what causes a dog to Attack its owner

[ridgebackowner]

Hello

I was at my local vets yesterday and he was saying that I should be careful when my RR ( rhodesian ridgeback) grows up as he will turn into and aggressive mess who will attack me . I was blown away at his stupid comments. I have already switched vets but I asked him were on earth he got this idea and he said to me that its part of certain breeds to "turn" on there owners such as RR, GSD (German Shepherd Dogs) , pit bulls, staffie's, Rotties etc. and that as a vet he sees it a lot were there dogs and mainly these breeds have attacked and they have to be put down. I was so angry because my dog is NOT aggressive and I am working REALLY hard on training and socializing him. he said that 100% these breeds will attack there owners at some point in there lives. I did protest that dog are not born killers and are not born thinking there purpose in life is to kill there humans or any human or child for that matter and that he is wrong and even when dog do attack in most cases we tend to not know the whole story for example the attacks in the news you never know what training the dog has received or how well socialized the dog was or how he was treated was the dog in question abused was he tied up all day in the backyard , was he underweight , did he get exercised both physical and mentally on a daily basis or did he have a medical problem that was not detected etc..

have I got any of this wrong or am I right that a well raised , well trained , well socialized , physically and mentally exercised on a regular basis and who is well fed and groomed and looked after and loved will turn into a wonderful dog and will not just turn on there owners like the vet said. I thought I would ask what you think have always thought that when dogs do attack either there owners or a stranger or child there is a reason behind the attack not that they just go out and attack someone because they felt like it? what are you thoughts

[Nettle]

I think your vet is mistaken Actually I think a few other things too, but none is suitable for a family forum.

Dogs don't attack owners for breed reasons. They attack - when they do, which isn't often - due to a major breakdown in communication, due to illness, or due to serious mishandling (which incorporates all those things you mentioned about not enough exercise etc.)


Very very very few dogs attack their owners, even when sorely provoked or from long-term mishandling (which includes cruelty).

I wonder that your vet sees so many dogs that do this, given that professional and very experienced behaviour trainers see so few.

People attack people way more than dogs attack people.


Enjoy your beautiful Ridgeback. They are lovely dogs.

[ridgebackowner]

Thanks Nettle

I knew I was right and I trust my RR a lot more than people and I think I have always felt safer around dogs than humans. I don't quiet understand how he passed as a vet when he said what. I was more shocked with it coming from a vet

[Ari_RR]

Yep...
But don't let that turn you away from the vet if he knows his stuff when it comes to dogs' health. He may be right or wrong on behaviour things, but he needs to be right on health matters, and if he is - I'd be more than willing to overllook everything else.

[gwd]

Yep...
But don't let that turn you away from the vet if he knows his stuff when it comes to dogs' health. He may be right or wrong on behaviour things, but he needs to be right on health matters, and if he is - I'd be more than willing to overllook everything else.

I guess i'm going to disagree with ari's dad. If a person has not availed themselves of the plethora of information on dog behavior, I don't trust them to stay abreast of medical advances.

[emmabeth]

Ugh, vets and crappy behaviour advice!

There are no breeds that 'just turn' 0- however its possible to create a dog that gives little to no warnings about how they feel by using punishment based training and lots of physical punishments - if that dog is also a breed that has been selectively bred to choose aggressive behaviour more readily, and/or is a breed selectively bred to have features that prove difficult to read... then it does happen...

But this is a man made thing, people mess up dogs, by their training, handling and breeding! Man is the common denominator there not the breed of dog!