Dog Talk

Just saw this article
Police are called to a house regarding neighbors not getting along
A small dog approaches the police
The cop pulls out his gun to shoot the dog
A mother runs up between the cop and dog preventing the cop from shooting the small dog in front of her 4 yr old
This is a small friendly dog.
The cop arrests the mother for preventing the cop from shooting her small dog.
The cop then goes in the house to take any device that could have recorded the incident.
Cops are upset all the devices are password protected and refuse to return the devices
After a month, they get the devices back the cops stole
Therefore a video of the incident survived :-)

Woman goes to court, jury finds her not guilty due to the video

https://photographyisnotacrime.com/2016/03/07/west-virginia-woman-acquitted-for-stepping-between-dog-and-cop-who-wanted-to-kill-it/
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160301/woman-free-after-stand-between-trooper-dog

Why did this go to court?
Watch the video, its a easy case.
Dogs lives matter
Good cop, ok, bad cop, no donut

I support Apple, if police were able to break the password , they would have deleted the evidence.
Hooray for video, the only protection we have from the few bad cops

Quote: terapined

Just saw this article
Police are called to a house regarding neighbors not getting along
A small dog approaches the police
The cop pulls out his gun to shoot the dog

What ever happened to those spray cans that throw cayenne pepper into the air?

Oh wow, I didn't see that the dog was not only chained but already at the full length of his chain.

Brave woman.

Edit: I remember when Moxie Marlinspike spread his arms and zig zagged in the line of fire of cops with shotguns in San Diego Harbor ... saying the swimmer in the water is not a terrorist, he is a Navy Seal. It takes courage to step into the line of fire and stay there.

You live a blessed life, tp. Clearly you have suffered very little to no violence in your life.

That is not a "small dog". It's certainly big enough to leave you with permanent damage, and could surely leave you unable to work for an extended period of time. A dog of that size, to me, threatens so much of my life I wish I could pack all day. One bite, even if mostly superficial, is gonna run me $1k+ in med bills that I don't have and possible loss of at least a day of work, which I can't afford. And I sure as s#$% am suffering not one thing because of a GD animal.

I don't understand the "chain". I don't see one, but if it was, you can see the cop was at one point where the dog ended up stopped. He's still in danger. But even if it was totally there, it means not much. Even in USPS we are not to trust any single thing. Not a chain, not an owner, not a plate glass window. Dogs have come through glass, blasted doors of their hinges, anything you can think of and shredded people. I'm sure cops get no less training than we.

Pulling the gun? Damn right. Again, you know nothing approaching a house. The biggest Russian Wolfhound could be one giant teddy bear, while the Tea Cup Terrier just wants to eat your soul. You do not shoot dogs out of hand; those cops can gtfo. But pull and be prepared to? Pfft, I do that in normal life, albeit obviously much more discreetly.

Threw her down? C'mon. You approach what has been reported as a domestic. You're keyed up. You approach cautiously and BAM! dog running at you. In the 1.5 seconds you have to assess and draw just in case, you have some chick rushing into your personal space. Yes, you put her where she needs to be. It's called controlling the scene. The fact that she stumbled, which she absolutely did, is immaterial. "Threw her down". GMAFB.

All the rest? Yeah, that's garbage. Hope that precinct gets hammered. How does no one know the Constitution? Even a mental defective can at least remember the BoR's. It's ten freaking things!

Quote: terapined

Just saw this article
Police are called to a house regarding neighbors not getting along
A small dog approaches the police
The cop pulls out his gun to shoot the dog
A mother runs up between the cop and dog preventing the cop from shooting the small dog in front of her 4 yr old
This is a small friendly dog.
The cop arrests the mother for preventing the cop from shooting her small dog.
The cop then goes in the house to take any device that could have recorded the incident.
Cops are upset all the devices are password protected and refuse to return the devices
After a month, they get the devices back the cops stole
Therefore a video of the incident survived :-)

For some reason lately some cops seem to have a thing about wanting to shoot people's dogs. Whatever happened to LTL stopping them? Dog lives matter!

Quote: Face

That is not a "small dog".

True, but it wasn't being aggressive in any way.

Quote:

Pulling the gun?

On a pet? A stray dog, maybe. Also on a trained guard dog. Not on a pet. All you have to do is ask the owner to control the dog or lead the dog away.

Quote: Nareed

True, but it wasn't being aggressive in any way.

And how do you know?

I know because I think I know dogs. The posture is all wrong. The big give away is it turning its head away from the "intruder" to look at something else. Scared or angry animals don't break focus. Sure, it's just a friendly pup.

All that? That came only by time and observation. The cop had none. Walking, head up, looking toward the home then BOOM! Dog coming at you and it's right there. Yes, you draw. Yes, you point. You do what you are trained to do to protect yourself. If he had shot it? Well, it's been awhile since I've felt the love of a dog, but I'd probably have punched him right in his face before I had time to think about it. But he did nothing but follow training. Didn't shoot it, kick it, mace it. He pulled his weapon due to the possibility of physical harm.

Quote: Nareed

On a pet? A stray dog, maybe. Also on a trained guard dog. Not on a pet. All you have to do is ask the owner to control the dog or lead the dog away.

I suppose you missed my USPS story of almost getting shredded by a "pet". I recall you being offended at a pet abuse photo before; I don't recall if your disgust was specifically because it was abuse or you just didn't fancy the gore, so I will spare you photos of dog attacks. They're not pretty, and they're not solely the domain of pits and rotts.

I don't know anyone who's ever been attacked by a wolf, coyote, or dingo. I know several personally who've been bitten or outright attacked by "pets", and they've the scars to prove it. Were I not so spry, I'd have several of my own received just recently.

