I find it ironic that here I am , a person who has devoted a lifetime to dog behavior, training, rescue
and exhibiting is at her wits end over a bad dog owner. Oh sure we have all encountered bad dog
owners, and as professionals we called them out. This however is a bit different as this time it is
a neighbor. I could and perhaps should have long ago, reported this neighbor to both the police and
property management. Why didn't I? Because you and I both know that crappy Dog Owners don't
correct their training mistakes, they get rid of the DOG.
It is people who are failures at Proper Dog training and behavior, who fill our shelters and pounds with the unwanted.
Dog ownership is a privilege not a right, this is absolutely and legally true when you lease a home or apartment.
I didn't want Banjo to become another statistic..but here is what I have had to endure...
The owner does not realize ( or doesn't care) that a dog this large is hardwired to run 50 miles a day many times I see the dog get less than 5 minutes of potty time. So the dog runs through the apartment because it's owner has not properly exercised it.
This is a large dog and at the average of 33 MPH we are talking between 430 and 750 lbs of impact force ( depending on how much the dog actually weighs) on my ceiling. Imagine if you will someone throwing a 750 pound bag of concrete on your ceiling over and over and over. This has caused things to fall off my walls, tables to fall over, plaster to fall from the ceiling, a cabinet door flying open and ALL my dinnerware and glassware to fall to the floor.I now have two plates, one bowl and one piece of stemware left because of this dog. .
But my life has not been the only one affected..
His former neighbor, a veteran with severe PTSD moved out because this dog was making him a nervous wreck. Ironically this vet had an emotional support dog who was one of the best canine citizens I have ever met. But they had to move because of this neighbor allowing inappropriate dog behavior. And now I find this dog has actually given me PTSD. I feel like I live in a war zone, being woke up constantly from your sleep to a sound akin to an explosion from this dog running rampant will do that.The dog is a chronic barker, I have posted long audios of this dog barking before. The barking actually doesn't bother me, after all I spent most of my life in a kennel situation. But it bothered my employer who complained that the dog violates my work at home contract when I agreed there would be no noise including dog barking. After the second employer complaint I knew a third one would cause me to be fired. ( I did tell the owner there was a noise problem but he could care less).So I found another job and quit that one, hoping the new employer would not notice all the noise the dog causes. But as luck would have it, the day HR was processing me Banjo the dog was having a field day in the noise department. I knew my new employer could hear it. And that evening I received notice that they were not going forward with my position.So far this dog has cost me an expensive french antique side table, all my dinnerware and glass ware, my livelihood, my health,a years worth of sleep, and most of all my sanity.We all know the adage " There are no bad dogs, only bad dog owners".So let's look at owners like this in general, because there are lots of them...Some bad dog owners are simply inept, they maybe had a dog growing up but they had a yard and parents to care for the dog so they never learned the intricacies of shaping proper dog behavior. These are the people who don't know how to cope with improper dog behavior and simply shut down, they deny to themselves that they have created a problem that they are not equipped to deal with and think it will 'just go away'.You might say that type of dog owner is not to blame..but the truth is, they are to blame. Every person who adopts a dog also takes on the responsibility to educate themselves in proper behavior management. Just feeding the dog and letting it out to potty or tossing a frisbee now and then, is nowhere near adequate when it comes to addressing the dogs needs.
What is another reason? Privilege ..yes there are a multitude of dog owners out there who think they are entitled to own a dog regardless if the keeping of that dog interferes with the quality of life of other humans .. this particular dog has certainly ruined my quality of life, I have a disability that it took me years to recover from, now I am out of regression because of the stress and lack of sleep, plus I have been having heart issues from it. And it's scary.
Another cause is simple ignorance..not every owner is capable of understanding a dogs needs nor capable of understanding what it takes to be a good dog neighbor.
It is not rocket science to teach a dog that indoor time is quiet time...in fact it is one of the easiest things to teach a dog. That is because every single dog is already pre-programmed to be quiet in the home. Yes you read that right. You see, in the wild the mother dog teaches her pups to be quiet when in the den so that they are not discovered by predators.So if your dog is noisy inside the house it is because you shaped that bad behavior by not addressing the dogs needs correctly. Let me say that again- If your dog is noisy inside the house it is because YOU shaped the bad behavior.
And lastly, a lack of compassion. Not every person is a compassionate being.I believe some people are incapable of compassion. And if you are, then no way will you EVER be capable of proper dog ownership. It is compassion that fine tunes you as an owner to your dogs needsI have actually spoken to the District Attorny's office and know that I have lawsuit options regarding this dog. Once we are clear of COVID- 19 that will certainly be an option I will be considering.
