- Jun 4, 2011
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Ok, here is the article I mentioned in another thread. A lot of people don't realize all of the warning signs and the way a dog views our behavior as aggressive towards them/their pack.
http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/3591/the-anatomy-of-a-dog-attack/
---------------------------
Out of the blue, it attacked for no reason
When a dog attack is reported we will often hear the same old phrases bandied about.
It came out of the blue
It was totally unprovoked
We didnt see it coming
It was totally out of character
Ring any bells? Well lets try and understand how and why a dog might attack someone.
Dogs rarely, if ever, attack for no reason. Us humans often misinterpret a dog attacking out of the blue and without warning because we simply missed the signs.
Lets be clear about one thing. A dog who is prepared to bite someone has his reasons. Can we, as humans, justify those reasons using the social values of people? Probably not. But of course, dogs do not live their lives according to human social values.
Here is the story of John, Henry and Max.
John has no wife or children. For the last five years hes lived with his best friend in the world a playful Labrador called Max.
John is exited today. Henry, an old friend from school who he hasnt seen for many years is visiting.
John decides today would be a good day to get his garden tidied, make a good impression on his old school chum.
As John gets busy in amongst the weeds in the front garden, he spies his old mate making his way up the street.
Henrys been looking forward to catching up with John for weeks and, as hes never been to his home before, finds himself feeling somewhat jubilant to realise hes managed to find the street on which John lives without too much trouble and can now relish the prospect of seeing his friend again as well as finally getting to meet the only true love of Johns life, the much talked about Max.
Its a hot and sunny day and Henry is wearing his sunglasses. Further up the street he spots John working in his front garden.
Johns already noticed Henry making his way towards him and yells out, Hi Henry. Fancy a beer?
Henry shouts back, Sounds just the job. Can you believe this heat?.
As per usual, Max has been helping John with his gardening exploits by digging holes of his own all over the lawn. John doesnt mind. He only wanted the garden so he could have somewhere safe to play fetch with Max on sunny days like today. Hes never been one for trying to keep it immaculate when Maxs favourite hobby is trying to tunnel his way to China.
Max has stopped his gardening though. Hes become preoccupied by the exchange between John and Henry and hes taken a trip the front gate to see whats going on.
I wonder who this bloke is? ponders Max.
Why would he and John be shouting at other? he thinks to himself.
Id better be on full alert. he concludes. Johns just shouted at this chap so he obviously wants me to keep an eye out.
Max fixes himself in position at the front gate and hoists his tail high into the air, hes keen to let the oncoming stranger know hes about.
John doesnt notice.
Henrys still coming. So Max decides he needs to be more clear. He starts to emit a deep, low growl in Henrys direction just to make certain the stranger whos purposely striding towards him, his owner and HIS garden is left in no uncertain terms that hes not moving
Henrys still coming. And now hes close enough for Max to notice his sunglasses. This is getting more serious by the second, thinks Max. Hes not only not listening to me, hes staring right at me. I know, Ill stare right back at him. See if hes as brave then.
Problems. Henry is still as brave. To Max, Henrys sunglasses look like wide, staring eyes, boring straight ahead and as he marches staunchly toward the increasingly anxious Labrador, Max wonders what his next move might be. As body language goes, Henry is showing all the signs of refusing to listen to Maxs advice.
Now tense and feeling genuinely threatened, Max is offered an escape. John jogs inside to fetch a couple of bottles of beer and Max is only too pleased to hurriedly follow his master. Max is somewhat relieved to suspect that John, his idol, is just as scared as he is about the relentless stranger pursuing them both from outside the garden gate.
Shut the door John, shut the door Max worries. Hes still coming and you havent closed the door.
Too late. Maxs heart leaps as he hears the gate swing open. Too late.
His worst fears are confirmed. The unrelenting Henry is now purposefully making his way up the garden path and toward the the house where Max and John are isolated, cornered and in Maxs case, petrified.
Gathering up every ounce of his canine courage and without a seconds thought for his own safety Max charges out of the house, tail hoisted aloft and barking his war cry as loud as his voice will muster. He heads straight for Henry wondering why this stalking maniac refused to listen to all of his earlier warnings.
You might kill me but youll never take John, Max decides.
