Unprovoked dog attack on owner

Meowy Catkin

Meowy Catkin

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Can any dog experts shed any light on why this happens?

I know that without meeting the owner and dog in question, you can only generalise but my sister's friend has been attacked by her own dog. The dog has been PTS and the owner is in hospital. The dog was well trained, owned from a puppy, had never shown any signs of aggression or unpredictability and the owner was an experienced owner. There was apparently no clue that the dog was about to attack, it just 'snapped'. The whole thing is a massive shock.
 
I dont believe that dogs, especially ones like you have described (happy, loving owners, trained well, stable home yadda yadda), just "snap". I would hazard a guess at something medical in this case, but without knowing the circumstances surrounding the dogs lifestyle, training, medical history, and the circumstances surrounding the attack its basically impossible to judge.
 
I did wonder if it would be worth doing a PM on the dog, but with the owner in hospital I don't know if it will happen.

The dog was a Bull Dog.

By 'snapped' I meant that there was no warning at all and the owner did nothing to provoke the dog.

ETA - I think it was middle aged (but I don't know for sure) and had always been totally trustworthy until that moment, which was completely out of character.
 
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I can ask my sister this evening as she's better with dog breeds than I am. I can also check the dog's age too and possibly get a clearer description of what happened.
 
The onset of rabies in India was well known to produce just this sort of situation. That is obviously unlikely in Britain. But another medical condition might have a similar effect.
 
Sorry, the only new information I have from my very upset sister, is that her friend is having plastic surgery tonight. I really hope that it goes well, but it does sound like more surgeries will be needed in the future.
 
I just want to clear up any possible confusion - there has sadly been a fatal dog attack earlier this week, but this is is not the attack that involved my sister's friend.
 
Faracat said:
I just want to clear up any possible confusion - there has sadly been a fatal dog attack earlier this week, but this is is not the attack that involved my sister's friend.
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Was just about to post in the hope that it was not the same incident. My thoughts are with that woman's family .

It does however show a side of dogs that we very seldom see. They can be extremely sensitive and they do not understand everything, hence an attack being provoked by an epileptic fit. To a dog, that can be very scary and fear means instability, predictably and
unfortunately in this case, a dog that has attacked the thing that is scaring it.

I do believe dogs almost always warn when they are not happy. Unfortunately the most common warning I see is not a growl or curled lip or body stance, but complete silence and stillness. I believe a dog will only "snap" without warning where there is an immediate threat or where there is an instability within the dog, be it physical pain or neurological issue..

I am very sorry that your sisters friend has been attacked. It is not uncommon for a dog to turn on its owner but it does usually happen with a trigger. If it was a completely unprovoked attack, I would honestly put it down to pain or a neurological issue. If a pm can be done it may help but in all honesty it is probably unlikely as quite rightly your sisters friends treatment is the priority. I do hope she can recover fully from this.
 
Apologies if I scared anyone, the OP included.

I totally agree about the freezing etc - my dog was attacked a few weeks ago, the dog was stock still, locked on, tail over his back, ears forward and drooling, I knew as soon as I saw it we were in diffs but the owner was too busy texting and just as I shouted 'call your dog please' or something similar, it was on top of us.

Hope your sister's friend recovers well x
 
I have known some dogs attack their owner out of dominance. Nearly always a potentially dominant ( alpha) male dog, around 18 month to 2 years. This is the age that the younger males in the wild pack mature, and will try to gain dominance, and take over from, the current pack leader male. This is nature, and at any sign of a 'challenge' the owner must put their foot down. If they don't, the dog will sense he's 'in with a chance' and try a bit harder to gain the upper hand the next time.....
I do hope everyone concerned is ok...
 
My brothers entire British Bulldog had a "pop" at my brother when he was around 18 months old, it was completely out of character and shocked my brother. My brother walked past the dog in the hallway and Stamford went at him. He told him no and he came back for another go. Stamford then got a damn good telling that that kind of behaviour was in no way acceptable and he never tried anything of the sort again. My brother is not one for hitting his dogs full stop and was pretty upset by the episode but Stamford never ever showed any thought for that kind of behaviour again. I do wonder sometimes whether this would have been different it he had done it to myself or my sister-in-law....!

OP I hope your sisters friend makes a full and swift recovery.
 
The only experience I have of this type of behaviour was on medical grounds. One dog, a Goldie, had 'rage' and owner was advised pts straight away. I have also heard that a tumour could also cause this reaction...
 
stormox said:
I have known some dogs attack their owner out of dominance. Nearly always a potentially dominant ( alpha) male dog, around 18 month to 2 years. This is the age that the younger males in the wild pack mature, and will try to gain dominance, and take over from, the current pack leader male. This is nature, and at any sign of a 'challenge' the owner must put their foot down. If they don't, the dog will sense he's 'in with a chance' and try a bit harder to gain the upper hand the next time.....
I do hope everyone concerned is ok...
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Did you read the opening post? Owner is seriously hurt, requiring surgery, and dog is now dead. Can we please NOT do the dogs vs wolves debate again? They are all canines, and puberty makes most animals behave differently. Most humans too. I really doubt this was linked to puberty :(
 
I don't often come on the dog section of the forum often as I don't own a dog, but I hoped that very experienced owners or dog behaviour experts might be able to explain why such terrible incidents can occur.

ETA - this isn't a joke or troll thread. The owner faces several sessions of plastic surgery on her face and also has to deal with the emotional scars resulting from the attack.
 
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I apologise for being flippant and frivolous OP, it was entirely inappropriate - I was responding without thinking to a post later on in the thread, and I had not read the whole of the thread properly. Many apologies :(
 
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