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Disclaimer: The advice on this web
site is not intended as a solution for pre-existing cases of
aggression. If your dog is aggressive, please contact a
dog trainer or behaviorist who is knowledgeable and experienced in
dealing with cases of aggression.
If you are scared of your dog, please don't delay - find a
professional to help you. The longer your dog has
"practiced" being aggressive, the harder the problem will
be to solve - it's best to get help now rather than later. Dogs
do not "grow out of" aggression - if you do nothing the
aggression will tend to either remain the same or get worse.
Also, be aware that there are no quick fixes for aggression and that
violent or harshly corrective methods tend to produce further
aggression. Furthermore, punishing a warning stare, growl,
snarl, or snap may only teach the dog to not give the warning.
It is important that your dog give you the warning so you can take
heed and not get bitten. A dog that has been corrected for
aggressive displays (warnings) is still emotional about whatever is
making him feel the need to use aggression, if he cannot flee from
the problem and if he is afraid to give a warning because he has
gotten corrected, he may have no choice than to bite without warning first.
The first thing I recommend
for preventing dog bites is to educate yourself and your children on
safety around dogs - this
includes dogs that live in your family, neighbors' dogs, dogs being
leash-walked at the park, loose dogs spotted in the neighborhood,
chained dogs, and dogs confined in cars, crates, kennels, fenced
areas, or invisible fenced areas. I have seen many grown-ups
actually let their children run up to a strange dog. This is a
foolish and dangerous thing to allow. I have seen kids who
remember to let the dog sniff the back of their curled and lowered
hand, but forget to ask the owner for permission first, approach too
quickly, and present the hand into the dog's face instead of being
calm and letting the dog approach their hand to sniff. I've
also heard parents boast about how their family dog is so gentle that
he lets the kids climb all over him, pull on his hair and even poke
him. Again this is a foolish thing to allow. It is unfair
to the dog who has to put up with being climbed on and teased.
It is also unfair to the children who are not learning how to be
responsible with an animal in their care. It is also dangerous
since someday the dog may decide he has had enough and actually bite
the kids. I've also seen many parents instill fear of
dogs in their kids in the hope that they will stay away from strange
dogs. This is also likely due to the parent's own fear of
dogs. Again, this is not fair to the children because it
teaches them to act scared and does not teach them how to act in a
safe manner around dogs. My recommendation to all people,
adults and children alike, is to never approach a loose dog, chained
dog or confined dog because this is how many of the serious bite
cases occur. Teach your children what to do if they are ever
confronted by a loose dog and definitely teach them never to approach
or tease a chained or confined dog. To learn about safety
around dogs and about how to teach safety and respect of dogs to your
children, please visit AKC's public education section of their web
site -
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Following are valuable
suggestions for preventing bites. These suggestions include
those that are effective from the first day you decide to adopt a dog
or get a puppy and also include bite prevention ideas effective
throughout the life of your dog -
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Preventing future bites
- consider
why you want a dog
- for the dog's
sake, think long and hard before getting a dog:
-
Do you want a sweet dog who will make a great
family pet and are you willing to put the time and energy into making
this happen? - good for you!
-
Are you looking for a dog to train to be involved
in dog sports such as agility, obedience, herding, or hunt tests? -
that is great!
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Are you looking for a dog to protect your family
and possessions? - Be careful.
We all have a Lassie mentality when it comes to dogs. We expect
them to perform fabulous feats to protect us and save us if
necessary. The truth is that dogs tend to not be able to
communicate to us that Johnny fell down the well. Sure dogs can
sometimes do amazing things like warn their family that the house is
on fire and let their owner know that an epileptic seizure is about
to occur. Janis Bradley in her book "Dogs Bite, but
Balloons and Slippers are more Dangerous" points out that
"It is a fallacy for people to think that dogs know white hats
from the black hats - if you teach your dog to be wary of strangers
to protect you, someday the stranger to the dog will be one of your
friends or family." My advice is that a sweet family pet
can have the "image" as a protector. Please choose a
puppy or dog with a good temperament and train him properly.
Many dogs will bark and really that is all you need for a protector
image. Teach your dog to sit at your side and speak as a bluff
to the "bad guys". If you want even more of an
image, get a good natured dog with a black coat (for some reason
people are more scared of a black Labrador Retriever than a yellow
Labrador Retriever and the only difference is the color). Steer
away from the truly aggressive dog because, instead of protecting
your family, he will tend to bite your family (or bite your neighbors
who will then sue your family).
