Hand and forearm dorsum scalp
Cheer injurie
Nose amputation
Eyelid burting
Ear amputation
Labium substance loss
Chiara Bertani *, Pier Giovanni Bracchi **
(*) Medico Veterinario, E-mail: chiaraber@libero.it.
(**) Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologia degli Alimenti - Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria - Università degli Studi di Parma.
Referring to the terms use in psychology, Zingarelli defines "aggressiveness" as an inclination to display a hostile behaviour whose goal is the attacker's increase and the attacked's decrease in power and which is usually manifested as a reaction against an actual or apparent threat to one's own power.
"Aggression" is otherwise defined, in its literal meaning, as the act of aggressing or assaulting.
In ethology, Parmigiani points out the importance of distinguishing between the two terms, which are often misinterpreted as synonims. As a matter of fact, aggressiveness does not always results in aggression.
By the term "aggressiveness" we mean the motivational factors which predispose to aggressive action whereas the word "aggression" concerns those manifestations of threat, anger and possibly attack upon an animal of the same species or of a different species or even upon any kind of object.
Aggressiveness is not therefore insomuch a measurable entity but a conceptual term used in ethology to describe the direct causes within the individual, that is to say the neural, neurochemical and physiological substrates which, in response to certain environnmental stimuli, start up or inhibit motivation to attack an animal of the same species or of a different species (Parmigianui, 1992).
Thence derives that the only scientifically acceptable way of measuring an individual's level of aggressiveness is the evaluation of aggressive actions manifested by the individual in different situations.
Concerning this, Overall has recently graduated and measured the intensity of dog's aggressiveness using posture, vocalization and mouth attitude as indicators.
In the end it must be said that dog's aggressiveness, as well as the aggressiveness of other animal species and man, might not always be held as noxious and undesirable.
On the contrary, aggressiveness is the most refined and sublime expression of that complicated mechanism which regulates the preservation of a species. Aggression can be, in a particular context, a suitable response, as im the case of a dog defending its own master against a robber o from any kind of danger by growling, snarling, showing teeth or even biting.
Aggressiveness towards human beings certainly represents the most relevant aspect of this behaviour problem in dogs, both with reference to the scope of the phenomenon and to its socioeconomic implications. It is enough to say that just in the United States about 10 traumatic deaths from dogs attacks per annum are recorded, and that most of the victims are children (Pinckney and coll., 1982); moreover the 50% of attacks victims ensue permanent scars of aesthetic and/or functional consequence, while the 30% of cases result in absence from work or school (Berger & coll., 1974; Pinckney & coll., 1982; both quoted by Overall, 1997).
Without getting into the field of legal competence or legal medicine, a throughout analysis of such a phenomenon, which is reaching epidemic proportions, is plainly important, together with an attempt at suggesting possible solutions.
A survey of literature proves, in fact, that all over the world the interest in this specific problem remains restricted to that narrow group of researchers studying animal behaviour.
Notwithstanding the problem's proportion and the stress put by the Mass-Media upon frequent events of dogs attacks towards people, preventive and precautionary measures have not been taken by competent A.S.L., nor have veterinarians or dogs' owners shown any particular interest. Through a recent enquiry, Caruso and Dondi pointed out the general absolute indifference to such an issue: customers rarely ask a veterinarian's advice about the breed of the dog they want to buy or about its possibile aggressiveness; on the other hand the veterinarian himself seldom spontaneously give information about the matter on his medical examination of the puppy.
The cause of aggression in dogs may depend on several reasons that include bad social relationships, fear, territoriality, dominance, jealousy and also overfeeding (Voith & coll., 1980; Voith & coll., 1982). Dogs can recognize human gesticulatory code which can be related to signals of dominance and represent a menace to the dog (Voith & coll., 1982). Dominance aggression is generally manifested towards people the dog knows very well and often belong to the closest circle of the family (Voith & coll., 1982). The aggression, whose scenario is usually represented by the dog's dwelling's vicinity, can express important components of territoriality. On the contraty, a stray dog is usually afraid of human beings and is rarely aggressive. Nevertheless many authors keep on asserting the opposite thesis, believing a stray dog can be much more aggressive than a pet dog.
Concerning the cause of dog aggressiveness towards children, see what has been previously said.
