Posts Tagged ‘“dog aggression”’

What Does a Dog Bite Mean?

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

DSC_8744So given that statistically, dog bites are in fact irrelevant (Dog’s Bite but Balloons and Slippers are more Dangerous) , why is such a huge deal made about them? Why is it such a shock to people to be bitten by a dog? In no one’s book is biting a good thing but, it also isn’t an unnatural thing and certainly in most cases, it isn’t any worse physically than the normal damage we do to ourselves all the time. So then the real problem is the psychological damage it does. This damage is not caused by a door crushing a finger or a toe broken on a chair leg. We don’t feel resentment towards the door or the chair. We don’t feel attacked, or betrayed by inanimate objects. But because dogs have feelings and we have feelings towards them it is only natural that we take it personally when bitten.

So I think the real issue is not to tell people “don’t take it personally” (although maybe that would help) but to educate people on what pushes dogs to bite, why do they feel the need to bite and understand that it doesn’t mean the dog “hates” the person it bit. Most dogs that bite a level 1-3 (Ian Dunbar scale) aren’t biting out of anger, they are biting from fear, anxiety and/or the misunderstanding that it is their job to control the person (frequently why dogs do level 1 bites).

One statistic I found particularly interesting is the stat on city dogs VS rural dog bites. Do more city dogs bite or is it just that when rural people get bitten they aren’t as upset by it. Maybe living with more animals gives you an inherent knowledge of animal behavior. Or perhaps rural people really don’t get bitten as often because they have more respect for the animals themselves and don’t put them in positions where they feel they need to bite to defend their space.

I agree with the worry that not taking bites seriously enough might mean that people stop trying to prevent bites. But I doubt it will go that far. A dog that bites will always have to face consequences. I just hope that through education more people will see a bite for what it is, a preventable behavior that does not need to be taken personally but still needs to be addressed, because it means that something is wrong.

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Posted in Aggression, Canine Ethics | 2 Comments »

Dogs with Questionable Backgrounds, or Worse.

Saturday, February 19th, 2011

Archer (1)Although I am primarily a private in home dog trainer, I also spend 6 hours a week (avg) at my local shelters helping to train the dogs. I have been doing this for almost two years now and I am frequently asked my opinion on dogs that have a questionable background, or have made poor decisions in the past about biting people and other dogs. My response is usually the same. Dogs can be rehabilitated, and if the process is in place to put that dog in a foster home with someone who has the experience to work with the dog then improvements to the dogs’ anxiety/aggression/decision making skills will be made.

I think dogs who have shown aggressive tendencies in the past can be rehabilitated and managed until the conditioning is in place so that they make appropriate decisions. I also have found that many shelters either don’t have the funds (or maybe the drive) to find the fosterers needed to put a plan like this in place. The people need to be willing and able to manage these dogs safely and not just manage them but provide them a learning environment to help them make progress.

I also know that sometimes this process will fail due to accidents, mishandling, or even a physical/mental ailment that cannot be overcome. And there has got to be a way to acknowledge when it has failed so that all involved can feel that they tried everything that could be tried or if necessary, see what went wrong and change the process for the next dog.

There is no easy answer in these situations, but I don’t agree with the idea that any dog with a questionable background should be euthanized in order to make room for more home-able animals. To me that just sounds like justification, and if something has to be justified, then that sends up a big red flag that it is a bad idea. Instead we need to focus on what we can do. Educational training programs for interested fosterer’s, volunteers, and staff that promotes safe conditioning training and management. Promoting the shelter as a “No Kill” facility (and sticking to that) can go a long way to getting the public on your side and that provides a lot of money and even more volunteers!

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Posted in Canine Ethics | 3 Comments »

The Aggression Issue

Monday, November 16th, 2009

I was asked recently if I worked with aggressive dogs and I realized that the answer to this question is significant. And may in fact, take me a few blogs to answer entirely, so here is part one.

I have worked with Lions, Leopards, and Grizzly Bears. Large Carnivores all have something very important in common, something you can’t ever forget. They are dangerous. Of the Big Cats I worked with, many were friendly towards humans, some you could walk into their enclosure and they would lay down and get ready for a good scratch. Others… well if you walked into their enclosure you wouldn’t be walking out again. These animals are predators and they have never been domesticated. So even the friendliest of Pumas must be watched, in case her instincts kick in and she suddenly sees you as pray instead of a caregiver.

Aggressive dogs are like this as well. They can be dangerous and are at their most basic level, a predator. This sounds dire but in fact dogs are amazingly self controlled predators. They have been evolving alongside humans for thousands of years. During that time they have become one of the only species in the world that can coexist in our homes with us. They are unique in their ability to see us as pack members, members of their family. To them we are extremely strange dogs; we are dogs that are at many times unpredictable and hard to understand.

My point is that it is not common for dogs to just “snap” and become aggressive. Even the most frightening looking pit bull is still a dog, and dogs have evolved to live around and love humans. So if we understand that dogs don’t just snap, then what is the deal with dog aggression? Why do they do it? Well first of all let me point out that I rarely see truly aggressive dogs. Many behaviours people call “aggression” are simply the dog over reacting to a stressful situation.

Aggression is a term used very loosely in the dog community but has a severely negative connotation, a connotation which can result in the euthanasia of a perfectly normal and trainable dog. So in the future when I talk about aggression I will be referring to the issues that are classified as such by the professional behaviour consultant community.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »