05/03/2026
If you’ve ever had the slightest inkling of worry about your dogs behaviour… and even if you haven’t. You need to read this. Please. Thank you Adaptive Behaviour for such a salient post 🐾
𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗗𝗢𝗚𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗘
(this is a long one so get comfy! 😁)
With the recent spate of dog attacks making headlines, canine aggression has been on my mind (and maybe yours too). I was recently interviewed by The Press about this but wanted to elaborate further, since it is a complex topic that deserves more-in-depth discussion than a few brief quotes.
First it’s important we acknowledge a somewhat uncomfortable truth: 𝘼𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙜𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙢𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨.
Bites rarely happen “out of the blue” and to be able to design effective interventions to address this issue, we need to look beyond the individual incidents to understand the environmental and behavioural precursors that contribute to these events.
🧠 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻?
Aggression is not misbehaviour, or even one behaviour. It’s a survival response made up of a group of escalating distance-increasing signals (e.g., stiffening, hard stare, growl) and contact behaviours (snap, bite) - i.e. the "Fight" in Fight/Flight/Freeze. The function of aggressive behaviour is to remove a perceived threat to a dog’s safety or wellbeing.
Evolution doesn't favour rushing into a fight; it's high-risk and costly, and therefore typically only used as a last resort. However, if a dog is repeatedly punished for growling (a lower level warning) or placed in overwhelming situations without a way to escape, they may learn that more peaceful solutions are ineffective. This increases the likelihood that they will escalate straight to a bite in the future.
⚠️ 𝗗𝗼𝗴 𝗕𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀
To prevent bites, we must examine what makes them more likely. Stress is an underlying theme, as this increases sensitivity to potential threats, and makes individuals more likely to (over)react. Some important influences include:
⏺ 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨: Genetics influence characteristics like the aspects of the predatory behaviour sequence that have been specifically modified by selective breeding (e.g. terriers vs. labradors) and dictate the potential severity of a bite. Furthermore, puppies bred without consideration to temperament and physical health (which is strongly influenced by their parents genes) are more likely to struggle with health and behaviour issues.
⏺ 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘌𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴: Prenatal and postnatal environments also have a measurable impact on resilience and development - stressed mothers and deprived or demanding early conditions have negative long-term effects on behaviour.
⏺ 𝘜𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘕𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴: Dogs left confined and/or isolated for long periods, or those lacking adequate sleep, physical exercise, mental enrichment, and safety, often experience frustration and chronic stress. This can result in unwanted behaviours like roaming, barking, guarding and unwanted (natural dog) behaviours like chasing, herding, hunting.
⏺ 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳: Research shows that up to 80% of behavioral problems are linked to pain or health issues. A dog that is sore or uncomfortable is more likely to be more sensitive about space, defensive and reactive. Note chronic pain can be difficult to diagnose and is often missed in a typical 10 minute physical check-up.
⏺ 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢: Dogs that have experienced trauma can become more sensitive and reactive. For example, in a recent local incident, the dogs involved had reportedly been pepper-sprayed by police crossing their yard several weeks beforehand. The use of aversives and force in training can also result in stress and trauma. Stressful events, large singular ones, as well as smaller chronic ones, can create strong negative associations, making dogs more likely to perceive threats in similar situations.
⏺ 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: Dogs communicate through subtle body language. These signals can be misinterpreted - a wagging tail is assumed to be friendly, a cautious approach is thought to be an invitation to touch, a roll over is taken as a request for belly rubs. Bites occur when early warning signs of discomfort are missed or deliberately ignored.
💡 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Following a bite incident, it is common to see calls for stricter laws and harsher penalties. However, behavioural science shows us that removing freedoms, relying on threats, and aversives is not the best way to produce successful, sustainable behaviour change in dogs or humans. Punishment is reactive and produces resistance, stress and other undesirable side effects. Developing understanding and skills by encouraging preferred choices in a way that promotes agency is much more effective in modifying behaviour.
Laws and boundaries are necessary for public safety, however we should also consider a bottom-up approach that proactively addresses the root causes - changing the culture around dogs and empowering people with the resources, knowledge and ability to make better, safer choices.
This requires education on:
🎓 Ethical Breeding: Ensuring potential guardians and breeders understand the importance of genetics, breeding decisions, and early environments.
🏠 Selecting the right dog : Matching families with dogs that fit their lifestyles and homes
🐾 Meeting Needs: Dogs are intelligent, sentient beings with complex needs that go beyond food, water and shelter - it is the responsibility of guardians to adequately meet these.
🐕 Training as lifelong learning: Socialisation and training is an ongoing journey, not just for new puppies, or as a band-aid applied after problems arise. Positive reinforcement training produces less negative side effects (like aggresion) than punishment-based training.
👀 Canine Communication: Learning to read dog body language so dogs do not need to resort to aggression.
If we want to stop bites, we need to treat the underlying problems that create these behaviours, not just the results. This begins with a better understanding of all sides of the story, especially the dogs’.
