Why does a docile dog attack?
A few days back I was talking with my mom's boyfriend and telling him he had to learn to love my dogs if he wanted to marry her.
So he goes on about how he will never trust dogs because he's been bitten a lot of times and stuff. I tell him I've been bitten many times too, that there are no bad dogs, just bad owners.
Then he tells me a story about this family he supposedly knows and their dobermann. He said the dog was very docile and gentle with stangers and all that, but one day they found it eating their daughter's face. He told me she lived but was left all disfigured.
He finished by telling me that dogs are animals and that sooner or later their "animal" part will kick in.
I believe there's a logic to dog behavior, to say that they're unpredictable brainless animals is just bullshit, but I couldn't just go out and call him a liar, could I?
So what do you think of this story? What could cause such aggression in - seemingly - docile family dogs?
Comments
What you said was true - a dog's temperament indeed does depend on their socialization and training them from a young age. I've known some dogs which are usually stereotypically seen as aggressive breeds like Staffordshire bull terriers, rottweilers and German shepherds who've been really nice. I also met a doberman back when I was in college - he was the pet of one of the staff who brought him in for the students to meet - who was a true gentle giant and would not have hurt a fly, let alone a person!
There is indeed logic to dog behavior and they most certainly not brainless! If they were, they couldn't be used to help humans in all the ways they can could they? Remind you mum's boyfriend of this, like how they can provide assistance like helping the police to find illegal items and bring down fugitives, guiding people who are partially or fully blind and assist those who are physically disabled. Research has also proven that having a dog in a family can help a child who has autism as well as the other family members.
Know however, that medical conditions/problems which a dog may have can also make them snap and strike out - an English bull terrier puppy my family owned had what was thought to be a brain tumor which made him spin and chase his tail aggressively. He did bite sometimes and in the end, had to be put to sleep.
What your mum's boyfriend is saying about this doberman may be true, but if he can't prove it, there's always the possibility that he could be lying in attempt to change your views which you shouldn't let him do. I'm in pretty much the same case as you - I love dogs, always have and always will, although I have been bitten and scratched by them before. It's inevitable though - despite people's best efforts, accidents can, do and will occur in life.
As for his attitude, that may very well be down to his bad experiences with dogs, particularly if they were when he was a young child. Something which scares a person when they're young can go on to be a fear or phobia for a long time, through childhood and adolescence, even into their adult and senior years.
It's true however, that even a docile and usually placid, loving pet animal could turn against a young child. This would be the result of a child doing something which made them feel threatened, causing them to strike out in self-defence. For this reason, a young child should obviously never be left alone with a pet.
Hope this helps.
Docile Dogs
Family pet injuring a family member has happened before...moms bf described it in a particularly gruesome way. How it happens is, the owners misjudge the dog and/or leave the dog unsupervised with a small child. Sometimes a dog plays too rough for a child. Child squeals or makes some other move or sound that triggers a prey drive response. That's why babies aren't left unsupervised with any dog.
A dog will attack if it perceives a threat, usually then only if intimidation doesn't work. Some will try to run away first. What constitutes a threat depends on the individual dog.
Sure dogs are animals but they are totally domesticated. The guys fear isn't 100% irrational -- dogs do have the tools to do serious damage to humans. But you are 100% correct; no bad dogs, only bad owners.
Fed. / state / Local laws are all different. Usually you must confine the animal for 10 day's. This will deturmin IF the dog has rabies. FIRST you must deturmin why the dog bit. Maybe it had good reason. I know I shouldnt have said that but dogs have a languge all there own. What were the circumstances.?? IF a person walks up and hits a dog or dogs owner with a stick, this would be considered GOOD BOY. If the dog bites for no reason, then you must do whatever is nesasary. Maybe see the vet and he'll cut the agressive parts off the dogs body. Hopefully you know what I'm talking about. This does make a dog passive. and usually will work.
Yes dogs are animals however, it is almost always the case that it is the person who doesn't respect that a dog is an animal and not a person. The best dogs can become mean from any reason. Also most people do not understand how to truly read a dogs behavoir let alone learn how to. We as humans domesticated dogs to fit into our world but no matter what happens they are still dogs. They have to be treated with respect. You don't see people talking about how its the mountain lions fault for attacking a person when their houses have encroached into their land?
She had to provoke the dog. She probably ran straight up to the dog, look it in the eye, smiled at it, or yelled. It may have taken any of these thing as a threat. Smiling could be interpreted as bearing teeth. It may have been playing too! My dogs play rough with each other and play bite each other, which when they do it you it hurt a lot.
I think the story is BS. If it is true, the daughter could have provoked the dog making him snap at her and bite her face
Random illness. Child behaving inappropriately around dog with regard to personal space and waking from sleep etc.
Respect his opinion.
Show him how he can read dogs body language more accuratetly than he does now. See (cartoons):
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/preventing-dog-b...
and if he's interested show him (article):
http://diamondsintheruff.com/calmingsignals.html
A medical issue(brain tumor or something similar) could be one cause, the other could be that the dog was just genetically unstable.