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Are you looking for a status symbol? - this is not a good
reason to get a dog. You must be willing to train and socialize
your dog, you must develop a good relationship with your dog, you
must be willing to meet your dog's needs for his entire
lifetime. Unfortunately status symbols do better sitting in one
place, being ignored by you, and being admired by your
neighbors. Dogs do not do well sitting in one place and being
ignored by you. Plus, an untrained, mismanaged and misbehaved
dog does not get any admiration from the neighbors. An
inanimate object serves much better as a status symbol than a living
being. Do not get a dog as a status symbol only to have it end
up biting your friends and family. Temperament and relationship
are so much more important than status. |
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Preventing future bites - shopping
for a puppy:
-
Take your time - do not impulse buy. Research
the breeds that you are interested in. Besides learning about
their appearance and grooming needs, learn about their personality
and temperament. Learn what the breed needs to keep it happy
and to live with it. Does it need a job and a lot of
exercise? Is it a breed that tends to bark a lot? How
aggressive is the breed? What is the purpose of the breed?
A hunting dog? A hunting dog that was also bred to guard the boat
and hunting lodge? A sheep dog? A sheep dog that herds or a
sheep dog that was bred to guard the flock? The larger and more
formidable the dog, the more aggression has to be a concern (let's
face it, a large aggressive dog is more dangerous than a small
one). For example, Rottweilers can be great family pets, but
certain individuals may not be the right choice. Rottweilers
originated from Germany and were used for herding, drafting, and
guarding. They were valued to protect their owner and his
personal possessions; however, their massive rise in popularity
resulted in many poor breeding practices and cases of irresponsible
ownership. Obtaining a Rottweiler (or, for that matter, any
large and powerful breed) with health problems and a poor temperament
can be a real liability. Be sure to check the function
that a breed was originally bred for. If the breed was
originally bred as a guard dog, fighting dog, watchdog, battle dog,
bull or bear baiting dog, wild boar hunter, an attack dog, etc. your
job in finding an individual of the breed needs to highly consider
the temperament and ease of training of the parents and relatives of
the puppy's litter. Concerning the "Pit Bull"
breeds, I wish to stress that there are many wonderful "Pit
Bull" individuals (this also holds true for other breeds that
make the evening news as dangerous dogs). Karen Delise
writes in her book, "Fatal Dog Attacks, The Stories Behind
the Statistics" that "Pit Bulls have a problem with our
society ... For the past 20 years, Pit Bulls have been subjected to
cruelty, abuse and mistreatment to a degree and on a scale that no
other breed in recent history has ever had to endure ... Any real or
imagined viciousness on the part of the Pit Bull breeds pales in
comparison to the brutality, callous disrespect for life, and
inhumanity of many of their owners ... It is easier to dismiss this
as a 'breed' problem instead of addressing the real issues of crime,
poverty, animal abuse, ignorance, greed and man's lust for violence
... Far too many Pit Bulls are owned by three types of exceedingly
abusive people - Drug dealers, sadistic people who enjoy watching
dogs fight and kill each other, and inner-city gang members and
street punks. Unfortunately these people ... choose to destroy
the temperament of the breed by using unnaturally aggressive breeding
stock ... A minority of Pit Bulls are well-bred and fortunate enough
to be owned by people who obtained them because they admire and
respect the true traits to be found in a Pit Bull, namely exuberance,
intelligence, determination, loyalty and a great desire to please and
amuse their owners." Now that I've told you to shop
carefully considering the temperament of the largest and more
aggressive breeds, I'm going to tell you to do the same for all other
dog breeds. Even though the Doberman Pinscher breed has a
long-standing reputation for fierceness and was originally developed
almost exclusively as a protection dog, many Doberman breeders have
been working hard on improving their breed's health and
temperament. Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson in their book, "Paws
to Consider" state that, "despite their rough
reputation and fierce looks, Dobes are generally sweet, soft
dogs." Now if a dog such as a Doberman, developed as a
protection dog, can be selectively bred to be gentle and sweet, it
can go the other way. For example, poor breeding of breeds such
as the American Cocker Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever,
Beagle and many others can produce individuals of dubious temperament
- aggressive due to dominance or fear. Following is
what Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson say about these breeds -
American Cocker Spaniel: "At their best they are delightful,
happy companions that love everyone with equal enthusiasm.