As it has been previously stated, the incidence of dogs' aggressions towards people is so elevated that some authors (Sacks & coll., 1996; Harris and coll., 1974) actually talk of a problem which should be considered as having epidemic characteristics.
An inquiry held by the "American Pet Food Institute" pointed out that the 38% of the American families owns a dog; the N.A.C.S. reports that medical costs related to dog bites is second only to the medical costs for sexually transmitted desease.
Among cases of animal bites in human beings, dogs occupy a preheminent place. In the United States, over a canine population of 55 million individuals, the "Human Society of the United States" reports an annual average of about 3 million dog bites, with a climax of 4.7 million in 1995.
In the city of St. Louis (Missouri) 396 people over a population of 100 thousand are annually attacked by a dog (Beck & coll., 1975), while in Norfolk (Virginia) the average is 274 attacked people every 100 thousand inhabitants every year (Morton, 1973).
In Australia, Thompson (1997) points out that, from January 1990 to June 1993, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide treated 356 victims of dog bites, while during 1992 3093 cases have been registrered by the "South Australian Health Omnibus Survey".
In Adelaide, 6500 people on the whole undergo dog attacks every year and 810 of them usually need to be treated in hospital. This means that every year 7.3 over 10 thousand inhabitants of Adelaide undergo major trauma which cannot be treated in surgery (GB).
In the Nederlands the "Foundation for Consumption and Safety" (Bouw, Aggressive Behaviour in dog) reports that, with a canine population of one million 700 thousand individuals, annually beek medical care for dog bites.
In Italy, Lodetti and Bertasio (1990) report 40 thousand charged incidents every year, while the ISTAT reports evidence of 16 fatal incidents between 1985 and 1993, four of which concerned children between 5 and 9 years old.
In the light of these figures, although concerning only a few countries, the problem clearly reveals an epidemiologic quality comparable in percentage to all civilized countries; this suggests the urgent need to detect specific operative strategies in order to reduce the problem's incidence to an acceptable number of traumatic events.
Concerning dog aggressions towards humn beings, it is quite difficult to detect precise information about the dog breed. There are several reasons for this. In first place, one important reason is the diverse geographical distribution of the various breeds. Nevertheless it must be said that in an inquiry about the most popular dog breeds in the United States, held comparatively with a similar enquiry in the United Kingdom, Bredshaw and his collaborators (1999) noticed that of 56 dog breeds they had been studying, 36 corresponded to the same breeds in Britain, and 24 of them, showed comparatively similar qualities in terms of aggressiveness and in the frequency of attacks towards people.
A second reason is the fact that registrations are often incomplete or inconclusive; in fact, only the 29.1% of owned dogs are regurarly registered. A last but not least reason is the extreme mutability in popularity of certain dog breeds in time: nowadays' most dangerous breed is undoubtly very different from the one of future days (Sacks & coll., 1989).
It has been previously hinted at the possibility of dividing dog breeds in categories on the basis of their tendency to aggressiveness. Data in literature suggest that dogs whose breeds have been ascertained as among the most aggressive ones are those most frequently responsible for attacks towards man. The German shepherd or Alsatian, for instance, seems to be the one more frequently involved in attacks towards people, although we should consider that most dogs with wolf physical characteristics, but of different breed, are often mistaken for German shepherds.
One of the first elements which has to be taken into consideation is the age of the victim. All case histories agree in recognizing in children the category more violently struck by this phnenomenon.
After an accurate survey of literature, Wright (1985) points out that children under 10 are those most frequently involved in dog attacks, with an average percentage of 48.2% to 48.9%.
In particular, children between 5 and 9 years old result to be the victims of dog attacks in a percentage swinging between 24.3% and 30.5% depending on single cases.
Concerning this, Daniels (1986) observed that in the Arizona Navajo Reserve, 42.1% of children under 10 undergo dog bites, even though they represent only a 26.4% of the whole population.
In StLouis children only represent the 8% of the population; nevertheless 27.4.% of them, in an age between 5 and 9 years old, is involved in traumatic attacks, with a rate of 1231 bites every 100 thousand children every year (Beck, 1975).
In Norfolk, Virginia, the incidence of victims of the same age is of 1851 dog bites every 100 thousand children every year.
