Chaining, being male, and other causes of dog bites

Research has established a number of factors associated with aggression, including the following:

Chaining results in aggression (26-28% of dogs involved in fatal attacks were chained at the time).

• Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association:  Dog Bite Related Fatalities from 1979 through 1988 by J. Sacks. R. W. Sattin, & S. E. Bonzo.  Volume 262, pages 1489-1492.
• Chaining or tethering has been declared illegal in many communities. See Current Legislation on Tethering Dogs from www.HelpingAnimals.com, and Dogs Deserve Better, a website that advocates against chaining and penning dogs. California was the first state in the nation to prohibit chaining (click here to read the law), and other states have anti-chaining laws (see, for example, Texas).
• Chaining also is inhumane. The Facts About Chaining or Tethering Dogs by the Humane Society of the USA.

Male dogs are more aggressive than females, and most of the aggression is by intact males. Male dogs accounted for 70% - 87% of the attacks studied, and 60% were unneutered males.

• Readings in Companion Animal Behavior.  Victoria L. Voith & Peter Borchelt.  (1996:  Trenton:  Veterinary Learning Systems) pp. 226, 235
• Public Health Reports:  The Ethology of the Dog Bite.  A. M. Beck, H. Loring, & R. Lockwood.  (1975)
• A Study of Animal-to-Human Bites by Breed in Palm Beach County, Florida.  D. L. Moore.  1987.
• Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association:  Selecting Pet Dogs on the Basis of Cluster Analysis of Breed Behavior Profiles and Gender.  B. L. Hart & L. A. Hart (1985, Volume 186, pages 1181-5).

Dogs from pet stores and "puppy mills" have a high incidence of dominance-type aggression and defensive or fear aggression.

• Early Experience and the Development of Behavior by James Serpell and J. A. Jagoe, in The Domestic Dog, Its Evolution, Behavior, & Interactions with People.  James Serpell, editor.  (1995:  Cambridge University Press).
• The Puppy Report.  Larry Shook.  (1992:  Lyons & Burford, publishers).

Inadequate socialization prior to the age of 14 weeks results in a higher incidence of fear aggression.

• Science:  Critical Periods in the Social Development of Dogs. by D. G. Freedman, J. A. King, & O. Elliot.  (1961, volume 122, pages 1016-1017).
• Genetics & the Social Behavior of the Dog.  J. P. Scott & J. L. Fuller.  (1965:  Chicago:  University of Chicago Press).

Inadequate training and discipline result in dominance aggression.

• Effects of Owner Personality and Attitudes on Behavior by Valerie O'Farrell, in The Domestic Dog, Its Evolution, Behavior, & Interactions with People.  James Serpell, editor.  (1995:  Cambridge University Press).

Poor health results in aggression.

• Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals, by Karen Overall (1997:  Mosby Year Book, Inc.), p. 2.
• See the studies of the Chow, in which approximately 50 genetic diseases have been shown to result in aggression:
• Control of Canine Genetic Diseases.  George a. Padgett.  (1998:   Howell Book House) p. 199.
• Genetics of the Dog.  Malcolm Willis.  (1989:  Howell Book House).
• Behavior Problems in Dogs.  William E. Campbell.  (1975:  Goleta, CA:  American Veterinary Publications, Inc.) p. 88.
• Dog World:  Thyroid Can Alter Behavior by Jean W. Dodd, D.V.M. (October 1992) pps. 40-42.

Pain and fear result in aggression.

• Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals, by Karen Overall (1997:   Mosby Year Book, Inc.)
• Readings in Companion Animal Behavior.  Victoria L. Voith & Peter Borchelt.  (1996:  Trenton:  Veterinary Learning Systems)

Submitting to the first vaccination after the first 8 weeks of life results in greater aggression.

• Early Experience and the Development of Behavior by James Serpell and J. A. Jagoe, in The Domestic Dog, Its Evolution, Behaviour, & Interactions with People.  James Serpell, editor.  (1995:  Cambridge University Press), pp. 97 et seq.