We were out walking earlier and we came upon this huge dog who was standing right in the middle of the trail. He looked a boxer or a mix breed. He wasn't on a leash and the owner was about 20 feet back. So we stopped and I shouted to him to put the dog on a leash which he did.
As we walked by the guy says: "He would never bite anyone"
Lol. I’ve never said that about my dog. 😄
shareIt's sad that so many dog owners are very careless.
shareI've mentioned it before - people not complying with leash laws is one of my pet peeves, and I love dogs. And whoever invented the retractable leash needs to go to jail.
shareI hate people like this. Even if the dog didn't bite, people have allergies. Some dogs are even too playful that they knock people down.
shareOne of my grandsons was terrified of dogs because he was knocked down by an overly exuberant dog when he was about three years old. The fault was with the owner for not restraining the dog. Slowly, I think my grandson is getting over being afraid, but it has taken a long time to overcome it.
shareI don't blame your grandson at all. It is scary having an animal come up to you not knowing what it's going to do.
shareI had a black lab in my late teens and most of my 20s and I always did my best to keep him leashed when around others. While I don't remember ever saying that about him, I could picture myself saying it (because he would've never bitten anyone...ugh see, it's so hard to resist saying, what can I tell you, he was my little buddy).
shareAll dog owners don't say that, but most dogs wouldn't bite anyone, unless provoked.
To be honest, little dogs are more frequently biters than big dogs so if you're afraid of being bitten, steer clear of them.
Best is to learn to recognise and interpret dog body language and respond accordingly. This is a very useful skill with humans as well. Unless a dog was posturing in a way that looked threatening, I'd never ask anyone to leash their dog. If that were the case, then yes, I would. Boxers are usually big clownish babies, BTW.
I deal with dogs all the time, did rescue work for 3 years including rehabilitation of problem dogs. I was bitten twice as a child and that's it.
Best is to learn to recognise and interpret dog body language...
Absolutely right. There are other body language signs that in conjunction let you know if the owner of that wagging tail is one that's friendly, or not.
An unfriendly and potentially aggressive wagging tail, for instance is stiff, along with the rest of the body. Eyes have a "hard" and staring look to them, not the soft and relaxed appearance of a friendly wagger.
Side note, seeing as you're a former driver who did home deliveries. Virtually all drivers here -- UPS, postal service, FedEx -- now carry doggy cookies with them or in their trucks and hand them out generously. So much so, I've had to ask them to stop because now my dog acts like they're ice cream trucks! He thinks anyone driving a big truck is sure to be good for a treat 😄
Yes, that behavior can actually be seen in Stephen King's Cujo when he kills Gary Pervier. His tail is actively wagging while in attack mode.
When I drove for Schwan's, many of my customers were in remote rural areas and they had dogs running free on their properties. Farm dogs, like junkyard dogs, have a notorious reputation for being fierce guard animals. I once had a dog aggressively chase my truck well before I ever approached the driveway to the home. I had to call the owner on my cell when I parked in front of the house and ask her to contain it because it wouldn't let me exit my vehicle.
Did they show him with the other body language signs aside from wagging his tail? I've never seen it.
Yes, some dogs are extremely territorial in situations like that. I don't approach a dog when it's in a car, for instance, even if it otherwise appears to be friendly. Too risky, and it'd be my own fault if I got bitten.
Yes, from what I remember, the "hard, staring look" was evident just prior to the attack, which is what alerted the victim. Granted, the dog was trained, essentially an actor but the behavior was ingrained and very realistic.
shareIs this the scene you mean?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwZieuqjdI4
Yes it is! I looked for it several times last night and couldn't find it. Notice the tail starting to wag just prior to the attack and then also immediately after killing the man?
shareOkay, then we're on the same page now :)
From my perspective, in that scene Cujo started out wagging his tail, but he was holding his tail low, which is in a submissive position, and is not aggressive. I don't recall seeing the position of his ears in that shot because it was only a few seconds, but my guess is his ears were probably back, which would also indicate submission and no danger. That's what I mean as far as there being several signs of body. language to add up together to come to an accurate conclusion as to the intent of a dog.
As you noted, a dog wagging his or her tail, could mean several things. In general it means excitement. That could mean "Yay! I'm so happy to see you!" Or it could mean "Get the hell away from me/here, and if you don't heed this warning, I'm going to escalate and growl or attack you, you stupid human."
I thought we were already on the same page when you agreed with my response to you about reading the dog's body language.
As for this scene, it was only intended as an example of art imitating life. I mentioned the dog is a highly trained actor.
Most have a lack of awareness when it comes to other people and their dogs.
shareWell, I would counter that by saying that most people have a lack of understanding when it comes to dogs, and other animals.
We, as a species, once knew this. It was automatic because it was a universal language we all understood and was critical to our survival, and more than that. As we humans "evolved," which is evolution in some ways, but regression in others, many no longer have a clue about how to read other animals, including other humans.
And then there are those who display the ultimate in arrogance and disrespect for others by allowing their dog to treat someone's nicely kept lawn as its personal toilet while walking it.
share"Best is to learn to recognise and interpret dog body language and respond accordingly."