Nevertheless, it may be interesting to observe that some case histories offer different proportions, which can be the result of a different distribution of age-groups in the population or of different activities and opportunities of meeting between children and dogs.
For instance, Brobst and his collaborators (1959) presented a case history in which in Pittsburgh in 1957 the population under 20 represented the 35% of the whole population and suffered dog attacks at a rate of 76.7%.
In Dallas, on the other hand, in 1985, the same kind of young population represented the 31% of the whole inhabitants, but suffered traumatic dog bites only at a rate of 52% of cases (Wright, 1985). According to Thompson (1997), children under 4 years old suffer dog attacks, which then require medical treatment in hospital, twice as much as individuals between 11 and 45 years old; in the same way adults over 76 are involved in dog aggressions twice as much as adults between 36 and 75 years old.
We should then consider that there is a strict relation between the entity f injuries from dog bites and the age of victims, since the highest tribute, also in terms of mortality, is obviously paid by children.
As concerns sex, male human beings are usually more frequently involved attacks by dogs. In a survey of several studies, Wright (1985) observes that among the Indian population male individuals are involved in severe dog attacks for a 65% of the whole population, which may seemingly depend upon the fact that the relation between males and dogs usually is the most common one.
In an inquiry held in Sacramento, it has been observed that 67% of 2,767 contacts between dogs and people corresponds to a male/dog contact (Westbrook & coll., 1979). Another element which apparently accounts for the highest incidence of dog bites in male individuals in these latter's stronger willingness to keep a dog as a companion animal.
Existng and verifiable cases are essentially of two sorts:
In this area we can then range from dogs owned by the victim to dogs owned by the victim's neighbour or even stray dogs whose owners remain unknown. Undoub-tedly, thanics to preventive strategies towards stray dogs in the United States, today's statistics report a very low degree of stray dogs' involvment in attacks towards people (between 9.5% and 22%), particularly when compared to figures of thirty years ago (Beck, 1985). As a matter of fact, studies made in New York and Pittsburg in the 1950s and 1960s (Harris, 1974) showed estimates of 19-22%, which went down to 10.6 - 14.5% in the years 1970s and 1980s already (Westbrook & coll., 1979).
From a research held in Pennsylvania over more than 3 thousand pupils, it was discovered that 45% of them had been bitten by a dog, which was, in 30% of cases, their own owned dog (Beck & coll., 1985).
A research held in Dallas over 1,754 cases of bites by owned and stray dogs shows that the former are generally much more dangerous than the latter: owned dogs are, in fact, responsible for several cases of bites in the head, face and nose (Wright).
The 85% of cases are then represented by dogs which are much close to the victim, being either owned by the victim himself or by friends or relatives (Kizer, 1979).
Most woundings by dogs take place around the victim's house (Avner & coll., 1991). It is interesting to notice how Shewell and his collaborators (1991), collecting data of 107 cases from 1982 through 1989, could come to the conclusion that dog bites generally occur while playing with them, (12%) stroking them (13%) or in the act waking them up (15%).
As concerns fatal attacks, studies clearly show owned dogs as more frequently involued than stray dogs. Taking a glance at figures, owned dogs were involved in all 71 cases of death by dog bite related in the United States between 1966 and 1980, as well as in the 16 cases in South Carolina between 1979 and 1982 and in the 12 cases related in 1986 (Lockwood & coll., 1987).
The most common seat of dog bite injuries is certainly represented by the body extremity.
The average percentace of injuries to body extremities as verified over a wide number of cases (Beck, 1985) is of 76.4%: 42.8% concerns legs, 33.5% arms, 15% head and neck, and 8% the trunk.
According to a research made by Wright, it is interesting to notice how stray dogs seem to prefere human limbs (86.8% versus 76.8%), specially fingers (stray dogs 36.3%, owned dogs 20.5%), whereas owned dogs tend to prefere heads and faces (16.53% versus 5.89%). That may depend on the different behavioural relation existing between man and dogs in the two different cases.
In children, in partricular, stray dogs show a tendency towards biting hands, those parts of the body which more often move, while pet dogs tend to attack the child's face, with particular reference to the mouth area.
The aggression usually takes place during play, when both dog and child are engaged in play on the ground. By playing, children often increase the possibility of a dog's attack, since they are often used to playfully assaulting the animal cither verbally or physically (Line & coll., 1986).
