The danger of a dog that bites

[hutch6 550]

I apologise for the rant and length of this post but coming from someone who has worked with many dogs with varying degrees fo behavioural issues, I found the article insulting to dogs.

 

The Danger of Dogs That Bite

 

Seems like the title of an informative seminar that is to be delivered to the reporters of the Daily Mail, not an article written in a weekly publication whose readers are generally well informed so I was a little taken aback to find it published.

 

Dogs do bite, it is their primary weapon when they have been given no other means of getting their point across or they have been trained or unwittingly eluded to a specific target. The bite is the last action taken in any scenario and no dog will bite without reason, it is a reaction so there had to be some trigger and forewarning. Unfortunately the dog always gets the blame because to bite in the public’s mind is the labelling of a “Dangerous dog”.

The article’s author is of the ilk that if a dog bites, for whatever reason then it is best to have such a dog destroyed because it can’t be trusted and even state “A dog that has bitten once is likely to do it again”. I agree with this on very different grounds.

 

The article is about a friend’s dog that has bitten a child – a crime in today’s society that is looked upon very sternly with a call for the destruction of the dog. But what circumstances lead up to the bite in the first place? What warnings were given by the dog? What was the behaviour of the victim prior to the dog snapping? These details never make the article in this case, and very rarely in national media reports, as it is more favourable public opinion to make out that the dog can’t be trusted and needs to be destroyed. I disagree.

“Dogs that bite are a menace, they are unpredictable and not suitable for the novice owner. They should not be bred from for fear of perpetuating the vice in a proportion of their offspring, and restrictive or educational approaches more often than not fail.”

So nobody should breed from a dog that bites because a dog that bites has a genetic dysfunction that it is highly likely that the gene will be passed down to future offspring. My argument is that all dogs bite.

Anybody who has an ounce of canine knowledge knows that puppies spend a very large portion of their time with things in their mouth. They explore the world around them with their mouth be it furniture, objects left lying around and most importantly their littermates.

Puppies grow needle like teeth from an early age and these teeth serve only one purpose and that is to inflict pain. The teeth are reasonably strong in that they can go through mashed flesh when wheening time comes along but they are not strong enough to go through bone or tear anything with marginal strength. What they are used for though is to learn what pain is. They do this by fighting and playing with littermates. When one pup bites the other the one doing the biting has no idea how much pressure it is exerting and could therefore do a reasonable amount of damage with the sharpness (puncture not tearing). The pup being bitten will give a yelp when the pressure gets too much. This yelp serves as a marker for the biting pup to realise that they are exerting too much pressure and this pressure mark gets locked in their learning and experience catalogue. But how do they know when to stop? Well they have been bitten by other littermates and made the same noise when it hurts so they know how it feels and they stop. The first pup to bite is startled by the yelp of the pup being bitten and releases, then they get bit, yelp and get released and so on. This goes on for hours and for days at a time whilst the pups are growing up and playing with each other to hone their skills, build muscles and develop balance and just release pent up energy. So from this every dog that has ever lived has bitten before.

The issues arise when the pup is taken from the litter and placed in a home with an owner. The pup takes a bit of time to come round or could be a confident pup from the start and settles straight away with a carry on of the playful behaviour shown prior to being taken from the litter. Unfortunately the pup now sees the owner and anything else in the home as a littermate and something to carry on its behaviour with so it pounces on your feet, nips your hands, rags a tea towel about etc. but it is down to the new owner to let the dog know that this behaviour is not acceptable. If the owner sees it as playful and funny and does not correct the dog by ending all interactions when the pup makes contact with its teeth on skin then the pup will grow into a sizable mouthing machine. A yell of “No!” or “Oww!” despite the contact not hurting followed by either you leaving the dog alone or removing the dog to another room for a time out will break the behaviour in a short time.

So from womb to owner the pup is programmed to bite and nip. So what makes the adult dog bite?

 

If anyone was to tease, pester, pressure, torment, wind-up, bully, provoke or act in an aggressive manner to someone then the chances are I would end up getting a clip around the head for my behaviour and that would be the end of that. I would learn the consequence of my actions but if I was to pay attention to the warning signs and stop my behaviour before it escalated then I would prevent getting a slap. The same goes for dogs.