Sweet and easy to train. In our years, we have trained several
hundred American Cocker Spaniels, and we recall only a handful of
wonderful ones. The rest were poorly bred specimens, prone to
unwanted behavior that ran the gamut from really annoying, chronic
submissive wetting to downright horrendous
aggression." Golden Retriever: "Who can imagine
a sweeter dog than the Golden? The poster pet endorsing the family
dog: 'Good with children' is assumed. Loving, goofy, devoted to
the point of fawning, these are simply some of the nicest dogs we
humans ever managed to breed. ... On the other hand ...
The decline of this fine breed brings us much sadness. Now all
too many are short-lived, problem-prone, and temperamentally weak ...
we never used to see any aggression and now we see dog aggression,
dominance aggression, territorial aggression ... you get the
picture." Labrador Retriever: "The classic Lab
tolerates children extremely well, is forgiving and sweet ... Because
of their incredible popularity (number one in AKC's ranking for many
years now), the quality of the dogs ranges widely from wonderful
family companion to generally fearful, from hyper triathlete to
unpredictably aggressive." Beagle: "... Fans
point out their good looks, adaptable nature, and sweet disposition
... Beagles, though not normally aggressive, when they are they are
quite nasty."
I'd like to make it clear that I do not intend to
pick on any particular breed, but I do want to make the point to do
your homework, not just on which particular breed to get, but also on
which individual of the breed to get. Even though most
individuals of a breed have wonderful temperaments, as in the Beagle
breed, some individuals can be quite nasty ... and the apple does not
fall far from the tree (temperament can be genetic) ... make sure you
know what the family members of your puppy are like as far as
personality and temperament!
-
Visit web
pages to help you choose a dog.
-
Check out "Paws To Consider, Choosing the
Right Dog for You and Your Family" by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson. To
order this book visit 4mdogbooks.com
or DogWise.com
or Amazon.com
-
Call a local kennel club, breed club, or visit a
local dog show to look at dogs. |
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Preventing future bites - adopting
an adult dog:
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If you plan on getting an adult dog from a rescue
or shelter, think temperament first. Ask many questions to find
out what the rescue or shelter knows about the dog's past. If
the dog has a known bite history, walk away. There are many
non-biting dogs in need of homes. Sweet friendly dogs get
euthanized every day for just ending up in the shelter too long.
Please rescue a friendly dog and avoid dogs that charge the kennel
barking and growling. Also avoid extremely fearful dogs since
they can bite out of fear.
It's a huge benefit for you to rescue a dog who has
been fostered first. Many rescues foster the dogs so
they learn about each dog and match them to the profile supplied by
potential adopters. By fostering, they will have had a chance
to assess the dog's temperament.
Some shelters also do temperament tests. Be aware that
shelters are not created equal. Just because a shelter is
a "no-kill" shelter, does not mean that it is a good place
for the dogs within. Due to the stressful nature of most
shelters, dogs that end up in a shelter environment tend to loose
more and more of their good qualities the longer they are there.
Following is advice for choosing a dog from the shelter:
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Make sure that the dog has soft sweet eyes (no hard stare
and no glancing eyes in which you can see the whites of the eyes).
-
Make sure that the dog has a friendly, not stiff, stance
with relaxed ears - not aroused and forward and not plastered back.
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Make sure the dog is not barking and lunging at the kennel gate.
-
Do not choose a pathetic dog hiding in the far corner of the
shelter shaking. You can't be sure that this dog won't bite in fear.
-
Do ask the shelter workers what they know about and their
experience with the particular dog that you are interested in.
What do they know about his/her temperament and background?
-
Finally, have a shelter worker help you take a friendly-appearing
dog out on leash away from the barking dogs and other shelter
commotion and see what you think about the dog. Does he warm up
to you or remain aloof? Is he friendly? You want a
friendly dog that does warm up to you, not one that does not seem to
relate. It's important to not take out any dog that does
not seem friendly in the kennel. Also do not take out any
sexually mature-intact dogs (meaning over 1.5 years of age and not
"fixed"), and do not take out dogs that are overly
cautious, that are highly aroused, or that do not show any signs of friendliness.
Prior to visiting the shelter, check out Sue
Sternberg's Rondout Valley Kennel website. This shelter in
New York state is the way all shelters should be run. Check out
the shelter shop and purchase "Successful
Dog Adoption." |
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Preventing bites -
raising and socializing your puppy:
-
Treat your puppy with love so he does not learn to be aggressive -
do not teach him to be aggressive. For additional
information, read "Dogs Bite, But Balloons and Slippers are
More Dangerous" by Janis Bradley. Especially read
pages 157-166, "A Few Simple Strategies for Reducing Dog Bites".
