I was curious what others thought of the video. It appears that, as is fairly typical for dog bite cases, the dog (who was quarantined temporarily) will be released back to his owner without penalty. The anchor who was bitten is basically being blamed for not knowing doggie language and provoking the bite by getting into the dog’s comfort zone. I think the dog’s body language is extremely difficult to read as the owner has him in a death grip; the video clearly shows him with his hands around the dog’s collar, and moving ceaselessly around the dog’s ears in an attempt to calm the dog. I strongly suspect from that soothing behavior and the fact he bought a Dogo and named him Gladiator, that the owner had an inkling that the dog was (to be extremely kind) unreliable. And the total lack of reaction after the bite is pathetic. But mostly, I wonder when we stopped expecting dogs to refrain from biting us in the face when they got uncomfortable.
They could have instead reacted the complete opposite direction and just put the dog down because is “dangerous”. That has happened in plenty of other cases.
This reminds me of watching Pet Star and always waiting for Mario Lopez to get bit in the face… side vent: What is with people putting their faces right up to dogs they don’t know???
Why would someone put their face that close to a dog they don’t know? He seemed stressed, and a stressed dog is unpredictable. I don’t blame the dog, but if owners have a powerful dog like that, they need to watch their dogs body language and keep the situation cool. The dog wasn’t vicious, and im not condoning the bite, but I think its unfair to ask " when did we expect to dogs to refrain biting us…" Really? I think the bigger question is when did people get stupid enough to put themselves in a situation where they could get hurt.im constantly amazed at people’s lack of caution around dogs they don’t know. I dont care if the owners say its the nicest dog in the world, be careful. It seemed like the lack of reaction may have been due to fact they were on air…
The dog just had a stressful day where he almost drowned, and some idiot thinks it’s a good idea to put him in a studio with strangers, who then, in spite of the dog giving clear stress signals (lip licking, whale eyes, panting), has some ignorant stranger grab him by the head and try to kiss him…and people are surprised he bit?
I hope the dog doesn’t pay for people’s stupidity.
The whole situation is unfortunate…
The stories say the anchor and others had been interacting with the dog for 45 minutes before the interview with wonderful results.
Again, the whole thing is unfortunate, and I’d say it’s mostly on the owner of the dog, not the anchor. On CoTH, we are used to people being animal pros. Unfortunately, most people aren’t. Even self professed “dog savvy” people often aren’t. If you get comfy around a dog (45 minutes of hangout time beforehand maybe?), you may forget “the rules.” I’ve probably pushed the boundaries with dogs I didn’t know well enough in the past. I pretty much only put my face in dogs’ faces that I know, but that doesn’t mean I’ve never done something that a dog might take offense to (I try not to, and I’m super careful about body language, but I’m far from a dog whisperer). I think my horse years have given me that internal idiot light though that gives me some advance warning, but not everyone has that.
AND, she’s an anchor… She’s supposed to be a warm fuzzy person that audiences can relate to. Who knows, perhaps her internal warning was buzzing, but she felt it was worth the risk to give the dog a smooch for ratings.
I would put the fault squarely with the owner/handlers in the video (whoever knew the dog most). The one guy had his hand FIRMLY on the collar for the entire interview that we can now view. The dog was, from my inference, in a pretty “stuck” position due to that handhold. He probably felt cornered, and the owner (not the anchor) was consistently and firmly patting/almost smacking the dog’s head and ears (the anchor was mostly stroking around the chin and neck). It almost looked like the guy was nervously trying to distract the dog. It can be hard with “smiley” pit types because their faces often look so happy when their mouths are open.
Anyway, I’d say the dog is unlikely a menace to society. He may need to go with an owner that can do a better job managing him though.
Many people are strangely hardwired to be TOO polite. This often makes them nervously stand aside while their pet gets basically mauled by some random human. If you videoed the owner, you’d notice they were nervous as that random person came up and stuck their face in their dog’s face. You’d notice they were totally uncomfortable when a small child asks to hug their dog (and they allow it!) Etc, etc, etc.
Seems like the dog is likely a pretty safe citizen who just needs someone who can tell when he’s stressed.
Also, hate to throw this out there because there are some on this site that HATE bully breeds and will malign them to the very end… But if this dog had been a lab or golden, I bet it wouldn’t have been as newsworthy - it would have been an “accident” because the dog got “nervous,” which is probably ACCURATE… I have YET to meet an individual of a bully breed that’s given me as much grief as the naughty labs, goldens, schnauzers, or tinys (poms, chis, etc) that I’ve been around. After talking to vets and other animal service workers, they often report similar results. At this point, I’d say pits are common enough in many areas to counter the “well, labs and goldens are popular, so that’s why you see increased bite incidents” idea.
