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Written by Admin
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Thursday, 24 November 2005 |
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Page 7 of 7
In a domestic situation, canine aggression is normally suppressed. Exceptions
are if the the dog is feral, trained to attack intruders, threatened, or
provoked. it is important to remember that dogs are predators by nature and
instinct is something that never completely disappears. It is possible to
acclimatize a dog to common human situations in order to avoid adverse reactions
by a pet. Dog experts advocate removal of a dog's food, startling a dog, and
performing sudden movements in a controlled setting to train out aggressive
impulses in common situations. This also allows better animal care since owners
may now remove an article directly from a dog's mouth, or transport a wounded
pet to seek medical attention.
Small children are especially prone to provoking dogs, in part this is because
their size and movements can be similar to prey. Also, young children may
unintentionally provoke a dog (pulling on ears or tails is common, as is
surprising a sleeping dog) because of their inexperience. Because of a dog's
pack instincts, more dominant dogs may view children or even adults as rivals
rather than as superiors, and attempt to establish dominance by physical means.
Any attempt at dominance behavior, no matter how tentative, should be extremely
firmly discouraged as early as possible, to affirm to the dog that all humans
are pack superiors. To avoid potential conflicts, even reliably well-behaved
children and dogs should not be allowed to interact in the absence of adult
supervision until both human and animal have demonstrated the ability to always
behave appropriately towards each other.
Dogs with strong chase instincts, especially shepherds, may fail to recognize a
human being in its entirety. They may fixate on specific aspect of the person,
such as a fast-moving, brightly colored shoe, as a prey object. This is probably
the cause for the majority of non-aggressive dogs chasing cyclists and runners.
In these cases, if the individual stops, it immediately loses interest since the
prey has stopped. This is not always the case, and aggressive dogs might take
the opportunity to attack.
Additionally, most dogs who bark aggressively at strangers, particularly when
not on "their" territory, will flee if the stranger challenges it. Conversely,
there is always the danger of the occasional dog who will stand its ground and
escalate the situation.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 24 November 2005 )
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