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Aliyah Shojaee

English IV

Period 3

26 April 2021

Furry Friends

“Come in the garage you guys I have a surprise for all of you!” my dad says in

excitement. My siblings and I open the garage door and we see a brand new bentley my dad

brought home from the dealership he had owned. We all started to get so excited because we got

such a nice car. “You guys look inside the passenger seat” my dad said with a smile on his face.

As I get closer I see a puppy sitting there just staring at my siblings and i. We started to scream in

excitement. We were in shock because we had never had a dog before and we always wanted

one. Her name was Stella and she was a black german shepherd. I fell in love with dogs that day.

I've had several dogs throughout my life, and being a good pet owner to them was crucial. You

must be able to train your dog in a specific manner so that it will get along with other dogs and

people. I realized that having dogs that are considered “aggressive” my entire life requires you to

train them well enough so that they do not fit the stereotype of being bad dogs.

As I got more mature I had various dogs growing up, we would constantly be moving

from one house to another and it was difficult to keep these dogs and be answerable for them. It

was generally so hard for me as a result of the adoration I have for my dogs. Stella was my

number one canine, she was a German Shepard so she had some hostility to her yet we prepared

her to not be that way. At the point when she was a pup going through her getting teeth stage she

would consistently chomp and some of the time get somewhat wild. We figured out how to

control that by ensuring she was social with other dogs at a youthful age. We would take her to
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the dog park when she was little and ensured she would associate with different dogs. At the

point when she would get forceful with one of us we trained her and once we did she didn't do it

once more. Individuals would consistently advise us "your dog is well trained for a German

Shepard". Why "for a German Shepard"? German Shepherds come from forceful foundations yet

that doesn't imply that they can't be prepared to not be forceful dogs.

Today I have a Pitbull and a Rottweiler, they are the cutest and sweetest dogs I’ve ever

met and I love them so much. People always tell me “ oh my gosh you have a pitbull they are

such bad dogs” or “ why do you have a pitbull they can kill you”.The media and the news make

these dogs look bad. People watch videos of pitbulls attacking humans, but they don't question

the fundamentals. Is the dog's owner known? Is the owner capable of handling a pitbull-type

dog? Is it a stray pitbull on the loose? Many people form preconceived notions about how bad

pitbulls are, despite the fact that they have never owned a pitbull before. To be a healthy owner,

especially with naturally aggressive dogs, you must be willing to handle them well. My dogs are

such loving dogs, and the most important thing is to get them socialized with other dogs as soon

as possible. If they are not socialized with other dogs, they will exhibit abrasive behavior and

tend to change their mindset to only like their owners. Dogs adore their owners more than they

adore their own family. Many dogs, such as great danes, german shepherds, and pitbulls, are

extremely protective of their owners. They will go to any length to ensure their safety. That is

why it is critical to be capable of owning such a dog and to be prepared to properly train them so

that they do not become what society has made them look like.

Therefore, I want to explore my senior project paper on How pet ownership has become

normalized in the United States? I have always loved dogs my whole life and always was

interested in their background. I have also witnessed first hand people telling me the dogs I have
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are scary or dangerous. I wanted explain that it does not matter on the type of dog you have,

whether it is the most dangerous dog in the world, it matters on the type of owner you are.

According to dynamo, who discusses dogs being aggressive in this article, “A strong dog

often needs a strong owner who can be consistent and prepared to work out any issues. But some

who are not equipped for it get a dog who is predisposed to have certain traits, and they raise it

very typically, socialize it, and do their best with what they know. But it still turns out how it

turns out. This is because a dog's personality is not “all how you raise it.” (dynamo). Having a

dog is similar to having a child in that they will adjust to whatever standard you set for them. It is

not easy to care for a dog, so you must be willing to make time sacrifices to train these dogs in a

specific manner. Dogs are not humans like us, they speak and think differently and when people

think you just have to train them it takes a lot more than that. Especially when they are “bad”

dogs you have to take extra care of them.

Matter of fact as I was doing some research on these dogs, I came across a website titled

“ Top 10 Meanest Dogs” on that top 10 was stated “ 1. Chihuahua 2. Dachshund 3. Chow Chow

4. Doberman Pinscher 5. Dalmatian 6. Rottweiler 7. Jack Russle Terrier 8. German Shepherd 9.

American Staffordshire/Pitbull Terrier 10. Siberian Husky”(Brown). If people were to look at

this list they are gonna be encouraged to not get any of these dogs. These dogs are considered

“mean” when yet again you don’t know what the dog has gone through to be mean. There are so

many reasons why a dog like the ones listed can be “mean”. According to the Human Society of

the United States Kristina Pepelko states there are “70 million stray dogs in the United States”

