Come on and Get Your Overdose

In 5-10 years, we can expect the Presa Canario to be ranked with the bully breeds and the Rottweiler as "dangerous" because it is "gaining in popularity in protection sports." Here's an idea: don't train a damn herding dog to be an attack dog! What a cow can handle physically, a human can't.

I hate people sometimes, I really do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perro_de_Presa_Canario

I thought of this because of an episode of "It's Me or the Dog" in which a pair of idiots didn't control their dogs as per usual, but it was resulting in them fighting, in the house, around their two small daughters. One was a Presa.

So if you hear of someone training a Presa to be an attack or guard dog...that person is a moron. I have seen them do Schutzhund work, and the trainers even say that once they learn those behaviors, they are no longer safe in civillian households.

Meanwhile, when properly handled from a young age, a Presa can live perfectly happily as a pet in a home with children and small animals, like any other cattle dog.

HATE. PEOPLE.

The below article is copied from a post by a friend of mine; I can't take credit for the writing. The sentiment, however, is one I share. Get on this. Write. Call. Phreak. Do whatever it is you do, but speak out. And share this. Tell everyone you know.

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For those of you who are not aware of what's going on down in Forrest City, Arkansas, the local government is willfully turning a blind eye to gross neglect and animal abuse at the hands of their OWN Animal Control officers!!! What's worse is, it's been going on for so long that the local humane society began making videos and posting them online in an effort to fight back.

This past weekend, 14 dogs - 9 females, 2 in heat, and 5 males - were left unattended in an open area, outside in 91 degree heat with no water. Around midnight, a volunteer went by the shelter to check on the animals and found a bloody massacre. A fight had broken out and 6 dogs were injured. One died. As volunteers scrambled to tend to the wounded dogs, Animal Control officers stood outside LAUGHING and SMOKING!!!!

You can read more here: http://www.examiner.com/x-40189-LA-Dog-Rescue-Examiner~y2010m6d2-Breaking-news-Dog-fight-at-animal-control-shelter-leads-to-dogs-death

If you are as outraged as I am, please join me by writing to their local government and DEMANDING change!! If you would be willing to join me in a peaceful protest in their city, please say so in your letter!! I believe that if were to band together and go down to their sleepy little town, they would be so overwhelmed that it would make their lives hell. Small town like Forrest City are not equipped to handle large protests - particularly not large protests comprised of people from OTHER cities. It would overwhelm their meager government, and it would attract media attention which would shine a nasty spotlight on what's happening there.

And they know it. If we let them know how angry we are, and that there are a LOT of us, then they will have to listen.

Forrest City's City Hall email: fccityhall@forrestcity-ar.com
Forrest City's website: http://www.forrestcity-ar.com/index.html
For more info about the local Humane Society and to see some of the videos they've made trying to get help: http://www.fcahumane.org/

Here's what I said to them:
"To whom it may concern,

I am writing to express my deep outrage over the horrific events that took place this weekend at the Forrest City Humane Society at the hands of your Animal Control officers. Well, I suppose that's not entirely accurate. To say that it was caused by their hands would imply that they ever bothered themselves enough to become involved in the welfare of the animals in their care. What happened this past weekend was the result of neglect and a complete disregard for life and the people involved should be publicly censured for their actions AND inactions!

These officers are an embarrassment to their profession and a slap in the face to rescuers everywhere who toil endlessly to save and protect animals from abuse and neglect. Your government's response is a further embarrassment and reflects more than just "poorly" on the character of the people in your city. A ten minute search online revealed that there have been concerns over this shelter dating back to October of last year, and that your response has been one of nonchalance, at best. If the greatness of a society may be judged by how it treats its weakest members, as Ghandi suggested, then your city is about as great as a Darfur refugee camp.

This story has reached the news here in New Jersey and is spreading through the internet like wildfire. I strongly urge you act, and act quickly, before this goes to trial in the courts of public opinion. It seems to me that a small, quiet town, such as Forrest City, Arkansas, wouldn't want a barrage of picketers and activists overwhelming its municipality in their demand for justice. Which is exactly what you'll get if people like me continue getting angry."
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The way clicker training works is that the dog learns a click is a good thing (treat association). Clickers are then used to mark the exact instant of good behavior, making it much easier for the dog to figure out which behaviors to replicate. This is especially effective in dogs with a high drive to please; companion dogs and hunters meant to work close in concert with their people (like gun dogs), and shepherds in the collie family or with similar function.

http://www.youtube.com/pamelamarxsen

Below is a particularly good example of clicker training. It also illustrates pretty well a dog's ability to experiment for itself to figure out exactly what its people are trying to get it to do.
http://www.youtube.com/pamelamarxsen#p/u/8/mPpK_TB5fes