More than a touch

Again my morning outing has offered me up a subject to blog about. On the way out of my neighborhood I came across a couple and their American bulldog. The dog was young; the couple obviously a little in over their heads. This was a big boy; buff and strong, although still young. They had stopped at the cross walk and wanted their dog to sit; a couple of yanks on the choke collar did not produce the desired result so the woman commenced slapping his rear. He still did not sit and I was on my way to the park; so after rounding the corner I did wonder how long he would tolerate being hit.

Once I got to the park with Jessie and Tilley we made our way around; nice and slow. As we came around the corner we met a woman who was obviously a big "Ceasar" fan because she was yanking, "chcch"ing and kicking her dog from the rear. This resulted in agitating the dog; who was already aroused by the sight of my girls. He didn't looked to be aggressive just overly aroused and becoming worse. She continued to yank and kick until we passed; it did nothing but make matters worse.

Hitting is just never good. Violence fuels aggression; both in humans and in dogs. Often harsh touch can trigger an aggressive response that may not have resulted otherwise. Using positive methods requires thinking and planning but the end result is much more desirable.

Don't hit.

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