COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) – Three dog attacks in a week—all in Colerain Township—have people on edge.
Local 12 covered the potential changes in Ohio to stiffen penalties for owners of dogs that attack. Now, Local 12 talked to dog trainers about the root of the problem.
There’s been lots of conjecture online and in the neighborhood that the dogs involved in the maulings were trained to attack, but the experts said that the core issue is more likely a lack of any training. Local 12 caught up with Cami Wallen and Bailey Ru, a pit mix, who were getting trained at Dog Training Elite in Cincinnati.
“She has become a completely different dog,” said Wallen. “Never in my life would I have imagined that she could be here sitting like this calmly without, like, kind of lunging at you, barking, or even trying to run away.”
The owner of Dog Training Elite, Diane VanWeeldon, said that when she heard about the recent dog attacks, it saddened her, but she knows what the root cause usually is.
“Most of the breeds that have these issues are working dog breeds, and they need to have a job and a purpose in this world,” VanWeeldon said. “And when they have no purpose, they have a lot of built-up aggression or just angst and anxiety because they’re not getting that out of their system.”
Bill Thomas is the owner of Bulletproof Dog Training in Mount Carmel. He talked about what owners can do to try and control these negative behaviors.
“Any dog can bite. They all have teeth, you know, so they can all bite. It’s what we do to try to control those behaviors.”
Thomas, who used to train military dogs, said that dogs who attack in neighborhoods are likely not formally trained, or trained at all.
“Do protection dogs escape from yards and attack people on their own?” Local 12 asked.
“Uh, very rare,” Thomas said. “Because the dogs are trained to listen to the owners and stay in their barrier. They’re not going to just go out and just bite somebody.”
Both trainers with whom Local 12 spoke say people need to take dog ownership much more seriously.
“If you are going to be adopting a dog that has no training and it is a breed that is oftentimes known as aggressive, you’re taking on a responsibility in our community, and you need to realize that, and you’re putting other people at risk by not making that investment,” said VanWeeldon. “So, if you can’t afford to do the training, you really can’t afford to have the dog.”
Most dog training, where you train your dog to not be aggressive, will start at well over a thousand dollars and go up from there. Dog Training Elite said that it will spread out payments so it’s affordable. Bulletproof Dog Training also said that it may sound expensive, but it pales in comparison to what it could cost you if your dog attacks another dog or a person.
Formal “protection training,” like what police dogs go through, can start at about $30,000.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
