Petition Tag - dog training

Every year 200,000 people are attacked by dogs in the UK. In addition, Keep Britain Tidy calculates that around 60% of UK dog owners do not pick up their dog’s faeces.

Furthermore, the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association report that an average of 3 guide dogs every month are attacked by other dogs on British streets.

Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s successful campaign to change atittudes towards school dinners, canine behaviour specialist Jez Rose is leading a national campaign to encourage education in responsible dog ownership and reduce the incidence of dog attacks and amount of dog fouling left in public spaces.

Despite widespread media reporting on fatal dog attacks, more children and adults are injured or killed by things such as balloons and slippers than dogs - and more children die by the hand of their own parents than from attacks by dogs. With the correct training and education, dogs and dog owners - and the general public alike - can enjoy our canine friends without fear or malice. It is widely believed by canine professionals and researchers alike that 99.9% of the dogs euthanised due to aggression secondary to behaviour problems are preventable. This means that, through education and effective training, we can put an end to these perfectly predictable and preventable attacks.

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In the UK, anybody can set themselves up as a 'professional' dog trainer.

Many people are unaware of the fact that it is possible to have never owned, trained or even seen a dog for a person to set themselves up and call themselves a dog trainer, let alone have any professional credentials or business competency.

Given the elevated position of trust that dog trainers are in, it is absolutely wrong that the public is offered no protection from the con-artists and downright incompetent trainers, many of whom have only ever read the odd book or watched TV dog trainers before embarking on their careers.

As competition amongst more and more 'dodgy dog trainers' heats up, there is an increasing and worrying trend for certain individuals to rely on gimmicks and downright lies in order to win business from unsuspecting members of the public. Unscrupulous marketing methods and downright lies are often used by these dogdy trainers in order to con members of the public in to using their services.

For instance, some trainers have been publicly exposed as blatantly misrepresenting their professional credentials and lying about their associations in order to trick trusting dog owners in to believing they are more competent than they are. This has to stop.

This petition is to call for tighter regulation and insistence on a set professional code of conduct as well as competency testing for anyone who sets themselves up as a professional dog trainer.

This will help to prevent the public being duped by so-called professional dog trainers who, in any other profession, would simply be referred to as con-artists.

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It is believed by many expert dog trainers and behaviourists that Cesar Millan's methods can make dogs more aggressive and in some cases are cruel and abusive towards the dogs.

By showing Cesar Millan the National Geographic channel is condoning these methods and encouraging many people to try them out for themselves.

In inexpert hands these methods are dangerous and warnings of 'do not try this at home' are inadequate to prevent people copying the methods.

http://www.apbc.org.uk/cesar_millan_tour_concerns
http://beyondcesarmillan.weebly.com/index.html

Also contact me with any case histories of dogs who have been made worse by following CM's methods.

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Punitive dog training, coercive whispering, and outdated behaviour therapy: What might it be doing to YOUR DOG!

There are still huge numbers of ‘stamp and jerk’ dog trainers and ‘whisperers’ at large with their choke chains, spiked collars, shock collars, rape alarms, correction sticks and bullying attitudes who haven’t chosen to move on into the humane, modern age of dog training.

ASK WHY? of those trainers who still want to be cruel to your dog by training with punishment, correcting jerks and coercion when kind training methods are so much better, and are so very widely known and applied all over the world these days?

ASK WHY? of those ‘behaviourists’ who persist in deploying those long out-of-date ‘dominance reduction’ and one-size-fits-all ‘nothing in life is free’ programmes in the name of behavioural therapy based on a long discredited view of ‘pack hierarchy’ in the family dog. Why are they telling you to ignore your lovely dog? Don’t they know that this threatens the bond you have with him and potentially inflicts huge psychological damage on him?

‘SAY NO!’ to all of them! There is no such thing as ‘Being Cruel to be Kind’ in the name of dog training or behaviour therapy. Such trainers, whisperers and behaviourists are simply being ‘Cruel to be Cruel’ with these long outdated, inhumane and discredited techniques.

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Petition for a Dog Park in Burleson Texas

"To establish a fenced in, off-leash dog park where well-behaved canine citizens can exercise in a clean, safe environment without endangering or annoying people, property or wildlife. To develop a beautiful, well-maintained space open to all dog lovers and friends who are willing to uphold the park's rules and restrictions. To view this park as a community project, in partnership with the City of Burleson, Texas, designed to satisfy the needs of dog-owners and non-dog owners alike."

To: the Burleson City Mayor and City Council and the Burleson Park Officials

This petition, supported by the undersigned, is directed to the Burleson City Mayor and City Council and the Burleson Park Officials , and other interested City Officials. Its goal is to support the construction of an enclosed 5 to 6 acre dog park in a centralized, convenient location within the city limits of Burleson, Texas.

Burleson city ordinance mandates dogs be kept on a leash in public areas for the protection of fellow residents, as well as the dogs themselves. As you are aware, several dog parks, such as Fort Woof Dog Park in Fort Worth, Tails 'N Trails Dog Park in Arlington, Village at Bear Creek Dog Park in Euless, Boo Boo's Buddies Dog Park in Southlake, Central Bark in Grand Prairie have been constructed over the years to provide safe places for dogs to gather and play legally "off-leash".

Unfortunately, there is not one of these dog parks in Burleson, where numerous people walk their dogs.

Therefore, we are asking the City of Burleson to construct a 5 to 6 acre dog park for the following reasons:
+ There is not a facility in our area (similar to those mentioned above) to accommodate safe, “off-leash” activity
+ Such a facility would resolve the ongoing angst between dog owners, non-owners, police and park authorities regarding dog access to other city parks
+ Many dogs need exercise over and above human limitations; leashes limit the dog’s space and pace
+ Socializing dogs is very beneficial to the community, since it makes them less skittish and mitigates aggressive behavior when meeting other dogs and people
+ The cardiovascular effect is great for the dog's longevity and weight control, and the overall effect makes most dogs calmer and better behaved
+ This facility would increase opportunities for residents to interact with their neighbors and help create a sense of community.

An ideal location for the dog park should include trees, shaded areas, park benches and shaded tables for human interaction. It should be a grassy area that also includes doggy drinking water fountains and misters for cooling off. Several dog waste station cans should be conveniently located to encourage owners to clean up after their dogs. There should be 1 acre designated for dogs under 35lbs, 3 to 4 acres designated for dogs 35lbs to 100lbs and 1 acre should be designated for dogs over 100lbs.

The Burleson Parks Department will be responsible for the regular maintenence as with any other park. There will be an emergency entrance for Emergency vehicles.

Dog owners understand and will obey the following Rules & Regulations outlined by the City of Burleson:
* Owners are legally responsible for their dogs and any injuries caused by their dogs
* Owners must remain within the fenced area at all times
* Dogs must be leashed prior to entering and upon leaving the area. Gates to the area must remain closed
* Owners must clean up after their dogs. Failure to do so can result in a fine up to $500
* No food, treats or favorite toys to avoid possible fights.
* Dogs with a known history of, or who exhibit, dangerous behavior are prohibited
* Dogs must be healthy, fully immunized, de-wormed, and wearing ID tags and Rabies tags
* An adult must accompany children under 13; young children must be closely supervised
* Puppies under four months old, and female dogs in heat are prohibited
* Dogs must be watched at all times.
* Cooperation between dog owners is essential
* (additional rules may be added as needed)

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