Hello everyone,

Not sure if this belongs here or in another section but would appreciate professional replies that can benefit everyone.

Unfortunately, another story of two unattended pitt bulls who attacked a man. Not sure of the details since you can't believe much of what you hear on the news. I hate seeing any dog taken by the county because their fate is certain.

I would like to understand what might cause an unattended dog(s) to attack. (Assuming the dog is not intentionally being provoked).

Usually?

They're territorial. You'd be suprised how large a dog considers it's territory when allowed.

With two dogs involved, it's a combo of territorial behavior and dog pack behavior.

Any dog allowed to roam unattended is a recipe for disaster. When you add more dogs, it only gets worse.

http://leerburg.com/rot-kill.htm

Is there any way to tell (other than observing where a dog marks)?

If you are interested in this, maybe you want to do some reading on leerburg. They have tons of information about dog attacking, etc. check here
http://leerburg.com/pdf/dealingwithaggressivedog.pdf

Anywhere a dog is permitted to roam. If the dog roams an area of 5 square miles on a regular basis, it'll consider that whole area "it's" territory. When someone/thing they perceive as weaker enters their territory, they're liable to attack.

preydrive also plays a major role
You should be surprised how many "prey" signals a human sends to a dog

I've seen dogs go into "hunting" mode towards humans without me sensing or seeing something that could provoce this.

Greetings

Johan

I think most of these dogs, especially the pit bull terriers, were unstable dogs to begin with, or dogs with a high drive to be the top dog in a household that never had pack rank enforced thus they saw each person in the home as a chance to enforce their high ranking. Cases where kids are mauled by the "family pet", especially when an adult (usually female) tries to stop the dog and neighbors say the dog was "sweet" but must have "turned" are most likely dogs that gave warning signs of annoyance or dominance and were ignored. Pit bulls don't usually growl or bark in reprimand but instead use avoidance, stiffening or other tense body signals that most dog owners don't read as the dog warning how uncomfortable it is, which results in the "I was hugging it's face one minute and then it ripped off my lip" sort of attacks attributed to the breed. Just look at all the Youtube videos of people claiming to be "training" their pit bulls or being responsible owners while encouraging aggressive behavior with the dogs. Sorry to go on a rant, as I'm all about a stable, respectful APBT and being sure the dog knows its rank in the household. Leerburg.com does indeed have great article on behavior issues and I recommend the pack order dvd to any dog/breed owner.

I don't have anything against pits but I find them dangerous not for the dog but for the type of persons that own them. (not all of them but a large portion)
a they haven't a clue about dogs
b they tend to be macho's who believe that they are perfect

Only a few months ago i was walking and came face to face with a Pit and had to use all my knowledge of dogs and decoying to avoid being bitten

When confronting the owner with it his response was insulting me.

Greetings
Johan

 Quote: wendy mahoney

"I was hugging it's face one minute and then it ripped off my lip"

Hugging any dog in the face, is flirting with danger.

 Quote: johan engelen

I don't have anything against pits but I find them dangerous not for the dog but for the type of persons that own them.

I agree, and it wasn't always this way with the breed. When I first decided on the breed in 1989, I only saw them in the back of Dog Fancy, on the bookshelf as "fightin dog history" or at UKC shows. Now they're the most common breed I see in shelters, most likely the most common purebred destroyed by shelters and everyone seems obsessed with "rescue", even the ones that shouldn't be "rescued". Too many people are attracted to its polar opposite status, as both "macho attack dog" and "abused underdog" instead of just seeing the dog itself. The ones that call them absolute sweethearts and allow them to display aggressive/fearful/destructive behavior as just as much a problem as the ones who use them as threats & money makers. Though I love this breed dearly, yet when they are "bad"... they are the worst.
Many irresponsible dog owners are nasty when confronted, I think that goes with the irresponsible territory.