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~' ` condominium complex. He stated that Bear had caught and attacked a possum approximately 2 years ago at his complex. He did not know if the possum survived the attack but said that when he later returned to check on the possum, it was gone. After interviewing Mr. Miller about his dog's history, I evaluated Bear's level of obedience training. The only command Bear responded to fairly well was "sit". Mr. Miller did manage to get Bear into a down position, however, the dog would not hold that position for longer then a few seconds. When I asked Mr. Miller to walk Bear at his side on a loose leash, Mr. Miller stated his dog did not know how to heel and that Bear always pulls him when on leash. He also stated that his dog did not have a formal recall command to come to him. After evaluating Bear's obedience training, I then evaluated his level of animal aggression. I used several stuffed dogs that I frequently use to evaluate dog aggression issues, including a stuffed cat. Bear immediately targeted on each of the stuffed animals, ranging in size from very small to medium size. Bear pulled at the leash and attempted to go after the stuffed animals, including lunging at them as I walked by pulling a small stuffed dog on a leash. Bear's focus on these animals after I moved them was intense. He would not stop staring at them and continued to pull on the leash to get to them for the remainder of the evaluation, even long after I stopped moving the animals. He also focused on a stuffed cat that was on the ground that was never moved. I also evaluated Bear's reaction to a real dog. An older docile female Pointer dog was brought into the building on leash. The dog was quiet and submissive and paid no attention to Bear, even so, Bear pulled to go see her and also continued to pull on the leash to go to the stuffed animals. Based on my extensive experience with aggressive dogs and knowledge gained as a professional dog trainer and handler for the last 16 years, it is my professional opinion that Bear is a liability to the community. This assessment is based on physical interaction with the dog, interviewing the owner, as well as reviewing records of previous attacks. I strongly believe that Bear would bite another dog if given the opportunity (i.e. if a dog would come up to him or be within Bear's field of vision on or off leash.) This conclusion is due to several factors; The dog's natural instinct to protect his owner, his very high prey /chase drive, the dog's previous incidents of attacking numerous dogs as well as possibly injuring an owner of one of the dogs that was attacked, the attack of the possum, the lack of control and obedience training by the owner, the substantial size and power of the dog, the denial that there is a problem by the owner, the lack of dog handling experience and knowledge on the owner's part, and lastly, because the dog is not neutered. I made the following recommendations to Mr. Miller; I told him to seek additional professional training and that his goal should be to pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test with Bear, to neuter Bear as soon as possible, and to have a muzzle on Bear when he is in public. Please call me at 714-296-9714 if you have any questions. Sincerely, Caroline Haldeman Owner /Training Director Sirius K9 Academy 18A-11