surchinmy
Ultra ALPHA
Apr 28, 2004, 9:34 PM
Views: 2010
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Re: [PSD] Overly Aggresive Pointer
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Hi ... Looks like we cross posted each other ... " ... he even ran out the door the other day to a neighborhood kid jumping and barking in his face. he didnt bite him but was being very mean ..." I guess the first thing I noted was that the poster said the dog was jumping & barking ... (not snarling or growling, and no mention of hackles) ... Also, maybe I have a tighter definition of what is a "real or true" aggressive dog ... Have seen too many dogs labelled aggressive (in Malaysia and elsewhere) when the dogs are actually not aggressive ... badly behaved maybe ... poorly reared or trained ... not properly socialised ... dominant even ... but not aggressive ... For example: A poorly socialised or trained dog ... will jump and bark like crazy at practically anything ... so much so that people not familiar with dogs think the dog is aggressive or going to attack - when that is the last thing on the dog's mind ... Or a dominant dog will bark & growl at every other dog ... Jumping and barking per se ... are not the usual signs of aggression or prelude to an attack ... An overtly aggressive dog or a dog that really intends harm, will have an entirely different body shape ... An "real" aggressive or problem dog is almost always on a short fuse ... with minimal threshold of tolerance ... which is what makes them so dangerous ... And they will approach others with stealth and caution ... or show immediate aggression ... and then WHAM ... As for a dog (not overtly aggressive) but wishing to exert dominance ... such a dog also often reverts to a posture that is more intense and poised ... Such a dog may exhibit many of the signs and signals (which people associate with aggression) ... On one end of the scale, the dog will raise itself to full height and tighten its posture and muscles ... on the other end of the scale, the dog may resort to raising hackles, snarling and growling ... But the difference (to my mind) between issue of dominance and "real" aggression ... is again the threshold ... a dog wishing to dominate (but otherwise not aggressive) will give plenty of warnings and time for the other to back off ... But for both aggression & dominance - I think, it is unlikely for the dog to be jumping around ... Eye-contact ... yes, agree with that ... once a dog makes and holds eye-contact ... it's definitely time to watch out ... Which is why I suspect that the Pointer is not overtly aggressive (badly behaved maybe) ... It's awfully hard for a jumping dog to be maintaining any serious eye contact ... As for the hackling when someone approaches the baby ... Yes - that is a sign to be careful about ... in that situation, I suspect that the dog is ready to take offensive action ... but again ... I suspect, its more likely protection & territory rather than overt aggression ... For sure, if the dog's warnings are ignored, the dog may bite ... but to me - that is more an issue of people not understanding dog behaviour - and not so much the dog itself ... In such a case, proper socialisation and training will likely minimise the potential for accidental harm ... What remains very important to me is that the dog is contuing to give ample warning ... With true aggressive and real problem dogs, there is often no warning or a very minimal threshold of warning ... With a dog that still gives warning, then as you posted - proper rearing, training and socialisation will help manage the issue. Cheers
(This post was edited by surchinmy on Apr 28, 2004, 9:45 PM)
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