I get what you're saying, I do it every week. Dog is puffed up at the end of the sidewalk, stiff legged, growling. I ask the owner to take care of it. I don't spray it, don't pull a weapon, don't plunk it with a slug. But in all those cases, the dog is already there. I see it upon approach. I have time to think. When a dog runs up on me, my hand is on my gun every single time. Were I in Wyoming and not NY, said gun would be drawn. I haven't had time to process all the non-verbal communication, all I know is there is an incoming threat and I need to protect myself and those with me. Processing comes later. Shooting / staying comes later. But until then, you protect yourself.

Quote: Face

And how do you know?

It wasn't growling, barking, or holding itself in an attack posture.

Quote:

All that? That came only by time and observation. The cop had none. Walking, head up, looking toward the home then BOOM! Dog coming at you and it's right there.

That's what dogs do. A friendly dog will approach anyone coming in and sniff them. An aggressive dog will bark or growl first. We're pretty big compared even to large dogs. Most won't jump and attack without first trying to warn you away.

Quote:

I suppose you missed my USPS story of almost getting shredded by a "pet".

Yes.

But I've seen people attacked by pets, large and small. In every case, the idiot did something provocative and stupid. That's why one has to be very careful with young children and dogs.

And yes, dogs can inflict really bad injuries. This is only natural, They're carnivores, so they can tear flesh. They're predators, so they can bite hard and hold on and shake. That can have most unfortunate consequences even from a medium-sized dog, never mind a large one.

Quote:

They're not pretty, and they're not solely the domain of pits and rotts.

I know. the most aggressive, scary dog I ever saw was a St. Bernard. In his defense, though, he'd suffered brain damage when he was hit by a car.

My long departed pet poodle, Fuzz, was very aggressive, too, when provoked, and against what she saw as intruders. She wasn't a problem only because she was tiny. Also because she knew who was family and never bit any of us no matter the provocation. She did bite strangers a few times.

How about this new study from Hungary? By using fMRI (functional MRI) on dogs, they were able to determine they process spoken language in both hemispheres, splitting the workload in a very human fashion: one hemisphere processes meaning and the other the emotional tone. Thus a dog told "Bad dog!" in a cheerful, happy tone, knows she's not being praised. Or so the study claims.

Dogs are a symbiotic species. They have evolved adaptations to being around and dependent on people. For instance, a dog will follow your gaze. So it's not surprising they have adaptations to language, seeing as we communicate primarily that way. Still, I'm not that convinced that dogs understand language. I think they recognize some words and associate them with certain things or actions.

For example, if I told my dog "wanna go upstairs?" She "knew" we were going up to my bedroom. So she'd get all happy and excited, and would run out the door to the stairs when I opened it (of course I'd then close the door behind her and not follow, then open it again; I think she go used to that joke). That was perhaps the only think I told her without also making a gesture of some sort. If I wanted her to come over, I'd say things like "come here chiquita!" but I'd also waver her over or tap the bed or the floor. So what was she responding to? If I tapped the bed and said nothing, she jumped on it.

Perhaps we should use words consistently with the puppy when she's growing up, in order to get her used to certain words. I've always talked to my dogs (and cats), but I didn't necessarily do it consistently. With the dog at lunch time, I might vary between "let's eat," or "lunch time, sweetie!" etc.

I'd also like to see similar study done with cats and horses. I figure they're the domestic animals closest to people after dogs.

Quote: Nareed

How about this new study from Hungary? By using fMRI (functional MRI) on dogs, they were able to determine they process spoken language in both hemispheres, splitting the workload in a very human fashion: one hemisphere processes meaning and the other the emotional tone. Thus a dog told "Bad dog!" in a cheerful, happy tone, knows she's not being praised. Or so the study claims.

Dogs are a symbiotic species. They have evolved adaptations to being around and dependent on people. For instance, a dog will follow your gaze. So it's not surprising they have adaptations to language, seeing as we communicate primarily that way. Still, I'm not that convinced that dogs understand language. I think they recognize some words and associate them with certain things or actions.

I had a dog. Black lab / husky mix, I think, and I say that to give an idea of the size and shape; she was a mutt, through and through =)

I got her when I was 8 or so, and I did live in a time when kids spent all day outdoors, thank the gods. I spent a lot / all of my time with that dog. Put in the time to train her, too. She was one of those good dogs; had an energy without being neurotic, would bark to alert but stop at command, knew to signal to be let out, one of those good dogs.

She would have convinced you dogs understood language. There's definitely a sort of pidgin 'round these parts, words, even entire phrases spoken in short, muffled language. A question like "Do you want to go outside" is spoken (best as I can type it in English) "ng:sye?" That's how I talked to her. Hehe, it's how I talk to my kid now =) But anyways, she knew what that was. Head up, attention, sort of a pause either to think or to make sure, and right to the door she went, every time. There was another command just as effective as asking to go outside, and that was "Do you want to go for a ride?" This in the same pidgin is "ngo:rye?" That bitty difference, what is essentially the softening of a grunt by adding the O and ridding the S, was enough for her to pick up on. Ngo:rye? And head cock, pause, right to the truck. Every time.

I suppose you could argue that my walking towards the door, or our proximity to a vehicle, falls into the "gesture" category. Perhaps it does and perhaps that's the reason. But man,... I had a good dog =)

Quote: Nareed

Still, I'm not that convinced that dogs understand language. I think they recognize some words and associate them with certain things or actions.

Dogs and cats demonstrate they understand, when they pretend not to hear you; when they don't really want to do something and they try to ignore you.

Our cats could always hear the can opener, even in a dead sleep. Our dogs could always hear the words to go outside. But seemed to go deaf sometimes when you want them to go inside.