Read about the pit bulldog's ancestor at America's Dog. They, too, were known to kill their masters.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
The Alaunte: the Medieval Gripper
Read about the pit bulldog's ancestor at America's Dog. They, too, were known to kill their masters.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
The Problem with Pit Bull Service Dogs
Sue Manning, long-time pit bull promotor and journalist for AP, has written an article about rescue pit bulls being trained as service dogs. (YIKES) She mentions two organizations doing this - Animal Farm Foundation, the best funded pit bull ownership advocacy organization in the world, and Pits for Patriots in Chicago. When we first blogged about Pits for Patriots in 2012, this outfit was less than a year old, and they had not yet placed any pit bulls as service dogs for veterans with PTSD. They noted that they started with four candidates, but that two had washed out. There's a photo below of the two successful training candidates fitted with prong collars. Today, three years later, they still haven't placed any service dogs with a veteran and the two candidates below both developed a case of the dog aggression for which there is no cure.
They are up for adoption. The white one, Odie, had to have his CGC and Therapy Dog certificates revoked. He must go to an experienced pit bull owner who will not "set him up to fail." FYI: That means potential owners must set up strict containment and movement protocols with zero margin of error allowable or there will be a bloodbath. And to think he was once a therapy dog.
They are up for adoption. The white one, Odie, had to have his CGC and Therapy Dog certificates revoked. He must go to an experienced pit bull owner who will not "set him up to fail." FYI: That means potential owners must set up strict containment and movement protocols with zero margin of error allowable or there will be a bloodbath. And to think he was once a therapy dog.
Pits for Patriots cites as their inspiration two "successful" pit bull service dog organizations, one in New York, and one in Tampa Bay, Florida.
The Tampa Bay organization, called Pit Bulls 4 Patriots, was founded with the intention of training rescued pit bulls as service dogs for veterans with PTSD. Unfortunately, by the time the Chicago Pits for Patriots had cited them as their inspiration, Pit Bulls 4 Patriots had already been forced to abandon their original concept. They retooled and renamed themselves Hounds 4 Heros, a program that uses rescued greyhounds instead. Why? The pit bulls were not working out as service dogs. They took too long to train, and they found that pit bulls were too "sensitive" to work with handlers with PTSD because they "reflected" the symptoms of their handler's PTSD. Evidently, the pit bulls were exhibiting common symptoms of PTSD: anger, irritability, hyper-vigilance, and anxiety whenever their owners did. Irritable pit bull service dogs. N o T h a n k Y o u.
In addition, the wonderful pit bull "washouts" could not be easily adopted so the founders of the organization are now the proud owners of a boatload of pits. Rescue pit bulls, it seems, are not inherently (genetically), suited to service dog work. Unfortunately Hounds 4 Heros not only took down the page the above quote comes from, there is no archive of it either.
However, Hounds 4 Heros has written in depth about just what makes rescued greyhounds such great candidates as service dogs for veterans. Knowing that they were forced to scrap their original concept, it is not hard to read between the lines. It seems that greyhounds possess inherent (genetic) characteristics that that make them good PTSD service dogs and pit bulls do not:
"In our search for the "perfect" PTSD service dog, we are very excited to have Murray join us. Greyhounds tend to be calm, loving but not pushy, caring but not overly sensitive, and are happy to relax and go wherever their person needs them to be."
This second quote speaks directly to their experience with pit bulls and they speak to both genetic and a reasonably knowable and appropriate early experience for the greyhounds:
Our dogs are carefully selected for having exceptionally calm and stable temperaments. We like working with greyhounds because we do not have to train over any strong genetically bred instincts and drives (such as protection/guarding, being territorial, herding, dog aggression, or hunting). It was surprising for us to learn that although some greyhounds have a strong prey drive, most do not. While growing to adulthood in preparation for racing, greyhounds remain in daily contact with their litter mates and other hounds. They are spared from the jarring loss of their pack at an exceedingly young age, unlike most other dogs, who are bred and quickly sold as pets. This continued companionship with their own kind is extremely healthy for balanced brain development and canine social skills. Since they are being groomed to become racing dogs, their lives are disciplined, with plenty of exercise, routines, and very clear guidance from all the humans they come in contact with. As a result, they tend to be peacefully submissive to people, and easily accept direction. This is very helpful in their new roles as service dogs for our PTSD veterans.
