A New York dog is paying the price for an owner who was unwilling to follow through on proper training.
Casper, a 3 year old Presa Canario has been contained in a Westchester country animal shelter for six months while his owner is facing $80,000 in fines, eviction and fighting to save his dog’s life after events led to Caspar injuring a visitor in his condo parking lot.
When Eric Leinwand of Westchester bought Casper as a puppy from a breeder- he was encouraged by the dog’s breeder to train the dog for protection as well as leaving him in-tact to use a stud dog to bring in some ‘extra cash’ later down the road. Unfortunately, ‘later down the road’ Casper grew and started showing some troublesome behavior such as marking in the house, lunging and barking at other dogs and strangers outside home, and showing fear aggression toward people inside the home due to lack of proper basic training and socialization. Eric then decided to take the advice from some acquaintances and purchased a shock collar to attempt to control Casper’s behavior. The result of the shock collar was worse than the original situation as the behavior intensified and was made worse, especially towards strangers.
In an attempt to fix his situation, Eric and Casper appeared in the third US season of Animal Planet’s It’s Me or the Dog, hosted by Victoria Stillwell. During the show, Stillwell tried to show Eric the potential of his dog’s power and what could happen WITHOUT proper training. The original story reported that “On the show, a trainer waved a big stick at Casper in a threatening manner and the dog lunged at him after being released by Eric Leinwand.”
In reaction to the article, Stillwell has come out with a statement explaining “I arranged for Eric to watch a demonstration with an experienced handler and his own trained protection dog to show, in a controlled scenario, how powerful a bully breed can be. This segment included the handler, his trained protection dog and an experienced trainer in a bite suit, who waved a bite stick at the trained protection dog and NOT CASPER – a common scenario in protection work. At no time was any stick waved at Casper.”
At the time when Eric purchased the dog, his condo association gave him permission to keep the dog despite the community’s no-dog rule. Over time the community grew worried about Casper and his owner, and even though reports suggest “all of the problems” started when they appeared on the show, Stillwell states “there is no doubt that the biting episodes which actually triggered the dispute would have occurred (probably even sooner) without him appearing on the show.”
The episode of It’s Me or the Dog shows that despite urging from Stillwell to have the dog neutered and arrangements made by her for Eric to work with other area trainers after her departure- Eric did not follow through on much of the training, did not work with any trainers nor did he neuter Casper, leaving him to his previous behaviors which lead to events that caused the dog to act out towards the visitor.
Westchester County judge Walter Rivera labeled Casper as “dangerous” but also ruled to spare his life. The judge also ordered that he must be neutered, visit a “board certified animal behaviorist” and not go out in public without a muzzle.
This just blows me away; here AGAIN is yet another example of how the dog or the breed are painted as being dangerous or “bad” and it is SOLELY the fault of the owner. He refused the “professionals” advice, did NOTHING that he was asked to do and now wonders why all this crap is going on? He doesn’t deserve the dog; end of story. Thank G-d the Judge spared the dogs life but seriously – if the owner isn’t willing to do WHAT IS BEST FOR HIS DOG – he shouldn’t own a dog, especially one of this breed. I’m so sick and tired of reading about what “the dog did” when in fact, the dog was never trained properly and who suffers for this? The poor dog!!!
AGREED!!!
The judge was kind to spare this dog’s life since it was not his fault he wasn’t properly trained or neutered, it was his owner’s. I saw the episode of “It’s Me Or The Dog”. Victoria absolutely warned him to neuter and train his dog. She absolutely did not have anyone wave a stick at Casper. That episode was incredibly moving and enlightening and if this guy didn’t listen to her, he’s an idiot. I feel bad for Casper. I’m glad the judge spared his life.
idiot what part do owners not understand that when you have a dog that is already showing signs of aggression you do not put a device on the dog thats causes more stress and pain. shame on the breeder for suggest the owner not neuter so he could make money and not following through with keeping up with the owner regarding the training and not having a signed contract the dog would be taken back if the owner did not follow the contract. bad owner, bad breeder who pays?? the dog with his life
Maybe Ceaser Milan can Help this Dog! He’s Very GOOD AT HELPING DPGS WITH DIFFERENT PROBLEMS!!
please. all cesar would do is beat the dog down by hanging it til it passes out, he loves to deal with aggression of dogs with aggressive behavior. god help us if cesar gets hold of him
Big male dogs need to neutered, (all dogs really), this breed is protective naturally. I really dislike this guy and I think someone should publish the stupid breeder’s name so anyone dealing with him/her knows they know zip about raising dogs. They only know how to make money off them.
