Rhodesian Ridgeback Mauls Girl: Are Dogs Safe?
A Rhodesian Ridgeback
On November 11, a Rhodesian Ridgeback may be put down for biting a 3-year-old girl this past August. It’s owner, a 21-year-old named Aaron Clifford, 21, admitted he allowed the dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place. The owner, too, will be sentenced on November 11. The dog now wears a muzzle in public and has been neutered.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback attacked the girl when he was tied to a picnic bench and the girl ran by. Where I live, we see dogs tied to parking meters and bike stands all the time. And it can be kind of scary.Years ago I went to pet one of these dogs and a friend, a dog-owner, said, “Don’t do that. Dogs get skittish when they’re tied up.” It’s a lesson I pass on to my kids all the time, along with always ask the owner if you can pet a dog. But it doesn’t always work. Sometimes a kid shoots by, a dog is nervous, bad things happen.
Teaching a child how to interact appropriately with an animal isn’t easy. Kids and dogs share a lot of public space, they’re often equally excited to see each other, and they both don’t necessarily know how to channel that excitement. To that end, kids are admonished to be both gentle and careful with dogs; we don’t want them to hurt the dog or vice versa.
It’s a balancing act that in some ways isn’t unlike what parents with newborns have to do with their toddlers. But with human babies, we have some kind of control and we know the baby won’t hurt the toddler (unless spitting up counts as hurting).
With dogs, parents have to rely on the dog’s owner to be responsible: To train the dog, to understand his dog personality and where it can and can’t be left alone, to muzzle a dog who can bite, and, frankly, to neuter a young dog who could be aggressive. That’s why if I don’t know a dog, especially a big dog, my kids and I steer clear and hope for the best. How do you teach your kids how to be safe around animals?
Photo credit: http://www.petplanet.co.uk/petplanet/breeds/Rhodesian_Ridgeback.htm
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Everything with a mouth can bite. That includes Aunt Mabel’s sweet Golden Retriever who would never hurt a fly.
It really comes down to responsibility on both sides. Parents need to control their children around animals, and animal owners need to control their animals around kids. The balancing act won’t work unless both parties act responsibly.
A couple of examples:
Hubby and I walk the dogs around the neighborhood around midnight or later, because one of them gets nervous around strangers. So we go when nobody else is out (we enjoy walking at night anyway so it works out well). On on of our walks a family pulled into their driveway as we were walking by. Mom gets out of the car and lifts toddler out of the car, then looks at us walking by. She then very deliberately LETS GO of her toddler’s hand, who promptly runs towards us screaming “doggydoggydoggy!”. Hubby takes the dog leash that I’m holding and starts walking down the road very quickly while I scoop up kiddo and return her to her glaring parents. :/
Another example would have to be the idiot couple that I met while fostering a sweet but easily scared Border Collie. The couple saw his picture on the shelter’s website and wanted to meet and possibly adopt him. They were completely wrong for him (the man was hugely overpowering, not at all suited for a dog that needed a gentle, preferably female, hand), but to make matters worse they were keeping their daughter’s kids while she was deployed. I told the couple that the dog really wasn’t suited for a family with kids, that they could possibly scare him into biting, and they seemed to understand. Or so I thought, until I returned the dog to shelter while I was on vacation (the plan was to continue to foster him for the shelter when I got back), and they promptly adopted him! Then returned him less than a week later because he “was scared of the toddler and would run away from him”. NO FREAKING KIDDING. ARGH.
A big problem is that very few people actually read dog language well, so they assume that they can tell the difference between a friendly dog and an unfriendly one when they can’t. This includes most dog owners. Heck, I used to think that my dog wasn’t upset around strangers because he would wag his whole body when he saw them. Not true, I just didn’t know enough to see the smaller signs, like his cheeks sinking, or the ever so slight slight tightness in his ears and tail. We should never assume that a dog is friendly, and I think far too many people do.
And that was way longer than intended. I’m going to shut up now.
I don’t assume all dogs are friendly. I also don’t assume that everyone likes my dog or wants to interact with her, which is why I always walk her on a leash and if we have to actually go somewhere, we just leave the dog at home rather than tie her up outside wherever we’re going. We live in a big city with a strict leash law. Most people are good about obeying the leash law, but there have been several times when I am out with my kids and some a**hole is walking his (it’s always been a he) enormous f**ng dog off leash and I don’t see them coming in time to hustle my kids across the street. Then the dog comes running up to my kids, jumps up on them, which totally freaks them out, and I have to pull the dog off them. Then the owner casually goes, “Oh, he/she’s friendly.” This is what I yell at him: I DON’T KNOW THAT. AND EVEN YOU HAVE THE NICEST DOG IN THE WORLD, IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IT IS KNOCKING MY CHILD TO THE GROUND. USE A LEASH, A**HOLE. And then I call the police. Every single time this has happened, the dog owner has backed down and apologized. But I do not like that I have to keep fighting this battle.
Rebecca-great post. I agree that anything with a mouth can bite, and responsibility truly is with everyone. Pet owners really should be aware of their animals in public places at all times. Sadly, though, there are many people who just don’t read social cues on an animal. Yelling/scolding/hitting an animal when they are growling just teaches animals not to growl or give warning when/if a dog is uncomfortable to bite. Small kids are easy targets b/c they make direct eye contact, smile, are quick moving, and approach directly (which are all threats in a dog’s world).
TC – You make such a good point! My parents have two high strung, high needs dogs. One is just not comfortable around my daughter. I am OK with that, but my parents will punish the dog for growling and force her to stay near DD. I’ve told them time and time again, it’s okay if Ellie doesn’t like DD, just let her go! But no, now she just doesn’t growl and I’m even less comfortable having DD around them.