This next quote perfectly explains the very real dangers of trying to shape dogs bred for fighting into service dogs:
Our dogs are carefully selected for having exceptionally calm and stable temperaments. We like working with greyhounds because we do not have to train over any strong genetically bred instincts and drives (such as protection/guarding, being territorial, herding, dog aggression, or hunting). It was surprising for us to learn that although some greyhounds have a strong prey drive, most do not. While growing to adulthood in preparation for racing, greyhounds remain in daily contact with their litter mates and other hounds. They are spared from the jarring loss of their pack at an exceedingly young age, unlike most other dogs, who are bred and quickly sold as pets. This continued companionship with their own kind is extremely healthy for balanced brain development and canine social skills. Since they are being groomed to become racing dogs, their lives are disciplined, with plenty of exercise, routines, and very clear guidance from all the humans they come in contact with. As a result, they tend to be peacefully submissive to people, and easily accept direction. This is very helpful in their new roles as service dogs for our PTSD veterans.
This next quote perfectly explains the very real dangers of trying to shape dogs bred for fighting into service dogs:
We can't overstate the importance of the balanced minds and good nature of these dogs for their job as psychiatric service dogs. It is critical that our dogs are going to be calm and stable "on their own" without the necessity of great guidance and leadership from their handler. When living with someone who has fluctuating weak energy and leadership skills, such as anyone with a psychiatric disorder, a dog will revert to its genetically bred instincts and/or to default behaviors learned in puppyhood. Skilled training can override weaknesses in temperament and high-drive instinctual behaviors, but our PTSD handlers will not be able to maintain training over the top of these things. The longer the team spends together, the more the dog's training would "unravel" and revert to the genetic predisposition of the dog. Examples of this would be an unbalanced German Shepherd who falls back inappropriately to his instinct to guard and bite when threatened, or a herding dog who neurotically begins nipping at the feet and heels of anything that moves around his person. With the greyhounds their default is to either relax, or quietly withdraw into themselves. As a result, they don't act out, become dangerously unbalanced, or create problems for their handlers or the public. They are able to maintain and return to their trained behaviors with relative ease.These gentle, intelligent, and malleable dogs respond very well to our positive training methods. They are able to perform the many kinds of tasks and work that most benefit people who face the daunting challenge of living with PTSD.
And that is the crucial issue for safety - what instincts (genetically controlled behavior) does the dog default to when not under guidance or under the guidance of someone who is not an expert dog handler.
Animal Farm Foundation is the other pit bull service training dog organization mentioned in Manning's article. They are going at it the right way. They have put out a nationwide call for pit bull service dog candidates that they will evidently transport to the Farm at their own expense. They must figure that by casting an enormous net, they will be able to find one or two pit bull outliers with the temperament of a lab. But the best news is Animal Farm Foundation now admits that anyone can identify a pit bull, because they will accept any dog that was identified by anyone at a shelter as a pit bull for the program. They have evidently already placed five pit bull service dogs with handlers, but stopped promoting their feat after blogging about the first three. The serviceman with PTSD and his dog are not listed as being one of the pit bull service dogs placed by AFF.
Stunt pit bull service dogs are dangerous for the reasons Hounds 4 Heros outlined above. And Animal Farm Foundation's efforts to promote pit bulls as service dogs and to emphasize that you can train your service dog yourself makes them even more dangerous.
Here is a video of a rottweiler service dog. The owner/handler/trainer of this dangerous breed dog was billed as South Africa's Dog Whisperer - a supposedly Ace dog trainer. The Rottweiler is supposedly his service dog. Watch the service dog launch a predatory attack on a little girl in a restaurant.
In many respects, pit bull service dogs are silly stunts. If it takes 4 years to train a dog to be a service animal, one can conclude that dog is not really suited to the job. This is just like BFAS crowing about a fight bust dog getting a CGC certificate after 6 years of training when normal dogs need only 8 to 10 weeks of basic obedience classes to become a good citizen. But, even if all of Animal Farm Foundation's pit bulls are truly cream puff pit bull outliers, they are encouraging everyone to pick up a rescue pit bull, train it up themselves, and seat it under the restaurant table next to yours. Bon Appetit!
