AKC Petition re:long sit/down?

[luvmygirl]

Has anyone heard about a petition circulating to change or do away with the long sit and down in Obedience? My trainer mentioned it yesterday. Apparently a Pom was attacked and badly hurt by a Dobie during the out of sight long down at a show in Big Spring, TX (not sure of location). Now some people are demanding changes. They say that ring stewards aren't staying close to dogs in case of probs, etc. Wondering if anyone's heard about this?

I'm editing my post - just got a link to the post about this. It's from a Golden forum: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/...ad.php?t=36786

[umzilla]

Terrible situation.

I've seen bad situations with 2 teams checking in off leash in for SchH obedience, or dogs that leave the long honor down in SchH as well. If I knew the other dog I was paired with had dog aggressive tendencies, I'd refuse to go in with them. Not worth the chance. The catch is, you may not always know.

Bad thing with AKC obedience is that there can be so many dogs in the ring at once.

I like the Rally honor, and the UKC honor system. The UKC protection program also has a safer ("just in case") long honor down too.

Is this the first time this has come up with AKC? Seems like it wouldn't be.....

Christine

[Kayla's Dad]

I've heard the discussion has been on and off for quite a while. I seem to recall one or two opinion pieces in Front & Finish over the last year that talked about it and the risks associated with it.

[Kayos and Havoc]

Have not heard about it.

I was showing Kayos in Open and a lady with a Sheltie asked the judge if he could be moved as she did not want her dog next to the GSD. (Scary you know....) The judge refused her, Kayos never even looked at the Sheltie for the long 8 minutes out of sight.

There is so much of the "I don't want FiFi next to Fang at AKC shows that I figure this is just another one. A well trained and socialized dog should be able to do a Stay next to another dog.

[umzilla]

This is what was posted on another forum with permission to cross post...

Quote:Hi folks,

Debbie and I have been asked many questions about Jasmine's attack during the Group Stays. It has been very difficult to discuss the occurrence. But, we wanted everyone know what happened. Hopefully, this will help with questions about the incident.

In early May 2008, during the long downs stays of the Open B Obedience Trial in Big Spring, TX, Jasmine, our eight pound four year old black Pomeranian was lying perfectly still and had dozed off awaiting my return from out of sight. Two steps after the judge called out "Return to your dogs" the sixty pound strong male Dalmatian, placed next to her, leaped up and pounced on her with extreme aggression and shook her like a rag doll. She screamed in terror as she tried to escape from his jaws.
Just a few moments before the attack, the environment was a good as anyone would want; nice clean indoor show on mats, quite room with only two rings for obedience with respectful spectators (competitors, families with children, etc). Conditions were perfect. Jasmine had been in stays, previously, with this dog. Harm from him was not a concern. We will never know why it happened.
25 feet away, I could not have gotten there fast enough. When the owner of the Dalmatian and I got to within three feet from him he broke off the attack and let her go. Jasmine took off behind the row of downed dogs. With horrifying screams, she ran from the other dogs as they broke their stays and pursued her at an amazing speed. It was total chaos. Some dogs ran in fear, few were contained by their handlers and most were running free in prey mode. Having the dogs arranged by height would not have made any difference. As Jasmine ran around the ring screaming in terror, I placed my self in a position where I thought she would run, the ring gate. I was amazed that she did run in my direction and actually saw me standing away from the alerted crowd of scattered teams. When she jumped to me, my first priority was covered - to get her away from the pursuing dogs, of which, at least four were closing in from behind. Her screaming did not stop until long after we left
the room and made our way to where we thought the Vet was located. There was nothing any steward, judge or bystander could have done to prevent or stop the attack quickly enough. I firmly believe if the attack had occurred while we were in the out of sight portion of the exercise, then Jasmine would have been killed.

Jasmine had surgery Tuesday, May 20, to remove a large cyst and scar tissue that had formed as a result of the bite wound. The Vet had to remove a large amount of tissue deep in her muscle. It has been very painful for her and heartbreaking for us. But, we are thankful that she is making a good recovery.
We will send the American Kennel Club a petition, complete with signatures, asking for the removal or replacement of the Group Exercises in Novice and Open. We just can't bear to think of another dog being attacked, large or small. If you would like to sign and ask others to sign the petition, you may contact me at phjas-petition@yahoo.com We would like to have the petitions signed and returned by 8/1/08.

Thank you for your interest and concern,
PH and Debbie Cantwell

[Xeph]

It wasn't a dobie actually, it was a Dalmatian.

This petition has been circulating, and the Pom attacked was a 4 year old UD titled dog. The Dalmatian was working on his OTCH.

Ironic.

[luvmygirl]

Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I posted right after I heard about it and was told it was a Doberman. It was a Dalmatian. What a weird and terrible thing. Wonder what made the Dal go off. Can you imagine how bad the Dal's owner must feel? I would be completely freaked out.

As far as the AKC is concerned, what happens to the attacking dog and his owner in a situation like this?

[Xeph]

I posted while umzilla was posting too ,lol

The attacking dog I'm sure is banned from all future AKC events especially since the attack was unprovoked.

[Liesje]

I haven't done formal obedience yet but...yikes! Couldn't they compromise and tether the dogs on a 6' lead for the long down? I agree that a well-trained dog should be able to hold the long down next to other dogs in the absence of the owner. Why not tether them as a precaution? The stewards will still have to watch for them getting up, but then they can't run off or lunge at another dog.

[Catu]

A dog knows very well when it's tethered and when is not. I think in this kind of situations the problem is not the long down, but the allowance of aggressive dogs to trials.

I don't know AKC obedience very much, but I believe the whole idea is to have a controlled dog after all, if the exercise is taken away you will loose an important part of what you want to test and will win nothing on the long run. I would prefer, if this is happening too often, to ADD another exercise to show how reliable a dog is in presence of their peers.