When domesticated animals go wild

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Oct 20, 2000
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I have read and seen cases where dogs, cats and other household creatures suddenly go wild and attack their owners or children.

Why do the animals do that? Some people say it's the animal instinct in them. Others reckon that it could be an action which can be traced to the animal's survival instinct.

So, I am curious. What triggers off that animal instinct and make the household pets go wild?
 
I read somewhere that it is partly because animals have a much harder time to read childrens bodylanguage, and sometimes if a kid takes off running it triggers the animals hunter instincts, and it bites purly by instinct.

/Bjorn
 
Some dogs, Rottweilers in particular, sometimes become problems when they reach a certain age. For Rotts, it is about two years. Apparently they can have a very gentle temperament through adolescence, but then they decide they want to be dominant and do so. The effect is said to be much worse if several dogs are together - they pack up. You can't discipline them effectively, and they are a danger. These dogs usually need to be put down. Most Rotts are fine their whole lives. Only a few do this.

But that isn't "going wild." I believe a dog can be made mean with training, like the old agitation training (not Schutzen-type), but then you would expect this (or should). Stressful environments in general can make a dog become mean, even to the point of biting, or so I've been told. An example would be a person who has the TV or radio on 24/7 so the dog never gets any peace. MAybe that could have a sudden onset.

Beyond this kind of stuff, I can't think of ever hearing about a pet who suddenly freaks out without having an actual disease.

Scott
 
They don't go wild, they act normally. Sometimes we forget our pets are not human. We are wrong.
Let's take dogs, no matter what race. The previous example with Rotts that go wild at the age of two has nothing to do with the breed. Any dominant dog will try to climb in the hierarchy when it reaches maturity (wich is at age of 18-24 month for big dogs like Rotts and 10-12 months for small dogs). It depends on that particular dog character, not the breed. The dog can act with hostility (growning, biting) against a member of the family that is lower in the hierarchy (in the dog's head) and acts in a way that chalanges the dog's position.
 
There are several reasons why a pet dog may 'turn' on their owners. One reason may be (personal experience) that the animal is teased. 'Hey! Watch what Fido does when I blow in his ear!' He will only take this so much then he's going to let you know he doesn't like it in the only way he knows to get his point across! Many cases have to do with a dog exerting his status in the hierarchy of its human family. This usually will be tested on the children. There are certain situations where a dog will 'test' its master to see who is going to be 'top dog'. I've heard that Dobermans may try this but I haven't witnessed this myself. When a dog is ill or hurt it may get 'nasty' & just want to be left alone!
I've had dogs that were sleeping that I went to pet & their first reaction was to 'snap' after being awakened suddenly! I believe that's where that phrase came from - 'Let sleeping dogs lie!' All in all there are several factors that can cause an animal to turn on its owner or family members & we may say he's gone mad!
 
Originally posted by flava
. . . Rotts that go wild at the age of two has nothing to do with the breed. . . .

It has a lot to do with breed. Domestic dogs are the product of human-controlled breeding. How many Labs do you know who have gone berzerk and bitten their owners?

German shepherds can be good or bad dogs, but they are generally born that way or not. Boxers are usually (pathologically) happy; Chows tend to be biters. Different breeds were bred to isolate certain desired characteristics, like guarding instinct or affection or to be food. A German shepherd isn't just a big Chihuahua, and a Pug isn't a small Chow.

Scott
 
We had to recently put our 8 year old Lab?Rott mix to sleep.
She was a pretty good dog and we'd had her since she was a puppy.

The problem was she was not yaking to our 8 month old son very well.
At first it was just aloofness and disinterest. Then she would leave the room if he was around. We kept a close eye on things and made sure we spent lots of time with ehr on walks etc. Then she snapped at my 2 year old nephew and missed his hand by a hair. I spoke with the vet and he checked her out and found no physical problems. We talked about finding another family for her, but decided not to give our problem ot another family. We had her put to sleep and it was very hard for all of us. The vet is a good guy and he said he was proud of us for making the tough decision. She just would not accept our son and since we couldn'yt trust her, she had to go.

One of the most miserable days of my life.
 
The pets of today werent "pets" when the different breeds were being developed. They were working dogs and were bred to do different tasks. Some to go down rat holes after rats, some to hunt bears etc. The traits that were wanted for the spacific tasks were instilled through the breeding process. Very few were bred to be nice cute dogs.

So now we all want a nice pet. Maby large enough to protect us if need be. They can be a nice pet but they still have the traits that make them the breed that they were. Some times these traits get out of hand.

As far as cats go.... who knows what goes on in those little brains of theirs.

Neal
 
Let me preface this by saying I do not recomend this for everyone, but it worked for me .................


I have two dogs that are half lab and half shephard. One is nine and one is two. I also have a pure bred dauchsund of the mini kind, but he is worthless. When Q was 8 months old there was some growling and snapping that went on if I approached his food bowl(I guess he was protecting his food). Since my wife was preg. at the time, I knew this had to stop as we would have a child soon. The next time he did it, I got down on his level, took his bowl, pushed him over grabbed his back leg and preceeded to bight the crap out said back leg, to the point where he was crying and making enough noise for my wife to walk out to the deck. Imagine her surprise to see a full grown man bighting a dog.

Well from that point on, we have had no problems what so ever. Q is now the 9 and we have had no problems with either kid and he is the protector when i am not around. Several times when I arrive home late, he is at the bottom of the stairs "on duty". Once I am there, he is ready to go outside to his domain..



Cerberus:D
 
Originally posted by beezaur
how many Labs do you know who have gone berzerk and bitten their owners?
Almost as many as the number of Rottweillers you know that lost it and bitten their owners ;)
Yes, breeds are very different. There are breeds that are more agressive than other breeds. Most of the time the agression is towards strangers and this is natural for guard dogs. Attacking someone in the family is not a natural behaviour unless it constitutes a rank-challange. Ranks should be very clear for the dog before adult age. Unfortunately not all dog owners are aware of that before deciding they must have a big dog. BTW, Cerberus did a good job when his dog started to be dominant towards him.
 
Originally posted by beezaur
It has a lot to do with breed. Domestic dogs are the product of human-controlled breeding. How many Labs do you know who have gone berzerk and bitten their owners?

Well, I'm not sure of the stats on dogs going 'berserk' (if that's what's actually happening) but lab's are supposed to have the worst record for biting of any breed. I can't recall where I saw/heard this now, but I think it was an NPR report during the trial for that mauling by lawyer's pit bull in California.

Pat
 
" BTW, Cerberus did a good job when his dog started to be dominant towards him"


I guess that makes ME the alpha dog.


:D :D
 
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