Read more:
Service and Therapy Pit Bulls that Turned Pit Bull
defrocking the asshole priests of the savage lion tamer cult
Animal Farm Foundation Service Dogs
Anyone can ID a Pit Bull for AFF's Service Dog Program
AP syndicated article by Sue Manning New York Times
And that is the crucial issue for safety - what instincts (genetically controlled behavior) does the dog default to when not under guidance or under the guidance of someone who is not an expert dog handler.
Animal Farm Foundation is the other pit bull service training dog organization mentioned in Manning's article. They are going at it the right way. They have put out a nationwide call for pit bull service dog candidates that they will evidently transport to the Farm at their own expense. They must figure that by casting an enormous net, they will be able to find one or two pit bull outliers with the temperament of a lab. But the best news is Animal Farm Foundation now admits that anyone can identify a pit bull, because they will accept any dog that was identified by anyone at a shelter as a pit bull for the program. They have evidently already placed five pit bull service dogs with handlers, but stopped promoting their feat after blogging about the first three. The serviceman with PTSD and his dog are not listed as being one of the pit bull service dogs placed by AFF.
Here is a video of a rottweiler service dog. The owner/handler/trainer of this dangerous breed dog was billed as South Africa's Dog Whisperer - a supposedly Ace dog trainer. The Rottweiler is supposedly his service dog. Watch the service dog launch a predatory attack on a little girl in a restaurant.
In many respects, pit bull service dogs are silly stunts. If it takes 4 years to train a dog to be a service animal, one can conclude that dog is not really suited to the job. This is just like BFAS crowing about a fight bust dog getting a CGC certificate after 6 years of training when normal dogs need only 8 to 10 weeks of basic obedience classes to become a good citizen. But, even if all of Animal Farm Foundation's pit bulls are truly cream puff pit bull outliers, they are encouraging everyone to pick up a rescue pit bull, train it up themselves, and seat it under the restaurant table next to yours. Bon Appetit!
Read more:
Service and Therapy Pit Bulls that Turned Pit Bull
defrocking the asshole priests of the savage lion tamer cult
Animal Farm Foundation Service Dogs
Anyone can ID a Pit Bull for AFF's Service Dog Program
AP syndicated article by Sue Manning New York Times
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Pit Bull Experts: scientifically unimpressive and technologically worthless
In 1960, Louis Leaky sent a secretary
with no college education into the Africa bush to study chimpanzees.
Despite the objections of "experts" Leaky persevered. Leaky felt that someone
with little formal training would be more likely to describe what they were seeing rather than what they thought they should be seeing.
I think everyone will agree that hiring Jane Goodall for the job was a brilliant move.
Keep Jane Goodall in mind while you watch this video, The Trouble With Experts, then continue reading.
Pit bull advocates make a lot of noise about their "experts" and tout the perceived consensus among "experts" as proof that "pit bulls" are not the problem, owners are. Here are four of the more impressively credentialed "experts".
PETER L. BORCHELT
The ASPCA cited BORCHELT in their anti-BSL position statement and BORCHELT was called upon to provide his "expert" opinion in favor of pit bulls when a NYC council member sought to ban them:
A Brooklyn-based animal behaviorist who opposes a citywide pit bull ban, Peter Borchelt, said strong dogs such as pit bulls, Rottweilers and German shepherds are generally safe, if they are "raised like pets." You get into trouble when the dog is not trained to be nonaggressive," Mr. Borchelt, who has a doctorate in animal behavior, said. "They can become dangerous when they're thrown behind a fence and allowed to become overly protective. You just have to take a few extra steps to make sure the dog is friendly, affectionate, and well socialized."
PETER L. BORCHELT, PhD and "expert" for hire.
BORCHELT provided the above "expert" opinion about the safety of pit bulls AFTER he was sued for a million dollars for providing his "expert" opinion to a retired fire fighter about the safety of a pit bull that he was in possession of. The pit bull attacked the retired fire fighter. Despite the fact that the pit bull had a known documented history of previous aggression, BORCHELT assured the retired fire fighter the pit bull was safe. During the civil trial, BORCHELT testified under oath that the pit bull was not vicious. Yeah. Just in case you missed the colored text above indicating an external link, click here.
PETER BORCHELT is a member of an elite club known as Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists. According to the civil lawsuit article, he charges $300 an hour to fix your dog's problems. You can find his fee schedule here. BORCHELT'S gun for hire, er uh I mean "expert" witness page is conveniently malfunctioning.
