a happy camper. Based on all the publicity Kyle Dyer, NBC anchor in Denver, received when she was bitten on the face by a dog live on the air, I was hopeful that people had started to pay attention to dog body language.
Sadly, I was wrong. Below is the segment. Watch it once without reading the warning signals Ive listed below. Then watch it again, looking at the specific minute and second spots.
Some things to know before you take a look at the video. The red bandana is used to cover a prong collar on Mr. Gibbs, the service dog. A prong collar is a collar fitted with special barbs or prongs, that lie against the dogs neck. When pressure is put on the collar by pulling on the leash, those prongs dig into the dogs flesh around his neck. The pain from the prongs are supposed to be a correction to the dog so he wont do whatever it was again.
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1:24 - Mr. Gibbs ignores the girl. Girl pulls hard on the leash. Those prongs are now digging into the dogs neck.
2:39 - Girl is pulling Mr. Gibbs with the prong. Pause the video here and you can really see the pulling.
2:42 - Mr. Gibbs tries to go with the trainer (instead of the girl) and he gets a BIG yank from the girl. Do you wonder why the dog doesnt want to be with the girl?
2:56 - The first sign of stress from the dog: a lip lick and a look-away. These are both classic stress signals from a dog.
3:13 - "He gets beat in the head," the little girl says. Apparently she likes to swing a lot, and Mr. Gibbs cannot get out of her way. The father repeats the little girls sentiment and laughs a little sheepishly.
3:30 - "What do you say to him," the anchor asks. The girl answers "Down!" and "At ease." Both are dog training cues -- not "I love you!" or "Good boy!"
3:32 - Hit pause here. Is this dog looking to interact with the girl? Does he even acknowledge her?
3:34 - Slight "whale eye" from Mr. Gibbs. The whale eye is another sign of stress. This happens when the girl is laying on the dog. The dog has no escape, no say in whether or not he can get out of the situation. This is a recipe for disaster.
4:11 - Were now in the live interview with the anchor, parents, child and Mr. Gibbs. Pause the video at this spot. See the girl tugging on the prong collar? Every tug on the collar brings discomfort to Mr. Gibbs.
4:14 - The girl gives a double-tug on the prong collar, hard.
4:18 Another tug from the girl. The father finally rescues Mr. Gibbs from the daughters tugs by placing the dog back onto the couch. I wonder why the dog was trying to get down in the first place?
4:54 - Mr. Gibbs looks to the father for help out of the situation.
5:01 - Theres a big lip lick and a yawn. Two classic signals that the dog is stressed and would like to leave. He keeps trying to get down off the couch.
5:15 - Another lip lick from Mr. Gibbs. The signals this dog is throwing are increasing.
5:17 - Mr. Gibbs turns his head away from the girl to try to break off contact, but she just gets closer to Mr. Gibbs. Hes trying very hard and his patience is admirable.
5:57 - Mr. Gibbs is resigned to his fate.
6:15 - Girl squeals, maybe theres a little bit of a squeeze by her, Mr. Gibbs tries again to get up and leave.
6:20 - Another head turn by Mr. Gibbs -- another attempt to break off contact with the girl, but again she follows.
6:35 - Girl grabs Mr. Gibbs head, pulls it down, and grabs his eyebrows.
6:41 - Girl grabs Mr. Gibbs prong collar and pulls off the bandana covering the prong collar.
6:45 - Pause it here and just look at the picture. Is the dog happy about his circumstances?
6:53 - The girl is now pulling the bandana back onto Mr. Gibbs, getting it caught in his mouth.
7:01 - Mr. Gibbs is nearing the end of his attempts to get out of the situation and/or get some relief from this girl from the other people in the room. Finally he lies on the girl as a last ditch effort.
It looks very cute, but in reality, Mr. Gibbs lays on her in resignation -- not enjoyment.
There are reasons why most service dog agencies wont let a young child have a service dog. Unfortunately, this segment highlights the many reasons why. The child is far to young to have the responsibility of caring for a dog, her parents havent taught her how to kindly interact with a dog, and everyone is ignoring (or doesnt recognize) the dogs many pleas to be removed from the situation.
For more insights from Laurie, read Part 2 of this post.
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