Saturday’s Pet Peeve: Trying to save the life of a dog who might be too dangerous to live with. For the final day of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, a sentiment that may not be very popular, but that sometimes needs to be discussed openly. Of course, it’s the goal of any veterinary behaviorist to help people live safely with their dogs, and to help dogs live equally safely with their humans. In almost all cases we work together to recognize and avoid the triggers of biting and to address and change its motivation – which is often based in fear or defensiveness. Although biting behavior can’t be “cured” and there are no guarantees, it is possible to change the dog’s behavior and to live safely in most cases. Most cases, that is, but not all. There is no way to effectively generalize about this issue, but some situations do present significantly higher risks. Each of these cases refers to a dog who has bitten and broken skin in the past. 1. The presence of small children. They can’t be expected to understand and follow “rules” and therefore may have to be chronically separated from the biting dog, but separation may be difficult, and the family unmotivated or unable to follow through. 2. Impulsive or disinhibited (uninhibited) aggression. The dog might go “from zero to sixty” very quickly because of physiological arousal, and continue biting multiple times in one incident. Such behavior can be dangerous because there may be little warning – even to an experienced dog professional. 3. Unpredictable aggression. If a family knows that their dog will bite when (for example) petted, they might naturally avoid such interactions. If she is sometimes fine about it, though, the family’s caution will slacken and a child or visitor will be bitten. 4. Large dogs can do more physical harm than smaller dogs. Yes, there are exceptions, but this generally proves true. The trouble with perfect storms is that they are notoriously hard to predict. But in homes with small children it simply may not be safe to keep a medium to large-sized dog whose previous aggression was impulsive, disinhibited and unpredictable. It is possible to change behavior through desensitization, counter-conditioning and stress/trigger avoidance, but in some cases the owners cannot follow-through and the risks will therefore continue. “Quick fix” solutions using shock or other harsh methods will eventually spiral downwards to more stress, and more aggression. In the case of the mixed breed dog who bit the boy and was chased away by “hero cat”, it seems there have been many calls to inquire about adopting him. The conundrum here is that hundreds of people are seeking to adopt a dog known to have suddenly bitten, shaken and dragged a small boy, when there are literally hundreds of homeless dogs in that shelter or county with no history of biting. If a family decides that they cannot live with a biting dog, what are their choices? In some cases the dog can be rehomed, but this may not be a solution when future owners are still at risk. The dog is likely to be recycled and rehomed again. If a no-kill shelter is the ultimate destination, the dog may experience a life of stress and understimulation. In my opinion, when needed, (peaceful) euthanasia can be the most humane option. #vetbehavior #vetbehaviordogs #preventdogbites
Posted on: Sat, 24 May 2014 19:59:54 +0000
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