CSotD: Cagney frolics
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Not sure where this arc on Zack Hill is headed. Either her fears will be shown to be silly or dog parks will be unmasked as hell-holes. I'm hoping for the former, but Deering and Newcombe don't always mirror my thoughts.
Cat owners take a lot of grief for eccentricity — much of it deserved — but dog owners also run the gamut from abuse/neglect to helicopter status and you certainly get to see it all at the dog park.
You have to respect the person who says, "every dog who ever bit me has an owner who said he'd never bite anyone," because, well, he may be a slow learner in terms of risk-avoidance, but there are a lot of people who can't read their dogs.
And it's kind of like the sequestration thing and air travel in that an issue becomes bigger when it affects us personally: While cats are running around doing their invasive-species thing and destroying the native bird population, neglected, ill-trained dogs are pooping on lawns and biting people. It really doesn't matter the percentage of who's doing what, because dogs who screw up make a much larger impression.
I used to be a dog park person, but our local park was wiped out by Hurricane Irene and, though it has since been rebuilt and reopened, I've found another place where dog owners hang out that is considerably more mellow mostly because it's much larger and is unfenced. Not only is there more to sniff and a river to fetch balls from, but there's much less conflict because, if there's a dog there that doesn't seem mellow, the other dogs can just move away from it.
We have a few helicopter owners who fuss over their pups and, for instance, get upset if they start running around and 'rassling with the other dogs. But they don't become regulars because most of the other dogs feel the point of getting together is to run around and rassle, and most of the other owners feel the point of coming down there is to watch the dogs run around and rassle.
And there are occasional flare-ups, just as on any playground. Separate the dogs, give them a few minutes to compose themselves, let them go again and the problem disappears 90 percent of the time, just as with two-legged youngsters.
Hint: If your dog is really upset by the rough-housing, he'll come sit on your feet and lean against your legs. But if he's just using you as part of the obstacle course, let him play.
I know of one serious attack in two years, and it was a shame because the aggressor had been a jolly, playful pup and he was being well-handled, but just grew up to be a jerk anyway. They paid the vet bill and he hasn't been seen since. His victim is back at the park and as chipper as ever, and his hair has grown back so, if he has any scars — physical or otherwise — they're well-hidden.
Dogs are like kids in that there's a certain futility in trying to tell someone how to handle a situation that is out of control because, if they had the right instincts in the first place, it wouldn't have gotten out of control. And you can't teach instinct.
There was a show on last summer called "Dogs in the City" that was excellent because, unlike the Dog Whisperer, this guy spent more time talking to the people than demonstrating his own skills. Cesar is very good at handling dogs, but I question how much of his advice is replicable, while the guy on DitC concentrated on pointing out the way people sabotage themselves in how they relate to their dogs.
Favorite episode: These people had two bloodhounds, which, first of all, makes you wonder what on earth they were thinking, since they didn't even have a real yard. But the laugh was when one of the dogs jumped up to lean into the kitchen sink and the owner got up and turned on the tap so he could get a drink. The dogs had a water bowl, but they preferred it fresh from the faucet.
The dogs weren't out of control. The dogs were completely in control.
At least bloodhounds are harmless, if a bit drooly and potentially loud. It's not PC to say that some breeds are, by nature, tough to handle and very apt to fail as pets, but that's the fact, jack.
And it's not a matter of "good" versus "bad."
German shepherds ("Alsatians" for my overseas readers) are great dogs, but they are highly competitive by nature and a lot of dogs find them annoying. If they were people, they'd be the kind who, in a casual pick-up basketball game, would be throwing elbows and keeping score, and, consequently, they don't win a lot of popularity contests down at the dog park.
And they're good dogs who make good pets. Other breeds are fundamentally not cut out for that. You may like Formula One racers or fire trucks or steam rollers, but — while they will certainly gain you attention — they're not your best choice for going to the grocery store or taking the kids to school in the morning.
Dogs are bred for certain purposes and the rarer the breed, the more specialized its best use.
Example: 60 Minutes had a piece recently on how the Belgian Malinois is used in combat. This breed looks a lot like a German Shepherd, but they're more aggressive and a little touchier to work with. They're great for security work, not so good as all-around police dogs.
A number of years ago, the Colorado Springs Police Department bought a Malinois, but it was a failure in day-to-day K-9 work because they don't like crowds. The first problem came at the city's annual Fourth of July celebration, when the dog suddenly felt hemmed in and bit somebody more or less at random. I forget the next time he got claustrophobic, but he eventually got another job where he could check fences or some other suitable specialty.
Much of success with dogs has to do with making good choices in the first place. When my boys were little, I had Hungarian sheepdogs, and the dogs and the kids would run around the yard all day, wearing each other out. Now the boys are grown and gone and I have a hound. We sit on the couch watching TV together and falling asleep.
Anyway, I hope Cagney does well at the dog park. They're good places and more cities should have them. And owners should be smarter and more skilled. And it should only rain at night and there should be no poverty or war.
Meanwhile, I like Zack, but Big Nate is my main man:
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