Anyhoo, unfortunate all around. You can only blame the anchor so much. She is paid to be friendly and gushy. All those two guys had to do (assuming one of them knew the dog, or am I incorrect in that?) was say, “Oh, he doesn’t love strangers in his face.” Or just make a move to reposition the dog away from her. I do these things all the time with my animals. Again, I lay the blame squarely with the handlers, not the anchor who was just trying to be a personality on TV with a rescue dog. Had it gone as she intended, you’d have seen an increase in adoptions in that area. So it sucks the handlers effed that up…
The original story about this, from the Denver Post (where it happened) said the owner is being cited for a bunch of things, including having an unvaccinated dog. The owner certainly agreed to be on tv with the dog, so I’m not sure all of the fault is with the anchor. She should have known better, but I’m not sure the dog owner is the best example of responsible ownership either.
Bad owner of notorious breed; dogs being dogs??
I saw this on facebook yesterday, with all the blame on the anchor. I think dog people don’t want to see more bad press so they are rallying blindly. I don’t know if blame is necessary: is action being called for?
The owner was walking his dog off leash when it took off chasing wildlife. Bad owner! :mad: Then dog nearly drowns, requiring a rescue mission costing the city/county who knows how much. Anyone ever watch that Animal Rescue show on AP? Loose horse steps into uncovered drain pipe on owner’s private property and half the town’s resources rush to extract it. Think the owner pays for that 
I hope so!
I agree with those saying the owner seemed nervous. Put me on a tv set and I’d be nervous too! His handling of the dog was obviously inadequate. That dog was putting up with a lot!! Another unfortunate and highly public example of bad owner of a notorious breed.
Dogs being dogs: is it ok for a dog to react with teeth to a human? I am curious what the educated and savvy COTHers believe.
To answer Bicoastal’s question: I dont think its “ok” for a dog to react w/ teeth to human. I do think, however, it is part of their natural reaction to certain situations. We, as owners, have the responsibility to manage those situations.
This particular story and one other feel-good story where anchor got all scratched up by cat, make me wonder about the format of stories. Newsperson does NOT need to interact to make it a story IMO.
With the above story: nervous owner (for whatever reasons) sends nervous vibes to dog, while holding him as close as possible. Dog becomes nervous or more nervous while being cornered by a stranger. Dog may be protecting himself, maybe owner, maybe both. Accident waiting to happen.
Bingo! The one news article I read about it had a dog expert that said flat out the anchor did EVERYTHING wrong – approach a dog who really didn’t know her, then get right up in his face–like 6" away, then kisses it on the snoot. If the owner didn’t do this kind of thing on a regular basis (and, being a man, I doubt he does much kissy-kissy on his dog), the dog is not going to be used to it. Coupled with a near drowning, studio lights, more new people than he’s met in YEARS all in afew hours and then they blame the DOG?
That’s just stupid. And what he did to the anchor was barely a bite…I’m betting it was more like raking her with her teeth.
Totally NOT the dog’s fault. Yes, this IS a breed bred for protection (just like dozens of breeds), so one should take that into account.
To punish this dog for what he did would be the same as putting down a Arab for being spooky! We expect our horse to act like horses and defend their right to do so (within reason), but not a dog.
Think about it – kids & teens do rotten things every day and we don’t (always) blame the parents – something are just Nature.
after watching the video, the dog is uncomfortable, I would not say too stressed, the fact that they played for 45 mins before can result in panting and lip licking because he was hot tired and thirsty.
BUT there is a clear 2 second warning that he is no longer cool with the situation. He leans against the owners legs, looks up at him, says, “Dad, I am done here can we go.” then the anchor decides its a good idea to get a valentines day kiss she says it right before she goes in to steal a smooch.
dog then, very nicely I might add, tells her to get out of his personal space with a little nip, but unfortunately is a big nip on a human body.
Dog should also not have been pinned between owner and anchor. this incites protective behavior.
There is fault on all sides.
also the posting states that he is being cited for not restaining the dog, Where and how much more restraining does he need? the dog is IN BETWEEN THE GUYS LEGS And held by the collar. ?!?!
Actually, the dog showed great restraint. That was not an attack or a mauling; it was a nip warning the anchor that she was in his space. It is never acceptable for a dog to draw blood but this dog was mismanaged. My aussie would do the same thing if someone stuck their face in his, however, somehow he would do a warning nip without touching them with his teeth. (For the record, after he did this once, and it was my fault, no one is allowed to squat down to pat him and put their face near his. He is a good dog but unknown human face in his is more than he can handle.) It’s unfortunate that this particular dog drew blood but I would not put the blame on the dog. Hopefully the owner will learn how to properly manage this dog and they will have a long, uneventful life together.
I also hope that the anchorwoman was not too badly hurt.
