Why Do Some Dogs Turn Aggressive?

dimes on 15/03/2024 - 07:07

I've been scared of big dogs since I was about 10 because I came close to being attacked, so whenever I see a big dog in public I become a bit apprehensive.

I see incidents in the news from time to time where dogs attack people, and sometimes even their owners. One day I was walking past a man and his dog, and when the dog saw me it suddenly adopted an aggressive posture and growled at me. It started to run towards me aggressively before the owner called it back. I thought I was going to be a victim of a dog attack at the time.

So my question is, why do some dogs become aggressive? Is there something that triggers them? I would like to know so I can avoid doing these things and hopefully try to get over my fear by understanding dogs better.

Pets Dog

Comments

  • Sammy2000 on 15/03/2024 - 07:33
    +5

    Fear. Suspiciously acting people.

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 15/03/2024 - 07:43
    +13

    You may be staring at the dog out of fear. Dogs interpret that as threatening behaviour, and can respond aggressively.
    Other reasons include:
    Breeding for agression - traditional fighting or guard dogs
    Learned behaviour - the way the dog has been treated/experiences with particular people e.g. males from situations of D.V.

    • MS Paint on 15/03/2024 - 08:10

      Exactly this - canines and equines are excellent at interpreting human expressions and behaviours and will respond accordingly.

      • LFO on 15/03/2024 - 10:09

        I understand horses do it for fun.

        That is: they feel the rider is wobbly like jelly so they "sense" the right moment to get rid of the rider.
        Then they stop and look back … cannot hear them laughing but they probably do.

        Personally never met an aggressive horse. Horny might be (with all other side effects), but not aggro as such.

        Thinking about it, perhaps some suburban behind-the-fence barking dogs do so for fun, for entertainment rather than a killing instinct.
        Interesting.

        • MS Paint on 15/03/2024 - 11:19
          +1

          We have a Maremma who protects the house instead of chooks. Visitors won't get out of their cars while she is alerting us to their presence. She shows teeth, barks aggressively and her fur puffs out like a wild, uncontrollable beast. When she knows we are happy she proceeds to lick them to death. Instinct, genetics and training all play a part in this.

      • Baysew on 16/03/2024 - 10:01
        -1

        Exactly this - canines and equines are excellent at interpreting human expressions and behaviours

        So do dogs and horses.

        • iminabrons on 17/03/2024 - 01:29

          I believe humans are excellent at it.

  • Sterio on 15/03/2024 - 08:23
    +6

    Why do some humans turn aggressive?

    • avoidfullprice on 15/03/2024 - 08:58
      +2

      Insecurity

    • Yummy on 15/03/2024 - 09:33
      +2

      Karen wannabe

    • kolorijo on 15/03/2024 - 10:47
      +2

      Hungry

      • qwijibo on 15/03/2024 - 11:22
        +3

        They just need a Snickers

    • Loopholio on 17/03/2024 - 11:52

      WHAT THE FOOK DID YOU SAY TO ME?!

  • Tee Rex Arms on 15/03/2024 - 08:28
    +6

    I’d prefer to encounter a big dog rather than a small tiny one that incessantly yaps and growl at anything bigger than it.

    • Gdsamp on 15/03/2024 - 11:30
      +3

      i can give a small dog a swift kick if it wants to FAFO
      don't fancy my chances against a poorly trained 50kg rottweiler that's an extension of the owner's aggro personality

    • xylarr on 18/03/2024 - 17:17

      We had a small dog (fluffy and white) in our apartment complex attack an elderly resident. Wasn't life threatening or anything (and that is the real difference between big vs small dogs) but the resident got some nasty bites out of it.

      I think too many people forget that small dogs are also dogs. They need training and good care and management, just like big dogs. Getting a fluffy white thing because it looks cute means you probably shouldn't get a dog. Get a cat - though it will probably eat your face while you sleep.

  • djones145 on 15/03/2024 - 09:08
    +12

    these dogs have what we call the evil gene. Hitler had it. Walt Disney had it. And Freddy Quimby has it.

    • fantombloo on 15/03/2024 - 09:55
      +2

      Jokes aside…

      All dogs now are what we've made them. We've been selectively breeding and otherwise tinkering with their evolution according to our own whims. They're pretty much a manufactured product.

      Just like "guns don't kill people, people kill people," so do dogs not kill people, people kill people.

      It cannot ever be the dog's fault - this lies squarely on the dog breeders and their customers.

      • LFO on 15/03/2024 - 10:13
        +2

        It cannot ever be the dog's fault

        There are multiple cases of dogs (animals in general) attacking the owner, the handler.
        Some breeds are known as placid and harmless, some are exactly the opposite.

        I'm afraid it points to the dog/animal itself.

      • Settero on 15/03/2024 - 10:58
        +2

        Pretty funny that you say dogs have been bred for certain traits and that the breed of dog can not have any ties to its temperament.

        • fantombloo on 15/03/2024 - 11:19

          Do you blame cars for the pollution they cause or do you blame people (collectively) for using them?