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Socialize and train
your puppy. Teach your dog to love all sorts of
people. For additional information about socialization, read
"The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson, pages 57-66.
-
Teach Bite Inhibition
to your puppy. For additional information about bite
inhibition, read "The Culture Clash" by Jean
Donaldson, pages 67-69.
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Puppy mouthing - aggression or not? Click
here for information about puppy mouthing.
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What games can I play with
my puppy or dog? Will some make him aggressive? While
I recommend to not play games where you chase your puppy or dog or
wrestle with him, "Tug"
is, quite surprisingly, a game I recommend; however, it's only for
those mature enough to play by the rules. For additional
information about Tug of War and Tug of War Rules, read "The
Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson, pages 37-43.
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Prevent possessiveness -
food bowl exercises, object exchanges and placement commands.
For additional information about food bowl exercises, object
exchanges and placement commands, read "The Culture Clash"
by Jean Donaldson, pages 77-85.
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Teach your puppy to be comfortable with handling and
grooming. Jean Donaldson states, "In their lives, dogs
will have to be handled for a multitude of reasons, including vet
exams, being groomed, held down or otherwise physically restrained
and being hugged, grabbed and patted by a wide demographic sampling
of humans. Good relaxed tolerance of handling does not come
naturally for most dogs. One of the best favors you can do your
dog is to teach him, while he's still a malleable little puppy, to
happily accept all the handling he will have to put up with during
with lifetime. You yourself, your friends, family and puppy
classmates can all simulate the main handling situations and pair the
puppy's relaxed acceptance with food and play rewards."
For additional information about Handleability, read "The
Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson, pages 85-88.
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Avoid training methods that might challenge or scare your dog and
thus make him bite. Click
here for the foreword written about training methods by Jean
Donaldson in April 2001 to Pat Miller's book "The
Power of Positive Dog Training."
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Warning behavior (stares, growls, snarls, or
snaps) - punishing a warning stare, growl, snarl, or snap
may only teach the dog to not give the warning. It is important
that your dog give you the warning so you can take heed and not get
bitten. A dog that has been corrected for aggressive displays
(warnings) is still emotional about whatever is making him feel the
need to use aggression, if he cannot flee from the problem and if he
is afraid to give a warning because he has gotten corrected, he may
have no choice than to bite without warning first. Please
contact a trainer for help if your dog is offering aggressive
warning behaviors.
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Bite thresholds - "he bit without a warning?, or did he?"
- For information about The Bite Threshold Model, read "The
Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson, pages 90-94. Please
contact a trainer for help if your dog is offering aggressive
warning behaviors.
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Never reach for a scared dog or a dog that's guarding food, an
object, or a place. - For information about The Rehab of
Fearful and Aggressive Dogs, read "The Culture Clash"
by Jean Donaldson, pages 88-96. Please
contact a trainer for help if your dog is offering aggressive
warning behaviors.
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Keep your dog healthy - illness and pain can
make a dog bite. Visit your veterinarian regularly and feed
your dog a healthy diet.
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Recommended Books:
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Body Posture and Emotions.
Shifting Shapes, Shifting Minds by Suzanne Clothier
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The Cautious Canine, How to Help
Dogs Conquer Their Fears by Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D.
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The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
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Good Owners, Great Dogs by Brian
Kilcommons with Sarah Wilson
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How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live
With by Rutherford and Neil
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On Talking Terms with Dogs:
Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas
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Scaredy Dog! Understanding and
Rehabilitating Your Reactive Dog by Ali Brown
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If a Dog's Prayers Were Answered
... Bones Would Rain from the Sky - Deepening Our Relationships with
Dogs by Suzanne Clothier
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Animals in Translation - Using
the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior by Temple Grandin
and Catherine Johnson
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Dogs Bite, But Balloons and
Slippers are More Dangerous by Janis Bradley.
To order these books visit 4mdogbooks.com
or DogWise.com
or Amazon.com |
"Dogs are carnivorous animals with sharp teeth, and
consequently we do have a solemn duty to socialize them early and to
teach them good bite inhibition, so that if they ever are pushed
beyond their tolerance level, they don't do any harm" - Jean Donaldson.
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