An American Dog

The State of The American Dog

If you have not read "The State of The American Dog" you need too. It is full of facts and statistics, I never knew the real numbers and now that I do it breaks my heart.

So many of us love our dogs, but would you defend your 60 pound dog from a ankle biter, like a cocker spaniel or a Chihuahua? Would you stand between them and risk getting bite yourself?

Tom Junod wrote this amazing article on July 14, 2014 and I can not get it out  of my mind. So much truth in his words and the  facts and numbers of dogs that are put down everyday in this country is staggering. People react to fear and  they ignorantly and blindly take what main stream media says as fact, when at times it is not. They'll leave out certain facts and details, to make their story seem that much more interesting.

Responsible, good, loving, and nurturing owners are what makes dogs safe to be around, dogs of any breed. Riddle me this: Responsible, good, loving, and nurturing parents raise responsible, good, loving and nurturing children to be responsible, good, loving, and nurturing adults. Now there will always be that one anomaly that goes against the grain and is simply a bad seed. Now think back about those dogs that people call bad and say that they need to be exterminated, could it be that bad owners make bad dogs? Could it be that teaching a dog the good and proper way will produce good well behaved dogs? I believe so.

Teachings, guidance, and repetition will teach a dog how to behave and listen. Add in love and tolerance and that dog will be your friend to the end. It is any dog, not just a dog deemed viscous by society.

A dog is similar to a child: Good teachings raise good children, teach a dog goodness and good behavior and they will be good. But neglect and no training will be a receipt for disaster. Knowledge is power and training is a great tool for you and you dog. My dogs are not perfect, but we are constantly working on training and trying new training tools. I hope that with all that we do for them, that we will never be put in a position of being forced to put our dogs down. I for one would protect my dogs from being attacked by another dog, for like Tom I don't want them to be blamed or judged for fighting back or defending me or themselves. I know it is a natural thing to defend yourself, but for any dog seen as a Pit Bull it is a  death sentence. 

Thank you for reading my rants.
Much love and blessing to all living things,
Michele Aponte

PS
Read Tom's article, just click the link provided above or below.
The State of The American Dog