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.
Fear. Suspiciously acting people.