          • MS Paint on 15/03/2024 - 11:21
            +5

            @fantombloo: My dog drives an EV. What's your point?

          • Settero on 15/03/2024 - 11:56

            @fantombloo: I didn't blame anything for anything, I pointed out the irony in your statement.

            • fantombloo on 15/03/2024 - 12:03

              @Settero: I never said

              that the breed of dog can not have any ties to its temperament.

              I just said that is on the breeders, not the dogs. So we're talking past each other.

        • jacross on 16/03/2024 - 09:44
          +1

          I believe their argument is that a dog acts in accordance with its nature and environment and doesn't have the intelligence to hold moral culpability, which they call 'fault'.

      • iminabrons on 17/03/2024 - 12:36

        You make an observation but you carry it no further. What happens next if your dog kills somebody but it's not its fault?

        • fantombloo on 17/03/2024 - 13:40

          Then it's my fault. And possibly the breeder's and whoever else is in the production chain.

          The authorities / society may chose to kill my dog, much like they might chose to repossess my firearm and destroy it, but it's absolute BS that the dog's caretaker / owner gets off scot free.

    • Nickels n Dimes on 16/03/2024 - 22:38

      The dogs haven't built a special place for carrying out their evil on their victims, yet.

  • Baysew on 15/03/2024 - 09:25
    +5

    Do you identify as a cat?

  • Davo1111 on 15/03/2024 - 11:21
    -1

    poor training

  • coffeeinmyveins on 15/03/2024 - 11:36
    +2

    I see incidents in the news from time to time where dogs attack people, and sometimes even their owners

    I guarantee that all of these cases, if not most, are a certain breed of dog as well.

    So my question is, why do some dogs become aggressive? Is there something that triggers them? I would like to know so I can avoid doing these things and hopefully try to get over my fear by understanding dogs better.

    Someone has already come into this thread and said "PoOr TrAinInG" and that's just rubbish.

    So many of these cases you see about where the owner was mauled to death by their "beloved family pet" or a toddler was eaten they will always say it was the most loving and caring animal and then just snapped.

    A poorly trained animal won't exist for 10 years and snap one day, it wouldn't have made it to that point.

    These animals, and we know the breed we're talking about, have an insane amount of biting force and can just snap. Any dog can snap. The difference between a 50kg amstaff and my 5kg cavoodle is when mine bites me it's like being bitten by a mouse, not a croc.

    • Sammy2000 on 15/03/2024 - 12:48
      +1

      True but:

      What breed of dog has the most attacks in Australia?

      Pitbulls (10.3 per cent) topped the list, followed closely by usually easy-going Labradors (8.5 per cent) and Rottweilers (6.8 per cent).

      The list was rounded out by Bulldogs (6 per cent), Border Collie (6 per cent), Jack Russell (5.1 per cent), Terrier (other) (5.1 per cent), Kelpie (5.1 per cent), German shepherd (4.3 per cent).

      The remaining 43 per cent were simply listed as “others”.

      • Gdsamp on 15/03/2024 - 13:06
        +1

        labradors are one of the most common breeds. they are probably underrepresented in this sample.

        • CauseNEffect on 04/09/2024 - 13:37
          +1

          The most common and therefor over represented.

          The vast majority of houses in the world have labs meaning they really should have the highest percentage by a long way. The fact they aren't tells you how bad pitbulls really are with aggression.

      • coffeeinmyveins on 15/03/2024 - 13:10
        +1

        I'd love to see those stats overlaid with severity of injury because those percentages imply that "death" and "bandaid" are the same.

        eg: Jack Russel is listed there as 5% but I guarantee you that the severity of those attacks is nothing compared to the German Shepherd.

        • jacross on 16/03/2024 - 09:45
          +1

          I dunno man. Jack Russell's are really something. Death by a thousand cuts…

      • us3rnam3tak3n on 15/03/2024 - 15:09
        +2

        Using this article as a guide, labradors outnumber american staffies 2.2:1 so if the latter were equal in number they would account for 23% (oversimplified calc, I know).

      • Nickels n Dimes on 16/03/2024 - 22:15
        +1

        Considering the fact that Pitbulls are one of the rarest needs in Australia, (even according their proponents), estimated at less than 1,000-2,000 here in a population of over 6.3 million dogs, 10.3% injuries being used by less than 0.00024% of the dog population.

        If you adjust for the relative populations of each :
        Avg for 275,000=2750008.5≈0.0000309
        Avg for 1,500=150010.3≈0.00687
        Ratio=0.00003090.00687≈222.33
        the Pitbull is 222 times more likely than a Labrador Retriever, to injure a person sufficiently to cause a medical/hospital visit.

        It's possible that the description of the 'American Pitbull Terrier' was not accurately identified in every case as they are a prohibited breed, and they could be from a mixed breed dog, but there's no doubt that these are very dangerous dogs.

  • AustriaBargain on 15/03/2024 - 11:43
    +4

    100,000 dog bites are reported each year. Probably sane to be nervous around strange dogs, certain breeds anyway.

