My dog is my child. If someone were to hit my child in a malicious, vindictive manner, they are about to feel the Wrath of Cow. It is considered assault if an adult human hits another adult human. It should be considered assault for a person to strike an animal in a vindictive, cruel manner.

That being said, however, there are times when it is not necessarily okay, but definitely understandable, to strike an animal. You do not have to punch the daylights out of an animal to get their attention. As with small humans, a tap is usually enough to get their attention and teach them that a certain behaviour is unacceptable. Behaviour correction is not abuse.

For example, suppose I have a dog that likes to dig. It's okay for her to dig in the middle of the desert. It is NOT okay for her to dig in the middle of my sister's rose garden. For most dogs, a tap on the nose with a rolled up newspaper is more than enough to get the message across that said behaviour is unacceptable. Granted, all dogs are not created equal, and it may take more than one tap to get the message across.

The problems begin when you send conflicting messages to the dog. Most dogs are not going to know the difference between a desert and a rose garden. Therefore, you should keep your training and training methods consistent, so as not to confuse said puppy dog.

Now, if my neigher were to come up with a rolled up newspaper and start whacking away on my dog for no apparent reason, I would have to take the newspaper away and whack them. As I stated before, my dog is my child, and NO ONE is going to assault my baby. At the same time, I'm not going to get upset when they yell at her for pooping on their lawn.

There are also different types of taps. A smart tap on the nose with a rolled up newspaper is an entirely different type of 'tap' than a full arm slap upside the head with a broom handle. You should tailor your response to the type of action observed.

I have been witness to individuals 'venting their spleen' on helpless dogs. I have had the duty and obligation to stop this behaviour, even at the cost of my own safety. I am one of those people who will not stand by and watch a person kick or slap a dog that has done nothing other than be a dog. However, I'm not going to call the police or ASPCA on a responsible pet owner that is trying to discipline their dog, so as to make the environment safer for pet and visitor alike.

Learn more about this author, Diane Jaramillo.
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