Anybody else get upset watching animal cops?

Question

ok i know moneys tight for shelters but when I watch animal cops Houston they take dogs that are abused and treat them for weeks, then give them the aggressive test with a fake hand. They past every test but are aggressive with there food and get put down! That to me is one of the simplest things to retrain! ok is it just me? Anybodies else veiws?

Answer 1

I agree 100%! I have been avoiding watching the show lately because of that same thing. I noticed on one show the person was really getting aggressive with the "hand" which got it nipping, growling and so forth. It seemed unfair. Another thought I have had is this; superpose the dog knows (and I am certain it does they are not idiots) that it is a fake hand, it surely smells like plastic or whatever it is made of then how does sticking a plastic thing in the dish really test the dogs response to a human hand. One last thing, I agree with what you said, retraining a food aggressive dog is totally do-able and I can not understand why they put them down for that.  

Answer 2

YESS.

I always wondwer this why dont they just try to put them in foster an save them.

It makes me so MAD.

I always wondered if anyone felt this wayy too.

Good to know some people do.

Answer 3

Yeah, I agree with you.  It does seem unfair.   I guess from their viewpoint your average dog owner isn't going to have the skills to do really technical dog training.  I think their should be night school courses in dog ownership!  To heck with training the dog, train the owner.

Answer 4

I agree. The reason they sometimes have to make hard choices is because they are lacking the resources necessary to work through this. There just aren't enough volunteers foster folks out there.

A dog who shows agression over food/ toys/ items is unpredicatble. A shelter cannot re-home a dog like this for insurance reasons. If they adopt an animal out that they say is fit to be adopted, a child tries to take away a bone or toy and gets bitten, the shelter will get sued.

It's sad, horrible and if there were more fosters availible there would be fewer of these euthanasias.

I also will not watch these shows because in some cities a breed is illegal and will be euthanised because it's a pit. I also hate that roosters are euthanized just because they have been bred to fight. I would like to open a rooster/ pitbull/ vicious dog retirement facility and just let the buggers live out their lives in private runs. well cared for and treated more like wildlife than house pets.

Tours could be conducted to show *what* happens when you don't take care of your pets. Kind of like a living museum. Sadly, there is no money to do this.

Answer 5

work in a shelter for a day then you will know why they have to put down the "agressive dogs" the shelter dosen't have the time or money to correct these. sometimes they get adopted out but nobody wants a aggressive dog. when i was like 13 we were going to get a terrier mix but we couldn't get him because " he bites" i was always pissed about that. EVERY dog bites you can still fix it!

Answer 6

ya but i've seen some of the shows try and retrain the dogs.i guess they finaly realized that the dog is starving and thinks he has to fight for his food.some people just need training.

Answer 7

We have a similar show about the RSPCA in Australia.  There was a beautiful dog on there which mouthed the handler.  By mouthed I mean grabbed their hand with its mouth - not a bite.  It was judged to be unadoptable because of the mouthing and was put down.  I have had several dogs who mouth me and the family.  For me it is their way of communicating - it is not aggressive.  I believe they are showing me their love.  My Kelpie that I have at the moment mouths us and I tell him that if got out of the yard and ended up with the RSPCA he would be a dead dog walking.  When my husband and I watch the show we can predict which dogs will be put down.  It is too sad.

Answer 8

I agree with you but you have to keep in mind that these shelters are under enormous workloads and quite underfunded.  I am sure that they don't want to kill the animal but also they don't want to risk a new owner suffering dog bite.  I guess it makes me sad more than angry.  I can barley watch the show because it makes me sick to see the way some of these beautiful animals were treated.

Answer 9

Its the same reason why dogs who bite are put down. The cases you are talking about where even after weeks and months of constant food, love, attention and socializing/training the animals are STILL food aggressive. It is just one of the things that if it has gone on long enough there is no way to break the dog out of it.

What happens when the food is gone? The dog goes back to being a happy loving and playful animal.  The animal will ALWAYS  be a ticking bomb and someone most often a child young or older will pay the price for that animal being placed in its home. Trust me the ASPCA workers HATE to put those animals down, but when they fail the food test again and again there is just no hope for them and its not fair for them to be placed just to end up back at the shelter.

While they are non profit they do work in concert with professionals to evaluate and fix what they can.

football mom - there is a reason for that. Have you ever seen a kid bother a dog? They are aggressive them selves poking prodding etc. I have seen dogs who have been pushed away from the bowl by the fake had and never blinked an eye they went back to eating.

Yes no child and by this I mean small child should be left around a dog while eating, but what if a teenager or adult drops something and it rolls into the area of the eating animal? Do they deserve to be attacked when what they are doing has nothing to do with the animal's food?

Answer 10

I know. I get so sick of that stupid plastic hand. My dogs KNOW the difference between a fake hand and a real hand,and I'll bet most of those dogs do,too. At least in New York,they try to rehabilitate them,and they rehab pit bulls,too.Of course they have a lot more money than the shelters in Houston,Miami,and Detriot,so they can afford to work with the dogs.

Answer 11

people are stupid. they go to shelters looking for the perfectly trained dog without understanding that they are shelter dogs and many have no idea what sit, stay or lay down means. unfortunately dogs with any type of aggression will never be adopted out. People don't want to take the time to train a dog, they assume that one little growl means the dog is dangerous and thus needs to be destroyed. It is sad but a hard fact of life

Answer 12

The biggest thing with a dog who is aggressive is liability, the most common form of severe aggression is food aggression. Kennel and rescue spots are limited and they view it as a safe and quick way to triage the animals. Until there is a qualified adopter, foster or rescue spots with the capability of effectively and safely rehabilitating every dog this unfortunately is necessary... Remember, most shelters and groups like the SPCA do not have the same intensive screening and interviewing process that many of the breed rescues and independent foster based rescues have. Working with a breed rescue, I can choose if the dog is appropriate for the house, I can hold a dog for an experienced owner who is aware of the issues the dog has and how to work the dog through the behavior. The orgs on TV act as animal control and enforcement, also they do not get the luxury of picking and choosing dogs who come in like rescues. I would have a hard time in their position and I have to give them props for the work and effort they put into being a lower kill shelter, they actively try to rehabilitate and adopt out dogs that most other shelters would automatically euthanize and the fact that when they need to they try to euthanize and humanely as possible. There are still shelters out there in the US that gas dogs.

At the same time, I personally I think the SPCAs process is a little to harsh and black and white, with the resources they have, I think that they should have a behaviorist work with some of the animals they return to shelters or automatically euthanize because of the test after a short period of time without any attempt at proper resocialization and rehabilitation.