Every dog owner’s worst nightmare is losing their dog over a bite or an aggressive attack. In some cases, the owners will already be aware of and familiar with their pet’s unpredictable and dangerous behaviour. Still, in many instances, vicious attacks or bites from a dog can come entirely out of the blue.
As you can imagine, it can be particularly difficult for owners with aggressive or violent breeds of dog to manage their behaviour – especially if it’s their first time dealing with it. The challenge comes from determining which tactics and techniques will be most effective and controlling your dog’s reactions. Owners typically gather information from online resources or from professionals in the industry, such as dog trainers or animal behaviourists. While these methods can prove to be highly effective at improving how your dog behaves with both other animals and humans, it’s important to be aware of what you could be faced with if your dog attacks someone, just as much as understanding prevention methods. In this article, we will explore everything a dog owner should know about dog bites, including common causes, preventative measures and what to do in the immediate aftermath of an attack.
Read: What Are The Benefits Of Dog Insurance?
What Can Cause A Dog To Become Aggressive and Attack?
It’s difficult to put aggressive behaviour from dogs down to a single cause. Here are a few different reasons why dogs can be threatening in certain situations.
Dog Breed
The most obvious explanation is the breed of the dog, and the personality traits they present because of this. Differing dog breeds are the main reason we see different behaviours between dogs within the same environment. Typically, these traits go back a long way through the history of their ancestors, and have been passed through generations of dogs. Decades ago, humans trained different breeds of dog for a number of different purposes. Some breeds were used for herding farm and land animals, such as Border Collies and German shepherds. Others served purposes like guarding or hunting. The roles and responsibilities delegated to each breed certainly weren’t random. Trainers chose dogs based on their most advantageous traits, such as speed or aggression.
You could certainly say that the ways in which dogs were used by our own ancestors celebrated their aggressive traits and behaviours, whereas today, they’re not looked upon in the same way.
Fear
Fear, and often anxiety too, are actually the leading causes of dog attacks. A dog can become scared or anxious in several different environments, and it’s helpful for dog owners to be aware of when these situations might occur, so that they can spot and prevent them from occurring.
Believe it or not, dogs enjoy and prefer familiar environments over those that are unknown, and sometimes, these strange or new environments can cause dogs to feel stressed and fearful. Similarly, other unsettling situations involving loud noises or threatening individuals could also cause your pet to react differently to how they normally would.
Poor Learned Behaviours
It’s no surprise that the secret to controlled and pleasant behaviours in dogs comes from consistent training and discipline. On many occasions, when owners lack control over their pets, it’s because they haven’t taken the time to train them, or equally, the training that they are doing isn’t working. Without adequate training, dogs never understand how they should and shouldn’t react and respond, making predicting and managing their behaviours increasingly difficult.
Preventative Measures
Which preventative measures you decide to use with your dog will depend on the reasoning for their aggressive behaviour. If you’ve watched your dog’s actions closely, you may be able to identify what the triggering environment for them could be. If this is the case, you should prioritise avoiding these particular environments to control their behaviour. If you’re not so sure why your dog could be having differently, here are some preventative measures you can take instead.
- Identify and watch out for your dog’s warning signs – this could include stress signs such as snarling, growling or turning their head away from you.
- Control the environment – If you’re concerned that your dog’s behaviour might abruptly change, make sure you’re in an environment where you and them and everyone else nearby can be safe.
- Train your dog – training your dog to listen to your commands will take time, but can prove highly effective in instances where you need their attention to control how they might react.
What To Do After An Attack
The moments after a dog attack can be highly stressful, and while it can be difficult to think rationally in these emotional instances, there are a few things that owners can do to make the situation more manageable. Firstly, you should prioritise immobilising the dog; this could be by tying them to a tree or lamp post, as long as they’re tied securely and are not free to run off. Secondly, make sure the person or other dog involved is okay, and if they need medical support, make this your next priority.
This is an important step, as showing no compassion or sympathy for whom your dog has hurt could leave you in a financially stressful situation, especially if they hire a personal injury solicitor to support them with their injuries. Finally, keep an eye out for signs of aggression in the future. This will help you spot changes in their behaviour early and prevent any further damage being made.