Other reasons which can account for dogs' tendency to attack head and neck in children are children's low bodily height and their natural promptess in protecting the face with hands (Fleisches & coll., 1986).
Karlson's inquiry in 1984 and Thomson's in 1995 give evidence of this: in 1984 at the Wisconsins Hospital among 87 treated facial injusies, more than 50% concerned children under 6 years old. In the same way mre than 50% of 112 serious cases of facial dog bites in Chicago hospistals concerned children under 4.
Though the victim's death does not occur so frequently, such a severe fatality deserves special attention. Pinkey (1982) states that the highest tribute is usually paid by children and old people. Between 1966 and 1980, in fact, every 100 deaths by dog bites 86.4 concerned children under 12 (Pinkey & coll., 1982), and from 1979 to 1988 70% of the dead were children under 9 years old (Rubin & coll., 1982).
Sacks (1996) reports a case history of 109 deaths in the United States from 1989 to 1994, to be added to other 9 reported accidents between 1993 and 1994.
Kneafsey and Brogan respectively report one and two fatal cases in 1995.
A recently published research by Sacks (1996) is particularly interesting: he draws attention to 85 well documented fatal dog attacks - among 118 presented - and points out that 72.9% of them involves only one dog, 21.1% two dogs and 5.9% of the attacks concern children under 10 years old.
A singular aspect of fatal dog attacks is represented by teasing victims to pieces. In the United States, in 1959, Parrish & coll. report an incidence of 10 cases every year, while Borchelet & coll. report a far higher percentage in 1983.
Cortivo & coll. report a survey of studies held all over the world in 1988 and report, starting from 1903, 38 cases of fatal dog attacks, to which they add two personal reports. Children's age more vidently struck by these accidents seems to be the one between 1 and a half month and 10 years old.
Though the incidence of this phenomenon results to be irrelevant in figures when compared to the whole canine population of the United States (7.1 cases for 100 million inhabitants every year), it is nevertheless worth reminding that, according to Pinckney and Kennedy, in 1982 the risk of death by dog attack in the United States was far superior to the risk of death by rabid dog bite.
Concerning this, Harris (1974) noticed that most attacks towards human beings, either resulting in violent death or non-fatal injuries, usually involved awned dogs. Dogs more frequently involved in fatal attacks were those of large size, often trained to be watch-dogs or for personal defence.
About 50% of fatal attacks towards human beings involv two or more dogs; on the contrary non-fatal bites almost ever involve one only dog. In fact, it is commonly aknowledged that being part of a pack usually makes dogs feel braver and more aggressive, increasing the probability of the victim's death in the attack. As far as breed is concerned, the dog most frequently involved in fatal attacks towards human beings is the German shepherd, responsible for 25 attacks over 40.
Ethological studies so far have not been able to elucidate those factors which cause a dog to attack man and, above all, to go on with the attack until the victim's man and, above all, to go on with the attack until the victim's death: that is to say that it is not possible to decide whether dogs are intentional or unintentional killers.
If territoriality seems to be one of the major motivations for dog bites in bibliography, the same cannot be said of cases of victims torn to pieces. Attacks of such a gravity as these, in fact, often occur in territories habitually unfrequented by the dog.
As far as "provocation" is concerned, it is often invoked to explain reasons for dog bites but it remains most improbable as a justification for fatal attacks. Dealing with big dogs of a notoriusly aggressive breed, which can sometimes attack in groups, we can hardly imagine a man, though strong and fit, deliberately trying to provoke such animals.
A relevant aspect of dog attacks by tearing victims to pieces is that such victims as newly-born children or babies (Pinckney, 1982) are usually killed at home, mainly when they have been brought home when a dog was already present, according to a kind of behaviour in the dog that man generally classifies as "jealousy".
Trying to explain aggressiveness of such a considerable extent, in 1967 Lorenz stressed the role of breed selection in determining the occurrance of psychic hereditary taints in dogs.
In 1975, Handel related the story of a Great Dane that slaughtered a young girl of 6. A retrospective inquiry revealed that the dog came from a family characterized by hereditary taints, that it had changed eight owners in nearly four years and had already attacked several people. No owner had managed to tame or train the dog.
