Bad dogs make news; scientist laments the preventable

In the world of dogs and their humans, Patricia McConnell is a shrink extraordinaire.

Like few others, McConnell, an adjunct professor of zoology, can get into the head of a dog and gain some insight into the animal’s thought process. Sadly, most of the minds she’s reading these days belong to aggressive dogs, the growlers and biters that sometimes make chilling headlines as a result of attacks on humans beings.

“The truly sad part is that a lot of aggressive behavior in dogs is preventable,” says McConnell. “It’s a tragedy because the problem is fixable, or at least manageable,” and results not only in much human misery but in the needless deaths of thousands of dogs euthanized as a result of attacks or the potential of attacks on humans and other animals.

Patricia McConnell at home in Black Earth with her dogs Lassie, Luke, Tulip and Pip. Photo: Jeff Miller

In the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are an estimated 4 million to 5 million dog bites each year. It is estimated that one-third of all children will be bitten by a dog. Dogs kills 15 to 20 people a year. In 1996 alone, insurance companies paid $250 million in dog bite claims, the number and scale of incidents ranking second only to mishaps with automobiles.

“This dark side (of the canine world) is particularly unfortunate because it doesn’t need to be there to the extent that it is,” McConnell argues. “Every dog has the potential of causing trouble: They have mouths. They have teeth. Their mouths open and close.”

As an ethologist specializing in understanding canine behavior, McConnell occupies a rare scientific niche. In the world, there are only a handful of scientists devoted to studying the ways of dogs. “We know almost nothing about domestic dogs. There are amazingly few refereed, scholarly articles on dogs, maybe a dozen. There’s a greater literature about the vocalizations of red-winged blackbirds.”

That canine behavior is so poorly understood is reflected in McConnell’s work as a consultant for people trying to manage their dogs’ aggressive behavior. She does a brisk business in trying to help people help their dogs overcome tendencies that can hurt both dog and human.

The work, she says, can be horrific. In some cases, a dog’s aggressive behavior is so extreme and the safety issues are so serious that the only solution is to euthanize the animal.

“Such decisions can be extremely difficult for responsible dog owners. Some days it’s like being an end-stage oncologist,” McConnell says. “People are broken hearted by the decision they have to make.”

In many instances, humans – knowingly or unwittingly – are the cause of the problem, McConnell contends. She points, for example, to the fact that behavior in animals is highly heritable. Aggressive behavior or, alternatively, docility can be bred into an animal.

“Dogs also have different personalities, just like people. They also have different levels of frustration tolerance. Dogs that perceive themselves as being attacked are going to react,” McConnell says. “What else are they going to do? Hire a lawyer? All they have is their teeth.”

An ever-present factor, she says, is human intent. Some people simply want aggressive animals. Dog fighting remains common in the United States and is pervasive even in small Midwestern cities like Madison, Wis., and dogs are bred for strength and savagery in the ring. Moreover, some people are attracted to large, threatening animals as symbols of status or power.

“There are people who get dogs for good intentions, and there are people who get dogs for offensive reasons. Some see a dog as another weapon.”
Daddy’s fighting pit bull, she says, can be a lot like the carelessly stored loaded gun. It can maul a family member or even be used by a child to settle a school yard grudge.

A key to preventing aggressive behavior in a dog is early socialization, McConnell says. Introducing a puppy to many unfamiliar people and dogs, and especially to children, is a way to accustom the dog to the variety of social encounters it is likely to have throughout life. Its chances of responding positively are greatly enhanced by being exposed to many different kinds of situations and players in those situations.

Another thing that people can do to better guide their dogs’ behavior is to try and tune in to what the dog is telling you or what you, through your body language or actions, are communicating to the dog.

“We are so often unaware of the visual signals we send, and these signals are incredibly important to a dog,” McConnell says. “Those signals have a profound influence on those around us, including our dogs.”

Many of the things that people do in trying to show affection to dogs can be interpreted by the animal as being unbearably rude, she says. Dogs, for example, do not like to be hugged, yet it is a natural human tendency to show affection by throwing our arms around an animal. How we greet a strange dog, bending over and reaching out to pet the animal, from a dog’s point of view, is a threatening gesture. That so many dogs permit human to get away with that kind of behavior is testament to the animals’ patience and tolerance of human behavior.

“Understanding the dog is the key to having the relationship that most of us want,” McConnell says.