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Pit Bull Informational
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by Diane Jessup |
Why Do Some Dogs Bite? |
Chasing, Biting, Killing: Natural Behaviors |
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Dogs are carnivores. Carnivores survive by having a strong desire to seek out, hunt down, kill and consume other animals. The instinctive desire to do this is often referred to as "prey drive".
In the modern dog, these drives are still present, and prey drives are present in each dog in varying degree dependent on the animal's genetic makeup. For example, greyhounds and beagles are bred specifically for intense prey drives; their desire to chase and kill rabbits is extreme. |
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It's all relative. This German shepherd is called a "hero" because he is a "Jap killer". A dog's use of its prey drives is seen as "good" or "bad" depending on human perception. |
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This 1950's dog food ad shows images from a time when liability wasn't a victim's first concern. The smiling woman looks on as her Doberman lunges at a purse snatcher's throat. Today this dog would be declared "dangerous" and would be lucky to get off with its life. If the dog was a pit bull instead of a Doberman protecting it's owner's purse, no doubt the dog would be called "vicious" and put to sleep. |

Dogs associated with "fighting drive" such as pit bulls, show bulldogs and bull terriers have always appealed to "fighting men" as mascots. "Fighting drive" in terms of survival, means the ability to tackle prey animals which are large enough or tough enough to fight back, injuring and possibly killing the predator. "Bulldogs" [pit bulls] were developed to grip, stop and hold very large, tough animals such as wild boar and rough cattle. This calls for a large measure of useful "fight drive".

Some breeds are bred specifically to have "prey drive" directed toward humans. Dobermans, German shepherds, rottweilers, Belgian malinois and Dutch shepherds, like the dog shown here, are some of the breeds which have hunting drives easily directed by police trainers from game animals to man. Police dogs must have a strong "hunt" drive and also a strong "fight" drive to locate and overpower suspects. |
What
Makes A Dog Dangerous?
"Chips", one of the most famous and decorated war
dogs of W.W.II, was the first dog awarded the Silver Star medal
for "bravery in action against the enemy", and saved
many human lives. Chips is mentioned with honor in many books
on working dogs, and even had a Disney movie named after him.
Yet Chips began life as what would be considered today a "dangerous
dog", terrorizing the neighborhood and biting the garbage
man. Many, if not most of the military and police dogs of the
past, and many serving today, joined the armed forces because
of "past trouble". Are these canine officers and soldiers
"bad" dogs? Should dogs of their breed be banned from towns, cities
and even entire countries? Most decidedly not. Taken out of
the hands of "high risk" owners who allowed them to engage in problem behaviors, these dogs become useful,
beneficial and even heroic members of society. The key to what
makes a dog dangerous is how the owner handles it.
Dogs
are large, powerful carnivores, yet they are often
adopted into human families in the role of companion, child
substitute or guardian. Many people feel more secure after entrusting
their loved ones - spouses, elderly parents or children - into
the care of a large and often aggressively protective dogs.
It speaks well of the dog that he alone of all animals can so
faithfully fulfill this complex and unique role. It can even
be said that dogs treat humans far better than humans
treat dogs! After all, in the US dogs kill an average of 10
to 15 people each year while the number of dogs killed by humans
each year numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Another way to put it in
perspective is to realize that a child is 300 times more
likely to be killed by its parents or guardians than by
a dog.
But
dogs do bite, and sometimes kill humans, and statistically they
bite and kill those who own or care for them more often than strangers.
What causes this behavior?
Why
A Dog Bites
To a dog, biting is normal behavior. While interacting within
their own species, dogs use a variety of physical signals to
clearly display intent, anger, fear, uncertainty, protectiveness
and a variety of other emotions. Dogs most often bite, in varying
degrees of intensity, for the following reasons:
- in
play
- as
a warning
- to
protect themselves
- when
fighting
- to
kill
1)
When playing, dogs inhibit their bites almost completely. The
"bite" becomes stylized. Dogs generally take turns
"winning". Humans and dogs often engage in "play
fighting" behavior with each other, with the human slapping
or grabbing at the dog playfully, and the dog returning the
gesture with play bites. Young dogs, still learning the fine
art of inhibiting their bite when playing, will often bite quite
hard. This will almost always result in the play companion -
human or animal - retaliating with action designed to make clear
that the bite was not appreciated.
Some
behaviorists discourage any roughhousing, tug-a-war or play-biting
behavior with dogs. They consider it inappropriate to ever allow
a dog to put its teeth on human flesh. However, this is contrary
to Nature, where youngsters of almost all species grow up learning how to inhibit unacceptable fighting and biting behavior by play biting and fighting. Especially in breeds with a
genetic predisposition to grip, total denial of the outlet of
this drive can lead to high levels of frustration.