(Pepelko). Which goes to show you don't know what these dogs have been through and what

they have seen. I discovered this after conducting additional research, Beverly Ulbrich is one of

the top five dog trainers in San Francisco. She teaches dogs, such as pitbulls and dogs from
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aggressive backgrounds, to no longer be afraid of their owner. I needed to talk to someone who

understands where I'm coming from and can answer questions that many people have. She

reasoned as we talked about Pitbulls being known for attacking their owners and turning on

them. “ there’s always signs that are visible beforehand that people could have seen. If the dog is

completely calm and trained they won't attack, but there probably was some stuff going on with

the dogs that they weren’t really well trained, maybe they were not neutered, or maybe there

were even dogs nearby. A lot of things can go on to make dogs go crazy for certain reasons. But

you rarely hear about dogs attacking their owners, something had to be going on for this to

happen. If you have a pack of dogs that can always be the problem because one dog can get

thrown off by another dog which causes heat.”. The most important thing to remember about

Pitbulls and other dogs is that they must be neutered. If you do not neuter your dog, they will

produce a lot more testosterone, which can exacerbate aggressive tendencies, especially if your

dog is an alpha. Excess testosterone can be harmful to a domesticated dog. Learning more

information about pitbulls she states “ Pitbulls are a beautiful, strong breed and they have gotten

a tarnished reputation in the last few years. Most pitbull owners are aware of the dangers of

pitbull aggression, and do everything they can to ensure their dogs are safe and help prove that

they are just as loving and sweet as any other breed.”(Ulbrich). Robin Rock in his article on 10

reasons why Pitbulls rule says “Pit Bulls are super loyal. When you adopt a Pit Bull, you have a

friend for life, through thick and thin. While PitBulls are not good guard dogs because they just

love people so much, they may intercede if someone threatens “their” humans.” (Rock). This

demonstrates that they are wonderful dogs who are only loyal to whoever takes care of them.

Beverly Ulbrich has changed the lives of people who have hostile dogs by transforming them

into sweet, caring dogs.

Another huge thing is homeless dogs, dogs that are stray and alone tend to see things that

us humans don’t on a daily basis. They go through so much with no food, no owner, and the only

emotion they have is aggression. Despite how much love we have for our dogs there is still a

huge amount of homeless dogs in this world. For my next interview I interviewed someone who

went first hand collison with a stray dog and got attacked by them. Ali Ghiassy owns a pet

pitbull himself and bought it at the dog shelter, he used to work and volunteer at dog shelter’s

throughout the bay area. He worked with lots of Pitbulls throughout his working experience and

even took time out of his own hands to do research on them and eventually started to train dogs

like them. He has a Pitbull himself and loves his dog so much and his Pitbull is well trained. Ali

lives in an area where you see stray dogs a lot. He explains I was walking with my dog one

morning and we saw another pitbull way smaller than mine pass. I began to talk to the owner and

she said she found her pitbull wandering around. Which goes to show she was a stray dog. Her

dog was named Luna and when my dog was trying to play with her she got very hostile. This

raised the tension with my dog who is very protective so they started to fight and their jaws were

locked on each other. I started to hit Luna so she can get off of my dog and then she locks her

jaw right on my hand. Blood started to rush down my hand and it hurt really bad. I told my

girlfriend who was there with me to grab our dog because he was trying to get Luna off of me.

After 10 minutes of straight lockjaw on my hand luna finally lets go. Luna was a girl and my

pitbull was a boy so I know that girl dogs do get a little more aggressive than boys. But after that

incident I knew the reasoning behind it was because she was a stray dog and had probably never

been neutered so for all we know the only thing luna knew best was being aggressive. This story

goes to show that dogs that are stray like pitbulls and German Shepherds play a huge role when

you are picking one out in the dog shelter. You have to be prepared and think about the life they
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had before they came into the shelter. John states “ my dog was stray before I got him, he was

wandering around the streets of Oakland according to the people at the shelter.”. So imagine the

type of life the puppy had before he was put into a loving family. Ali still volunteers at dog

shelters and as a side hustle trains dogs. Till this day he sees stray dogs wondering around the

streets of Oakland.

