Why dogs attack

The purpose of this blog is to discuss the circumstances surrounding dog attacks on humans.

The media puts out stories of dog attacks on a daily basis. Most of these stories are poorly researched, extremely biased, missing vast amounts of information, or handing out straight misinformation. Quite frequently, the story will change depending on which media outlets are covering it.

Dog attacks are being reported as if the country were filled with Jekyl and Hyde dogs that are loving family pets one second, and the next... viscious killers.

The fact of the matter is...dogs don't "snap". They don't "turn on you out of the blue".

There are four major factors that can lead to a dog attacking:

1) Abuse, neglect, and isolation:

Many of the dogs described as "family pets" in these stories are anything but. They are chained in the backyard with minimal human interaction for years; locked in basements and garages and closets. Some are physically neglected and/or abused.

Dogs that have been physically or mentally abused can be pushed beyond their threshold and "attack" in self defense. For a dog like this, he may lash out at the one who hits him. He may be so mentaly traumatized by his experiences, that he is incapable of discerning a true threat from a perceived one, and may be frightened when the family toddler falls on top of him or steps on his tail...resulting (in the dog's eyes) in a purely defensive bite.

Socialization is vastly important to a dog's mental well being and ability to act appropriately in different situations and around different people. Dogs that have been isolated from the outside world, and in many cases...their own families, can become mentally unbalanced (just like a person would).

Being isolated in the same spot for their entire lives, many dogs develop serious territorial issues. To a dog like this, a neighborhood child climbing the fence, or coming in through the gate would be considered a threat to the dog's tiny world. Since he has not been socialized with people outside of his home, any stranger is a potential threat. Members of the dogs own family can sometimes be perceived as a threat.

2) Innapropriate or lack of training:

Dogs do not have a moral code. They do not understand such concepts as "right and wrong" or the legal system, nor can they consider the possible abstract consequences of any decisions they may make. The only variables that influence a dog's decisions are "does it feel good right now?" or "does it feel not good right now?"

A dog has to be trained in every aspect of living alongside humans. He has to be taught not to potty in the house, not to jump on people, not to chase moving objects. He has to be taught NOT to bite. He has to be taught that different people and children are good. He has to be taught not to aggresively guard his food and toys and space.

Many dog attacks are the result of allowing a dog to misbehave. A young dog who is allowed to playfully jump and mouth people can become an adult dog with no bite inhibition. This means he is more likely to use his teeth to get his way.

Many family dogs are allowed to develop very poor and potentially dangerous behaviours by owners who either don't realize the potential issues, or who are simply unnaware of how to curb such behaviors.

If the dog growls when they try to take a toy away, or when they get near his food, they frequently allow the dog to get his way in these matters, or punish him for growling, instead of correcting the behavior appropriately.

For example: If the growls if one tries to take something from him that he perceives as his (resource guarding), and one leaves him be, he learns that this is appropriate and acceptable behavior. The behavior could escalate into biting when someone tries to take his things, or even gets too close.

If one yells at, hits, or otherwise punishes the dog whenever he growls over a resource, the dog does not learn that it is unnacceptable to resource guard, he merely learns that it is unnaceptable to growl.

The growl is simply a dog's way of telling you that he does not like what you are doing. He is asking you to please stop what you are doing, or he may have to defend himself or his belongings. It is a warning, not a threat. It is the symptom of an underlying issue...not the issue itself.

If one simply punishes the growl behaviour without addressing the guarding behavior, the dog learns it is not okay to voice a warning, and is likely to forego the warning in the future, and go right to the next level...biting.

This applies to any form of warning vocalization or posturing in any situation.

3) Desired aggression:

Many dog owners want their dogs to be "tough". They encourage bad behaviours like excessive barking or growling at strangers. They praise the dog when he violently alerts to a knock on the door, or growls at a passerby on a walk.

These dogs are encouraged to see the outside world and the people and objects in it as a threat. The owner may have no intention of the dog every actually harming someone, or even be aware that he is setting the dog up for trouble, but the dog doesn't know that. All he knows is he is praised when he reacts violently...he is being a "good dog". When the neighbor comes over for a friendly chat, and the dog gets past the door and mauls him, he is only doing what he thinks he is supposed to be doing.

These are not "bad dogs". Had they been raised in a home and trained appropriately, they would have been just like any other of the millions of American dogs that never harm anyone.

4)Poor temperment:

Some dogs are born with mental instability (again, just like people.) These dogs may be raised in the very best, most knowledgeable homes, and still end up being "problem dogs". This is an issue that spans all breeds and mixes.

Temperment describes the genetic personality of a dog. What is and is not considered approprite temperment varries from breed to breed. For example, it is considered appropriate for guardian breeds (such as rottweillers and mastiffs) to be wary and aloof around strangers. This same behavior in many other breeds such as labs or American pit bull terriers is considered a flaw in temperment.

Fear aggression is the most dangerous of these issues, and is not an acceptable temperment for any breed.

Depending of the severity of the particular case, a genetically fearful dog may simply be shy or nervous. Most fear aggressive dogs start out this way. As the dog matures, genetic behavioral dissorders can either recede, or grow stronger.

