Dogs

[BrianR]

Lamplighter, I cut myself off before I went off on a multi-page thesis on dog behavior.

Dogs do not just "go wild". Something in their environment triggers a behavior. Ali almost hit it. A child that doesn't know how to interact with a dog (adult too, for that matter) can trigger a bite. It doesn't take much at all. You, as a human, need to be able to "speak dog" and read their language.

Yes, a dog can communicate. They mostly use body language. Sudden "unprovoked" attacks usually are provoked, just not in the commonly accepted way. Simply leaning over a dog and looking it in the eye is enough. Turning your back on it and walking (or running) is more than enough. Especially if you are holding their toy.

A dog will nearly always try to warn you off but they do it using the only language they know. They don't speak English or any other spoken language. Most people know not to try to touch a dog that is baring teeth and growling. But what about a dog that is looking at you out of the corner of their eye with their ears laid back? What about the tail? Is the body tense or relaxed? Each of those things means something in dog talk.

Many dogs have their own way of talking. Take my boxer for instance. He's tense whenever he is not sleeping. It's his way. When he wants to play, he looks directly at me and growls. He's not challenging me, he's asking me to play. If he's hungry, he demands to be let out (by jumping up and down on my lap) but doesn't have to go. I can tell this by asking him if he wants to go out. If he whimpers and jumps at the back door, he has to go. If he just looks anxious, he's hungry.

It's much like a mother and a baby. Babies can't talk, yet the mother always seems to know the "hungry" cry from the "hold me" cry from the "I have gas" cry. To me, they all sound alike but to a mother, each has subtle differences. Babies also use some body language. Ask any mother.

Unlike dogs, babies learn to talk and tell you what they want. Dogs can learn to tell you their needs too and to some extent, you can tell them how. Many dogs have been taught to bring their owners a leash when they want a walk, bring a toy when they want to play, bring a food dish when hungry etc. But most dogs just figure out what works as they go. They repeat behaviors that get them what they want/need. If that fails, they can default to instinct, much like a child will revert to crying or tantrums if speech doesn't gratify them.

If a dog wants to be left alone, he does what usually results in that. If an owner always ignores his dog when he lays on his dog bed, then when a visitor is annoying a dog and he wants to be left alone, he will go to his bed. If the visitor then pursues the dog, he will feel trapped and have no other way to tell the person to leave him alone so the dog reverts to instinct.

Most "attacks" are the result of the victim doing something to make themselves prey in the eyes of the dog(s). Usually, running away or yelling and waving hands will do it.

I stand by my assertions.