YELLOW RIBBONS
An article publish in the Kennel Club Accredited Instructors Scheme newsletter ‘The Standard’ talks about this years latest fad ‘Yellow ribbons’. The editor Annie writes as follows;
“The buzz words this year have certainly been ‘yellow’ and ‘ribbon’. Put them together and you get the latest fad of tying a yellow ribbon to the dog’s lead. Why? Because you, the owner, feel that your dog needs space. The yellow ribbon is supposedly for the dogs safety and well-being. You tie it on the lead to show the world the dog is post-op, unwell, in season, old and grumpy, nervous, a pup in training, etc. and i don’t deny these are all laudable reasons on paper. However yellow ribbons plus any one of the above reasons means you are placing the dogs welfare on the shoulders of the general public and this is neither fair nor is it right. The owner/handler is the person who is both morally and legally responsible for the welfare and behaviour of the dog at all times; well or unwell, young or old, in training or in season. And what about nervous dogs who gaily tie a yellow ribbon to the dogs lead or put a yellow bandana round the dog’s neck expecting the public to get out of the way, just in case their dog takes a pop at another dog or a passer-by? the man in the street is (a) probably not going to see the ribbon tied on the lead and (b) if he does, will almost certainly have no idea of its significance.
Suppose the nervous dog with his yellow ribbon is frightened of babies in push chairs or kids on bikes - are these human targets supposed to see the yellow ribbon and take evasive action, possibly putting themselves at risk, just in case? Some nervous dog’s bite first and ask questions later. And be advised a yellow ribbon won’t mean a thing in a court case.
The way I see it, promoting the use of a yellow ribbon for any reason is like giving the handler a free pass for less than responsible behaviour and if things go wrong it will be the dog that will suffer.”
“The buzz words this year have certainly been ‘yellow’ and ‘ribbon’. Put them together and you get the latest fad of tying a yellow ribbon to the dog’s lead. Why? Because you, the owner, feel that your dog needs space. The yellow ribbon is supposedly for the dogs safety and well-being. You tie it on the lead to show the world the dog is post-op, unwell, in season, old and grumpy, nervous, a pup in training, etc. and i don’t deny these are all laudable reasons on paper. However yellow ribbons plus any one of the above reasons means you are placing the dogs welfare on the shoulders of the general public and this is neither fair nor is it right. The owner/handler is the person who is both morally and legally responsible for the welfare and behaviour of the dog at all times; well or unwell, young or old, in training or in season. And what about nervous dogs who gaily tie a yellow ribbon to the dogs lead or put a yellow bandana round the dog’s neck expecting the public to get out of the way, just in case their dog takes a pop at another dog or a passer-by? the man in the street is (a) probably not going to see the ribbon tied on the lead and (b) if he does, will almost certainly have no idea of its significance.
Suppose the nervous dog with his yellow ribbon is frightened of babies in push chairs or kids on bikes - are these human targets supposed to see the yellow ribbon and take evasive action, possibly putting themselves at risk, just in case? Some nervous dog’s bite first and ask questions later. And be advised a yellow ribbon won’t mean a thing in a court case.
The way I see it, promoting the use of a yellow ribbon for any reason is like giving the handler a free pass for less than responsible behaviour and if things go wrong it will be the dog that will suffer.”
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