Comments on: Why Dogs Attack People

By: casey

casey — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 06:14:37 +0000

my girlfriend just got a rescue dog a golden mix he has been around for about two weeks at first he was a very sweet dog until he met my dog how is a big german shepard but very sweet and friendly. the golden mix attacked my dog right away, didnt think much of it we were warned by the pound that he may be aggressive to other dogs but anyway no prob we just wont let them be in the same room. about a week after the dog fight i was over at her house just me her and the dog i took him out for a walk everything was fine then me and my girl left and came back and we were in her room and the little golden mix went nuts on me bit me a few times i left the room and shut the door and then came back in loud and tried to be the boss. then i was trying to be nice put my fist up so he could smell my hand then he tried to bit again. what can we do to change this how would we stop this dog. thank you casey

By: Shelly W.

Shelly W. — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:11:22 +0000

I hope you can help us with our mixed-breed dog. We adopted our male shepherd/golden retriever mix (we think, anyway–he looks like a blond German shepherd with a bit of a mane) a few years ago, and he has been a wonderful addition to our family with one exception–he has developed an aggressive attitude with others, especially males. Normally it isn’t an issue unless he manages to get out of the house. When he gets out unrestrained (which he tries to do if the kids are outside because he wants to be with them)he roams the neighborhood and has been known to chase and snap at people, especially if they try to get away from him regardless of whether he was chasing them.

He had to be quarantined once because he bit a neighbor’s fifteen-year-old and we sent our dog to live with our in-laws, but today he escaped when he lunged for their mailman. He ran around their neighborhood and tried to enter a UPS truck, and he scared my mother-in-law by his unpredictable behavior to the point that she doesn’t feel they can keep him. She wants to send him to the animal shelter, but is there any way we can train him not to chase and bite? Is there any hope for him? How would we correct a behavior that happens only rarely?

By: Dog Luv

Dog Luv — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:49:11 +0000

@Nikki – It’s impossible to say why he attacked without knowing more about the situation and how the dog was raised. From the sounds of it, he may have been raised by bad owners that either trained him to do that or neglected him in such ways that he simply grew up to be mean.

One thing I can tell you with absolute certainty is that he wasn’t born mean and this situation has nothing at all to do with the type of dog he is (Akita). Whatever the problem is can be traced back to humans in one way or another.

By: Nikki

Nikki — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:49:15 +0000

Ok, I was viciously mauled by an Akita about a week ago. I am very curious to know why. I was raised around pitbulls, german shepards and boxers my whole life, and have worked in a vets office. I have been thru training and how to handle dogs. But on a monday I went to drop my kids off at my moms house, there was a stray dog in her yard. The dog was antagonizing the neighbor dogs and had apparently already went after another neighbor, no one bother to tell me this. I got out of my car, I said hello to the dog, held my hand out for the dog to sniff and with no advance notice like a growl or bark, he attacked. I knew what was gonna happen so I took off running to get him away from my car(which still had my 3 small children in) he bit my bottom, He then bit my calve, followed by my thigh. I got his mouth off my thigh, he then latched on to my forearm and would not let go. He was removed from me, and took off running. The police later found him at home, his owners were gone, the back door open. The police later stated he had attacked someone else in previous days. “beast” was his name, he was euthanized that day, as sorry as I am for their loss of the pet, I fell he was a threat to many others and all I really wanna know is why he attacked? I dont know his owners but my theory is it was how he was raised because of his instant attacked in an unprovoaked situation…

By: mariah m.

mariah m. — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:53:07 +0000

We have a german shepherd that is 5 months old and he is showing signs of agression. Everytime he see’s someone he doesn’t know he gets ready to attack. I’ve also noticed that when someone pulls up in the driveway that he doesn’t know the hair on his back sticks up. We took him to an obidience class at pet smart and the trainer was giving him a treat by hand and he snapped at her and he got kicked out of training. What should we do?