When Dogs Attack

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Here’s a thought-provoking essay about Dog Attacks, their causes, and what could perhaps be done to prevent them.

When dogs attack

Over the past couple of weeks, several cities in southeast Texas have reported dogs attacking children. Lets not get into dog physiology and “why” dogs attack. Lets move past that point, the dog has attacked the child, the child suffered minor injuries and is alive and well.

My personal opinion, if a dog acts aggressive towards children – the dog should be destroyed. This usually means taking it to a vet and having it put to sleep.  When a dog attacks a child – parents, friends, relatives and law enforcement must ensure that another attack never happens again. If that means destroying the dog then so be it.

There are a lot of people that disagree with that statement. They will argue that it was a “one time event” and will never happen again. This makes me wonder about the people. Who do they care more about, the dog or the child?  This issue is addressed at the bottom of this article.

Then there is the health issue – does the dog have rabies? Has the dog had its rabies shots? Does the dog need to be tested for rabies? The questions about rabies will be decided by the local health officials, doctors and animal vets.

 

Animals think on a primitive level – food, water, reproduction. Besides those there is a hierarchy in the animal colony. There is the alpha and omega, the leader and the follower.

Dogs that attack children might be trying to get a step up the social ladder. And if this is the fact, will the dog ever stop?

Its kinda like a thief in the night. Most of the time that is all they know – and that is stealing. Chances are the thief will never change their ways, but some will.

Here is a story about a 12 year old girl that was attacked by a pit bull dog.  And like most pit bull owners, I am sure they will say “the dog has never acted like that before.”  Or something like “the kid should have stayed away from the food bowl.”  Which are both statements of denial.

Some breeds of dogs are more likely to attack children then others.  According to a recentstudy on dog bites, the American Pit Bull Terrier is one of the breeds of dogs that are most likely to attack children.  Followed by the Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes. Which are responsible for 74% of attacks.

In more than two-thirds of the cases included in the study, the life-threatening or fatal attack was apparently the first known dangerous behavior by the animal in question.Source - Dog Bite Law

This goes back to – “the dog has never acted like that before.”  Well, guess what – it just did.

Dogs are going to bite – that is just the way it is. But, when a pit bull bites there is a great risk of the dog killing its victim. Regardless of that victim is another dog, man, woman or child.

So when you thinking of buying a dog for the family, keep those kinds of things in mind.

Some of the recommended breeds of dogs for families are:
Golden retriever
Pembroke Welsh corgi
West Highland white terrier
Irish setter
Schnauzer
Labrador retriever
Pug
Collie
Source - Recommended breeds of dogs.

The author of this article (Kevin) is not a professional in dogs.  Any information contained in this article is for information purposes only.  Do your own research before buying a dog.