>Any breed of dog that has a tendency to turn even on its own owners like pits do, is not safe to have around.
It really shows the quality of your argument when you have to resort to making things up. But hey, if it adds to the general level of hysteria surrounding pit bulls, it’s for a good cause, right?<
I’ve been doing a bit of research, and it has occurred to me that a lot of these stories of a dog unexpectedly “turning on” its owner is the well-known phenomenon of an adolescent male dog challenging its owner. This is a phase a certain number of male dogs go through when they begin to jockey for social status.
http://www.kibblesnbits.com/dogcare/article.aspx?i=37
“Junior, a 2 1/2-year-old uncastrated male spaniel, has suddenly become aggressive towards the people in his family. Last night, as the Clark’s 10-year-old son was petting the dog, Junior growled and snapped at him. The week before, Mrs. Clark was hugging the dog and it growled. A month ago, Junior leapt up and bit Mr. Clark as he walked near the dog while it was eating a bone. In another incident, Junior growled at Mrs. Clark when she tried to push him off the bed. He eventually moved but “muttered” when he got down. The Clarks are distraught. They cannot understand why their pet sometimes acts this way. He is a wonderful dog 99% of the time. He solicits attention — paws at them to be petted, licks their faces, begs to play — and is a happy, friendly dog.”
“Dogs reach sexual maturity at puberty, between 6 and 12 months of age, but behavioral maturity is not reached until about 2 to 3 years of age; although an adolescent animal may be capable of reproducing, it has not yet developed all of the behavioral and physical characteristics of an adult; a teenage boy does not present the same image as a 25-year-old, neither does a 7-month-old male dog act like a 4-year-old adult male.
On reaching behavioral maturity, some dogs begin challenging individuals higher in the hierarchy. They may resist or ignore dominant gestures or display dominant behaviors themselves. By doing so, the challenging dog might displace the dominant individual and move to a higher position; on the other hand, the dominant animal might suppress the challenge with even greater aggression. Extreme conflicts develop when both the challenger and ‘established’ senior are equally motivated to prevail. When this occurs, there may be severe fights. Sometimes the only possible resolution is for one animal to leave the group. Occasionally, an animal will assume a lower status for a time and then attempt to gain a higher position.”
“Most dogs assume a neutral or submissive role toward people. They usually greet family members with lowered head, wagging tail, or even a submissive “grin” or “smile.” These signals are similar to the submissive greeting signals that dogs use among themselves. Most dogs defer to people if they are bumped or pushed or if a person takes something away from them.
As some dogs mature, however, they begin to assert themselves and threaten their owners (e.g., by growling, “muttering,” snapping, nipping, or even biting). These challenges may occur in one or more of the following situations: (1) when the dog is disturbed while sleeping or resting, (2) when items (e.g., food or stolen objects such as paper napkins) are taken from the dog, (3) when the dog is pushed, groomed, lifted, hugged, or petted, (4) when the owner forces the pet to sit or lie down by pulling on the dog’s collar or pushing down on its body, or (5) when the dog is threatened or hit. In these situations, the dog’s aggressiveness is an attempt to guard resources or to resist what is interpreted as gestures of dominance because these behaviors are similar to those displayed by dominant dogs. A dog beginning to assert dominance will resist these gestures, yet at other times will still solicit petting and attention.
When a dominance problem is beginning to develop, the dog’s threatening or aggressive behavior may be mild and infrequent. As the dog continues to mature, its aggressive behaviors may become more severe and frequent.”
“It is impossible to test puppies reliably for the likelihood of their showing dominant behavior in adulthood. A young puppy that reacts aggressively to being handled is definitely not a good choice for a pet. On the other hand, nonaggressive, friendly, and even submissive behaviors in a puppy are not a guarantee that it will be nonaggressive when it matures. Remember, dominance aggression in dogs, if it does occur, usually does not begin to develop until the dog is older than 1 year of age.”
Nowhere in the article above is breed mentioned as a cause for this phenomenon. There are dominant and submissive pups in the same litter, and the owners of the submissive pup may never encounter a challenge, while the dominant pup is destined to try and become “leader of the pack”. With the proper, educated response, the dominant dog can become a decent member of his human family.
Good post. Thank you very much for posting it.