Why Dogs Bite: Guest Column

Dogs never bite out of the blue.

Dogs are talking all the time yet many people have no idea what they are saying. Their first language is body language and energy. Dogs are reading us, however we are failing them by not learning their language.

I’m so sorry to say that this incident with ‘Scarface’ the pit bull mix who attacked his owners on New Year's Day is not uncommon. In fact, more than 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year, with 81 percent of dog bites occurring by dogs that are known and most of the bites are to children. Yes, dog bites occur by family and friends' dogs most often. Read more on this topic here.

There are many factors that could cause a dog to bite. The important thing is to ask questions. The questions to ask when a dog bites are these:

• What was happening just before the bite occurred?
• Could there be missed underlying medical issues? Dogs in pain can also become protective of their body/space.
• Was the dog abused before they adopted him?
• Ask the owners what kind of intervention was used when the dog did something they didn’t like? Did they hit the dog, kick him, roll him over forcing him to the ground?

If a dog has been hit in the past, even a slap on the face can create fear. It doesn’t have to be full on beating for a dog to become fearful. If I walked up to you to shake your hand (a dog may jump as a greeting) and you slapped me across the face and repeated this behavior every time I approached you, I would stop approaching for sure but I will also become fearful of you in the future.

In the case of adopted dogs, if they've been abused at all prior to coming into a new home, it doesn't take much for them to become defensive. This is especially so if new owners inadvertently employ any forceful measures to stop unwanted behaviors. Even putting a sweater on a dog who has learned not to trust people can illicit a bite. Signs of fear are generally present before bites occur, but owners often don't know how to read the signs. Fear begets aggression. Period.

When adopting a dog, ask these questions:

• What is the history of the dog?
• Why is the dog at the shelter?
• Was the dog an owner surrender, a stray, etc.
• Was the dog evaluated by a behaviorist?
• How long was the dog at the shelter/foster care? Studies have shown that the longer a dog is at the shelter, the more anxious, depressed, fearful they become.
• Has the dog been around other dogs, children?
• What training/handling methods, if any, were used by previous owners, shelter staff, current owners, etc.?
• Did staff members notice any signs of timidity, fear or aggression while in their care? Timidity is often times the first sign of aggression. When a hand is raised to say hello over the head (which should never be done by the way) did the dog shy away? This could be an indicator that the dog feared hands or people coming toward them, hovering over them. All signs of discomfort dogs offer prior to a bite.

Studies have shown that the number one cause of relinquishment of dogs between the age of 9 months to 1 year is because of bad behavior and that most surrenders have had no previous training. What people don’t realize is that the behavior puppies manifest are normal puppy behaviors, playful biting, having accidents in the home, jumping on people, etc. and they need to be taught how not to playfully bite on us, where to go potty and not to jump on people. If we don’t train a puppy when its young, they grow up and their behaviors get bigger and the dog is more out of control, hence relinquishment.

It has also been proven by scientists and veterinary behaviorists that the dominance theory of training dogs is outdated and abusive. If they are trained with force or dominance, they can grow up to become aggressive when they hit their age of maturity, between 2-3 years of age. A puppy who has been abused in her first two years in training or handling is more likely to grow up to be an aggressive adult dog. Much like an abused child grows up to be a bully. Aggression is a fear based behavior and dogs never bite out of the blue. See more here and here.

Things to consider when adopting a dog are these:

• Do you have time to train and exercise the dog?
• Did you thoroughly consider the breed that will most likely fit into your lifestyle and family?
• Is the entire family on board for getting a new dog?
• Do you have experience with the breed you’ve chosen?
• Can you afford veterinary care for the life of the dog?

Know what questions to ask when adopting any dog. If you can bring an outside behaviorist to do a temperament test on the dog of choice before adopting, this can be your most valuable asset. This assessment can be quite telling about the characteristics and temperament of the dog and help you make a more educated and informed decision before adoption. By being prepared before getting a dog or a puppy and learning how to read dog body language can save more people from being bitten unnecessarily and save the lives of more dogs.

About the author: Jill Breitner is a professional dog trainer and dog body language expert. She is a certified Fear Free Professional and Fear Free Professional for Foundation for Puppies and Kittens, www.fearfreepets.com Certified in Animal Behavior and Welfare and the author of Dog Decoder, www.dogdecoder.com a smartphone app about dog body language. Join Jill on her on her Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/dogdecoder/.

Photo by Can Mustafa Ozdemir via Flickr used under Creative Commons