In some parts of Canada, they use a simple rubber gloved hand to pole a dog to see if it’s aggressive. If yes, they kill the dog. Do you think this is right?
“A lot of it comes with experience and taking bits and pieces from other people’s methodology and theory and putting together something that works.” hmm….
3 responses so far ↓
1 Gwyn // Sep 14, 2006 at 10:55 am
Um, no . . .
Poke me with a pole and I’ll show you aggressive. Does that mean I should be killed?
2 Nancy // Sep 15, 2006 at 1:41 pm
They don’t -or shouldn’t be- poking them hard enough to force a violent reaction. As in, if I touch your arm to get your attention, you shouldn’t punch me in the face. Now, if I slug you in the arm - yeah, I expect to get punched back. The poke test (also done in parts of the US, from what I understand) is more of a firm touch and gives the humane society an idea of what the dog will do if a child pets too hard, or if the dog is approached by a stranger. Most “people-friendly” dogs, when poked, will back away and give you a “wtf are you doing” look. Shelters/pounds/humane societies *have* to adopt out the most friendly and docile of dogs — from a practical standpoint, it doesn’t reflect well on them if Sparky takes off the baby’s hand when the tot is learning what “soft” is. Shelters have a hard enough time competing with breeders to find homes for dogs, and they have the added difficulty of not knowing what sort of history the dog has.
3 Jo // Sep 17, 2006 at 10:11 pm
Hi, The point of the article was to show that, although some shelters use a temperamant test designed by others, staff at shelters does not always follow the prescribed useage or procedures to the letter, thereby invalidating the test. In the Ottawa case, it was resulting in flawed data, unusuable results — and resulting in the death of dogs. The Sternberg test is only one of a few; Emily Weiss also designed a test that is in use in multiple shelters. I personally have attended workshops given by Sue Sternberg, and have been quite impressed.
The test is designed to be carried out after a period of settling in by the
dog, and is supposed to be repeated at intervals — one test is NOT the
criteria for euthanasia, as suggested in the article. As well, the test does NOT have any component that continually ‘pokes’ the dog with the Assess-A-Hand tool — the hand is used to pat the dog gently, and pull the dog’s food away, not poke the dog, as stated in the article.
Just like any procedure that relies on multiple criteria, some of which may be subjective, the test is supposed to be done a few times, by different people, at different times during the dog’s stay at the shelter. It is supposed to be viewed by more than one person, and if possible videotaped. If a shelter does not follow these rules, then they aren’t following the procedure correctly.
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