IAN DUNBAR
If I were asked to recommend a dog, say for a children's psychiatric ward, my first choice would be a pit bull. When children pull their tail, if they have one, or poke them, the dog's like... he doesn't care. With a good owner, you have the most fantastic breed of all.
IAN DUNBAR, DVM, PhD
Poor Ian. Yet another dupe of proof of assertion. Apparently he has yet to receive the memo regarding the official revocation of nanny dog status.
Hot shot Dunbar does not appear to offer services for problematic or dangerous behaviors. Smart move.
RICHARD POLSKY
No other breed has been maligned or vilified as much as the pit bull terrier. One commonly finds negative publicity about this breed, despite the fact that many honorable Americans have kept pit bulls as pets, including Franklin Roosevelt and Thomas Edison.
RICHARD POLSKY, PhD and "expert" for hire.
Poor Richard. All of that money and all those years spent studying to acquire impressive degrees was no guarantee that he would be able to demonstrate critical thinking skills. He still fell prey to the common fallacy known as Proof of Assertion. It is a documented fact that President Roosevelt's "pit bull" was a dangerous menace. It is a documented fact that Edison did not own Nipper and there is no documented proof that Thomas Edison ever owned any pit bull.
The pit bulldog's long legacy of vilification is well earned and well documented.
POLSKY'S fee schedule is available on demand. I suspect it is one of those cases where if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.
I think everyone will agree that hiring Jane Goodall for the job was a brilliant move.
Keep Jane Goodall in mind while you watch this video, The Trouble With Experts, then continue reading.
Pit bull advocates make a lot of noise about their "experts" and tout the perceived consensus among "experts" as proof that "pit bulls" are not the problem, owners are. Here are four of the more impressively credentialed "experts".
PETER L. BORCHELT
The ASPCA cited BORCHELT in their anti-BSL position statement and BORCHELT was called upon to provide his "expert" opinion in favor of pit bulls when a NYC council member sought to ban them:
A Brooklyn-based animal behaviorist who opposes a citywide pit bull ban, Peter Borchelt, said strong dogs such as pit bulls, Rottweilers and German shepherds are generally safe, if they are "raised like pets." You get into trouble when the dog is not trained to be nonaggressive," Mr. Borchelt, who has a doctorate in animal behavior, said. "They can become dangerous when they're thrown behind a fence and allowed to become overly protective. You just have to take a few extra steps to make sure the dog is friendly, affectionate, and well socialized."
PETER L. BORCHELT, PhD and "expert" for hire.
BORCHELT provided the above "expert" opinion about the safety of pit bulls AFTER he was sued for a million dollars for providing his "expert" opinion to a retired fire fighter about the safety of a pit bull that he was in possession of. The pit bull attacked the retired fire fighter. Despite the fact that the pit bull had a known documented history of previous aggression, BORCHELT assured the retired fire fighter the pit bull was safe. During the civil trial, BORCHELT testified under oath that the pit bull was not vicious. Yeah. Just in case you missed the colored text above indicating an external link, click here.
PETER BORCHELT is a member of an elite club known as Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists. According to the civil lawsuit article, he charges $300 an hour to fix your dog's problems. You can find his fee schedule here. BORCHELT'S gun for hire, er uh I mean "expert" witness page is conveniently malfunctioning.
IAN DUNBAR
If I were asked to recommend a dog, say for a children's psychiatric ward, my first choice would be a pit bull. When children pull their tail, if they have one, or poke them, the dog's like... he doesn't care. With a good owner, you have the most fantastic breed of all.
IAN DUNBAR, DVM, PhD
Poor Ian. Yet another dupe of proof of assertion. Apparently he has yet to receive the memo regarding the official revocation of nanny dog status.
Hot shot Dunbar does not appear to offer services for problematic or dangerous behaviors. Smart move.
RICHARD POLSKY
No other breed has been maligned or vilified as much as the pit bull terrier. One commonly finds negative publicity about this breed, despite the fact that many honorable Americans have kept pit bulls as pets, including Franklin Roosevelt and Thomas Edison.
RICHARD POLSKY, PhD and "expert" for hire.
Poor Richard. All of that money and all those years spent studying to acquire impressive degrees was no guarantee that he would be able to demonstrate critical thinking skills. He still fell prey to the common fallacy known as Proof of Assertion. It is a documented fact that President Roosevelt's "pit bull" was a dangerous menace. It is a documented fact that Edison did not own Nipper and there is no documented proof that Thomas Edison ever owned any pit bull.
