Having a dog in your life can truly be a great thing. If treated well, they love us unconditionally.
But what if the dog sleeping in your house, just feet from your children, was dangerous…what would you do?
That’s the question being posed on the Internet after a video surfaced of a little girl hugging and kissing a Rottweiler who does not seem to be in the mood. Though the dog is baring his teeth and growling, the little girl and her parent filming don’t seem to have a worry in the world.
***Update 1/7*** I have contacted authorities in Middletown Ohio in regards to this video, they said because the dog did not attack the child no crime has been committed and they will not act on it, not even a courtesy call to the family to offer help.*** This is not my dog nor my child, please stop sending me messages and friend requests***Have you ever watched a video of a dog with a kid that made your heart race and your stomach nauseous? When the danger is brought to the owners attention they say, “That is in no way a mean growl.” and “That is how he expresses his happiness. He smiles and growls.” Wake up people! Know the signs (whale eyes, lip licking, baring teeth, growling, turning head away) before the kid needs plastic surgery and the dog loses its life even after giving several warnings. Teach your kids and your dogs boundaries.
Posted by Briana Aguon on Wednesday, January 6, 2016
According to animal behaviorist Terri Bright of the Boston-based organization MSPCA-Angell, “[t]his dog is showing ethological signs of fear and aggression. You can see the whites of the dog’s eye, showing teeth, lip-licking and growling. These are very clear warning signs that are the only way a dog can say ‘I am not comfortable right now.'”
“In my opinion, this dog is actually showing a great deal of inhibition, as he easily could have badly bitten this child at any time while she was near his face.”
But according to others, Rottweilers actually can have a happy growl. See for yourself…
“This is actually a Rottweiler trait and I have seen it firsthand in a Rotty we rescued named Gertrude,” said Zach Skow, founder of Marley’s Mutts. “She would display the very same way when you got close and gave her affection, but it was, for whatever reason, a meaningless posture. The display seemed like a stern warning but was actually just a peculiar Rotty trait.”
And he’s not the only one who feels that way. According to Alanna Polcyn, founder of San Fernando Valley-based People Loving Pets Dog Rescue, “[i]t seems aggressive and quite intimidating, but I have yet to ever hear of a story where it was in fact an aggressive behavior.”
Despite dog rescuers’ pleas to calm down, Jim Crosby, a former police lieutenant who now trains officers on how to interact with dogs, doesn’t agree. “This dog is very uncomfortable, but extremely tolerant. If you look at the body language, he is tense, leaning away from the child from beginning, is looking away as avoidance behavior.”
“The increasing level of vocalization and showing of teeth shows that he is extremely stressed, yet is holding back with a huge amount of control. When she releases, he licks — doggie for ‘Thanks, please don’t do that again!’ — and then shows the discomfort as soon as she leans in again.”
(via The Dodo)
In the end, we’ll likely never know about this child and dog unless something terrible happens. But that leaves one question. If your dog growled like this, what would YOU do?