I’ve heard (can anyone verify?) that dogs who bite most frequently don’t bark. That was the case when my then 13-year-old daughter stopped to pet a large dog staked out in the yard. After a trip to the emergency room, it was not a serious bite. The dog and his owner were banned from post housing.
Depends on the breed ~and~ the “training”.
The Doberman “Devil Dogs” were so successful in ‘Nam because they do not bark and therefore alert the enemy to the soldiers’ positions.
They tend to “stalk” silently if they’re really going to bite.
Go to YouTube and watch Schutzhund dogs.
They make no noise whatsoever before totally ripping their target.
A dog who has been -taught- to -never- growl is by far more dangerous than a dog who does growl.
A growl is a _warning signal_ offered by the dog prior to a bite.
Crush that normal and natural “early warning system” and you create a -very- dangerous dog because you have conditioned it to bypass the warning and go directly to a bite.
I had a dog that barked. An adorable little lady, 1/2 poodle, 1/2 dachsund. We had just moved into quarters and I was unpacking. Frisky was in the back yard and started to bark in a very warning way, backing slowly toward the house. I called her in and locked all the doors. When my husband came home I had a pistol on my belt. The next day he was told that the quarters were empty because just weeks before there had been a break-in and rape. Good dog!
A 13 year old should know not to pet a strange dog without asking. Just sayin’ . . .