Undoubtedly hunger is not a valid motivation for slaughtering people. Borchelet (1983) noticed, in fact, that no considerable parts of human flesh are ever missing in victims' bodies. In most cases, a fatal dog attack remains void of any logical explanation, and its actual motivations seem to escape us (Pinckney, 1982).
Borchelet & coll. (1983) accurately analize three cases of attack by tearing victims to pieces by packs of dogs - 25 packs altogether - , and take into consideration some potential causes of aggression. They put aside the hypothesis of hunger because, even if the dogs nutrition conditions where not excellent, those parts of the corpse which had been removed had not actually been caten, if not just partially.
They also consider the role of predatory aggressiveness, bince some of the dogs used to hunt together and had been seen chasing a prey just before the attack. The aggression semd to have been started by only one dog which excites the whole group of dogs to further attack, drawing back to a sort of facilitated predatory behaviour.
The role of territory defence may also have been an important element in determining the three attacks, which all occured cl ose to or even inside the estate where the dogs lived, and all involved people the dogs had already been in contact with.
On the other hand Beck & coll. (1975) remind that 45% of 2,538 cases of dog bites in 1975 occurred inside or close to the estate the dogs lived in; Winkler (1977) records 11 fatal aggressions which also occurred inside the estates the dogs lived in.
In these specific cases, all dogs had developed an aggressive social behaviour towards people and had been encourage to threat anyone who approached their area Noreover some of the dogs were used to chasing cars and motorbikes.
The elevated number of animals forming the pack of dogs undoubtedly made the attack easier, both because of the higher probability to wound the victim and the fact that the pack was formed by a considerable number of big dogs.
Even though there is no evidence that hunger had any role in the attack, it must be remembered that these dogs had often hunted together and this understanding in hunting may have been of first rate importance in determining the attack and provoking the conseguent eating of flesh.
In no one of these cases the victim had provoked the dogs, even if it is apparent that any manifestation of fear and self - defence may have increased the violence of the dogs' attack.
As a conclusion, it seems that the combined action of different elements can increase dogs' aggressiveness and mane it casier to perform violent attacks towards people. In this context, the possibility of gathering in groups, better when formed by dogs of big size, undoubtedly plays a fundamental role.
Fatal attacks often occur in isolated places. As a constant lack of witnesses de-monstrates, when they occur inside a victim's house this latter is almost always alone.
There is a strict relation between the distribution along the day both of fatal attacks and non-fatal bites (Parrish, 1959; Harris, 1974; Daniels, 1986), with a climax in the afternoons, whereas nocturnal activity is practically unexisting. This is certainly due to the cohincidence of human and canine maximum activity during afeternoon hours.
There are no important seasonal differences in dog attacks, even if Harris (1986), chun (1982) and Daniels (1986) record that a climax is represented by summertime, while attacks in winter remain at a lower level.
It is also interesting to point out that the victims of fatal attacks by slaughtering can be divided into three groups: newly-born children and babies, children under eight, and old people (mainly women). All three groups are made of weak individuals, generally unable to protect or defend themselves properly; as a matter of fact dogs hardly ever assault strong healthy adults in the utmont of their physical strength.
It seems significant to report Handel's observation (1975): an important element of distinction that dogs and not men are responsible for the murder is the fact that the victim of the fatal attack is completely stripped off, except for socks and shoes, and his dresses are scattered all around the area of the aggression.
The victimis death can be provoked by different factors: it can be a conseguence of a prolonged attack by the dog; it can be determined by fatal injuries as soon as the attack had starded; or it can be provoked by complications occurred after the state of illness determined by dogbites.
In most cases, death occurs by haemorrhagem, sometimes by cerebral damage caused by a bite on the head. Death by suffocation for windpipe occlusion in rare.
One case of gaseous embolism (Hoffman, 1919) and one of adipose embolism (Houtrow, 1931) have been reported.
Considering the severity ofs problem dog aggressiveness, mainly in terms of risk factors for man, it is necessary to put into practice the largest possible number of measures for prevention and treatment.
Two kinds of preventive actions seemed to have favourable outcome. The first one aims at directing a dog's owner-to-be towards a selection of the best companion puppy for his family. Several authors (Overall, 1997; Hart & Hart, 1997; Don Rieck, 1997) agree in saying that, before adopting a puppy, a responsible owner-to-be should try to answer a series of fundamental questions in order to avoid a wrong choice. General information about breed and gender specifics should be collected, along with those necessary information to understand the dog's sociale relationships, its degree of domestication and its behavioural profile.
