What Makes A Dog Attack People Randomly?

[Staranais]

As a child I was the only witness to an attack on a 10 yo.girl by a G.R.

The girl had a small bitch in season that had gotten out side where there were several wandering males attracted by the scent.

The girl picked up her dog to put her inside when the retriever jumped up,paws on her shoulders and proceeded to "chew" on her chest,shoulers and arms while the girl tried to hold him off with her hands on his shoulders.

While there may have been signs,it all happened so fast they would have been useless.

Their was no growling or excitment to this attack.It was caried out calmly and almost casualy.

It was stopped when I told my own dog to "get" it and he knocked the G.R off the girl.

If you mean signs the owners should have picked up on indicating this dog had the potential to bite,I agree but with this particular dog I think the signs might have been very subtle.

It was a family pet,raised with children.The majority have little idea of dog psychcology or how to "read" a dog apart from the very obvious signals.Experience and a desire to understand is the only real way to learn of the more subtle signs.

The behavioural signs may have been hard to see, but the way you describe it, the situation was a risky one - it sounds like it was a case of a small child attempting to take a hugely valuable resource (bitch in heat!) away from a strange (presumably entire) male dog. Similar to a small child trying to take a bone from a strange dog.

Must have been horrible to see.

[moosmum]

As a child I was the only witness to an attack on a 10 yo.girl by a G.R.

The girl had a small bitch in season that had gotten out side where there were several wandering males attracted by the scent.

The girl picked up her dog to put her inside when the retriever jumped up,paws on her shoulders and proceeded to "chew" on her chest,shoulers and arms while the girl tried to hold him off with her hands on his shoulders.

While there may have been signs,it all happened so fast they would have been useless.

Their was no growling or excitment to this attack.It was caried out calmly and almost casualy.

It was stopped when I told my own dog to "get" it and he knocked the G.R off the girl.

If you mean signs the owners should have picked up on indicating this dog had the potential to bite,I agree but with this particular dog I think the signs might have been very subtle.

It was a family pet,raised with children.The majority have little idea of dog psychcology or how to "read" a dog apart from the very obvious signals.Experience and a desire to understand is the only real way to learn of the more subtle signs.

The behavioural signs may have been hard to see, but the way you describe it, the situation was a risky one - it sounds like it was a case of a small child attempting to take a hugely valuable resource (bitch in heat!) away from a strange (presumably entire) male dog. Similar to a small child trying to take a bone from a strange dog.

Must have been horrible to see.

Not nice! I wasn't game to interfere myself thinking the dog would turn on me. It was just lucky my own dog was there and got what I wanted of him.

What has kept with me was the calm and unruffled manner of this dog while attacking.The girl had some pretty bad bites to her breasts,shoulders and wrists.