[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Biters --Long
- From: Falkrigia@xxxxxxx
- To: cinosamgsd@xxxxxxxxx, Pinehillgsds@xxxxxxx, showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 13:05:11 EST
In a message dated 01/18/2007 11:52:39 AM Eastern Standard Time,
cinosamgsd@xxxxxxxxx writes:
> I would hope the list could come up with some other examples of dogs that
> bite that are not looking to kill so we could talk discuss them.
Cindy,
Most biters fall into two major types - fear-aggressive dogs and
dominant-aggressive dogs.
The dominant-aggressive dog will usually do the most damage because he is
biting you because he wants to. he wants you to know that he can have control.
He'll bite hard and with a full bite.
The fear-aggressive dog will usually bite shallow to back you off or to have
a chance to get away. Some will go nuts with it once they start to bite but
most only bite to get away.
Both types give plenty of notice that they may bite but you have to be able
to read dogs to understand that notice is being given and even some long-time
dog owners (and from a lot of the posts, I would say some on this list) don't
have a clue about animal behavior and what it means.
The fear-aggressive dog is easier to read for most people than the
dominant-aggressive but some people don't even realize the backing-away,
tail-tucked,
eyes averting, lip-lifting, hackles-up attitude is a shout of Stay away or I
will try to bite you.
I have been around police dogs quite a bit -used to train regularly with a
group of them - and was actually bitten by a patrol dog for the nearby Nuclear
Power site once during a presentation. I was standing next to the handler
during the presentation of a an award i was giving to him on behalf of our
club.
There was media, allkinds of VIPs from the power plant, etc. As we stood there
listening to one of the VIPs give a short speech, the handler's dog reached
over and bit me on the knee - just a firm, short grip that bruised but didn't
break the skin. I knew immediately that he wanted me to 'move'. he wanted me to
do anything that would justify a full bite. I stood completely still and
quietly whispered to his handler who was on the other side and locked in on the
speaker. .."your dog just bit me". He immediately secured the dog, I relaxed,
still held my position, the speaker completed his talk and all was well.
That was a dominant dog. I was an unknown quantity and he was showing me that
he was dominant - or thought he should be. Had I jumped, he'd have bitten the
tar out of me.
last night I was with my horse partner's working police dog in our backyard
at the farm .When I walked in the yard,the dog immediately came up and bumped
me on the thigh with his nose. He didn't nudge my hand for a pet. He bumped me
to let me know that I was in his territory and he was there. I spoke to him
but stood very still and he bumped me again with his nose. He's a tough dog. he
wanted me to give him a 'prey' reaction or a 'threat' reaction so he could
legitimately grab me. Instead I had John hand me the horse ball from outside
the
fence and as soon as he saw that, he was happy to play ball with me and I made
him sit, down, release, stay, etc. This dog will bite and I listen very
carefully to what his behaviors say whenever I'm around him. He likes me
because I
pay attention to him and play with him but if I ever give the right signal,
his body language says he'll bite me because he is dominant. That's what he has
to be in his job. I am not his handler nor am I with him everyday. He's only
at the farm when John is on call. Otherwise he's in the K9 unit kennel facility
so he feels no need to let me control him. I've told him I own the farm but
he just ignores that fact:-) So I bribe him into working for me and avoid any
and all confrontation with him.
Dominat-aggressive dogs are the ones who 'own' furniture in the house and
growl at their owners if they sit on it, who refuse to back off and allow the
owner to open the door to someone without being locked away, who growl if the
owner touches their food bowl. The more control they get in a household, the
more
agreesively dominant they become.
Pups with these personalities are not suited to novice owners.
All that said, there are also dogs who are 'bite-crazy'. Anyone who's had
experience in Schutzhund has seen them - and NO, they are not suitable for the
sport - but some handlers find them desirable as they can often get high
scores
for hard hits and tough grips.
But walking past them can be a real treacherous experience.
Then there are the handler aggressive dogs who get so 'into' their work that
they get so excited they actually turn on their handlers when given a
correction or when given one in a way they find objectionable even though it
may not
be harsh in any way or form. Again, dominant aggression coupled with extreme
prey drive.
I have a very old, absolutely wonderful dog who at 5 years of age (full male
maturity) thought he wanted to be handler-aggressive with me over hands-on
corrections to his body during training. The first time it happened, I was
shocked enough that the correction barely fit the crime. the next time he
indicated
it could happen again, he thought he was going to die. After the correction by
a very experienced police K9 trainer with enough strength to do the job, the
afternoon was spent doing dominance exercises and changing his mindset as to
how much control he had over things. I've never had a problem with him since.
He's still, at 12, a great working dog, totally sound with excellent ball drive
and a great mind but without the idea that he can totally be boss. And no, he
never bit. The serious threat was enough to demand a change of mindset.
But he would have been a real problem for a novice owner in that one area.
Yet he's been a wonderful dog all of his life and extremely social and great
with anyone once he understood the rules.
Then you have the dogs that are just 'nuts' and there's no answer as to why
they bite. They're usually unpredictable in their biting but can be vicious
when they do bite - doing tremendous damage to their victims. These are the
dogs
that bite out of the blue for no apparent reason in a situation that is not
threatening or even unusual to them. there are probably a thousand possible
causes - brain tumor, chemical imbalance, defective eyesight (once had a dog
that
had multiple image vision in one eye - very strange personality til he went
totally blind in that eye - but never a biter), undiagnosed pain, unknown
history of abuse, etc.
Whatever the cause, a dog who bites without legitimate reason is such a
danger and liability that oftentimes euthanasia is the only correct answer.
So, I'm sure other folks can give you more examples of dogs who bite and why
but this is just a brief (VBG) overview from my experience.
lynda
Check out our websites for constantly updated info and pictures
www.falkrigiashepherds.com
www.thecraftywoodchuck.com
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