Dog Aggression or Prey Drive?

Just a short "food for thought" comment:
I wonder how many dogs labeled as 'dog aggressive' are really just acting on their prey drive? With so many attacks from dogs 10x the size of their victim, I have to question if they recognize it as a dog. If I was a German Shepherd, I don't think I would recognize a 3 pound yorkie as a dog rather than some kind of varmint that it was my duty as a good dog to exterminate.

It reminds me of the section in Temple Grandin's "Animals Make Us Human" where she talks about 'killer dogs': people line breeding pit bulls with dogs naturally distrustful of strangers to create strong dogs more easily shaped towards indiscriminate aggression. She says there was a litter of these line bred 'killer dogs' that was adopted out by a rescue group and they were all eventually returned for killing cats. And this is supposed to be a strike against them? I know I would be furious if a dog killed my cat, but I would never blame it on the dog. That's what they DO: chase and kill smaller animals. It takes intentional socialization and training to keep this hundreds of thousands of years old trait under control. I have met MANY dog owners who have dogs that would kill a cat if they ever got a hold of one because their owners don't have cats so it's not an issue for them. And somehow pit bulls get the blame for this very natural dog behavior? As is often the case, certain breeds are talked about as if every dog trait that could possibly be construed as negative is unique to that breed labeled 'dangerous dogs' for acting on instincts that have worked for the last several hundred thousand years. Well, some of us weren't born yesterday and have touched more than the very tip of the iceberg on understanding the complexity of dog behavior, so don't expect us to buy it.

http://dogattacksyouneverhearabout.blogspot.com/2009/11/collie-attacks-3-and-spared-death.html

"This is a working breed and has a lot of energy and drive," Cline wrote. "It does them no good to be confined to an apartment with little to do. They get bored and frustrated, and with no outlet, this alone can lead to undesirable behavior."

...and that somehow doesn't apply to pit bulls? Never in a million years do I imagine I would see this in an article about a pit bull bite, not do I imagine a pit bull would have been given a second chance. Thank God the right people were able to save this dog whose only crime was not having her needs met.

My apologies for this sloppy post, much steam to blow off and little sleep :)

Merritt Clifton doesn't sound like much of an "Animal Person" to me...

It is incredibly irritating to me when people cite unreliable, shoddily done studies from unqualified sources. Especially when they are passed around out of context (like the CDC study, I'll have to get into that one another time) by people who have never looked at the actual report. Case in point: Animal People's editor creating a report based on press accounts. I'll address at a later date why press accounts are horribly flawed when it comes to covering dog bites.

http://lassiegethelp.blogspot.com/2007/08/dangerous-breeds-dog-bite-statistics.html
this perfectly illustrates why the Merritt Clifton article is completely bogus.

A few things that weren't included in the above excellent critique of the report: "Pit mix unknown", "Sharpei/unknown mix" and the innumerable "/mix" dogs are obviously not "clearly identifiable breed type or ancestry" as he claims are the only reports used in the study. Also, thirty bites are attributed to the "Bull mastiff (Presa Canario)" A Bull Mastiff and a Presa Canario are two completely different breeds.

"The humane community does not try to encourage the adoption of pumas in the same manner that we encourage the adoption of felis catus, because even though a puma can also be box-trained and otherwise exhibits much the same indoor behavior, it is clearly understood that accidents with a puma are frequently fatal. For the same reason, it is sheer foolishness to encourage people to regard pit bull terriers and Rottweilers as just dogs like any other, no matter how much they may behave like other dogs under ordinary circumstances."

The arguments comparing certain breeds of dogs to big cats, bears, sharks etc are beyond absurd. The domestic cats and dogs are (by definition) domesticated animals that have lived with humans for thousands of years being specifically bred for tameness. I have seen no evidence that any big cat or bear species has been bred with this same goal even over multiple generations, and they certainly do not have anything approaching the longevity of dog's domesticity. I hope that there is no need for me to make it clear to anyone why it is ridiculous to compare a dog's relationship to humans to a shark.

Dog Bite Prevention

"For example, recently in Maryland a 13-year-old boy was bitten after he was caught leaning over the fence into a person’s yard, teasing the Pit bull contained there. Prior to the bite incident, this boy was warned 3 times to leave the dog alone. The dog owner was having so many problems with people teasing and provoking her dogs that she contacted Animal Control for assistance. Under advisement from the authorities, she ringed her backyard fence with evenly spaced “Beware of Dog” and “No Trespassing” signs. Yet these signs and 3 verbal warnings from an adult witness were still not enough to keep this boy out of the dog owner’s yard. The dog owner has now lost her dog to the authorities and another bite statistic has been entered[...]

Hand in hand with this is the general failure of parents today to teach their children even the most basic rules of canine safety and good manners. Parents encourage their children to approach and touch strange dogs without a single thought of the consequences, not bothering to ask permission of the dog owner involved. They allow children to put their hands through fences to grab at animals inside. This is the epitome of irresponsibility. Fences are there for a reason! To throw things, tease, or poke a fenced animal is cruel and should constitute criminal trespass. No animal should have to put up with strangers grabbing, groping, pulling their tails and ears, and hitting or poking them, yet this goes on and people expect that the animal will be some sort of saint in fur! A parent would be screaming in outrage if a stranger approached and started groping their child, yet they think nothing of doing the same thing to a strange animal." - Katharine Dokken, freelance writer

A great example of a very much provoked bite coupled with an owner making a significant effort to prevent it from happening, yet ignorance overcomes it all and the dog is confiscated. The second point is something that I fell prey to before I began working with dogs. The more I have learned about dog behavior the more I am astonished that more people are not bitten. Things like reaching your hand in a car window or through a fence to pet an unfamiliar dog are a perfect way to get bitten but people do it every day. Most people have completely unreasonable expectations that their dog should tolerate immediate rough handling from all strange dogs and people. We don't run up to strangers and pat them because we understand that would be a very uncomfortable, bewildering, and possibly frightening experience. Just because it is obvious to you that your intentions are good and harmless, that is not necessarily clear to the dog. Affectionate gestures are not always welcome, especially when they are from someone unfamiliar. Yet people subject their animals to this on a daily basis.

Josephine Trainer, an advice columnist, was asked "When you meet a dog, how should you pet him? I love dogs, but I don't want to get bitten." I feel her reply sums up this subject perfectly: "Pet him just as you would the Queen of England or a Secret Service man." It seems it is mostly in retrospect do we give dogs the respect they deserve: only after one has bitten. It would go a great deal farther to respect their feelings before we create a situation where they feel the need to defend themselves.