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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — Jack and Hambone were the stars of the show Thursday night.
The two laid back pit bulls were there to tell you their breed gets a lot of bad press. Outgoing and friendly with tails constantly wagging, they demonstrated what their owners Jen Ryan and Ali Sandholm want people to understand, that pit bulls are great dogs and people shouldn't automatically be afraid of them. The women also take them into elementary schools in Longmont to show kids how to meet and greet dogs.
The pit bulls were among five dogs, from search and rescue to therapy dogs, presented by the Roaring Fork Kennel Club at the Glenwood Springs Community Center Thursday as part of a dog safety forum.
"We've had some high-profile dog bites in the last year or so, and it's in everyone's interest to be safe with dogs," said Laurie Raymond, owner of High Tails Dog & Cat Outfitters in Glenwood Springs, who helped organize the event.
Local trainer Laura Van Dyne, also known as the Canine Consultant, put dog bites in perspective.
Van Dyne said recent stories in the local news media about incidents in which people have been bitten by pit bulls "were nonstories. If it hadn't been pit bulls it wouldn't have been in the newspaper, much less on the front page," she said.
Citing national statistics, Van Dyne said 90 percent of dog bites do not cause injury. Compared to the numbers of fatal injuries to children less than 10 years old caused by caregivers, about 800 annually, dog bites account for 10 instances, according to the book "Dogs Bite But Balloons and Slippers are More Dangerous," by James Bradley.
"It's a pretty rare event that dogs do a great deal of damage," Van Dyne said.
Jack then took the stage to demonstrate how children should approach dogs they don't know.
"Always ask permission" to pet a dog, said Jack's owner Jen Ryan. He sat calmly at Ryan's side as Tracy Yajko, an animal behaviorist who works at the Colorado Animal Rescue (CARE) shelter in Glenwood Springs, played the role of a child. She showed how kids should approach a dog slowly and pet them under the chin rather than the top of the head.
"Kids want to run up and touch and feel, they move quickly," all of which can excite a dog, Yajko said.
Ethan Wilhelm, 15, brought along his Yorkshire terrier, Polly, an agility champion, and spoke about the lessons he's learned in training his dog.
Polly "thinks she's a big dog," he said, so he has to be careful with her around bigger dogs. When in doubt he picks her up and holds her.
He's also learned "dogs are really smart, sometimes they're smarter than people," he said.
Dee Lehman is a law enforcement ranger with the Bureau of Land Management. She patrols campgrounds and searches for lost hikers with a German shepherd who's a trained police dog.
With police dogs "you should stay back about four feet from the dog and handler," she said. "Ask first if (the dog) can be approached. Some handlers don't want their dogs petted. Get permission first."
Lehman's dog is trained to protect her, so sudden moves by excited kids can get the dog riled up. Lehman said she didn't bring the dog with her Thursday night because "it's an alpha dog," with a dominant temperament that doesn't necessarily get along with other dogs.
Yajko spoke about how dogs that come to the CARE shelter are tested for temperament so they can be matched with the right prospective owners.
They handle the dogs, check their teeth, and observe how they behave around the food bowl, looking for signs of aggression.
"All dogs have the ability to bite, and at the shelter we try to assess their temperament to the best of our ability," she said.
They also work with the dogs to improve their behavior.
With pit bulls, "we push them so much harder than other dogs. We don't want to send them out if there's any risk," she said. "We want them to be really solid dogs."
Finally, one of the most important things to remember about dogs "is they're not people in little furry suits," Raymond said.
Holding an educational forum, she added, is a step toward helping people be more responsible around dogs.
"Owners need to know how to handle (dogs) and people need to know how to approach them safely," she said.
Contact Donna Gray: 945-8515, ext. 16605
dgray@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs Colorado CO
The two laid back pit bulls were there to tell you their breed gets a lot of bad press. Outgoing and friendly with tails constantly wagging, they demonstrated what their owners Jen Ryan and Ali Sandholm want people to understand, that pit bulls are great dogs and people shouldn't automatically be afraid of them. The women also take them into elementary schools in Longmont to show kids how to meet and greet dogs.
The pit bulls were among five dogs, from search and rescue to therapy dogs, presented by the Roaring Fork Kennel Club at the Glenwood Springs Community Center Thursday as part of a dog safety forum.
"We've had some high-profile dog bites in the last year or so, and it's in everyone's interest to be safe with dogs," said Laurie Raymond, owner of High Tails Dog & Cat Outfitters in Glenwood Springs, who helped organize the event.
Local trainer Laura Van Dyne, also known as the Canine Consultant, put dog bites in perspective.
Van Dyne said recent stories in the local news media about incidents in which people have been bitten by pit bulls "were nonstories. If it hadn't been pit bulls it wouldn't have been in the newspaper, much less on the front page," she said.
Citing national statistics, Van Dyne said 90 percent of dog bites do not cause injury. Compared to the numbers of fatal injuries to children less than 10 years old caused by caregivers, about 800 annually, dog bites account for 10 instances, according to the book "Dogs Bite But Balloons and Slippers are More Dangerous," by James Bradley.
"It's a pretty rare event that dogs do a great deal of damage," Van Dyne said.
Jack then took the stage to demonstrate how children should approach dogs they don't know.
"Always ask permission" to pet a dog, said Jack's owner Jen Ryan. He sat calmly at Ryan's side as Tracy Yajko, an animal behaviorist who works at the Colorado Animal Rescue (CARE) shelter in Glenwood Springs, played the role of a child. She showed how kids should approach a dog slowly and pet them under the chin rather than the top of the head.
"Kids want to run up and touch and feel, they move quickly," all of which can excite a dog, Yajko said.
Ethan Wilhelm, 15, brought along his Yorkshire terrier, Polly, an agility champion, and spoke about the lessons he's learned in training his dog.
Polly "thinks she's a big dog," he said, so he has to be careful with her around bigger dogs. When in doubt he picks her up and holds her.
He's also learned "dogs are really smart, sometimes they're smarter than people," he said.
Dee Lehman is a law enforcement ranger with the Bureau of Land Management. She patrols campgrounds and searches for lost hikers with a German shepherd who's a trained police dog.
With police dogs "you should stay back about four feet from the dog and handler," she said. "Ask first if (the dog) can be approached. Some handlers don't want their dogs petted. Get permission first."
Lehman's dog is trained to protect her, so sudden moves by excited kids can get the dog riled up. Lehman said she didn't bring the dog with her Thursday night because "it's an alpha dog," with a dominant temperament that doesn't necessarily get along with other dogs.
Yajko spoke about how dogs that come to the CARE shelter are tested for temperament so they can be matched with the right prospective owners.
They handle the dogs, check their teeth, and observe how they behave around the food bowl, looking for signs of aggression.
"All dogs have the ability to bite, and at the shelter we try to assess their temperament to the best of our ability," she said.
They also work with the dogs to improve their behavior.
With pit bulls, "we push them so much harder than other dogs. We don't want to send them out if there's any risk," she said. "We want them to be really solid dogs."
Finally, one of the most important things to remember about dogs "is they're not people in little furry suits," Raymond said.
Holding an educational forum, she added, is a step toward helping people be more responsible around dogs.
"Owners need to know how to handle (dogs) and people need to know how to approach them safely," she said.
Contact Donna Gray: 945-8515, ext. 16605
dgray@postindependent.com
Post Independent, Glenwood Springs Colorado CO