Many people missinterpret a dog's fearful aggressive behavior as overt aggression or bravado. A dog that is standing in a corner on the other side of the room barking, snarling and growling at the guy who just walked in the door is not a brave dog who is trying to defend his home, he is a dog that lacks confidence and is terrified.

Dogs with severe fear issues often feel terribly threatened by everyday activities. If a dog like this ever feels backed into a corner, he is very likely to bite in perceived self defense. A toddler running full tilt towards him at the park might seem like a very real and frightening threat to a dog like this, as may a man in a strange uniform, or a woman who speaks in a strange tone of voice.

Some dogs with poor temperments are not fearful, but act impulsively with aggression to various stimuli, such as resource gaurding, territoriality, pain, or aggravation

Some dogs will redirect their fear and/or aggression on a person, animal, or object that is not the source of the upset. For example: A dog is excited and aggressing at a strange dog while he is on a walk. The owner grabs the dog's collar to attempt to pull him back, and the dog turns and bite's his owner's hand.

Each dog is different. Some dogs have a higher threshold for pain, fear, and aggravation than others do, even within the same breed. All dogs of any breed can and will bite...if pushed past their individual threshold.

There are an additional three sub factors in dog attacks:

1) Children

A huge majority of dog attacks involve children under ten years of age. This is not a coincidence. Young children do not innately know how to behave around animals. They tease, poke, pinch, pull ears, climb on and otherwise harrass dogs. Many dogs are fine with this sort of behavior. Some are less tolerant.

Many parents make the mistake of assuming that since the dog has not growled or bitten the child yet, that it never will. The dog may be displaying other signs of discomfort such as moving away from, and attempting to avoid the child. These signs are often overlooked, and the child is allowed to continue pestering the dog. Eventually, the dog gets fed up, and gives the child a warning bite. While this bite may not harm another dog with fur and loose skin, a bite like this could do a lot of damage to a child.

Many parents allow their children to approach strange dogs without asking the dog's owner if it is okay. A lot of these children do not know how to properly introduce themselves to a strange dog, and tend to approach in ways that are perceived as threatening by said dog.

The major reason that children are common victims of dog bites is that parents leave their children unnatended with their dogs. Your child may know how to behave around the dog...when you are there to correct them...but when you are not, kids will be kids...and they will push the boundries.

There was a case of a dog bite in which the family's black lab (who had been an adult at the birth of the child) severely bit the toddler's face. There had been no indications of issues prior to this, and the child was taught how to "play nice" with the dog. It was discovered that the parents had left the child and dog alone together in the living room for a few moments, and while they were gone, the child stabbed the dog in the anus with a pencil. Yeah. I would bite too.

Another factor is new parents and new babies. Many attacks involve infants and the family dog. In some of these situations the dogs may be ideal house pets, but they have never been exposed to a baby before. Parents make the assumption that the dog knows what a baby is all about. Some dogs do...some dogs don't.

Some dogs see the baby as a possible toy, or a prey item. Some dogs may see the baby as a "puppy" and try to treat it as such. A dog may attempt to move an infant, accidently harming it in it's attempts.

There was a case where a husky took a newborn out of his crib, carried or dragged him out of his room, down the stairs, outside through the open sliding glass door, and into the bushes in the yard, where he was found over an hour later. As his father attempted to retrieve him, the dog continued to pick the infant up, and move him away. The infant was severley injured, but not from mauling...from being carried and dragged around.

There is a case where a pug was left alone with a baby, and chewed it's ear off. Another case where a pomeranion chewed the nose and cheek off of an infant. These were not "aggressive" attacks. These were simply dogs chewing on an object that they did not know they weren't supposed to chew on.

There was a case where three pekingese dogs attacked and killed a one year old infant that had been left unnatended outside (who does that?). A case where a jack russel terrier visciously tore the throat out of an infant left unnatended on his parent's bed, and a case where a Siberian husky jumped into a toddler's playpen and tore him apart. These three are examples of dogs who saw their victims not as human children and members of the "pack" but as prey items.

2) Altering

Around 60% of dog attacks on humans are perpetrated by unnuetered male dogs. Read into that what you will. It could mean that an intact male is more likely to bite or become aggressive. I don't think that's the case. I tend to think that the correlation between intact males and human attacks is in direct relation to the next topic, as most responsible pet owners have their pets altered.

3) Irrisponsible ownership

This is the be-all and end-all of dog attack causation. Everything else falls under this category in some way or another.

There are as many ways to be an irrisponsible dog owner as there are people on this planet, many of which can lead ultimately to a dog attack. From neglect, abuse, and isolation, to leaving children unnatended with dogs, to letting dogs roam free.

Lack of training, innopropriate training, not addressing behavioral issues when they begin to surface, failing to notice signs of trouble, and ignoring or making excuses for signs when they do show up, are all symptoms of irrisponsibility.

Unfortunately the vast majority of dog attacks occur in the home and the victim is a member of the family. The family frequently never knew what hit them. We always hear phrases such as "he just snapped", "he's never done anything like this before", "out of the blue", etc.

There are always signs, often these signs have been there for quite some time, they are just missinterpreted or go unnoticed, Had the family been aware of what to look for beforehand, they could have taken steps to prevent these attacks.