It is also important to consider which characteristics one expects to find in a dog and to select the best dog breed in respect of this consideration.
Noroever, the adult dog's size should also be taken into consideration. This factor implies, in fact, a long series of implications such as the owner's life style, the entity and quality of the exercice required by the dog, dog's toelette requirements, maintenance and medical conts, the overall treatment of the dog and, last but not least, the quantity of excrements to be got rid of.
The dog's size also concerns its degree of activity, which is itself related to the dog's age and to the kind of job its breed has been selected for.
It should always be remembered that dogs daily require moments of interaction with their owner, contact with other dogs, walks, and play; the lack of all this or of one of these elements could help the dog to develop sort of "frustration" which is the premise of behavioural problems and aggressiveness.
Accordingly, the different stages of an animal's development should be taken into serious consideration. It is quite impossible to foresee a puppy's future behaviour and its social adaptation as an adult dog just on the basis of how it behaver towards other puppies.
The second kind of preventive action, which takes advantage from tests to evaluate a dog's temperament, aims at detecting genetical troubles in order to eliminate from reproduction programmes those subjects which show behavioural problems, contributing in this way to a more responsible dog breeding.
Tests on a dog's temperament and attitude, largerly used by dog breeders to evaluate an animal's degree of obedience, may serve as indicators of the puppy's future behaviour and may help to choose the best family and environment for the puppy (Campbell, 1975).
One of these tests has been adapted and perfected to fit any situation and is made of 2 sections: the first pat evaluates five behavioural features of the puppy (social attraction, tendency to follow, answer to compulsion, social dominance and dominance through raising); the second section takes into consideration puppy's reactions towards execution in relation to the positive outcome of some obedience tests (carrying back, sensitivity to touch, sensitivity to sounds, hunting instinct, stability and energy degree) (Barlett, 1979, 1987). The main goal is to define a puppy's fitness by elucidating its temperament and abilities in some specific tasks or jobs (Tameses, Fishuer & Volhard, 1985). Dog breeders largely make use of this method to match correctly puppies and owners-to-be, and, to a lesser extent, t foresee the dog's temperament (Bartlett, 1987).
A few considerations must be made in order to evaluate the reliability of such a test. In first place, this kind of test is just a "corrective" test, which does not allow the analysis of those elements pushing a puppy to behave correctly or uncorrectly. Moreover, this test is usually held when the puppy is about seven weeks old, in order to take aduantage of the relative absence of strong environmental influences on the development of a puppy's behaviour; nevertheless, at this stage the environmental factor still has enough room to influence the process of definition of the dog's temperament. That is to say that if the test, on the one hand, allows an early corrective intervention on the puppy, on the other it does not preclude the possibility of future behavioural problems, which can still remain undeveloped at the age of 7 weeks. We should not then forget that the test judges the dog in a precise stage of its life, and that there are no scientific data helping to foresee specific troubles connected with behavioural problems.
Dominance aggressiveness, in particular, generally develops during the dog's social maturity (18-24 months of age). Generally, aggressive dominant dogs never show any signs of aggressiveness or dominance at an earlier stage of thein life, even though they may have had some warning attitudes which foreshadowed the whole behavioural syndrome.
In the first phases of its manifestation - characterized by a specific behaviour like staring at the master, pushing, resistance to stroke or touch on paws and head, growling when disturbed in sleep -, dominance aggressiveness in dogs usually remains concealed even to tests on dog's temperament.
It is then safer to consider these tests just as indicatos of a behaviour which must be corrected: if the puppy manifests any sign of unproper or aggressive behaviour, it should be immediately and decisively corrected. Of couse, in this case the test represents a warning and not a definite condemnation; in the same way, no signs of behavioural troubles in puppies do not guarantee for the future.
Another kind of preventive action comes from the United States, where, since a few years now, an opinion campaign has been held in favour of early dog sterilization in order to restrain both the stray dogs problem - only pure - breed dogs are being born - and the aggression problem. As a matter of fact, since hormones play an important role in the outbreak of behavioural problems in dogs, sterilization, which is now mainly used in Italy as a therapeutic treatment, can be a good preventive action when performed after 6-12 weeks of life (Sacks & coll., 1996).