Dogs have the ability to let us know when they are feeling nervous, scared, angry, threatened and being put in a situation they don’t like. Are these signs being ignored or is the uneducated not aware of the signs and how to interpret them? A dog’s tail tells a lot about how a dog is feeling by the way in which it is held. The natural position of a tail is breed specific from the high curling tail of a spitz type dog to the low held position of the pastoral or herding breeds. Sometimes these naturally held positions can cause conflict between two breeds because of the misinterpretation of the tail position – a high held tail in the pastoral group is deemed as a threat whereas with the spitz it is the natural position – so without anything going any further there could be tension right from the off. A cautious approach and a test of the water is usually enough to dispel any presence of tension.

A growl is usually the first warning we adhere to because it is something deeply associated with the presence of aggression in dogs. Some folk will scald a dog for growling regardless as they don’t want the behaviour or they don’t want to be shown to have a labelled “Aggressive dog” but is this not taking away the essence of what a growl is and opening things up to a bite without warning? How many times is it in reports where the owner or someone who witnessed the attack of a dog state “the dog just bit for no reason”? The dog didn’t bite or attack for no reason, there will have been warnings but these were not taken on board and the dog was pushed past its limits where its only choice was to strike to fend off whatever it deemed as threatening. It is never reported what the victim was doing prior to the dog biting either. Was the child or person tormenting the dog? Were they doing something that aggravated the dog? Was the dog being worked up in a frenzy of excitement without any prior understanding or exercise in self cp0ntrol training? Had the dog ever growled before? What was the result of the growl? Was it punished and taught never to growl? Personally I would much rather have a growling, snarling and barking dog in front of me as opposed to one that is rigid, quiet and slowly waving its tail side to side any day of the week. At least with the first one I know I have over stepped the mark and I need to back off. With the second one I could be doing something with the dog out of sight to my side and not realise I am upsetting the dog in some way and then all of a sudden the “dog bites for no reason”.

A dog that is not accustomed to certain situations should either not be exposed to it for the sake of a one off episode or if it is to be part of the dog’s daily existence then the dog should be acclimatised to it to socialise it and accustom to the experience so it knows what to expect and can relax. Desensitisation takes dedication, close observation and plenty of patience but as someone who has stock broken a dog will attest, it is worth the effort when you have a near bombproof dog. I say near bombproof because no dog is ever bombproof in any situation because it is simply impossible to cover all situations with the multitude of variables that can occur in any situation. What it is possible to do though is built a relationship with a dog where it feels protected that you are not going to be placing it in danger, confident in that it has someone who not only cares and feeds it but understands what it is communicating to them. Paying close attention to your dog’s body language opens up a whole new level of communication with the dog making any dog want to work for you rather than feeling like it has to. The signals are very clear to see once you get your eye in and the relationship becomes enjoyable for all involved and training becomes a heck of a lot easier too.

Just as with stock breaking a dog how many take their dogs to a park where kids are running around, screaming, moving quickly and doing everything that actually excites a dog and triggers its prey drive? Kids are generally the victims of dog attacks and it is because kids are kids. They don’t really accept a dog not wanting to do something and will push the dog to do what they want it to do regardless. They pull things, stand on things, poke things, hit things, pester and tease things so when the parents or family members say “I only left the room for a minute” then they only have themselves to blame – don’t ever leave kids and dogs alone for a second. I trust my dogs implicitly around my two nieces. They have grown up with them and enjoyed playing games with them but I wouldn’t trust my nieces with my dogs because I know how they get when they are tired, annoyed, wound up etc and a dog is too much of easy target with a serious outcome. As they have gotten older I have spent time educating my nieces how to behave around the dogs, how to read the signs, not to just approach strange dogs and how to act if a strange dog approaches them. Would I have my dogs in the same room if a friend dropped by? Probably because they are accustomed to adults in most situations. Would I have the dogs in the room if friends with kids came by? Not at all. I don’t know the kids, I can’t predict how they will be, how much experience around dogs they have etc – too many variables to take the risk.

A dog of ill health will be more prone to aggression also so any sudden episode of growling whilst grooming or inspecting which wasn’t there previous should result in a trip for a check-up.

