I was re-reading a section of "The Culture Clash", as I often do, and here's what Jean Donaldson has to say about biting dogs, in a nutshell:
"When dealing with adult dogs there are three options. You can treat the problem, manage the problem, or execute the dog. I say execute rather than euthanize because a biting dog is not suffering and does not need or want a merciful death. He is killed because of transgressions he has made against humans. That's what an execution is for. The tragic part is that the dog, in most cases, is behaving normally, for a dog. Socialization and anti-agression exercises were simply either omitted or insufficient."
She goes on to explain the nature of management (keep the dog out of triggering situations) and treatment (efforts to change the dog's behavior by tackling the underlying causes). But, she also goes on to say that many owners "find they haven't the patience or inclination to put this amount of effort into a dog that bites". She talks about owners who "send the dog to the country" or "a farm" and says it's the option chosen by owners who "don't know how, or can't be bothered to treat but feel too guilty to execute their pet" and "clean up the mess they made by failing to do the prevention exercises".
Perhaps that's a little too strong an indictment of owners, who, sadly believe that they can just go out and get a dog and all will be well. After all, they grew up with Lassie on the tube, and think that's how normal dogs behave...
But, while I think that owners who "inherit" a problem by adopting a dog certainly don't deserve the same ire, they, too, are in a position to become educated
before making a classic mistake, like taking a cowering, frightened mushball of a dog home to "save it", or thinking that the little Pit they just took in will like other dogs eventually, or adopting the aloof dog who never even glances their way because they just had to have a dog with those great blue Husky eyes, etc.
At the risk of being trashed, I will say that not all dogs should be saved. Many are so damaged that they won't ever be safe in ordinary pet homes, and frequently, the pet owners won't be safe either.
Anyone who is looking to purchase or adopt a dog, IMHO, has an obligation to become educated!!!!
Before you go off to the shelter, read Sue Sternberg's "Successful Dog Adoptions". You may not like some of what you read, but you will at least get straightforward information that could save you lots of headaches later. And, there are books that will tell you what characteristics each breed, or breed group displays. That will save you from taking home the cute little Australian Cattle Dog if you are a "soft" owner with three children under the age of 8, or the little pet store Bichon if you hope to keep your white carpets white, not yellow.
Before you adopt or buy, find out where your dog comes from - if the "breeder" is breeding twenty litters a year, or is breeding 5 different breeds, or has an address in Missouri or Kansas, or Lancaster County, PA, and you can't verify that they aren't a puppy mill, go elsewhere. Start by checking the breeder referral listings at the registries, like AKC or UKC. Don't buy "designer dogs" - even if someone really IS trying to create a new breed, it's much like buying the newest model year of a car - the bugs haven't been worked out yet! Let someone else part with $2000 for a dog and incur the hefty vet bills.
Find out if the parents of your pup are titled, health tested, or actually do the work for which they were bred. Look up the registered names on the OFA, PennHip, or CERF websites. And, never, ever, ever, buy from a pet store - all puppies there are from puppy mills. Chances are that they were shipped early (before age of 8 wks) or right during a fear period, and they were cage raised, and no early socialization work took place at the breeder's. This makes them have housebreaking problems, and behavioral problems, such as low bite inhibition. Do not fall for "I just wanted to rescue the poor thing." Every time someone buys a pet store pup, or buys from an online unscrupulous breeder, they are perpetuating the problem, more puppies suffer, more bitches spend their entire lives in cages sitting in their own excrement, and the pet store owners laugh and ride all the way to the bank on the backs of those suffering dogs...
None of those mills are paying the least bit of attention to temperament as they breed. If they can tempt you with the cuteness of a Puggle or a Cavachon, they don't care if the thing has the worst attributes of both breeds so long as you open your wallet when you see its cute little face.
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Doing all this may not always prevent aggression, but you will, at least, be able to avoid the most common causes. Poor genetics, poor socialization, and poor, or harsh, training. Off my soapbox now...