Dog Bites Man

Working for the last several years with dogs and pets I have often heard the question. Why do dogs bite people? Just the other day in the newspaper there was an article titled dog bites man. Of course for the last few days I haven’t heard anything else except the question of why. Well very few bites happen without provocation but the provocation may exist only in the dog's mind! We need to realize that dogs are not little people in furry costumes. They don't think in the same way that we do. Here is one of the most commonly reported scenarios in a bite case: A very young child sees a pretty dog he'd like to pet. The dog may not want to be petted. The dog's first instinctive reaction is to show his displeasure by giving a warning growl. Some warnings are more subtle such as a stiffening of the body. Few dogs bite without giving some sort of indication beforehand with the most common being a growl. The growl means that something more unpleasant will follow if the warning isn't heeded. Small children and even some adults don't recognize a warning when they see or hear one. A very young child doesn't know what a growl means. What may be obvious to an adult isn't understood by the child. Now if the child or older person continues with the perceived threatening behavior then the dog feels that it has not other alternative but to bite. He is responding to what he perceives as a threat and is doing what his instincts tell him to. Remember that dogs don't think in the same way that people do. So when you hear that a dog bites a man remember that it is possible the man had a share in the responsibility for what took place.