Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training, Volume 2 by Etiology; Assessment of Behavior Problems

Author:Etiology; Assessment of Behavior Problems
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-11-10T00:07:15+00:00

180

CHAPTER SIX

None of the foregoing should be con-

area, where she was later found dead. The

strued to imply that predatory aggression is

child received numerous wounds and parts of

innocuous or in any sense less dangerous

her flesh had been torn away and apparently

than other forms of canine aggression. Preda-

eaten by the dogs (Borchelt et al., 1983).

tory motivations have been implicated in sev-

Winkler (1977) reviews the case histories of

eral cases involving vicious maulings and

11 fatal dog attacks and cites “threatening

deaths of humans by dog packs (Borchelt et

behavior or territorial invasion” as the most

al., 1983). In one of these cases, a large pack

common causes, without mentioning the

of eight dogs, with a known history of preda-

possible role of predation or a history of

tory behavior, attacked and killed a 14-year-

predatory behavior in the dogs involved.

old boy who was riding a motorcycle.

Although not mentioned specifically, several

Reportedly, the pack had been observed ear-

of the cases he describes are not entirely

lier attacking a deer that they had brought

inconsistent with a predatory interpretation.

down but that managed to escape. This inci-

Incidentally, of the nine cases where the sex

dent occurred approximately 1 hour prior to

of the dog was known, males accounted for

the attack on the boy. In another incident, a

seven of the attacks, with the remaining inci-

pack of dogs attacked an 11-year-old boy

dents involving a female and a male and

who survived severe injuries to report hearing

female pair. These data suggest that male

the dogs “baying, as if chasing something”

dogs may be at a significantly greater risk of

approximately 15 minutes before the attack.

delivering a fatal attack than are female dogs.

In both cases, there appears to have been a

frustrated or redirected predatory motivation

G

involved in the attacks, suggesting that some

E N E T I C S A N D A G G R E S S I O N

forms of “predation” are motivated by more

There appears to exist a strong heritable factor

than simple hunger and nonaffective neural

affecting the predisposition of dogs to behave

circuitry. Another case involved a pack of sev-

aggressively. Numerous studies have identified a

eral dogs that was kept by an elderly couple

genetic influence affecting animal behavior in

in rural Indiana (Figure 6.2). The dogs,

the opposing directions of increased fearful

which were permitted to run free, attacked a

behavior, on the one hand, and increased

10-year-old girl riding her bicycle near the

aggression, on the other (see Genetic Predisposi-

couple’s property. In an effort to escape the

tion and Temperament in Volume 1, Chapter 5).

attack, the child ran into a nearby wooded

In general, domestication has exerted selective

F I G . 6 . 2 . Under the influence of packing behavior, large groups of dogs can represent a serious predatory threat. These dogs were involved in a fatal attack on a young girl who was riding her bicycle near their home property. (Photo courtesy of V. L. Voith.)

Aggressive Behavior: Basic Concepts and Principles

181

pressure toward behavioral thresholds con-

A putative heritable factor in the expres-

ducive to reduced fear and aggression, thereby

sion of dominance-related aggression has been

making dogs more socially responsive and

identified in the English springer spaniel

tamable by humans (Price, 1999). Although

(ESS). As the result of a random

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