Thursday, June 28, 2012

Why do dogs attack

Why do dogs attack?

Why are some dogs very aggressive and attack without provocation?

Author: Desmo Boss

We have all either seen or have been told by friends and acquaintances of the occasions when an attack has taken place by an aggressive dog, only a few days ago one of my grandchildren was bitten by a neighbour's dog who had dug a hole underneath the dividing fence of our neighbour's garden.

As soon as the neighbour's dog entered the garden, the uncontrolled dog headed straight to my granddaughter and attacked her, biting her in the face – altogether my granddaughter received multi biting abrasions to her face.

As we all hear on the news day in day out that many dogs are humanely destroyed because of their violent behaviour but the experts are suggesting that contrary to popular understanding dogs aggressiveness is not directly related to the in-breeding of the dog as the breeding of the dog has little influence of a dogs breeding (shown in a new study from the University of Córdoba (UCO), Spain).

Instead the dog's aggressive behaviour they argue, is directly related to the owner-dependent factors somewhat surprising is the study also includes the dogs which are considered aggressive by nature – such as Rottweiler or the Pit Bull.

Their research findings are surprising as it states that it is the dog owners who are primarily responsible for their dog's attacks because of reinforcing dominance or competition of their pet dogs.

The research team identified a series of external factors that are inherent to the dogs in order to better understand their aggressiveness and they have witnessed owner dependent factors have an adverse influence on the animals.

Some of the external factors which were identified was:

  • First time dog ownership;
  • Failure to subject the dog to basic obedience training;
  • Spoiling or pampering the dog;
  • Not using physical punishment when it is required;
  • Buying a dog as a present;
  • Buying a dog as a guard dog;
  • Buying a dog on impulse;
  • Spaying female dogs;
  • Leaving the dog with constant supply of food;
  • Or spending very little time with the dog; and
  • Not regularly taken the dog on exercise walks.

The author suggests failure to avoid these external factors will encourage this type of aggressive behaviour and is regarded as ‘giving dogs a bad education'.

A study recently published in the Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances states about 40% of dominance aggression in dogs is directly caused by lack of positive authority on the part of the owner and who have never performed basic obedience training with their pet dog or who have only carried out the bare minimum training.

The Spanish study concludes ‘to correct the animal's behaviour, the owner should be positive in handling the animal's behaviour correctly and re-establish dominance over the dog'.

In terms of physical punishment, the author points out that this method cannot be used with all dogs given the danger involved, although it should be used to re-establish dominance over puppies and small and easily controlled dogs, however, a veterinary surgeon adds, ‘punishment should never be used as justification for treating a dog brutally, since physical punishment should be used more as a way to frighten and install dominance we have over the dog than to inflict great suffering on the animal'.

According the author, ‘dogs that are trained correctly do not normally retain aggressive dominance behaviour'.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/why-are-some-dogs-very-aggressive-and-attack-without-provocation-6004093.html

About the Author

I am a mature family orientated male living a traditional family lifestyle. I have worked in various employment positions and the current position is in a Youth Offending Team as Project Manager of an extremely busy City Youth Offending Team, thus providing needs based supportive packages - education, leisure, befriending and support, to disenfranchised and socially excluded young people. http://www.dogsiteworld.com

Why do dogs attack?

How Do You Prevent A Dog Attack? One Way Is To Tether A Dog For Excessive Periods Of Time

Author: Karleen Lindsey

I am certain everyone has heard of, read about or even seen a vicious dog attack on an individual at some time. Unfortunately, many times it is a child who is the one who gets attacked, which makes it even more tragic. What causes these attacks and how can we avoid them?

There are many possible causes of dog attacks. The prominent one that hits me is an attack by a dog that is chained up to an inanimate object. Dogs are naturally friendly beings and have many of the emotions that are similar to what people experience. To leave a pet of any age tied to a tree, doghouse, fence or any fixed object is just as bad as isolating an individual from companionship with other humans. After a period of time of this seclusion it is likely that the normal behavior and mentality of either dog or human will make a shift for the worse. A dog may see his little space as his own and challenge anyone who enters within his confines, defending what little he has.

Another reason dogs have to be ferocious while tied up is the actuality that being vicious is their only means of protection. They aren't able to escape whatever they feel threatened by. Having only the two alternatives of fight or flight, their flight alternative has been eliminated. So the only option they have left is to protect themselves through aggression.

