Since the number of dogs owned and the closeness between human and dogs has so immensely increased, biting dogs have become the menace of our households and streets. The growing number of reported and unreported dog bites amount to several millions each year. According to the Harvard Medical Health Letter, there are greater than 44,000 facial injuries a year from dog bites, and of these 16,000 are severe. Almost all of the worst, and potentially disfiguring injuries, affect children under the age of 10. Half of all facial bites to children under 4 are inflicted by their own pets, and 90% of the children in this age group are bitten while at home without provocation. Seventy insurance companies (including large national companies) have cancelled homeowner policies due to ownership of breed specific dogs. These breeds comprise the Dobermann Pinscher, the Rottweiler and the Pit Bull. In addition, even the "friendly" breeds such as Golden and Labrador Retrievers are included.
We have integrated the dog into our family not only as an equal member but in many cases even as the privileged member. Why, by all means, are our dogs responding to their so much improved, human-like living conditions with agressiveness? Why do they bite the well-meaning hands that spoil them with special food, comfortable shelter, and the present of an idle life?
Unfortunately, the dog literature does not dedicate much room to even pose or answer this very question. Instead, it is full of ready advice of what should be done if a dog starts biting. The essence of such recommended quickfixes consists in scaring, physically dominating, and severely punishing the biting dog.
The most typical of such "efficient cures" favored by the majority of dog books and training experts, even those claiming to advocate the "positive" way are:
Startling the offender with a shake-can or other noise producing device, yelling at him, slapping him hard under the chin, violently scruff-shaking him, throwing him down, alpha-rolling him over, or hanging him, and beating him with a rubber hose. And, if this does not help, to take recourse to the final solution - to euthanize the dog.
In our opinion, the biting behavior of a dog is a natural response to certain trigger situations. It is an effect which in most cases cannot be eradicated with punishment but only be suppressed, manifesting in another negative behavior. However, by analyzing and understanding how a dog’s mind works we can isolate and eliminate the causes for biting, and thus effectively prevent it altogether.
What causes a dog to bite?
1. Survival Instinct
The survival instinct of a dog is being triggered by any action perceived by him as a threat or attack, and leads to an automatic response - flight of fight. The level of a dog’s assertivesness and the specific circumstances will determine the choice. In general, the dog will prefer the flight reaction. Only if he sees no chance for flight will he fight and use his teeth to defend himself.
Each time we create a threatening situation for the dog, we condition and strengthen his survival instinct, translated into his flight of fight mechanism, which is influenced by his mental and physical strength.
For this reason, forceful, fear-inducing, painful training methods often create fearful or agressive biters, who can perceive even new, non-hazardous situations as threatening due to constant fear conditioning.
The same holds true if a dog is not trained at all. He can rely only on inherited primitive instincts, of which the survival instinct is the predominant one.
2. Dominance and Will-to-Power (WTP)
Wild canines exhibit dominant behavior as a means of establishing leadership and order within their rank and file. This contributes to the survival of the fittest. It is the survival instinct that widely influences the extent of an individual’s drive and potential to demonstrate dominance and authority toward his own kind and other species.
The dominance potential or assertiveness of an animal is expressed in his will-to-power, a genetic behavior trait. Canines use their teeth to determine who is the strongest and most dominant in this contest of wills.
Our domestic dogs also have this inherited behavior pattern to employ their teeth, not only to protect themselves and their offspring of their owner’s property, but also to demonstrate their WTP toward other dogs, animals, and even people, in order to determine who will dominate. The WTP of a dog grows with maturity and is quite variable. Its individual level is directly related to the physical and mental strength of a dog.
In general, until the age of about three months, the WTP remains fairly constant. Then the learning ability begins to accelerate accompanied by remarkable psychological growth and changes which decisively influence the future behavior of the dog.
The WTP gradually increases from three to six months and grows rapidly between six and nine months. It continues to increase from nine to twelve months and then more slowly into maturity. Small breeds are considered mature at 24 months, and large breeds at 36 months. After maturity the WTP remains relatively stable.
Taking the time element of the WTP development into consideration, it becomes obvious why behavior problems, especially biting, can frequently be observed in dogs of the age group seven to twelve months. This is the period when they become increasingly assertive and try to establish dominance in their enviornment. As a natural tool, they use their teeth for this purpose.