At last, it is very important ant to adopt specific preventive measures on the basis of the different forms measures on the basis of the different forms of aggressiveness a dog can show:
The collection of anamnestic data has a fundamental role in the diagnosis of dog behavioural pathologies (Overall, 1997). In fact, several troubles such as dogs aggressiveness are influenced by age, sex and reproductive status, which lead to the anamnesis. Consequently, a series of data must be collected on the occasion of a reported accident:
It is also important to point out cause-effect relations to be considered in any behavioural diagnosis connected with fenotype, genotype, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology/neurochemistry and molecular structure.
More complex cases are abviously connected with actiological and physiopathological heterogeneity (multiple factor troubles);
in these cases it is possible to give a suspicious diagnosi on the basis of the description of events, and to find a help in pharmacology or, less comfortably, to perform techniques of behaviour correction.
The logic process to give out very specific diagnosis, based on the description of the animal's behaviour, is that of enlisting and esxplaining the single behavioural manifestations to be treated, as well as trying to elucidate the areas in which a specific intervention at behavioural level may be useful (Overall, 1997).
In the treatment of behavioural problems, intervention in usually performed on three levels: the physical level, the behavioural level, the physiological level.
Physical level. Intervention is based on the modification of the environment in order to solve the problems connected with this latter. That is the case of fences, which can mke a territorial dog more aggressive and should then be removed.
Behavioural level. The second step towards the improvement of a behavioural problem such as aggressiveness is the performance of a corrective plan divided into 6 stages:
1. Accustoming: decrease of negative reaction to a new element in the environment, in relation to increasing intensity or frequency of contact with this element.
2. Estinction: a process through which normal or conditioned reactions are reduced or soothed after the exposition to a stimulus without receiving any reward back.
3. Desensitizing: reduction of the reaction produced by the gradual exposition to the stimulus.
4. Counter-conditioning: a process through which a negative behaviour is eliminated or controlled by teaching the animal a different way of behaving, usually nice and funny, which creates a competitive interference with the negative behaviour. It should be associated with desensitizing.
5. Flooding: prolonged exposition to the stimulus until any negative reaction is cancelled; this method should be performed without giving the dog any opportunity to escape.
6. Punishment: presentation of an unsympathetic stimulus as an answer to a certain behaviour is repeated in the future; it must be performed during the first 30-60 seconds after the manifestation of the negative behaviour. Tempestivity, consistance, fitful intensity and conditioned aswer are crucial.
Physiological level. To solve problem aggressiveness, two levels of intervention seem to be necessary, especially as a support to the techniques of behavioural correction: an endogenous intervention, represented by sterilization, and an exogenous intervention, represented by medicines administration.
Endogenous intervention. In favour of castration as a method to reduce dog aggressiveness, we con quote a quite large number of experiments made at the University of Davis, California, and at the University of Utrecht, Nederlands, all resulting in a considerable reduction of the problem a few hours after the medical intervention already. In fact, the reduction of the testosterone ematic level starts in 6 hours (Neilson, 1997). Orchiectomy reduces dogs' aggressive behaviour inside the house in 26% of cases, and outside the house in 52%. On the other hand, in same cases it is possible to notice a growth in aggressiveness both towards familiar people and unfamiliar dogs. Anyway, orchieoctomy undoubtedly modifies the behavour of fearful dogs (Maarschalkerweerd & coll., 1997).
The most important reaction to orchieoctomy is the reduction of aggressiveness in male dogs from 60% to 90% (Hopkins & coll., 1976; Fry, 1987; Heidenberger & coll., 1990).
The only collateral effects of this kind of intervention are the increase in body weight (47%), the increase in hunger (25%) and the reduction of athletic outcome (21%) (Maarschlkerrweerd, 1997).
Neilson & coll., (1997) studied the existance of a possible relation between the dog's age, the duration of the behavioural problem and the degree of improvement after castration: this relation resulted to be of a minimum degree or utterly non-existent.
From a retrospective revision of Neilson's work, held over 57 male dogs from 2 to 10 years of age, whose owners had been interviewd about any improvement after castration, Hart and Hart (1997) calculated the percentage of dogs presenting improvements and divided them into two groups: dogs improved for a 50% and dogs improved for a 90% and more.