The pit bulldog's long legacy of vilification is well earned and well documented.
POLSKY'S fee schedule is available on demand. I suspect it is one of those cases where if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.
JAMES HA
DR JAMES HA, animal behaviorist at the University of Washington in Seattle and "expert" for hire.
The reason we're focusing just on pit bulls is that we hear so much about them, and that is not because of the breed difference, the genetic difference - that's because of the way they've been raised.
That quote is from a 2010 KOMO news interview. Compare that to HA'S blog post in 2008, where HA cited research that stated red and golden cocker spaniels were more likely to display aggressive behavior than black cocker spaniels and that yellow labs were "significantly more likely to be reported with aggression problems" than the black or chocolate variants, yet JAMES HA promotes the crazy notion that dogs artificially selected for violence only require a loving gentle family.
Also in the 2010 KOMO interview, DR HA stated that mastiffs, chows, shepherds, rottweillers and dobermans are "all more genetically aggressive than" dogs that had been artificially selected for combat for 200 years. HA goes on to add that genetics is roughly 20-30% responsible for temperament. YET, at the roughly 4:00 minute mark of his presentation on "Behavioral Genetics" DR HA stated that in studies of selected dog breeds, none were gripping breeds btw, for defence behaviors ie, guarding, attacking, biting there is a 14 - 20% heritability rate "which in genetics world is important". He immediately followed up with "there are different genetic predispositions in different breeds." Towards the end of this 2011 youtube video, HA states that 30-50% of behavior is genetics. My head was spinning just trying to keep up with all his facts.
DR JAMES HA is a member of an elite club known as Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists.
HA offers a variety of services ranging from $75 - 250 plus travel fees.
One unspoken assumption among early behavior geneticists, an assumption that was shared by most for many years, was that some psychological traits were likely to be significantly influenced by genetic factors, whereas others were likely to be primarily influenced by shared environmental influences. Most behavior geneticists assumed that social attitudes, for example, were influenced entirely by shared environmental influences, and so social attitudes remained largely unstudied until relatively recently. The evidence now shows how wrong these assumptions were. Nearly every reliably measured psychological phenotype (normal and abnormal) is significantly influenced by genetic factors. Heritabilities also differ far less from trait to trait than anyone initially imagined. Shared environmental influences are often, but not always, of less importance than genetic factors, and often decrease to near zero after adolescence. Genetic influence on psychological traits is ubiquitous, and psychological researchers must incorporate this fact into their research programs else their theories will be ‘‘scientifically unimpressive and technologically worthless,’’ to quote Meehl again.
Genetic Influence on Human Psychological Traits
Genetics, Not Parenting, Key to Temperament, Studies Say, Los Angeles Times, February 20, 1994
Major Personality Study Finds That Traits Are Mostly Inherited, New York Times, December 2, 1986
PETER BORCHELT, IAN DUNBAR, RICHARD POLSKY and JAMES HA believe that purpose bred dogs, artificially selected for violent combat for 200 years are not genetically predisposed to violence. BORCHELT, DUNBAR, POLSKY and HA believe it is equally wrong to think that nature plays second fiddle to nurture in dogs. Unfortunately, they have been able to convince others of their distorted beliefs too.
So much for "experts".
Dr James Ha
http://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-profiles/articles/consider-the-pit-bull-february-2013
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/109770109.html
http://companionanimalsolutions.com/blogs/the-genetics-of-behavior-what-color-is-your-dog/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMyjS6m1Sq4
Jane Goodall
http://www.janegoodall.ca/goodall-bio-timeline.php
http://www.biography.com/people/jane-goodall-9542363#early-interest-in-primates
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Gi-He/Goodall-Jane.html#ixzz3Bo6e4pHc
The Nanny Dog Myth Revealed
Thomas Edison's pit bull
Famous Pit Bull Owners: The Thomas Alva Edison Edition
Famous Pit Bull Owners: The Presidential Edition
Pete Roosevelt: The Disgraced White House Bandog
Myth 99: Scientists know what they are talking about because they study animals in an objective way, Alexandra Semyonova
The science of how behavior is inherited in aggressive dogs by Alexandra Semyonova
Alexandra Semyonova's book, The 100 Silliest Things People Say About Dogs is available in the right side bar of this blog.