Henry, his face very quickly drained of all its colour, is shocked and taken aback to be confronted by a clearly furious Max, the dog hed heard so many nice stories about from doting John. This isnt at all the dog he thought hed be meeting.
Henry, alarmed and frightened makes his way toward Max, attempting to offer a hand of reassurance and friendship.
Max is having none of it.
John warned you. Then I warned you. Why wouldnt you just listen?, reasoned Max.
Undeterred by Henrys advance and determined not to let his owner come to any harm, Max lunges in Henrys direction.
The realisation that Max is a long way past the stage of being able to be pacified dawns on Henry fast and he hastily tries to beat a retreat back out of the gate from which he entered.
John, hearing the commotion and now panic stricken by Maxs attack bellows No! Max, no.
Acutely tuned to his owners emotions and sensing the fear and alarm in Johns voice, Max forges ahead and launches into a full scale attack on Henry.
And then, as quick as it began, it was over.
An ambulance arrives to take Henry away and, hearing the commotion, Johns neighbours have summoned the Police.
John can be heard explaining, Hes never done anything like this before, the attack came totally out of the blue, Max was always such a trustworthy dog, hes never shown any signs of aggression in his life, the attack was totally unprovoked.
But we know differently dont we?
Lets look again at how Max saw things unfold:
1.Max spots a man walking toward his and his owners garden his territory
2.Not unduly worried, Max paid little attention to the stranger until John shouted in Henrys direction. To Max, this was a clear signal to watch for danger
3.Obediently, Max sat at the front gate and watched for that danger.
4.He attempted to signal to Henry by putting his tail in the air and growling, that he was prepared to defend his owner and territory.
5.As Henry gets closer, Max again postures but now spots Henrys aggressive body language, his wide eyes refusing to overt their gaze a clear signal of intent. Henrys point blank refusal to alter his path, a sure fire gesture of defiance.
6.As John runs inside, Maxs thoughts turn to escape. He now believes John is as scared as he is and they should both seek shelter from the safety of the house.
7.Too late. As Henry enters the garden (Max and Johns territory) Max does what he thinks his owner needs him to do. He defends against the threat.
8.As Henry runs away and John panics, Max takes this as a sign that he should increase his attack, his canine instincts now in complete overdrive.
So let us again question whether John was correct when he explained to Police that Maxs attack was unprovoked.
Was it unprovoked? Not at all.
Was it unjustified in human, social terms? Absolutely.
Was it avoidable? Totally.
The Aftermath
Henry, his pain eased only slightly by drugs lies motionless in a hospital bed and starts to face the reality that a visit to see a dear, old friend has left him disfigured for the rest of his life. He ponders how best to explain to his young children that hes still their Dad even though he knows his mutilated features will upset them deeply. He wonders how life will be from now on, how people will react to him.
Max, confused and still frightened by the terrifying ordeal earlier in the day is now wondering why hes found himself confined to a small, secure cage at the vet surgery.
He stares through the bars and looks longingly towards the door, hoping against hope that he will soon be reunited with his trusted friend and master, John.
Unbeknown to Max, hell never see John again.
As the door swings open, Maxs tail momentarily begins to wag but hes deflated. Its not John. Its a vet nurse.
Hes still pleased to see her. Hes lonely and upset and he just wants to go home and be with his friend.
Hes too pre-occupied to wonder why the vet nurse seems so wary of him. Wanting to put her at ease, he submissively offers up his paw. As the vet nurse holds it, she carefully shaves a small patch of fur away from his leg.
Max didnt even notice the injection.
On this day it wasnt only Maxs body that was destroyed as Johns memories of a kind, gentle, fun loving dog died too.
He asks himself once more, Why did my dog attack someone for no reason?
John may never know it, but Max had his reasons.
Dogs do not bite people without reason. They do not attack out of the blue. They do not launch into savage, frenzied assaults without provocation despite what you will undoubtedly read in news reports when the next dog attack hits the press.
There are NO devil dogs. There are NO unprovoked dog attacks. There IS a huge gap in understanding amongst some dog owners about why dogs attack and until we can bridge that gap in education people will continue to be attacked and more and more dogs will join Max, their memories destroyed along with their bodies.