 

In the article there is a paragraph that makes me think the author does not understand dogs at all:

“That’s not to say that some dogs aren’t just born bad – they are”

Indeed there are dogs that are born with certain genetic defects that make them aggressive or respond aggressively but these are a very small minority with most displays and incidents of aggression being diagnosed as fear-aggressive, resource guarding and territorial behaviours. Other than the very small minority (which can be traced through lines) dogs are generally born not wanting to take over the world and instead just being inquisitive, happy go lucky animals we know.

It is through learning and association where the dog becomes aggressive with the vast majority down to environment. The DDA has a list of banned breeds because of the injuries and episodes they that have occurred, media reports which have influenced the public in their opinion of dogs they have never met in their life to the point where they petitioned against them to parliament to change the rules (I am sure you can think of another instance where this has happened). So the Pit bull, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Braziliero have all been banned from UK ownership yet I cannot remember meeting a single one of this breed to make judgement and I am sure the rest of the UK population can, at best, recognise or recall meeting one of these breeds. If you look at bite regularity in breeds you will find that the Daschund appears at the top or quite near the top year on year yet because they don’t cause such damage they are not deemed as a dangerous dog. Dangerous dogs must only be labelled so if they present a threat to human life and yet Labradors or their mixes are responsible for human death whilst they represent to some the epitome of a family dog.

 

In the same paragraph as the above statement the author then writes:

“more often than not a dog has been allowed to overstep the mark and work its way up the pecking order in the family, something smaller breeds are apt to do. Picking a dog up and having him close to your own face level encourages this. A dog has little idea that biting is not an acceptable way of showing his superiority in what he sees as his pack”

First and foremost a dog does not want to rule the world. It knows its place in the order of things because from the off the owner holds the access to every resource of the dog – food, water, shelter, bed and mating. From day one we dictate where and when a dog eats, where its water is, where its bed is and we decide if they can have the opportunity to mate or not (a door left open presents that opportunity but other than that, we make the decision. They know they part of a group but ultimately they are not about get one up on the owner. A dog doesn’t soil the carpet when you leave because earlier you took its dinner away from it. A dog is not dominant, it just doesn’t know the rules that you have and when you try to stop it doing something it guards that resource. An example is a dog that growls when you try and shift it from the sofa. The dog is comfortable, resting and doesn’t want to be disturbed so it notifies you of this. The most common reason for this is there is no bond there, the dog is not trained and the owner does not have the trust of the dog. Folk ask me all the time why a dog growls if they go near it when it’s feeding. I ask them what they have done prior to this and the same reason comes up time after time – I didn’t want the dog to think its dinner was its own so I used to take the bowl away and then place it back, take it away, place it back. I wonder how they would react if every time their waiter came passed them they took their meal away for a few minutes and then brought it back, took it away and brought it back. There is no such thing as a dominant dog, just a confused and poorly trained one.

The second alarming piece in the above quote is the whole “Pack” thing. A dog is not a pack animal, never was and never will be. We think that because a dog shares 99.99999% of its make-up with a wolf that the dog is a pack animal just the same but this simply isn’t true.

A wolf pack is made up of a breeding pair and their offspring. A male dog does not contribute to the rearing of the offspring so there is no breeding pair so form a pack, instead they leave the female to rear the litter whilst they go off looking for food or other potential mates.

Feral dog groups that have been studied all over the world compound the “Dog pack” being a myth as observations of the behaviour of the animals shows that they will converge in small groups when resources such as food or an in-season female are around but after that resource has been taken then the groups disbanded and carried on a solitary existence.

In a home where dogs are forced to live in close quarters then yes, they will look like a pack but there will be a pecking order amongst the dogs, not the humans the dogs, which is usually sorted out with a few squabbles despite there being a mixture or the same breed. When in your home they simply tolerate each other to one extent or the other.

 

As the article progresses the author covers why dogs bite and then mentions a “repeat biter” and explains how such a dog should not be tolerated. My question to the author is: Should a repeat biter be left in the same environment? If you put yourself in a position where a dog has bitten you, do you really go and pout yourself back in that position knowing what the consequences are? Only a fool would do that and only a fool would blame the dog. I have taken in a few GSDs that were repeat biters – bi the owner/s and guests – yet after a bit of training, bonding and socialisation they have turned out to be perfectly normal, loving dogs. A dog my ex took was rescued from the needle because the kids had been hanging off her neck, she growled and the guy kicked nine bells out of her and isolated her. She was then brought out to the family environment again where the kids were allowed to hang off her again. She growled again and the beatings repeated. He then took her to vets as a deemed “Dangerous dog”. After a bit of work she is a perfectly happy dog.