2)
A bite should be a dog's last step in the warning processes.
A sound dog will warn with an escalating scale of threat. Say
a dog is enjoying a bone. Another dog enters the area. The dog
in possession of the bone will often make eye contact and freeze,
just momentarily. This is a clear, distinct warning that another
dog would respect. Should the approaching dog continue to press,
the dog with the bone would stop eating, go rigid, and either
stare straight ahead or at the approaching dog. This rigid,
tense posture is a dog's most clear warning, and one which many
humans fail to recognize.
If
pressed, the dog will further warn the intruder away with a
growl, a threat display involving bared teeth, and then a short,
inhibited snap which falls short of the intruder. If all these
warnings fail, a dog may then bite, though generally the bite
is inhibited even at this point.
3)
When warnings fail, some dogs will react with biting behavior
to protect themselves. This is a defensive maneuver, and the
bite will characteristically be a "repelling" bite.
Meaning that the intention of the bite is to repel the intruder,
not hold them or kill them. A "repelling" bite is
generally a snap or a slash as opposed to a gripping bite.
4)
When fighting (anything) how much a dog inhibits its bites depends
entirely upon just how threatened the dog feels. Two dogs may
emerge from a furious bite with little or no damage - both dogs
inhibited their bites, even though aroused and fearful. In other
cases, dogs will bite with complete removal of all inhibitions,
their intent to seriously injure or kill their opponent.
5)
When killing prey, a dog will bite. Interestingly, prey biting
is not as frenetic or fearsome looking as defensive biting.
Predators do not kill large prey by slashing at it, but
rather by taking a solid grip and bearing it to the ground where
it is often suffocated by a throat hold. |
How
A Dog Bites:
The Purpose of the Head Shake
Anyone who has played with
their pet knows that a dog shakes its head violently when playing
tug-a-war. This action serves a very real purpose, and is a
very important aspect of canine/human safety in severe dog attack.
Your knowledge of shaking behavior can mean the difference,
literally, between life and death in cases of severe dog attack.
Imagine
a wolf trying to bring down a caribou which weighs several
times the weight of the wolf. The only weapon the wolf has
to tackle this much larger prey, are its teeth, and of those,
primarily the four canine fangs. With these small "weapons"
the wolf must bring down an animal several times its size
and remain unharmed in the process. Shaking behavior as well
as "regripping" make this possible.
At
the point where the wolf has initially gripped the animal,
two things may happen:
- the
prey animal tries to flee or goes into shock
- the prey
animal fights back
The first
example will ultimately lead to death for the prey animal. The
second, fighting back, gives the prey animal a better chance
at survival as it leads to three distinct behavioral choices
from the wolf.
-
the
wolf will experience sufficient pain and stress to throw
in the towel and retreat, allowing the animal to escape.
-
the wolf
will quickly regrip, moving the bite up and in, in order to
obtain a better, more damaging and controlling hold.
-
the wolf
will begin to shake its head, causing severe tissue damage
to the bite area, causing shock in the prey animal, and enhancing
blood loss.
This scenario
is, unfortunately, mirrored in exactly what happens to human
victims of severe dog attack. Human victims, too, have the choice
to either try and flee, go into shock, or fight off the attack.
Those choices will ultimately determine just how injurious the
attack will be.
A human
which chooses to fight off a dog attack will be faced with the
three same behavioral choices as did the caribou:
-
the
dog will experience sufficient pain and stress to throw
in the towel and retreat, allowing the human to escape.
-
the dog
will quickly regrip, moving the bite up and in, in order to
obtain a better, more damaging and controlling hold.
-
the dog
will begin to shake its head, causing severe tissue damage
to the bite area, causing shock in the victim, and enhancing
blood loss.
For humans,
the best choice when faced with dog attack is to neither try
and flee, nor to continue to fight the animal once it has become
apparent that the dog will not cease. The safest course is to
move (dragging the dog if necessary) toward the nearest gate,
door, car, or other object which will allow you to shield a
large percentage of your body from the animal. It is a simple
equation: the less human tissue the dog can reach, the less
human tissue it can damage. The less tissue damaged, the longer
the victim can remain conscious, effect an escape from the situation
and obviously the quicker the recovery time from the injury. |
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This woman, the first recipient of a face transplant, had her nose, lips and lower portion of her face removed by her pet Labrador retriever. The woman was unconscious at the time; it was possible the dog began licking behavior that turned into inappropriate "consumption" behavior. This kind of "eating" of humans is rarely associated with "aggression", rather it is an example of prey drives surfacing in inappropriate forms. |

Properly bred and reared dogs will display appropriate drives in regard to humans. A dog with a sound mind likes human children unless trained otherwise. Animals which direct aggression toward family members display a trait which human breeders should see as undesirable. Far too often, breeders make excuses for dogs which are unsound in mind.