Killing individual dog breeds is not the solution to a problem whicn runs throughs an entire species. Oh, and if you were left in any doubt, that species isnt canine.
http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/3591/the-anatomy-of-a-dog-attack/
---------------------------
Out of the blue, it attacked for no reason
When a dog attack is reported we will often hear the same old phrases bandied about.
It came out of the blue
It was totally unprovoked
We didnt see it coming
It was totally out of character
Ring any bells? Well lets try and understand how and why a dog might attack someone.
Dogs rarely, if ever, attack for no reason. Us humans often misinterpret a dog attacking out of the blue and without warning because we simply missed the signs.
Lets be clear about one thing. A dog who is prepared to bite someone has his reasons. Can we, as humans, justify those reasons using the social values of people? Probably not. But of course, dogs do not live their lives according to human social values.
Here is the story of John, Henry and Max.
John has no wife or children. For the last five years hes lived with his best friend in the world a playful Labrador called Max.
John is exited today. Henry, an old friend from school who he hasnt seen for many years is visiting.
John decides today would be a good day to get his garden tidied, make a good impression on his old school chum.
As John gets busy in amongst the weeds in the front garden, he spies his old mate making his way up the street.
Henrys been looking forward to catching up with John for weeks and, as hes never been to his home before, finds himself feeling somewhat jubilant to realise hes managed to find the street on which John lives without too much trouble and can now relish the prospect of seeing his friend again as well as finally getting to meet the only true love of Johns life, the much talked about Max.
Its a hot and sunny day and Henry is wearing his sunglasses. Further up the street he spots John working in his front garden.
Johns already noticed Henry making his way towards him and yells out, Hi Henry. Fancy a beer?
Henry shouts back, Sounds just the job. Can you believe this heat?.
As per usual, Max has been helping John with his gardening exploits by digging holes of his own all over the lawn. John doesnt mind. He only wanted the garden so he could have somewhere safe to play fetch with Max on sunny days like today. Hes never been one for trying to keep it immaculate when Maxs favourite hobby is trying to tunnel his way to China.
Max has stopped his gardening though. Hes become preoccupied by the exchange between John and Henry and hes taken a trip the front gate to see whats going on.
I wonder who this bloke is? ponders Max.
Why would he and John be shouting at other? he thinks to himself.
Id better be on full alert. he concludes. Johns just shouted at this chap so he obviously wants me to keep an eye out.
Max fixes himself in position at the front gate and hoists his tail high into the air, hes keen to let the oncoming stranger know hes about.
John doesnt notice.
Henrys still coming. So Max decides he needs to be more clear. He starts to emit a deep, low growl in Henrys direction just to make certain the stranger whos purposely striding towards him, his owner and HIS garden is left in no uncertain terms that hes not moving
Henrys still coming. And now hes close enough for Max to notice his sunglasses. This is getting more serious by the second, thinks Max. Hes not only not listening to me, hes staring right at me. I know, Ill stare right back at him. See if hes as brave then.
Problems. Henry is still as brave. To Max, Henrys sunglasses look like wide, staring eyes, boring straight ahead and as he marches staunchly toward the increasingly anxious Labrador, Max wonders what his next move might be. As body language goes, Henry is showing all the signs of refusing to listen to Maxs advice.
Now tense and feeling genuinely threatened, Max is offered an escape. John jogs inside to fetch a couple of bottles of beer and Max is only too pleased to hurriedly follow his master. Max is somewhat relieved to suspect that John, his idol, is just as scared as he is about the relentless stranger pursuing them both from outside the garden gate.
Shut the door John, shut the door Max worries. Hes still coming and you havent closed the door.
Too late. Maxs heart leaps as he hears the gate swing open. Too late.
His worst fears are confirmed. The unrelenting Henry is now purposefully making his way up the garden path and toward the the house where Max and John are isolated, cornered and in Maxs case, petrified.
Gathering up every ounce of his canine courage and without a seconds thought for his own safety Max charges out of the house, tail hoisted aloft and barking his war cry as loud as his voice will muster. He heads straight for Henry wondering why this stalking maniac refused to listen to all of his earlier warnings.
You might kill me but youll never take John, Max decides.
Henry, his face very quickly drained of all its colour, is shocked and taken aback to be confronted by a clearly furious Max, the dog hed heard so many nice stories about from doting John. This isnt at all the dog he thought hed be meeting.