Any breed has the potential to cause problems. The difference between an aggressive

Chihuahua and an aggressive pit bull is that larger breeds can inflict proportionately more

damage. It is critical to recognize the strength of a powerful breed, such as the pit bull, Cane

Corso, or Mastiff. These dogs are extremely powerful and, if unbalanced, can cause serious

injury. Remember, these puppies do not aspire to be in the news when they grow up. Bad dog

behavior and dog problems are unintentional. When powerful breeds (or mixes of powerful

breeds) live with humans who like the breed but do not understand and fulfill the animal in the

dog, bad things happen. Many people consider the appearance or popularity of a breed before

deciding whether the dog is suitable for their lifestyle. This is a disaster waiting to [Link]

keep a powerful breed of dog under control, you must become the dog's pack leader and establish

rules, boundaries, and limitations. You must fulfill the dog in the way that Nature intended. If

you're thinking about getting a powerful breed, make sure you're ready to take on the

responsibility. Having an alpha dog is a huge liability, you can’t just adopt a dog and expect it to

be perfect. You have to train and be prepared for the moments it could go bad. Aggression plays

a huge role. You never know what the dog is going through. There are many reasons why your

dog might be aggressive and even if your dog is aggressive there is always a way to fix that.

“Some medical conditions can cause dogs to become aggressive. If a dog that has never shown

any sign of aggression suddenly begins growling, snapping, or biting, it may be caused by a
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disease or illness.” (Bender). Amy bender on her article on how to solve aggression in dogs says

sometimes if your dog is sick they tend to get aggressive and start to growl or bite at their

owners. Which is normal, no dog is perfect they all have their flaws which is why dogs get

trained to know better. If German Shepherds are such “mean” dogs then why does the police use

them as their K9. Which goes to show you that it is possible to train your dog to know better.

When deciding whether or not to add a dog to the family, you may spend more time

focusing on the joy and happiness your new dog will bring. While dogs can certainly bring

happiness and joy, they also come with a set of responsibilities that everyone should be aware of.

The vast majority of dog owners are oblivious to what their dogs are saying. Your dog may

politely request that you give him some space by using simple body language. If you ignore or

misinterpret his signals, he will likely resort to more pronounced warnings, such as a growl or

hiss, to get his point across. Failure to heed a dog's warnings can make a bite or bark appear to

come out of nowhere. Rather than waiting for your dog to act out, become acquainted with the

early signs of anxiety and stress and tailor your own behavior accordingly. Forcing a dog to

endure care that frightens or upsets him, such as nail trimming, grooming, or other procedures,

can be both emotionally and physically harmful to the dog. An agitated dog may struggle during

handling or fight and bite to escape. A terrified dog can injure himself as well as anyone caring

for him, including veterinarians, groomers, and even his owner. This can make it difficult for a

pet to receive necessary veterinary care. A better approach would be to teach the pet that calm

cooperation yields abundant rewards. Such efforts are necessary both at home and in other places

of care, such as the veterinarian and the groomer. These things are very important to know when

having a dog.
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Pet ownership is the number one thing you need to know when having a dog and when

you are not the best owner then you will not have the best dog. Now that generations have gone

by we have a lot more resources to work with now to train our dogs the way they should be

treated and cared for. Pet owners have to know this information when going to adopt a dog, it is

just like being prepared to have a child.

When faced with the question of how has responsible pet ownership become normalized

in the United states? Many people have different perspectives on my question. But the

information I've gathered gives me pride and hope that dogs, like humans, can change. When

someone makes a mistake in their life, their self-esteem plummets to an all-time low. People will

give you a second chance if you surround yourself with the right people and have the right

mindset. The same is true for dogs; the owner and trainer have the ability to change the dog's

mindset and turn it into the sweetest dog ever. As the owner of two dogs known for being

"aggressive," I believe they are the best dogs in the world. It was difficult to train them, but no

dog is perfect. A dog, like a human, has seen things that we don't know about in their lives. This

is a very important topic to me and how I view dogs. I hope that one day everyone else will be

able to. The media portrays these dogs in a negative light, but they have never spent a day with

them or even given them a chance. Researching and getting to talk to new people about the same

interest as me really made me happy that others out there have the same mindset when it comes

to dogs as me. Which gives me hope that people around the world can give these dogs a chance.

These dogs will not be looked at the way the media portrays them one day. On that day, I will

reflect on my senior project and thank myself for discussing such an important topic. Since the

day I got my first dog, I've believed that every dog, no matter how aggressive they can be, has

the potential to change and improve.

Works Cited

AZpetVet. Top 10 Responsibilities of A Pet Owner, 2020.

[Link]

Bender, Amy. “How to solve aggression in dogs.”

[Link] 15 February

2020.

brown, sheila. “top 10 meanest dogs.”

[Link]

nformation, 15 January 2021.

Dynamo. “ARE AGGRESSIVE DOGS THE FAULT OF THE OWNER?”

[Link]

-owner, 24 November 2015.

dynamo. “are aggressive dogs the fault of the owner.”

[Link]

-owner, dynamo.

Pepelko, Kristina. “12 alarming facts about pet homelessness.”

[Link]

ness/#:~:text=There%20are%20about%2070%20million,Society%20of%20the%20Unite

d%20States.

Rock, Robin. [Link]