3. Deterioration of the Will-to-Serve
(WTS) due to lack of training or improper training. Dogs developed a strong bond and high degree of devotional attachment and loyalty toward mankind and over centuries of close coexistence. This finds its expression in their eagerness to work for us and please us in the will-to-serve. The dog’s WTS became a genetic behavior imprint which is present in no other domestic animal to such an extent on an unsolicited basis.
The initial level of the WTS in a dog is influenced by individual differences depending on the overall personality of the dog. Unlike the WTP, the WTS does not grow automatically, but is directly affected by training. Lack of training of forceful methods aimed at breaking the WTP can simultaneously destroy the WTS. The WTS can be compared with a muscle which atrophies without excercise or ruptures with improper excercise. Also, the deterioration of the breed standards, neglecting desirable behavior characteristics in favor of physical factors, contributes to the overall decline of the WTS in our dogs.
Usually, after the initial, nearly constant, phase of three months, the WTS gradually starts to decrease if a dog does not receive any training. Up to seven months the downward trend is moderate, whereas between seven months and two years it becomes more prominent. After an almost stagnant phase from two to three years, it lessens again until the age of four years and then maintains its level. However the WTS can decline even faster if the dog is trained with improper methods involving fear, punishment and pain.
As a result of the steady decline at a certain stage, it drops below the level of the WTP. A clash of the wills occurs and the WTP takes over. As a consequence, the dog starts to dominate his master rather than serving him. Instead of wanting to please, the dog demands to be pleased and only does what he likes out of self-gratification. Feeling in charge, the dog has no respect for people anymore and will hardly obey commands. Such a dog is a potential hazard, because he is unpredictable when he cannot have his way or something is not to his liking. He can be aggressive or destructive even without provocation, thus demonstrating his WTP.
4. Improper relationship between owner and dog.
Our domestic dog, as a descendant of pack animals, bases his social interactions on the ranking order system, in which individuals have to know their place and role in the overall structure. In the process of domestication, man became the recognized, respected superior for the dog by providing food and shelter in exchange for work and service. To follow a human leader, to serve and please him, became an innate need for the domesticated dog.
If the dog owner is not willing to exercise this established human top position in the pecking order, i.e., be the respected (not physically feared) authority of the dog, and treats his dog as an equal or even superior, the dog is forced to take over by reason of his "pack/status" instinct.
The predominant behavior of a highly assertive, strong-willed dog will be demanding and aggressive, and his owner has to give in to the challenges and cater to the dog. However, the dog is not happy in this role contradictory to evolutionary and behavioral configurations. He becomes more and more frustrated and angry and will exhibit destructive, aggressive behaviors culminating in biting. The mental overload and adrenal overcharge find an outlet.
A dog with low assertiveness (WTP), who is not able to handle the leader role, becomes emotionally disturbed and more and more susceptible to physical illnesses. He can show his frustration and dissatisfaction in destructive and annoying behaviors, bark excessively, soil the house, ran away, etc. and eventually bite as well.
Such a subservient owner deprives his dog of his basic needs - a firm structure with man as the respected master in the center - and the possibility of serving and pleasing him on request on a daily basis, complemented with appropriate praise and affection for good performance.
A dog owner (who is in no way respected by his dog as his master due to inconsistency and over-permissiveness) who tries to become "top dog" by imitating canine ways of physical domination, by fear conditioning, and punishment-by-force correction will only be able to temporarily dominate his dog as long as the dog feels weaker. However, the dog will immediately express dominant behavior toward smaller and weaker beings, such as children, and enforce his position with his teeth. Such a dog will not respect humans, but only fear them, as long as they are physically stronger. It is a well know fact that respect cannot be punished into any living being, not even into a dog.
Prevention of dog bites
The key to preventing dogs from biting people is to teach them to control their instinctive behaviors even in trigger situations. This involves abstaining from all concepts of fear-conditioning based on physical domination, punishment and pain. Also, every dog owner should focus more on fulfilling his dog’s emotional and psychological needs by:
a) Assuming the position of the respected - not feared - master who is consistent in his interrelation with his pet, which gives the dog a sense of security.
b) Establishing territorial and behavioral boundaries for his dog and a system of communication with consistent commands and words which the dog can understand.
c) Giving the dog the opportunity of serving and pleasing and by rewarding him for his devotion with praise and affection.
d) Training the dog in a pleasant and efficient way based on the psychological concepts of mutual respect and trust.
If we structure the mind of our dogs in a positive way
and support their unique, innate will-to-serve and please mankind,
dogs will respect us and have no reason to bite.