I’m in the camp that it was the anchor’s fault. Even a dog used to kisses and hugs from the owner isn’t okay with a stranger doing it. That would be under normal circumstance. That dog had nearly drowned and was just reunited with the owner that day from what I understand. Any dog would be stressed out.
I have one of those dogs that doesn’t like strangers in her face. She loves hugs and kisses from people she knows. If a stranger came up and did the same thing, she wouldn’t like it. So, I have to protect her from people that are dumb enough to try it. They will see other people, including kids, petting her. They will come up and pat her for a minute and then lean over her (threatening move) and try to hug her. She gives very clear signals that she is uncomfortable as soon as they start to lean over her, but most don’t recognize those signals. Fortunately, she has never bitten anyone. I think that is mostly because I’m vigilant.
Sorry, only an idiot shoves their face into an unknown dogs face, especially when the dog is cornered and can’t get away.
As for the owner…I don’t know the story and I don’t know how the dog got loose. If he was irresponsible, I hope they fine the heck out of him for putting lives in danger to rescue the dog.
[QUOTE=jetsmom;6134222]
The dog just had a stressful day where he almost drowned, and some idiot thinks it’s a good idea to put him in a studio with strangers, who then, in spite of the dog giving clear stress signals (lip licking, whale eyes, panting), has some ignorant stranger grab him by the head and try to kiss him…and people are surprised he bit?
I hope the dog doesn’t pay for people’s stupidity.[/QUOTE]
Someone told me about this yesterday and before I even saw the video I knew that that is what I would see. The lip licking, and the whale eyes are very common “leave me alone, you make me uncomfortable” signs that people ignore. I’m not going to go so far as to say the woman “deserved” to get bit but the dog did everything he could do to warn her to keep her distance and she ignored the signs. #1 rule when dealing with strange dogs is don’t put anything you want to keep within striking range of their teeth. You just never know…
ETA: I agree that the dog owner is not exactly a shining example of a responsible dog owner either…poor dog.
the dog was saying loud and clear “get out of my face”, and finally had to scream it, because no one was paying attention. The dog clearly had no real intention of actually injuring anyone.
That was a very avoidable dog bite.
And I firmly believe that dogs are, in some circumstances, fully justified in putting their teeth to human flesh.
As someone who takes pets on TV all the time, my thoughts are the handler should have diffused the situation long before it got to that point. Since it’s really tricky to ask someone to back the F off on live tv, you need to talk about it before you go on air. Knock wood, I’ve never come close to anything like this on live tv but I have told anchors before “he’s a little nervous today, can you go slow around him when we’re on?” when I have one a little anxious about the set/lights/tv situation.
The anchor obviously doesn’t know much about dogs (but loffs them!) and although she should know better than to stick her face up to a strange dog, people do it all the time. It was a feel-good spot and anchors are trained to make it look extra-super-dooper feel good. The cutest way to do that? Kisses. Unfortunately, this swung the opposite way…extra sad in a town that always has a pittie ban (yes, I know it’s a dogo, but sadly, 95% of the folks watching the spot as it makes the rounds see “pit bull”).
[QUOTE=BLBGP;6134869]
As someone who takes pets on TV all the time, my thoughts are the handler should have diffused the situation long before it got to that point. Since it’s really tricky to ask someone to back the F off on live tv, you need to talk about it before you go on air. Knock wood, I’ve never come close to anything like this on live tv but I have told anchors before “he’s a little nervous today, can you go slow around him when we’re on?” when I have one a little anxious about the set/lights/tv situation.
The anchor obviously doesn’t know much about dogs (but loffs them!) and although she should know better than to stick her face up to a strange dog, people do it all the time. It was a feel-good spot and anchors are trained to make it look extra-super-dooper feel good. The cutest way to do that? Kisses. Unfortunately, this swung the opposite way…extra sad in a town that always has a pittie ban (yes, I know it’s a dogo, but sadly, 95% of the folks watching the spot as it makes the rounds see “pit bull”).[/QUOTE]
Out of curiosity, why do you take dogs on TV? Sounds interesting!
What a sad situation. The dog was in the middle of a bad situation and did not know what to do.
Just to give people an idea of the severity of the bite, the woman was released from the hospital today, after undergoing reconstructive surgery and “extensive medical treatment.” This incident took place Wednesday morning and she’d been hospitalized since it occurred.
I think there were a lot of mistakes made on both sides of the fence here, and I hope she heals well and quickly.
[QUOTE=OveroHunter;6135174]
Out of curiosity, why do you take dogs on TV? Sounds interesting!
What a sad situation. The dog was in the middle of a bad situation and did not know what to do.[/QUOTE]
I work for an animal shelter and we have around 10-12 pet of the week spots on various TV and radio outlets every week. Love my job! 
