The US Marine Corps says no while Liz says yes
By Liz Palika
October 17, 2009
I’m a military brat; my Dad spent a career in the US Coast Guard. I’ve served in the US Navy and the US Marine Corps, and my husband is a retired Marine. But all that patriotism hasn’t blinded me to the fact that the military can make mistakes just as anyone can.
The US Marine Corps’ latest dog policy is a mistake, plain and simple. Over the past few months the news — via the internet, newspapers, and TV — has stated that the US Marine Corps is waging war on aggressive and/or dangerous dogs. That’s only partially true.
The US Marine Corps has begun waging war on pit bulls, pittie mixes, Rottweilers, rottie mixes and wolf hybrids. The news originally stated that families living in base housing who have these breeds or mixes will have to have their dog earn an AKC Canine Good Citizen title to remain on base. This is not addressing only those dogs who have been reported as aggressive; no, it’s breed specific legislation and is targeting only these breeds.
The CGC is a wonderful program and all of my trainers at Kindred Spirits Dog Training are CGC evaluators, we do CGC tests, and we love the new AKC puppy STAR program. But this is not what the CGC was designed for.
So a proverbial war is raging. At some bases the ASPCA SAFER program is being tried to see if it will work better than the CGC, and at other bases there are discussions about the American Temperament Test Society test.
While everyone is arguing and debating what should have been done or what needs to be done now, Kindred Spirits just stepped up to the plate and said, “We need to keep these dogs in their homes. Period.”
So we are holding free screening sessions for the dogs living on base. The service member of his or her spouse can bring the dog to our training yard during an evaluation session and we’ll take a look at the dog’s level of training or lack thereof.
If the dog appears capable of passing the CGC we’ll do it right then and there for no charge or we’ll schedule the dog for the test. If the dog is pretty close to being ready but not quite, we’ll give the owner some pointers and tell him to call us when he’s ready. Or, if the dog needs training, we’ll schedule him for a basic training class.
Our first two dogs just passed the test last night. Sam, and black and white pittie mix and Titan, a red and white pittie mix, passed the CGC after a few weeks of training. Their owners stepped up to the plate, took the coaching from us seriously, and did an awesome job. All of us at Kindred Spirits are so proud of them.
Personally I do not believe in breed specific legislation. I don’t believe groups of anyone — people or dogs — should be lumped together and judged by the actions of a few. But I also don’t want to take the time to argue with the US Marine Corps while these families might be losing their dogs. Some families have already panicked and taken their dogs to one of the local shelters or rescue groups.
Many of the owners who have contacted us are dealing with jobs and raising a family by themselves while their spouses are in Iraq or Afghanistan, and now they’re facing losing their dog. Nope, not gonna happen while my trainers and I can do something about it.
So, if you live near Camp Pendleton and know a family living on base with one of these breeds, send them to our website. If you train dogs and live near a Marine Corps base, contact animal control on the base and offer your help. They need it.
AWESOME!
Comment by nancy Freedman-Smith CPDT — October 17, 2009 @ 5:15 am
Liz, you are still the very heart of the Marines and indeed all that is right and good about our country: You see a challenge, you tackle it and git ‘er done!
Semper fi!
Comment by Gina Spadafori — October 17, 2009 @ 6:29 am
Thank you for doing something really helpful instead of simply arguing the point.
I brushed off the idea of Rotts before I got one, what a sweet dog.
Comment by Erich Riesenberg — October 17, 2009 @ 8:33 am
Good for you, Liz. All of the Rotties I have known have been very nice dogs with responsible owners, and I’m happy to see you and your staff helping them out.
Comment by Kim Thornton — October 17, 2009 @ 8:43 am
The marines could not beat the Iraqian and Afgan
insurgents probably be easier for them to take out the Pits and the Rotties,they need a win.No different to the politicos they cannot beat Criminals so go after family pets.Hitler may have had a point.
smarock10@yahoo.com
Comment by selwyn marock — October 17, 2009 @ 3:15 pm
While I totally agree with you about BSL, and the ridiculousness of deciding which dogs have potential for aggression based on breed, I love the idea of every dog and their person in urban settings taking the time to train enough to at least get the CGC.
I realize your article only applies to Marine bases, and some will always prefer to “dump” their dog than take the time to learn & train. I just think if it was standard practice for responsible owners to do what they had to do to for ALL DOGS living in city limits to pass something like the CGC, the shelter populations across the country would plummet.
I can always dream, right?
Comment by Dee Green — October 17, 2009 @ 5:29 pm
Taking time is fine, but MAKING US pass a test to be able to have a dog in the city? Do you really think dogs who cannot pass the CGC or something like it shouldn’t be able to live in the city?
I think that’s incredibly extreme, and would result in a massive UPSWING in shelter intakes, rather than the contrary…
Comment by Christie Keith — October 17, 2009 @ 6:28 pm
I think you should link up with Cesar Millan about this issue, since he is the greatest advocate for the powerful breeds, and for the fact that 99% of problems of dogs are caused by the people involved, not the breed of dogs.
Comment by Jeanne Douglas — October 19, 2009 @ 2:00 pm
Great job Liz! Glad to have people like you around to keep those that don’t have a clue from ruining everything. I currently have 8 dogs and have had all sorts of breeds (all from the humane society !!) and I am a firm believer that it’s not the dog that breeds agression, it’s the owner. Change the owners and the dogs will follow.
BZ!!
Comment by Frank — October 20, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
A very pleasant story which appears to have a good result,keep up the great work Liz the pits need you.
smarock10@yahoo.com
Comment by selwyn marock — October 21, 2009 @ 2:13 am