[QUOTE=e-logic]
Could a normally well-mannered, well-trained Doberman suffer a mental illness or stressor-event that could override its training and “unleash the inner beast”?
[/QUOTE]
On the whole I don’t believe that normal dogs “just snap”. Sudden aggression can be a product of injury or disease, such as a brain tumour, and there is some indication that dogs infected with Lyme Disease can show increased and abnormal aggression.
That being said, I think that in cases where dogs appear to “snap” there are a few likely scenarios.
The first is that of a dominant dog in a home where it has no clear and respected leadership. In a leadership vacuum a dog will either willingly, or reluctantly, take on the role of “alpha” and owners can unwittingly behave in such a way as to reinforce that behaviour. How many people do you know who tell you that their dog growls at them when they try to move it off the bed?
It’s not unlikely that sooner or later this dog will exercise the right of the pack leader to discipline a subordinate pack member, even if that pack member is a human. To someone without much knowledge of dogs, this dog might seem to have suddenly turned on them, but to anyone with a bit more dog savvy, the signs would have been clear for a long time.
Dogs which are removed from their mother and siblings too young (which is very often true of puppy mill puppies) and not conscientiously socialized and trained, often don’t learn bite inhibition. I saw the importance of bite inhibition in one of my foster dogs . He hurt himself and every time I tried to touch him to see what was wrong he swung his head at me to snap, warning me off because he was in pain. However, each time you could see the inhibition kick in and he closed his mouth and swung his head away. He was part Wolfhound, so he could have done some damage if he’d connected, but his bite inhibition was so strong that even under enormous stress he couldn’t bring himself to bite. Of course, I backed off as well, until he was comfortable enough to be handled.
Fear aggressive dogs will bite because they’re afraid. A naturally nervous and fearful temperament and poor socialization can be a recipe for disaster. Nervous dogs are easily stressed by any novelties in their environment, it doesn’t take much to scare them, and scared dogs can bite.
The other part of this is that dogs are often disciplined for growling. Growls are an early warning system, “stop doing that, I don’t like it, if you persist I might bite you”. If you don’t deal with the issue which is causing the growling, which might be a training issue or simply removing the cause of the annoyance, but punish the dog for growling, you might end up with a dog who goes straight to a bite because you’ve removed his ability to warn.
[QUOTE=Scylla]
any truth to the bite strength?
[/QUOTE]
“The studies which have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles and teeth of pit bulls show that, in proportion to their size, their jaw structure, and thus its inferred functional morphology, is no different than that of any other breed of dog of comparable size and build. Further there is no evidence for the existence of any kind of ‘locking mechanism’ unique to the structure of the jaws and/or teeth of pit bulls.” Source: Dr Lehr Brisbin, Professor of Ecology, University of Georgia.
[QUOTE=The Flying Dutchman]
Pit bulls are tenacious when excited.
[/QUOTE]
The thing which people seem to forget in all the hysteria about Pits is that they are terriers, and their nature is very much that of the terrier. Terriers are, by definition, brave, tenacious, determined, active and willing to finish what they start.
