Dogs That Bite By George Hobson
Dogs that bite might be broadly categorized into two groups: dogs that think they can, and dogs that think they must. Dogs in the first group think they can at the dog's discretion. Dogs in the second group have, in their perception, been put into the position where they feel there is no other choice. There is a big difference in the approach to dealing with each group, and a lot of variation within an approach to the individual dog.
The dogs that think they can range from dogs that are genetically predisposed, to those that have been environmentally encouraged through a lack of training, or bad training. In both cases human failure has led the dog down a path that leads to misery for the dog, and danger to humans. Dogs identified with genetic disposition to bite should never be bred. They are unsuitable for companion work, and it may be difficult if not impossible to gain reliable obedience to commands for duties requiring bite work.
The dog that bites because it thinks it must may be well trained and socialized, but perceives itself to be in a situation where it knows no other option to prevent what it perceives as an undesirable incident. As with the genetically predisposed canine, it is the human failure that has contributed to the situation that resulted in a bite incident.
Bite prevention for both categories involves two approaches: training and management. Reliable obedience must be gained, and behavior and perception modification used to enhance control of the obedience. Management is important because it must be used to prevent situations where obedience reliability has not, or in some cases cannot be gained by training. Even in a perfect-canine world management must always be present en-route to the training goals, if only as an interim measure, and in some cases it must become a permanent addition to training. However, management must never be relied upon as a substitute in setting goals for training in bite prevention.
The training of aggressive dogs, and preventing the development of aggressive behavior in the development of a dog, requires both training and management for each of those issues. The best potential for achieving bite prevention is an approach that integrates training and management. Success may be viewed as the lowest predictable level, at which a bite may occur, that is acceptable. As an example of what cannot be prevention-trained and acceptable, is the reactive bite due to handling when an animal is injured or in pain: that is a management issue.
Eastwood Kennel's philosophy in bite prevention is based on extensive exposure to, and training to accept as many potential, real-life situations as can be presented to the dog. However, there is always the potential for situations that cannot be presented in training, and the alert owner must always be prepared to use management when they occur.
Published by the National Institute of Canine Professionals (NICE) with permission of the author.
Copyright 2009 George Hobson
http://Eastwoodkennel.com