On Aggression in Dogs. Canina Cuiabana/Dog Blogs

This is of interest to anybody wishing to understand the body language of a dog about to turn aggressive on you.  So it applies to dog owners, farmers, veterinarians, veterinary nurses, veterinary students, veterianry nursing students, trainers, boarding kennel staff and, of course, the curious.

Yesterday I was carrying out a physical examination on a dog.  Today I was gently restraining one whilst its adbominal dressing was changed.

Veterinary support staff, veterinarians and anyine involved in handling these wonderful animals risk their hands, forearms and faces if a dog turns on them.

So it is vital for your peace of mind to be able to 'read' a dog's behaviour, its body langauge, cynology, ethology.

So here are the signs, not necessarily in sequence.  Watch for the ears.  They will swivel around so that the 'ear hole' - the external auditory canal - follows your movements.  The hair along the back, on the nape and up on to the head will rise - that is, the dog will raise its hackles.

Next, the dog raises its lips to expose its teeth.  It may start to growl.

The above may be observed when the dog is being restrained on the operating table in the consulting room.

I have also seen dogs on the floor in the consulting room and asked the vet I was at that time shadowing - at the end of Vets' School and on Extra Mural Study in my native Wales, how to identify aggression in an anxious dog.  The patient that comes to mind is the one that put its tail between its legs and retreated into a corner of the consulting room, then turned to face the veterinarian and started to lick its lips.

So these are some signs to look for to avoid getting hurt by a dog.

But how to approach a dog?  One of the tens of thousands of gems I took away from Vets' School was to talk to the dog soothingly as you approach at a crouch - just as you would an unhooded falconry bird on a block or bow perch.  Slowly reach out the to flank, talking all the time, and offer a few tentative strokes and then gradually work your hand forward to the head.

Reference:

Fossum, T. W., Dewey, C. W., Horn, C., Johnson, A.L, MacPhail, C. M., Radlinsky, M., Schultz, K. S. and Willard, M. D.  Small Animal Surgery.  Fourth Edition. Elsevier Mosby, 2013.