Good Times in The Slope

I’ve got to post something on Brooklynian quick. any nonsense will do -just so Gowanus Longe and brownstoner have content. It’s amazing I could make up that a man fondles himself in front of a stroller on President St , and it would light up the blogs. Makes me lament the days that newspapers and fact checkers ruled the roost.

Awright, on a more conciliatory note.

See, I like to deal with what-if’s not what-must-be’s (those are correct use of apostrophes.) I look at (in this case) other countries which don’t get so uptight about leashed dogs and think, is that how I’d like it to be? And in this case, yes. The fact that there are angry owners and angry untrained dogs rampant HERE may make it impractical, but it’s just a wouldn’t-it-be-nice-if. And then I also wonder why we can’t be that way.

So I don’t see why pitbull has to have a pitbull-like response to this.

Hi Rob. I used to train dogs, and I just wanted to give you some friendly advice. A choke collar can be an effective tool if used correctly, but most people don’t know how. The choke is meant to give the dog a signal, but most people end up getting dragged down the street by a choking dog. More effective is the Halti, which is a head collar that uses the same principle as a horse bridle. It looks like a muzzle, although it won’t stop your dog from biting. It will turn his head towards you when you make a lease correction, which is what you want (as the head goes, so goes the dog). If your dog won’t tolerate a Halt, you can also use the Sen-sation Harness (www [dot] softouchconcepts [dot] com). This is a no-pull harness that attaches at the FRONT (rather than the back, as with traditional harnesses). The problem with a back attach harness is that dogs have something called an opposition reflex, which means they pull against tension. That’s what makes them so great for pulling sleds and other work. However, that reflex means you get dragged down the street by a dog in a back attach harness. The front attach harness actually pops the dog around to face you when they run out of leash, which gives you the control you need. In addition, walk your dog on a relatively short NON-EXTENDING lead. If you are interested in training, I can recommend Renee at Walk This Way (www [dot] doggiecouch [dot] com) who is wonderful and powerful and very humane. Pit Bulls do get a bad rap (I had a Pit mix who was the gentlest sweetest animal you ever wanted to meet) but do not underestimate the unpredictable nature of an animal who was abused (which I gather your dog was, since you rescued him). You have no idea what his triggers may be, so the best thing to do is take all precautions. and love him.

Is that the BQE???

I think I knocked off a few people today.

I was going to do a spin on your headline..but my heart’s not in it.