Many people claim that it is the dog’s fault in these kind of cases. Here we have documented evidence that that is not always the case. The owner knew what the dog was capable of. A certified trainer told him to get the dog neutered and trained. He didn’t. It was the owners fault. Had he listened to Ms. Stilwell, the dog would have been trained and the man he bit would have been fine. Properly trained bullys do not behave this way. Only isolated and ignored, intact, untrained, and backyard/junkyard dogs behave this way.
First off, it is horrible that people breed animals. Period! Secondly, these idiots keep buying from breeders. We are so overpopulated with animals, that it’s horrible to do so. Just save a life, why be so worried about “the breed”!? Thirdly, I believe you should have to qualify for a license to own an animal, just as a child. And fourthly:), it is disgusting what people do or put these dogs trough because they are so ignorant….
Maybe I’m getting off track here, but NO dog deserves a shock collar and No dog should not be fixed!!
Also, this dog should not be kept caged for 6 months because of this ignorant owner . He should be adopted out to a great, loving family.
ok you’re an idiot. If no one bred dogs there would be no dogs. Or do you propose that the only dogs available should be idiots with oopses or puppy mill specials?
You’re the idiot:) we have so many cats and dogs all over this country and all the others, that no one wants. Do your research. I’d rather breeds die out than to keep breeding them for people to make money and for AT LEAST half of each litter to end up in a horrible home! Once again, do your research before you start to stick up for 1 dog and don’t see the outcome of all animals being bred:)
responsible breeders don’t make money. responsible breeding costs way more than any litter/litters of puppies will bring in.
you are so ignorant. pure bred dogs aren’t as nature intended and therefore have breed specific health problems because the lack of gene diversity… there are countless animals in shelters that miss out on good homes because breeders are selfish proclaiming to love dogs and are furthuring certain breeds when in all actuality its an excuse to grow an already out of control population
so if all the responsible breeders stopped breeding tomorrow do you think the problem would be solved? NO because responsible breeders aren’t the problem. And the folks who ARE the problem won’t stop breeding the world will be left with unadoptable, unhealthy dogs.
I have 5 bullies 4 red nose an 1 blue they all are diff 2 are rescue I have always had the bully breed it’s my favorite but they need to be trained for your protection an others when there born they will show signs of what they will become some are laid back an some are trouble makers that’s why it’s important to train an socialize your pets as soon as there born that’s all breeds my blue bully is in the house with my 3 kids a cat an a little dog an guess who the mean 1 is the little dog (case in point bad owner good dog this dog is doing what it’s breed for do your homework before you buy 1 an don’t buy from a dumb breed)
Irresponsible owners such as this guy can come up with more reasons and excuses to explain away their own ignorant behavior. This moron was given every warning and precaution from day one, yet he chose to ignore the advice. Shock collar!!! Gimme a break… Luckily for Caspar, the judge appears to have a heart. However, I really wish the owner was admonished severely and ordered to be neutered, get training and wear a muzzle ALWAYS. The poor dog is NOT the problem…
wow! this owner really must’ve buried his head in the sand on this one. i also have a bully breed that began showing signs of similar bad behavior when we moved; and you know what we did we decided to correct this. yes, its a long hard road to do things the right way but these behaviors cannot be ignored. if he realy cared for his dog he would have listened to victoria… your dogs are a reflection of you and if your dog begins having behavior issues you need to evaluate yourself and you’re actions before you even think about the dogs.
We have a pitbull mix rescue dog who was neutered as a puppy. She will happily flip on her back to get a tummy rub from old and new friends. She knows where her toys are and will drop one in your lap when she wants to play. When she was a small puppy and would try to teeth on us, we taught her to give “kisses” and it worked. She is happy, bubbly and a wonderful pet. I don’t know why anyone would not train their dog or not have it neutered.
dog is a better friend of man