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Contrary to popular opinion, mistreatment is not the most common cause of unsound character in a dog. In fact, pit bulls more often than not respond to kindness after being abused. Despite lack of socialization and cruel treatment, pit bulls seized from dog fighters are almost always described by animal control officers as "very friendly". This clearly shows the genetic component of sound behavior. Photo courtesy HSUS. |
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Those not familiar with "coursing" sports, may not realize that the elegant looking greyhound is, in fact, an animal bred for millennia for extreme "chase" and "fight" drive. Today greyhounds are often used to chase down and kill coyotes, dingo, and wild boar. Greyhounds are also often crossed with other breed to make faster "kill dogs".
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In the "good old days" people seemed to understand that dogs bit... and kids and dogs worked out their relationships without lawyers and hysterical town councils. |
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Walker hounds are bred specifically for aggression toward target animals such as raccoons, bobcat or cougar. At field trials, the strength of this aggression is tested in something called a "roll cage" contest. A raccoon is placed in a cage within a circle. The hound that attacks the cage with the most ferocity, rolling it out of the circle wins. |

Fighting for dominance is common to all dogs of all breeds. Large livestock guardian breeds are used in the middle East for dog fights. Photo courtesty of the AP.
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The Bored, Restless,
Unemployed Dog
Dogs from a variety of backgrounds bite. Often our
perception is that only large, fierce, guardian type
dogs bite, but this is simply not true. Labs, springier,
cockers and sheepdogs are always near the top of lists
detailing reported bites. Most dog breeds were developed
for work - a job. In order to perform this work they
were selectively bred for strong "drives",
sometimes called instincts. These drives are a genetic
predisposition to perform certain actions. This explains
why sheepdogs tend to "heel" people (that
is direct their bites toward the lower legs) because
this is the area on a sheep that they must nip while
herding. This trait has been selectively bred for.
Huskys
and Malamutes are working dogs with a very short history as pets. While normally gentle dogs,
they are also possessed of strong prey drives which
have allowed them to survive in the harshest environment
on earth - the arctic. Because of this they tend to
kill and eat a wide variety of things, some more appropriate
than others. They are notorious stock killers. What
many people do not realize is that this same strong
survival drive reduces their ability to discern between
appropriate and inappropriate prey items. Huskies
and Malamutes have, for many years, been responsible
for the majority of human child dog bite fatalities.
Unlike other breeds, they most often are involved
in the act of consuming their victims.
The
bulldogs and mastiff families of dogs, of which the
Rottweiler and pit bull are currently popular examples,
were bred to assist hunters with large game, and later
butchers, in the cattle yards. Their job was to grip
and hold the massive animals for their masters. For
this work dogs were selected which developed great
strength, courage and a strong determination to hold
their grip. A few of these same dogs, when encouraged
by irresponsible owners to turn their strength and
courage against humans, have tarnished the otherwise
noble reputations of these outstanding working dogs.
Another
- important - factor in why dogs bite, is frustration
and inappropriate confinement. Many jurisdictions
do not require, or do not enforce, common sense confinement
laws which require that an owner keep their dog strictly
confined to their property unless they are present
and in control of the animal. Obviously these uncontrolled
dogs cause the majority of bites. However, inappropriate confinement can cause problems as well.
Keeping
a dog is a responsibility, and something which should
not be undertaken without preparation and thought.
An appropriate area must be devised for the animal
to be kept when it is not with the family. A kennel,
well fenced yard or tether are appropriate. The dog
should have room to move about freely, drink, relieve
itself and move into protection from the weather.
Confined in this way, a family pet is comfortable
and safe while unattended by its owner. However, confining
a dog to a kennel or tether for extended periods of
time, or worse yet, a shipping crate, can cause the
dog to become frustrated. This will often result in
nuisance barking and pent up stress which can be expressed
as aggressive behavior.
Lack
of hard exercise on a regular basis is another important
contributor to canine aggression. Dogs require regular
exercise, and mental stimulation as well. Many urban
and suburban homes simply do not offer a dog an adequate
outlet for both physical and mental energy. Responsible
owners must often make a concerted effort to provide
their pets with surrogate "work" which will
help to relieve the stress of confinement. |
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