The management and behavioural history of 100 dogs reported for biting a person

This paper analyses behavioural and management history data provided by 100 owners of dogs that had bitten a person. The data was obtained by telephone interview of volunteer dog owners. Two sub-sets of data were created using 21 dogs having no history of perceived aggressive behaviour prior to the reported bite incident and 79 that had a record of aggression. Statistically significant predictors of aggressive behaviour included owners reprimanding the dog by physical and verbal means, owners allowing the dog to initiate play and to win tug-of-war games. Management predictors during the 2 months leading up to a bite incident included allowing the dogs onto household furniture and feeding the dog directly from the family table. Behavioural predictors included not being trusted with children, not responding to basic commands, variable obedience to different people and variable degrees of obedience depending on the location. Additional behavioural predictors included displays of problem behaviours such as destructiveness and barking only when family members were present, displays of fearful reactions in specific circumstances and excessive displays of specific behaviours. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant association between a number of these predictors and aggressive behaviour. Other findings included owner tolerance of significant degrees of aggressive behaviour, inadequate or ineffective obedience training, biting of adult household members and the possible influence of ad libitum feeding on the behaviour of the dog.