Alternative View on Dog Aggression/Bites

[jetscarbie]

What a great thread. Makes me really think about things. I admit....that's why I don't bring my dogs to places where there is lots of people. I get a little stressed going to the vets office.

I don't put my dogs up when people come over (and my house is part business so we gets lots of company) BUT I do put my dogs up when workers are coming over to fix something in the house....or when my niece comes over. She's 3 and super afraid of dogs. I do that b/c I love her and don't want her to associate my house with scary things.

My dog bit somebody...the vet. That's why he wears a muzzle at the vet's office. Not the vet's idea...mine. I now know he bites when he's afraid.

[Debbieg]

I am responsible for my dogs, which means to protect them from situations that they cannot handle appropriately and to protect other from them.

I had hoped Benny would be able to come with me to visit my mom who is in a facility with Alzheimers. It was more for my own sake that I wanted him there as these visits are difficult, and it is a 90 minutes drive so I would always stop at a park to train and play with him

I began exposing him to the facility and the residents when he was a puppy, but now have faced the truth that he cannot be trusted in this type of environment so I will no longer bring him and will find other things we can enjoy doing safely together.

I am also responsible for those who come into our home. Benny has a place command and obeys it well. He likes children, wlll tolerate being mauled by them, but it is also my responsibility to educate children on the proper way to approach and treat a dog (if their parents have not)

We do not allow people who get drunk and stupid in our home. My husband grew up in an alcoholic home, and has no tolerance for the behavior. DH would be the one to bite and become aggressive at drunken behavior in our home, not Benny

[sheep]

I hate it when people are not responsible for their own dogs. Some time ago, I went to someone's house and got bitten by a small dog on the butt coz he got between my legs when I was walking so I kicked him accidentally. It wasn't a big deal and was understandable, but the owner thought it was coz me and another guest were talking loudly so she held the dog away and blamed us instead, which was not nice at all.

If a dog is reactive, then restrict his freedom temporarily to avoid unnecessary stress when guests are around. A guest should avoid interaction as respect, but the owner should also respect a guest. It's not the dog's fault for feeling insecure, but a dog is not just a cute flufly poor insecure thing that you can just blame others for his aggressive reactivity. If it was me, I'd say "NO" and put the dog away and apologize to the guest that got bitten. A dog must learn that reacting through bite is not the way to go, through both desensitizing with positive association and correction. My puppy reacted twice with biting when he got excited/startled by a phone ringing and it had hurt, and just with some "NO!" he stopped reacting like that.
If I go to someone's home, I'd respect their boundaries, but I'd also expect to be safe enough to not get bitten if I ever talked a bit louder or sneezed or whatever!

For reactive/aggressive dogs in the streets, people can at least put a muzzle on them. But it seems that some people think that it's cruel, which is actually kinda stupid, as a dog doesn't really care about it, as long as he's used to it (introduce a muzzle to a dog with treats and not by force). It's actually more cruel for someone or some dog to get bitten, or have the dog swallowing something dangerous.