I get really upset when people have their dogs off their leashes. We were walking a winding trail at a park when a huge dog came running around a bend and jumped on my 3 year old. She was not hurt, just very scared, but the dog should have been on a leash.
I am pro child, pro dog and pro leash (although I agree that some dogs alter their behavior when leashed). Rebecca’s post is perfect. I will comment that the reason some children a couple of posts up freak out around a friendly (although unleashed) dog might have to do with the parents’ reaction.
Hah hah hah, the title of this post (which I haven’t even read yet) reminds me of the sketch on the last Saturday Night Live with Emma Stone. “Kids are drinking expired soup to get high!” The world is full of things that aren’t “safe.” That’s why kids come with parents to protect them. Good grief.
anon, the parents might not have even reacted yet. In the case I was describing, I didn’t react strongly at all, because I wanted my daughter to be less scared, not more scared. So I smiled and said, “You’re ok, the dog is just saying hi.” I think a child will automatically be scared when an animal larger than herself runs from out of nowhere and knocks her to the ground. That just IS scary, regardless of how parents react. My kids know I adore dogs, and they do too.
Sweet Manjari, I’m not talking about your post, but Michelle’s. Sorry for the confusion.
lots of great comments here. I just want to add that Manjari has an EXCELLENT point with the knocking down thing. I see parents over-react to that all the time – bad idea! Unless you WANT a child that is overly afraid of dogs, that is. Kids – especially little ones – fall down. It happens. This is where it’s up to parents to make it not a big deal, right away! Of course dogs should be leashed in parks, but it could happen at a friends house or wherever. Just do exactly as Manjari advised, and all will be well.
anon, if you bothered to read my post, I got upset AFTER my 40-lb child was knocked to the ground by a 100-lb dog. Was I supposed to laugh it off, so that my child could get the message that his feelings were less important than those of some random guy and his dog? Should I be teaching him that all dogs are friendly and therefore entitled to knock him down? And how was I supposed to know the dog was friendly in advance? What if it wasn’t? Strangers do not get to impose their dogs on small children, period. If you think I overreacted by chewing out the dog owner, this says more about your issues than mine.
Michelle, I believe what you said is that several times, with several male dog owners, (“It is always a he”) a dog has “jumped up” on your freaked out children, and that you always scream the same obscenity and always call the cops. That is what you actually wrote. I am not defending the owners of leash less dogs in the scenario you originally described. I am suggesting that in that scenario, you are responsible for some of your children’s fear.
And just to be clear, I do not think that “jumped up on” somehow means the same thing as “knocked down.”
the point is that all dogs require training. regardless of where you do it, as long as the owner is present for the training. petsmart offers it at a very cheap price with great quality. about 109 dollars gets you all the basics and a good understanding of what to look for when taking your dog in public. i recommend rescue remedy for anydog being adopted. its an herbal prozac that really takes the edge off
Los animales son seres inocentes . La culpa de su comportamiento siempre es del ser humano .
I have a large dog (80 lbs) who is very calm and NEVER jumps and is very, very submissive. He generally avoids people he doesn’t know entirely and walks perfectly with me off-leash (which is allowed by town ordinance in my town in MA). I too have had the problem of people allowing their children to run up and try to pet him, without asking permission – this is no problem, as my dog will actually shy away and has never in his 8 years bitten anyone (although I watch him like a hawk anyway). What drives me nuts is the children who see (just see, not get knocked down, jumped on, licked or even sniffed) my large dog, on leash or off, and SCREAM BLOODY MURDER. This not only petrifies my dog, but isn’t pleasant for anyone else around them. All I can think when I am faced with a screaming 5-12 year old, and their (almost always) equally fearful parent, is that their parents aren’t doing them any favors teaching them to be petrified of all dogs. Not only are dogs becoming more and more common, but showing that you’re afraid of a dog can actually encourage a dog to attack. I think it’s important for parents to teach their children how to react when faced with a strange dog – and screaming and/or running is NOT what needs to happen. One should always remain calm and collected, not approach the dog, and walk (not run!) confidently in the direction of safety (the nearest building, home, wherever). Dogs, my greyhound in particular, LOVE to play chase, with each other and with “their” people – they may also mistake screaming for the sound or a dying animal or another dog in distress, which again, will make them MORE likely to attack you or your children, not less. Knowledge is power, people.
Sorry that I’m so late to this conversation!! I am a ridgeback owner. Bogie is my 3rd RhoRidge so I have a good amount of breed experience. I can tell you that this breed couldn’t care less about children (and strangers for that matter). They are ver devoted to their owner but other than a ‘greeting’ they don’t usually care about others. THAT SAID, a lot if training needs to go into owning this breed. In addition to training, they require even more exercise. What this story sounds like is an unsocialized RR that wasn’t ‘worked’ and tied up full of energy so it was frustrated. I have serious doubts that the child was the dogs aim – he was just acting out. My ridgies are all socialized show dogs that go off leash with me almost everywhere and very rarely leave my side.
This is not a breed for the ‘faint of heart’ or first time dog owner – you better be ready for the challenge of owning a RhoRidge because they will outsmart you when ever possible. They would absolutely HATE being left tied somewhere.
Thanks for sharing that information about the breed. Ridgebacks were really popular for a while, and I think too often when people buy dogs, especially trendy dogs, they do so without taking into account the needs of the breed. I have a friend who had a Vizla she trained really well and worked regularly and the dog was a dream, but without the training and the work, not so much.
I would also like to add that in the article that the dog was an unaltered male. As with pitbulls and other high profile dog bites, the majority, if not all, come from unaltered individuals or individuals that were spayed or neutered after a year old. That fact alone can change much of a dog’s attitude or conduct particularly when combined with lack of training and socialization.