That's not my responsibility, though. We don't all deal with dogs on a daily basis or have the time to learn all of that. I do tell people to leash their dog, because over here it's required unless indicated otherwise.
It's not just about dogs, or cats, or any other species. It's about retaining and honing, or for most relearning, an important survival skill. Because of human "over-civilisation," this critical skill has been lost by many, which makes us as a species vulnerable to being deceived by other humans, let alone no longer being able to understand other species, because all the focus is on what's said, which is a fraction of what's really being communicated.
shareI could still learn that if a dog is leashed, let's not take any risks.
shareThere'd be no need for you to learn this if a dog is leashed, and no problem for you if you learned it and a dog is leashed or not. But it'd be of great benefit to you if you learned how to read body language, be that dog or human.
share"There'd be no need for you to learn this if a dog is leashed"
I'm kind of confused by what you're saying there. I thought the need was to learn survival skill, not so much dealing with dogs?
I prefer to learn it on my own terms and not be forced by unfamiliar dog owners I just happen to come across while I'm on my way.🤷♀️
I understand your confusion, and I could have phrased it better than I did.
What I mean is learning how to interpret physical language, be that of a dog or human, is an important skill, and was once innate to all of us. The majority of (honest, true) communication isn't verbal, it's physical and our ability to correctly interpret it. This is an otherwise innate ability humans have lost, which is sad, because it not only disconnects us from understanding other species, but also our own.
Did that make more sense to you?
I get what you're saying about survival skill. I just don't see how a dog being leashed would take away the need to learn it. That's what you said, no?
shareDogs aren't meant to be on leashes. That's an unnatural state for them. What's natural for them is to be loose, usually within a certain circumference of maybe a mile or so, maybe a bit less than that. I don't know if anyone's come up with a reasonable general distance that's the norm for them. Or for what's a reasonable norm for us humans as territory either.
Most dogs who are kept on leashes instinctively understand this is an abnormal state for them, and it makes them vulnerable. If they're attacked, they have little recourse, little means of escape, because they're aware they only have maybe 6' of distance to get away from an attacker, be that (commonly) another dog, or a human they don't know and poses a potential threat.
Most dogs, if they've been property socalised, and that means being safely around other dogs *and* with humans, which is the most important thing anyone who has dog can do, and as early on as possible, are entirely safe. Unfortunately many people do not understand this, and keep their dogs away from other dogs and people too.
I now completely trust my dog to not only be safe around other dogs, including puppies, and infants, and older people, but that's because I took the time to get to know and understand him, and give him positive experiences so he learned to trust so I know he's safe with them. He's completely trustworthy off leash. Not all dogs are, although in generally they are better, safer, off leash than on, unless we're talking about a dog who's clueless about how to behave off leash because they've never been taught.
Well, dogs answering to humans is not exactly a natural state either. In the natural state of order humans and dogs would keep to themselves and away from each other.
I've noticed that the attitude of the owner is what's most important. They don't mind the leash as long as their owner makes them feel comfortable.
But again, I don't know the dog owner and they don't know me, so it's safer for everybody to keep the dog leashed. Especially in urban areas dogs running around can cause problems. It's nice you feel you can trust your dog with other people's dogs and children, but it's really up to them to decide.
At some point the relationship between dogs and humans, similar to what the relationship between cats and humans became, became symbiotic, and a part of the natural state of order because it was mutually beneficial. From there it evolved into become more than that, it also became emotional and familial.
We have to take some responsibility here and acknowledge that a good part of the problem is we, as a specifies, have lost or forgotten the ability to accurately read, and therefore respond appropriately to, what was a universal language that crossed species, and still does. Do we want to be ignorant of it, or relearn critical skills we once had and still have access to, or not?
Most of us still, even after the crude way of thinking from Descartes, want to distance ourselves from and exclude ourselves from being animals, when the reality is we ARE animals, and there's not a thing wrong with that. What's important is that we appreciate and honour other species of animals.
The more we seek to understand and appreciate other species, the better off we'll all be.The more divisive we view ourselves, the worst off we'll be. History has borne this out over and over again. How much longer will it take before we finally get it?
Very good advice. No Less than 65% of human communication is non-verbal. Some say as much as 90%.
Considering that people in general are masters of deceit, this is essential.
I lean more toward the 90% of communication being non-verbal, and that's not just human to human, but in general, cross species.
If we learn or relearn how to read body language, as humans, we're not going to be as susceptible as we clearly are and have been to those who are deceitful.
I pay much more attention to body language. Probably spent too much time around lying assholes. Dogs are especially adept at reading human body language as well as tone and inflection. The fella earlier said something about dogs answering to humans being an unnatural state - on the contrary, dogs have been bred millennia to be absolutely dependent on humans. They literally live to answer to us. Even feral dogs eventually suffer terribly and die on the outskirts of civilization, if not in the heart of it.
Yes - it's one of the Many natural skills people are quickly losing. I'm glad I was forced to develop mine.
You?
We were outdoors and the dog wasn't on a leash and was blocking the trail - how were we suppose to steer clear of the dog? I would never approach or touch a strange dog no matter the size or breed. I wish owners would realize that there are plenty of people who don't like dogs and some are afraid of them.
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