What Is A Dangerous Dog? Lets Define It.
First of all – what is a behaviour? It’s simply your body’s response to something in the environment. If you are reacting to something negative (negative reinforcement) – then you are going to fight or flight. If you are scared of spiders – then spiders are a negative reinforcement to you. When you see a spider – it’s the negative reinforcement that shaping your behaviour to fight and flight.
Understand this clearly – it’s the environment that shapes your behaviours – positive and negative. You are a product of your environment. Your dog is a product of your environment. So if your dog is showing aggression and reactivity – then what’s negative in the environment that’s causing the dog to fight and flight? It could be you too. Is the dogs environment toxic? I’m simply asking honest questions.
Fight and flight is caused by cortisol – and adrenaline. And if a dog keeps getting more and more amped up – then those cortisol levels are increasing too. And cortisol will increase blood pressure – turning the eyes bloodshot. There is your dangerous dog, or dangerous human or any animal for that matter.
I’ve faced a few “dangerous” dogs. When cortisol is pushing the blood pressure up? The animal is primal at that point, there is no thought process – it’s pure base animal instinct that’s driving the behaviours. All bets are off and I have had dogs draw blood on me a few times because of it. There is your dangerous dog.
What we call “dangerous” in dogs? We would call “Crimes Of Passion” in humans. How many people are sitting in jail doing time for murder – where they were in such a state of hormones – anger or fear – that they killed someone. And most times, they don’t remember it – cause it’s pure primal animal behaviour. It’s aggression (fight) and reactivity (flight) to the max.
And as a side note. I can see these behaviours from any dog, any human or any other animal. The question has to be begged – how is this dog when in an overall calm state?