    • elgrande on 15/03/2024 - 12:13

      Ouch

    • coffeeinmyveins on 15/03/2024 - 13:11

      This stat includes everything ranging from "didn't break the skin" to "died" though

      • Nickels n Dimes on 16/03/2024 - 22:18
        +1

        Not quite - I've been bitten by budgies, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses and cats, never felt the need to report any of them to a doctor let alone a hospital ER.
        If it didn't cause substantial bleeding, most bites won't be reported.

  • seraphim2017 on 15/03/2024 - 12:29
    +1

    I'd hazard a wild stab in the dark and say almost exclusively that scumbag owners are the cause of dogs that aren't socialised and under control, and a danger to people or animals.

    • TEER3X on 01/09/2024 - 09:22

      You have to remember that many dogs are rescues and despite the new owner's best intentions and precautions, the dogs can sometimes end up where they shouldn't be.

      One of the biggest issues I encounter, is when other dog owners let their dogs off leash and wander around just because it's a friendly dog. Some people are allergic, some people don't want your dog near them and especially near their own dogs.

  • 2esc on 16/03/2024 - 11:03
    +1

    Some dogs are more aggressive than others.

    But the owners have a play to part good training of dog or if you know your dog has aggression you must keep control in public.

    There does seem a tendency that some dogs with aggression are owned by people who are not responsible.

    But its not just about training the dog the owner needs to be trained how to have a dog.

    • Nickels n Dimes on 16/03/2024 - 22:33
      +1

      Very true. Certain human personalitiee give a predisposition to owning certain types of pets, with the intent to menace, harass, attack or intimidate others. If the animal doesn't aid that voluntarily, training and abuse will often succeed.
      Animal owners should be criminally responsible in every case for whatever their pets do to others - eg. if someone brutally injured another person's pet they would serve substantial jail-time, if they willfully attacked and injured another human, the sentence would be longer still, if they violently killed another human the sentence will be the highest possible - all those sentences should be applied to the owner in these attacks, as a second-degree offence.
      That would cause people to think carefully before buying a known dangerous animal, and serve some just punishment for the antisocial lowlifes who deserve it

  • Pedro123 on 16/03/2024 - 11:36

    Their Owners ..!

  • Sunshines bright on 16/03/2024 - 14:13

    Some dogs were not handled properly early on, some dogs react aggressively towards fear, some dogs think a human behaviour is aggressive, some dogs were trained, and finally protective of their space all are causes of aggression. Never approach a dog without owner or handlers permission and alway be confident and passive not afraid and or too assertive.

  • HelpMeiCantSee on 16/03/2024 - 21:20

    Dogs are generally excellent judges of character. Also, some breeds are just innately more aggressive than others, it just is what it is. They are also instinctively pack animals. They pick up body language very well, and will act on those cues. To a dog, their owner is the leader of the pack, and they will protect it from anything perceived a threat.

    To a dog, weakness/fear is a threat. They don’t want their pack to become vulnerable, so their instinct is to chase the meek intruder away. Same thing for aggression, they’re protecting the pack. Most well trained/well behaved dogs will drop almost all of their instinctual programming once the owner (pack leader) gives the go ahead.

    But people forget that an owner is the pack leader and has to enforce that. Which is why you see so many aggressive Russel’s et.al. Because they’re picked up, elevated above other dogs and beings to owners level, and by the coddled behaviour given to it, thinks it is the leader of the pack, hence becomes aggressive.

    The only way to alleviate your fear and a large portion of your negative dog responses you receive is to be around dogs more and become more at ease with them so you don’t drop the signals that they seem to be reacting to.

    Hope this makes some sort of sense.

  • lost in transit on 16/03/2024 - 22:20

    I asked my leg but don't think j you'll like its reply…

  • Tassie lass on 16/03/2024 - 23:40
    +1

    Look at who owns the dog watch how thy treat heir Donell’s a lot. We should be licensing the owner before the dog.

  • athomedad67 on 18/06/2024 - 11:24

    Dogs can become aggressive due to fear, pain, territorial instincts, poor socialization, or past trauma. Fearful dogs might lash out if they feel threatened, while those in pain may react irritably. Territorial dogs protect their space or family and may see you as a threat. Lack of socialization often results in aggression towards unfamiliar people or animals. Lastly, dogs with a history of abuse or neglect might respond aggressively due to their traumatic experiences. Understanding these triggers can help you navigate encounters and reduce fear.

  • BuyoTheCat on 24/06/2024 - 00:13

    It is mainly the owner. even the most aggressive dog can be trained. If I were the owner and my dog is has aggressive tendencies, I will never let it off lead out in the public. I had to help my friend train her german shepherd who has extremely strong protection tendencies. great dog. love her to bit. Took a lot of work working closely with a trainer to get her to where she is now.

    If you want to deal with your fear of dog, it will be helpful to have more interaction with well behaved big dogs. Always ask the owner before you do anything.

    this is not the OP’s original enquiry.
    you have a right to walk any where in public without the fear of getting attacked by random dogs. the owner has no right to let their dog off lead where they want.

  • noideaa on 01/09/2024 - 09:13

    It’s like people forgot they’re animals acting on instinct.

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