An Interview with Ali Hemyari of Nashville K-9 (Part3/3)
by Michael Quaranta and Marston Maddox
email: info@twogooddogs.com
This blogpost is the third and final in a three part series with Ali that discusses dog issues that are on the minds of many dog owners.
1. Two Good Dogs: What should parents teach their children about approaching unfamiliar dogs?
Hemyari: Parents should have their children ask owners if their dogs are safe to be petted. Also, they should never pet an unfamiliar dog if the owner is not around. I see this as a common accident in dog parks. A parent will bring their children and they’ll treat it like a petting zoo, but what I typically see are the children getting injured. Maybe not from bites, but being knocked over, stepped on, etc.
2. Two Good Dogs: If your dog shows aggression towards a child or stranger, what corrective action do you take?
Hemyari: This question will go differently depending on who you ask. Some would like a dog to show aggression towards strangers as a means to protect. In the event that you do not, give a correction to the dog and re-direct them into another direction. If this is habitual in a larger dog, try using a pinch collar to correct.
The basis behind child or people aggression is either the lack of socialization or the possibility of strong over-corrections by the owner. Simply, the dog will look at others and think: That person isn’t going to do that to me. I see this a lot when I train personal dogs. The owner will say “my dog snarls at other people” and the first question I ask is “how have you been disciplining your dog?” – their typical answer is “well I slap their nose or spank their behind.” Since a dog is not a human, this is not the proper way of correcting a dog, thus leading to a potential aggressive behavior. We call this behavior defense and fear aggression. Depending on how routinely you discipline your dog and in what matter, this could become a real problem.
3. Two Good Dogs: Do you recommend the use of a muzzle as a preventive measure when children or people unfamiliar to your dogs are around?
Hemyari: I personally don’t use a muzzle because I know my dogs are safe. However, if someone asks to pet a dog of mine, I may tell them no. If you have a serious issue with aggression, I’d recommend you calling a dog trainer to help you work through that behavior (Let Nashville K-9 help!). If the behavior is really uncontrollable by you, then you certainly would need to muzzle your dog in the event it is around children or unfamiliar people.
This concludes our 3-part interview series with Ali. We would like to thank him for his time and continued dedication the Middle Tennessee dog community.
Love your dogs.
We hope this was some useful information for you. For more information on either company visit www.TwoGoodDogs.com or www.NashvilleK9.com.
