Aggressive dog Charges...What do you do ?? - Page 4

gsdfanatic,  DON"T appologize !!    Your point is valid !

I have a couple "who have trained"  that I think would complete the charge only because they are confident and only if they truly perceived a real threat,  Just a tresspass,  NO I don't think they would I think they would try to bluff the person off,  But I don't think they would get serious unless they thought the threat was truly serious. 

My others I know would back down,  They would not Leave, or run off,  they would definately keep watching,  But they would back off.

Echo

I dont want you to take this the wrong way, but I would advise you to do a bit more research on canine aggression.

You call it the "full deal".  I'm sorry, but a dog that has hackles up, ears back, and is bearing all his teeth with his head down, is a dog that feels threatened!  The odds of being bit by this dog are only great if the dog has no way out.  This is a fear biter, not the full deal.  A very dominant agressive dog is another story.  Don't challenge him!

rezkat,

saying the police knew a dog was there because they took a run there 2 years ago, but a child didn't know because they only live across the street from this house seems odd. But I'll say that we differ in opinions and leave it at that. I really don't wanna revisit the other thread and regret even mentioning it.

I don't believe it is the homeowner's fault. Dog leaves yard and bites child is homeowner's fault. Someone enters property and gets bit, it is not. Parents should watch their children better, and unfortunately that's why we have such a litigous society where people have to have all these privacy fences and such.

I agree that the hackles and all that are a defensive based type of dog that is not a real dog. Don's correct on all that. Fearbiter, only dangerous if cornered or turned away from.

Spook, you are a man of few words.

Don,  caught that did you ???   But how many articles have we read lately where the dog was attacking with teeth beared, hackles up yada yada...  Again was kind of the point,  to the average person who can't read shit about a dog that's a MEAN dog right ??   But to those who do know how to read body language in dogs,  we all know this dog was fearful which is why when I puffed at him he decided I was not worth the risk.

A dog that is confident in his approach I will usually avoid full on frontal,  I'll try to stay neutral, calm, quiet, to give me more time asess this dogs real intent,  is he just checking me out,  or is he truly here to draw blood,  I don't move forward on this type of dog,  I certainly don't turn my back and I don't challenge this dog either.  I do hold my composure and I do keep my confidence,  I don't look down or away but I don't full on challenge him.  It's much more dicey with a confident dog that you do not know that is for sure and for certain,   But how many LEO can tell which dogs are confident and which dogs are not ?   would they view the dog I just described as confident or just a nice dog,  would they view the above dog as fearful or MEAN,  of course they would say MEAN not even knowing that so long as you give this dog a way out a means of "escape" this dog will likely avoid contact.

We all know that dogs come from wolves.  Some breeds are closer than others.  How many times have you been walking through the woods and ran into a wolf or a coyote?  Unless something is wrong, the answer should be never.  I don't care if you are a forest ranger, the answer should be never.  Canines are born with survival instincts.  Those instincts tell them to avoid potentially dangerous situations.  When faced with a dangerous situation, dogs have two choices.  They can fight or flee.  Most dogs will choose flight over fight!  It is a fact.

There are many variables involved in dog attacks and bites.  Ask a homocide detective the one reason people are murdered and they will look at you like you are the most ignorant person alive.  Each incident has it's own circumstances.  They should be looked at individually like each dog should be evaluated individually.  You can't lump everything as a whole.

Echo

You are right in the statement that people don't know how to read dogs.  I have two very prey/ball driven GSD's.  The neighbor kids like to play baseball, football, and soccer right next to my fence.  The dogs go nuts.  They run up and down that fence, jumping in the air every time the ball is airborne.  They don't bark, but they do look like they're going to bust through the fence.  The parents continually tell the kids to stay away from the fence.  The youngest child asked my wife one day, "Why do you guys have bad dogs?"  Now, I was born at night, but not last night.  I would bet any bit of money that the statement the 4 yr old made, came directly from the parents.   The ironic thing is that a month ago they watched a lab for a friend.  The dog was very driven and was pushing the girl.  It was going after the ball the same way my dogs do.  the parents didn't see this as a vicious dog like the one's through the fence.  This was a LAB!  Not one of those scary wolf looking black sable beasts, that are drooling at the mouth because they haven't eaten a five year old in the last three hours.