by katiek0417 » July 22nd, 2009, 12:48 pm
Okay, I've been reading everyone's responses, and I want to chime in here....this is based purely from a legal standpoint and my knowledge of biting dogs (and how the two work together).
Yes, Seppel was faced with a threat. Yes, he defended Christine, himself, and his territory. Yes, this was fight drive. HOWEVER, this could've ended very badly. If the guy had not stayed put, and, instead tried to escape, it is very possible, Sepp would've bitten. No one knows for sure...but I'm almost positive.
Here's the problem...at that point, especially if the guy's back is turned, it goes from fight drive to prey drive. Prey drive is the instinct to hunt, chase, etc. If Sepp has ball drive (wants to chase a ball) he has prey drive.
Now, prey drive and fight drive on their own are not bad, and can be very useful. Unfortunately, this is where things get sticky. In MANY municipalities, if your dog bites someone on your property it's okay...AS LONG AS the person is facing your dog or coming towards your dog (threateningly of course). In many municipalities, if your dog bites someone while he/she is running away, you can still be held accountable under vicious/aggressive dog laws.
Why? Because many municipalities realize there is a difference between someone coming towards you and someone running away.
For this reason, if your dog has the potential to bite someone, it is very important to have a strong recall under any and all circumstances. There is one dog in my house that will not bite for real (the lab) - every other dog has an extremely strong recall - the ones with recalls not as strong as the others (the older ones vs. the younger ones) are kept on line when they are out in the house so there are no mistakes.
Christine, I applaud the fact that Sepp instinctually defended you...there are few dogs (even ones that are trained to protect) that will do that. However, I would strongly recommend that you make your recall with him as close to 100% as possible...under all conditions...he can't have a choice anymore about whether he comes to you...
Erin, yes, it's possible that he didn't hear her. However, you can train a dog to always listen even if it's in drive. It's just obedience.
And, Christine, one more thing. I would remove the Dogs on Property sign, and put on No Trespassing or something like that...the problem with dogs on property signs (or beware of dog) is that if your dog bites, there have been cases where those signs have been used as evidence that you know you have a dog that bites and don't have safeguards in place...
Like I said, my opinions are based on more of a legal standpoint...I have done a lot of research into these types of laws all over the place because of my interest in personal protection dogs.
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