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Why Dogs Bite

By Dr. Tunji Nasir
16 January 2015   |   11:00 pm
UNFORTUNATELY, people get bitten by dogs on a daily basis and usually, children are the most vulnerable targets of attack.    In fact, studies have shown that male children bear much of the brunt of attack because they are the ones that will naturally want to explore playing with dogs with no natural sense of…

UNFORTUNATELY, people get bitten by dogs on a daily basis and usually, children are the most vulnerable targets of attack. 

  In fact, studies have shown that male children bear much of the brunt of attack because they are the ones that will naturally want to explore playing with dogs with no natural sense of fear. 

  It is a situation that is worrisome because it often leads to very deleterious consequences for the victim. 

  With aggressive dogs, it is clear that a lot depends on our interactions with these animals. The result is, most dogs attack people when we fail to manage our relationship with them or with plain naivety, we do not appreciate the psyche of dogs and often cross the thin line of safety when we shouldn’t.

  However, researchers have not come to any conclusions as to whether a dog can just decide to bite an individual or not. What is certain is that there are predisposing factors that influence the decision of a canine to bare its teeth and apply the slammer on a victim. 

  These factors are generally nature and nurture-related, with more bordering on how we relate with our dogs. 

  Please take a short trip with me.

Genetics

THIS essentially refers to the breed and parents of the attaché king dogs, in which case aggression, as a type of behaviour, has been bred to certain breeds of dogs from selected characters of the sire (father) and dam (mother) that produced the dog.   

  This has achieved in a lot of breeds what will form our focus later when we discuss the breeds that are mostly likely to attack.

Socialisation of the dog

THIS cannot be over-emphasised, as it is an important ingredient of a pet’s life. It determines the dog’s relationship with other dogs and also with man, especially children.

  Here, one of the things to be considered is how the dog is desensitised from stimuli often produced by children in order not to make them objects of attack. 

  It is a fact that poor socialisation results in less inhibition of the dog to bite and engage in other undesirable behaviour.

Training of the dog

TRAINING does not start and end with sit heel or down commands; it is much more intricate than that. 

  A good training generally summarises the individuality of the dog and determines his reaction to different environmental stimuli.   

  Frankly, a dog can be trained to be good or bad. A dog that has been trained to threaten people is an obvious danger, but so is a dog that has been poorly trained or not trained at all.

Health of the dog

A DOG that is sick, injured or generally in pain is usually a threat for a number of reasons. 

  It is mostly advisable to avoid dogs in this state, for they can be very tenacious and sporadic biters.

Behaviour of the victim

I WILL generally score this as the most important factor. The preceding behaviour of the victim plays a big role in sensitising the dog to attack. 

  Inadequate exposure to human behaviour and situations can lead a poorly socialised dog to attack or in some cases, when people unnecessarily disturb the dog while resting or eating or when someone deliberately taunts him. 

  In that case, the dog can bite out of provocation.

More than one dog

HAVING more than one dog invokes the pack mentality in dogs and they play the survival game, which makes them naturally violent.   

  In fact, three is worse than two and four more than three. It is a natural characteristic.

Chaining of dogs

A USUALLY chained dog is a potentially dangerous dog. This is debatable and we might need to explore this further to extract your appreciation of the fact.

Being male

ABOUT 80 per cent of dog attacks are attributable to male dogs, especially those ones that are not neutered. 

  If you read my lips correctly, female dogs are generally less prone to attack. It is, however, not a rule.

  On the whole, our relationship with our dogs counts.

 

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