Henry, alarmed and frightened makes his way toward Max, attempting to offer a hand of reassurance and friendship.
Max is having none of it.
John warned you. Then I warned you. Why wouldnt you just listen?, reasoned Max.
Undeterred by Henrys advance and determined not to let his owner come to any harm, Max lunges in Henrys direction.
The realisation that Max is a long way past the stage of being able to be pacified dawns on Henry fast and he hastily tries to beat a retreat back out of the gate from which he entered.
John, hearing the commotion and now panic stricken by Maxs attack bellows No! Max, no.
Acutely tuned to his owners emotions and sensing the fear and alarm in Johns voice, Max forges ahead and launches into a full scale attack on Henry.
And then, as quick as it began, it was over.
An ambulance arrives to take Henry away and, hearing the commotion, Johns neighbours have summoned the Police.
John can be heard explaining, Hes never done anything like this before, the attack came totally out of the blue, Max was always such a trustworthy dog, hes never shown any signs of aggression in his life, the attack was totally unprovoked.
But we know differently dont we?
Lets look again at how Max saw things unfold:
1.Max spots a man walking toward his and his owners garden his territory
2.Not unduly worried, Max paid little attention to the stranger until John shouted in Henrys direction. To Max, this was a clear signal to watch for danger
3.Obediently, Max sat at the front gate and watched for that danger.
4.He attempted to signal to Henry by putting his tail in the air and growling, that he was prepared to defend his owner and territory.
5.As Henry gets closer, Max again postures but now spots Henrys aggressive body language, his wide eyes refusing to overt their gaze a clear signal of intent. Henrys point blank refusal to alter his path, a sure fire gesture of defiance.
6.As John runs inside, Maxs thoughts turn to escape. He now believes John is as scared as he is and they should both seek shelter from the safety of the house.
7.Too late. As Henry enters the garden (Max and Johns territory) Max does what he thinks his owner needs him to do. He defends against the threat.
8.As Henry runs away and John panics, Max takes this as a sign that he should increase his attack, his canine instincts now in complete overdrive.
So let us again question whether John was correct when he explained to Police that Maxs attack was unprovoked.
Was it unprovoked? Not at all.
Was it unjustified in human, social terms? Absolutely.
Was it avoidable? Totally.
The Aftermath
Henry, his pain eased only slightly by drugs lies motionless in a hospital bed and starts to face the reality that a visit to see a dear, old friend has left him disfigured for the rest of his life. He ponders how best to explain to his young children that hes still their Dad even though he knows his mutilated features will upset them deeply. He wonders how life will be from now on, how people will react to him.
Max, confused and still frightened by the terrifying ordeal earlier in the day is now wondering why hes found himself confined to a small, secure cage at the vet surgery.
He stares through the bars and looks longingly towards the door, hoping against hope that he will soon be reunited with his trusted friend and master, John.
Unbeknown to Max, hell never see John again.
As the door swings open, Maxs tail momentarily begins to wag but hes deflated. Its not John. Its a vet nurse.
Hes still pleased to see her. Hes lonely and upset and he just wants to go home and be with his friend.
Hes too pre-occupied to wonder why the vet nurse seems so wary of him. Wanting to put her at ease, he submissively offers up his paw. As the vet nurse holds it, she carefully shaves a small patch of fur away from his leg.
Max didnt even notice the injection.
On this day it wasnt only Maxs body that was destroyed as Johns memories of a kind, gentle, fun loving dog died too.
He asks himself once more, Why did my dog attack someone for no reason?
John may never know it, but Max had his reasons.
Dogs do not bite people without reason. They do not attack out of the blue. They do not launch into savage, frenzied assaults without provocation despite what you will undoubtedly read in news reports when the next dog attack hits the press.
There are NO devil dogs. There are NO unprovoked dog attacks. There IS a huge gap in understanding amongst some dog owners about why dogs attack and until we can bridge that gap in education people will continue to be attacked and more and more dogs will join Max, their memories destroyed along with their bodies.
Killing individual dog breeds is not the solution to a problem whicn runs throughs an entire species. Oh, and if you were left in any doubt, that species isnt canine.
