A newly formed group is working to change the perception among some urban dwellers that dogs, especially "pit bull" breeds, are good only for fighting or protection.
Toledo's PET Bull Project is reaching out to dog owners and children, offering free training in city parks, education, and spay and neuter information as it tries to keep more dogs off the streets and out of fighting rings.
"We're just trying to give people a different option, something else to do with their dogs -- first to keep them in their homes," said John Brown, one of the principal volunteers with the group. "A lot of dogs with behavior issues are given up because people don't know how to handle them, so we're giving them advice on that."
Behavior issues can lead to a dog's early demise. Mr. Brown, a certified professional dog trainer who has worked at the Toledo Area Humane Society, said the leading cause of death for dogs under age three is destruction because of behavioral problems.
So once a month, Mr. Brown and a group of other volunteer trainers spend two hours in one of Toledo's city parks to put on a free training workshop for anyone who shows up. Saturday the group was at Woodrow Wilson Park in North Toledo; the next session is scheduled Oct. 22 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Walbridge Park.
The trainers set up several stations where they give primers in basic "sit" and "down" commands, polite greeting, coming when called, and walking on a leash without pulling. Although the PET Bull Project focuses on "pit bulls," dogs of all breeds are welcome.
The offer may be free dog training, but the effort is about teaching people. "It's really about changing the people's behavior with their dogs, and they can change their dog's behavior," said Mr. Brown.
Cindy Reinsel, the group's director, founder, and a "pit bull" owner herself, said she hopes the group is able not only to give advice on how to control the family dog but also to make good strides toward ending animal cruelty.
"Look, there are dogs out there all over the city and inner city that are being fought," she said. "This whole blood sport is what we want to stop. We want people to train their dogs and show them there are a lot of good things they can do with them instead of fighting them. We know that not every 'pit bull' is a good dog, we know not every one can be saved, but we think every one should have a chance."
She said the last two training sessions have been well attended and the PET Bull project is in the process of getting its 501(c)3 tax-exempt charity designation.
Mrs. Reinsel has also been successful with the project's other initiative, reaching out to children to teach them about dogs and the ills of dog fighting.
Using lessons based on a course developed by the Humane Society of the United States, Mrs. Reinsel has visited the Boys and Girls Clubs of Toledo. She is also scheduled to teach a class at the county's juvenile detention center and JLJ Vision Outreach.
"We're going to try to teach it wherever anyone will let us. We want to get out the word to as many kids as we can that there's a lot of fun things you can do with dogs other than take them out and fight them," she said.
Some children, she said, have grown up being afraid of all dogs. Part of the lesson is simply that dogs can be gentle and well mannered, despite the reputations dogs like "pit bulls" can acquire.
She makes the point with her own dog, which she joked is "just a big blubbering baby." The kids' eyes often light up when they see they can give her dog commands that are followed.
But it's the free training sessions that seem to be opening the most doors. Mrs. Reinsel's volunteers have met several community members who have offered to help.
One such person is Brad Fields. The East Toledoan saw a flyer advertising the training session at Navarre Park and decided to check it out with Angel, his all-white "pit bull." Although he has trained her, Mr. Fields said Angel can be too eager in wanting to play with other animals. One thing the trainers showed him was to position himself between her and another dog.
"That was just nice to be able to learn that type of stuff," he said.
Mr. Fields, who is student government president at Owens Community College, was so impressed with the quality and aim of the program he committed to helping find volunteers for future efforts.
Mr. Brown, the trainer, said with the right instruction, people can see marked improvement in dogs' behavior.
"It's just getting people to work in a certain way with their dog. People are verbal creatures. We talk to communicate. Dogs are masters of body language. People try to tell their dogs to do things when it's mostly gibberish to them," Mr. Brown said. "We teach people how to get behavior out of their dogs without using force."
The Web site for Toledo's PET Bull Project is www.toledospetbullproject.com.
Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at: tlinkhorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6134.
First Published September 25, 2011, 5:05 a.m.