Dogs also enjoy migrating, moving from here to there, whether it is by strolling along with their human or going out on their own jaunts. They must have physical exercise to keep normal and balanced. A dog left confined for long segments of time on a cable does not have access to this much needed activity and will attempt to find other outlets for the pent up energy. He might choose to dig holes or destroy anything close at hand. He might also angrily guard his space, barking and lurching, hoping to break free of his bonds.

In this kind of situation, the most evident method of averting a dog attack is by staying away from any unknown dog tethered to any object by a chain. Children should not be let near ANY dog that is tied up, even if it is a family dog. Sometimes a restrained dog will see a small child as an intrusion to his space, possibly viewing the child as just another small creature to challenge over personal space.

It is regrettable that any dog should ever have to be kept tied up for any reason. It goes against every legitimate ounce of their being - psychologically, physically, socially and emotionally. The most obvious way to avert a dangerous attack by a tied up dog is to never tie it up in the first place. The dog that is now dangerous after too much time on a chain could have been a fantastic, loving, totally steadfast dog if not for the isolation and confinement he was condemned to.

This is simply one motive for a dog attack. There are several others. For now, though, if you own a dog being kept on a chain, please try to think of some kind of an alternative. This might mean building a fence, dropping her off at a dog day care facility where she will have the opportunity to exercise with other dogs, or walking her on a daily basis. Please rethink keeping such a social being on a chain and avoid an inevitable dog attack.

If you need to walk near a dog who is tied up and lunging at its restraint, be sure to carry with you some kind of security in case the dog does get loose and tries to attack you. This can involve an umbrella, which should scare a dog when opened quickly, or a container of canine pepper spray which will, if targeted at the face of an advancing vicious dog, ward off an attack. Don't ever surmise that just because a dog is tied up, you are safe at a distance. There is always the possibility of the chain, rope, cable or collar breaking and the dog escaping its confinement. Be protected and continually aware of your environment.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/how-do-you-prevent-a-dog-attack-one-way-is-to-tether-a-dog-for-excessive-periods-of-time-3934497.html

About the Author
Karleen Lindsey is an advocate for the use of non-lethal weapons to ensure the safety of you and your family, particularly women, children and seniors. Take a look at her Scare Dogs Away Pepper Spray and get a great discount on your first order over$10 with coupon code 3254.

5 comments:

  1. Excellent articles on the not so talked about subjects, although very important to accept that not all dog owners of aggressive dog are blameless, because there are very good dog training guides available today which can take the dog owner through a simple step by step process on training the puppy or small dog to prevent dogs becoming uncontrollable and aggressive in later maturity.

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  2. With the correct concern and commitment in the early months of the dogs live, if the correct dog training techniques is followed then disobedient, aggressive and vicious dogs would be a thing of the past, unfortunately, dog owners are not always aware of the dog training guides and dog training videos that are now available at discounted prices at The Pet Lovers Website - The DogSiteWorld website.

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  3. Excellent article content and informative and very absorbing comments, all highly recommended.

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    Replies
    1. Glad that you enjoyed. I have two dogs (one that is half Yorkie and half Shih Tzu and a pit bull) My Yorkie is 10 and I bought her long before I started studying dog training and aggression and my Pit Bull is 4. It's funny because I read so much negative stuff about Pit bulls but my Pit is the most sweetest dog ever (keep in mind that when I got her, I had already studied dog training and she was 6 weeks old so I trained her from the start) My Yorkie, on the other hand, gets very nasty :-( but at this point in her life, habits are hard to change. I didn't get her until she was a year old and she wasn't in the nicest of homes so her moods had already been set and I didn't have the knowledge 10 years ago to change her. At this point, she's too old to change completely, but I do try to work with her LOL. but honestly, I have to be more careful with visitors with my 13 pound Yorkie than my 60 pound Pit Bull. My pit loves people and visitors. My Yorkie hates anyone coming near me :-) I'm in a constant mood struggle with these 2 dogs but they are both terrific dogs and I have learned so much from each of them and love them both for their each individual personalities. I also have a cat (who is about 6) He came after the Yorkie but before the Pit and he's very laid back. I think both dogs get on his nerves LOL but both dogs are great with him. They don't bother him or torment him. Basically, they just ignore him so we all live in peace together. I do believe that if you have a dog from birth, you have the most control over how that dog will act in their later years. It all comes down to training and how much time that we are willing to put into the effort of training our babies :-)

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