Mike I don't know the whole story but do know more of it. In the handler's defense he was brand new. This was one of those "Our Local PD Gets a New Police Dog" stories that small news outlets love to do. The handler wasn't that familiar with the dog and he'd just come from a (several) week long school that gave him the basics but not all of them. Not making excuses for him, just want you to know.

The reporter wasn't seriously injured, he finished the report after examining his wounds. I believe that he got some minor lacs to his forehead and lip.

To me the dog looks right from the start of this video (and it's also apparent in the longer version) that he's not comfortable with the reporter being so close. There's a bit of defensiveness there. Add to that the fact that the reporter "traps" the dog's head between his hands and then moves his head directly over the dog's in a classic show of dominance. I'm not sure that I agree with the "mounting behavior" that's some have mentioned but this is all just theory and others may see it where I don't. Look at the dog's ears laid back, the closed-mouth lip licking, his eyes, the slight movement away from the reporter as he moves in closer and the stiff body. Also note that the leash is snug, contributing to the dog's feeling of being trapped and alarm bells should be ringing.

Lou,

I would tend to agree with you, I do not think this is a "mounting issue". This clearly appears to be a dominance, and possibly invasion of space issue. The dogs body language indicated that it was uncomfortable or irritated by the reporter. Add those things together with the grabbing around the neck and leaning over the dog it was just a matter of time before things went bad.

I understand that this handler was brand new and feel for the guy. I don't want to sound like I am passing judgement but this shows how careful we need to be around people.

Hopefuly the handler learned something about "reading" his dog from the incident. I am a handle of PSD, unfortunatley sometimes we learn things the hard way but this could have been avoided.

Have you ever seen two strange dogs meet? Usually, they greet each other nose to nose, sniff butts and decided who is the alpha. When you have 2 males or 2 females mounting has nothing to do with sex and has everything to do with establishing dominance. Pack members and strange dogs will mount hump others to show dominances. How does a alpha respond? They quickly bite and reverse the situation. I think this dog saw this reporter as said this guy is challenging me. If he truly meant to attack because he was cornered and felt threatened, I belive he would have fought a lot harder. The dog stopped as soon as the officer pulled against the lead showing him who was truly the boss. Just my opinion.