 

No dog can be fully trusted in any situation and not person can be fully trusted with any dog, it is the owner’s responsibility to manage both.

[paulus 26]

could you just tell me in a nuttshell as ive got a head ache

[S.T.B.O.T 5]

I downloaded that so i can read it tonight in bed on my kindle

[graham4877 1,181]

anyone wanna just tell me the main point??

[Hitcher 297]

f**k that any pics

[graham4877 1,181]

f**k that any pics

[scothunter 12,609]

Typical ruin the Lads post tut tut!

[sowhat 1,572]

Once bitten,twice shy

[bird 9,872]

anyone wanna just tell me the main point??

 

yeh , i think she is trying to defend dogs that bite .? i think she talks crap. any dog that bites i think should be its last if kids are involved end off. even if its adult the trust as gone, so what good is it to.man .? humans 1st dogs 2nd .

[Guest traz]

anyone wanna just tell me the main point??

 

yeh , i think she is trying to defend dogs that bite .? i think she talks crap. any dog that bites i think should be its last if kids are involved end off. even if its adult the trust as gone, so what good is it to.man .? humans 1st dogs 2nd .

[graham4877 1,181]

anyone wanna just tell me the main point??

 

yeh , i think she is trying to defend dogs that bite .? i think she talks crap. any dog that bites i think should be its last if kids are involved end off. even if its adult the trust as gone, so what good is it to.man .? humans 1st dogs 2nd .

cheers mate!!

any dog that bites should be met with a .22 subsonic

simple as that for me!

[jjbull 38]

agree and disagree with some of the points in the article, 9 times out of 10 its the owners fault not the dogs, theyve failed to control there animal and as sad as it is the animal might have to be destroyed due to there failure, but the article is correct in saying dogs bite for a reason and if people cant see the warning signs its there fault.But what gets me going is the stories of dogs biting kids, yes the animal is going to get destroyed as it cant be trusted round children but where were the parents and why was the child left alone with the animal in the first place, as i was growing up i was never left alone with the dog and in the 16 years we had him he never even growled in anger.

[Baghdadnights 150]

What she is saying about biting is the situation behind the bite for instance

My brothers dog was being tormented constantly by neighbouring children they would bang on the living room window etc this probably went on for at least 12 months with repeated warnings from my bro to the kids not too do it

Then the dog got out and bit one of the kids and the police where called. Now my bro rented the house from a wpc that had witnessed and warned the kids about tormenting the dog she attended the call out and basically told the kids and parents it's your own fault. The dog lived out its life without biting anyone again

[Malt 379]

anyone wanna just tell me the main point??

 

yeh , i think she is trying to defend dogs that bite .? i think she talks crap. any dog that bites i think should be its last if kids are involved end off. even if its adult the trust as gone, so what good is it to.man .? humans 1st dogs 2nd .

 

I agree. I told my kids at the start when I first brought dogs into the home around them that if they ever do anything to one of our dogs which results in the dog biting them, it'll be the last thing that dog ever does and it will be their fault. Thankfully they've always thought enough of the dogs to not want them dead so have always respected them.. The other side of it is that it's down to me to ensure the dogs are brought up to be sound round the kids..

[hutch6 550]

anyone wanna just tell me the main point??

 

yeh , i think she is trying to defend dogs that bite .? i think she talks crap. any dog that bites i think should be its last if kids are involved end off. even if its adult the trust as gone, so what good is it to.man .? humans 1st dogs 2nd .

 

What is your thoughts on a dog that is left with a child and the child, not knowing any better, pulls on the dog's tail or the dog has an injury and the child, by accident, catches the injury and the dog turns and bites? Is that the dog's fault for trying to shun the approach as fast as possible just as you would push someone away or lash an arm out as a reaction? Is it the child's fault who either does not know any better or is simply winding the dog and leaving the dog no option? Is it the owner's fault or the responsible adult at the time for allowing the situation to exist?

 

I am simply stating that there is going to be a reason why the dog bit in the first place.

 

Wrong gender by the way.