Unexpected Dog Aggression

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 22:49

It happens that a dog walking calmly on the sidewalk suddenly shows aggression for no apparent reason towards one of the passers-by. Why?

The key to the answer lies in the adage: everyone sees what he knows. And, despite the fact that we and our dogs live in the same world, it is completely different for us and for them. We live in different dimensions. But it is unlikely that, getting on all fours, you will be able to see him - the dog world. Not only does it look different, it also smells different.

The person your dog has thrown at, and who, from your point of view, is quite respectable and does not differ in any way from other passers-by, may not only smell loud, he may smell cowardly or offensive to the dog. It is already known that each of us smells differently, and the state of the disease changes our smell. At least there are about 40 diseases, including mental ones, which can be recognized by smell. A physiological state, for example, fear, also changes the body's smell. And now, already burdened with knowledge, try to put yourself in the place of a dog and imagine how you were hit on the nose and what you said to it. And this is exactly what can happen to your dog, which has a very sensitive olfactory analyzer nose.

A person who is frightened of your dog can inform her about this and thereby unconsciously provoke aggression not only by changing his smell, he also behaves a little differently. For example, when we are afraid of something, then with increased attention we follow the subject, which, in our opinion, poses an increased danger. And from the point of view of an animal, if they are staring at you, it is not without reason: either they will attack - then you need to run away, or they will start running away, if you like, you don't want to, but you will have to catch up. That is, gazing has some consequences, and depending on the characteristics of the nervous systems and experience, the dog will react to it in different ways.

We may not even notice that the person walking towards our dog changed the pace of movements, step width, amplitude and rhythm of waving his arms, changed the expression of the linden, or even suddenly stopped or stood behind a tree. We may not even notice, but the dog will certainly draw some conclusions and sometimes not in favor of the one who is meeting. The dog may decide that this is all preparation for an attack or an ambush.

Getting used to certain external conditions, dogs must register all the changes that appear. And in everything new - this property is familiar to us - with a high degree of probability there can be danger. Therefore, our dogs can react violently to people dressed unusually, not like everyone else (hunters, fishermen, people in uniform), having an irregular gait, moving irregularly (including drunken ones) or unusually dressed.

We shouldn't forget about memory either. It is likely that the sight or smell or gait of the person reminded your dog of the owner of her enemy, or she remembered an unpleasant event associated with a person with these signs. Who knows. But no matter what, there is no causeless aggression.

Of course, it happens that dogs have a bad mood, then they react more pronounced than always, to seemingly habitual, indifferent stimuli. This happens and the other. Animal psychologists have found that the very fact of victories is a strong reinforcement for aggressive behavior. And there are often happy dogs who like the sight of their frightened "brothers". Such dogs enjoy it.

Vladimir Gritsenko