Exogenous intervention. First of all, we must remember that it is always a mistake to prescribe behavioural medicines when these are not connected to a therapy which includes techniques of dogs temperament correction. Without the support of a behavioural therapy, medicines are not strong enough to eliminate all the signs of the problem in an individual (Perse, 1988).
As it normally happens in veterinary medicine, some considerations must be made before the prescription of any remedy:
1. One must be sure of the crrectness of the diagnosis;
2. One must know the mechanisms of action of behavioural medicines;
3. One must have a clear idea of any collateral effect, of which the owner must be undoubtedly conscious;
4. One must evaluate the state of the animal's health (in laboratory).
It is important to point out that tranquillizers are not suitable for a therapy against dog aggressiveness. Fenotiazines are not suitable since they sooth both negative and normal behavoiour.
Acepromazina, in particular, must be carefully used, since aggressive dogs become more reactive to sounds and disturbing elements.
As an explication, we schematically report the therapeutic suggestions for the most common forms of dog aggressiveness as elaborated by Dodmn in his work: "The Dog who Loved too Much. Dogs' Behaviour and Psychology" (1999).
Dominance aggression.
1. To intensify dog's physical exercice and choose a rational diet
2. To refine training to obedience (5-10 minutes training every day, in an undisturbed environment, using just one word as order, rewarding immediate response and ignoring lack of response)
3. Food, toys, attention, cuddles, freedom must be gained by the dog itself
4. Never perform harsh games
5. Give the dog medicines when they are prescribed.
Territorial aggression
1. Physical ecercice
2. Hyper-proteinic diet (16-20% of dry proteins for each food ration), except for growing dogs, dogs affected by particular desease and pregnant blitches
3. Desensitiring and counter-conditioning
4. Refinement of training and obedience
5. Allow the dog to urinate only in one place
6. Give the dog medicines when they are prescribed, for instance Propandolo.
Aggressiveness towards other dog breeds.
Connected with dominance:
1. Keep the dog under control working on obedience
2. Stop the dog, when necessary, with a leash
3. Give medicines.
Connected with predation:
1. Avoid animals which can be object of predation
2. Other therapies.
Parole chiave: aggressività, cane, uomo
Key words: aggression, dog, man
Mots clé: aggressivité, chien, homme
Schlüsselwörter: aggressivität, hunde, mann
RIASSUNTO: Le patologie comportamentali possono essere considerate la malattia che più frequentemente coinvolge il cane. Non esistono dati definitivi relativi all'aggressività canina, ma si tratta certamente di un evento estremamente diffuso ed assolutamente sottostimato, oltre che scarsamente documentato. L'entità del fenomeno è caratterizzata da un incremento progressivo proporzionale a quello del numero dei cani domestici. I disturbi comportamentali sono caratterizzati da una forte componete genetica che viene alimentata da esperienze specifiche e da pressioni ambientali e gli incroci, effettuati non tenendo conto di considerazioni etiche, portano all'esacerbazione del problema. Raramente il veterinario viene consultato per avere consigli sull'acquisto di un cane, sia in riferimento alla razza, che alle attenzioni da porre in essere per una corretta educazione del cucciolo. La scarsa conoscenza del problema conduce poi il proprietario a non interpretare come patologici certi comportamenti del proprio cane ed a non ricorrere al consiglio del veterinario, lasciando che il disturbo iniziale si traduca in una patologia conclamata. Ne conseguono eventi drammatici di cui si rende protagonista il cane quali casi di morsi a bambini o addirittura di sbranamento.
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Die Verhaltenspathologien können die häufigsten Hundkrankheiten gehaltenwerden. Es gibt keine endgültigen Daten über die aggressivität des Hundes aber hierbei handelt es sich sicher um ein sehr verbreitetes und absolut vor allem wenig bezeugtes Ereignis. Der Umfgang des Fenomens wird von einer progressiven proportionalen Steigerung zur Zahl der Haushunde verursacht. Die Verhaltensstörungen werden von einem stark genetischen Bestandteil charakterisiert, der durch spezifische Erfahrungen und Umwelteindrücke beeinfluât wird. Die Kreuzungen, die die ethische Seite nicht in Betracht zienen, führen zur verschlechterung des problems. Selten wird der Tierarzt kousultiert, was den Kauf eines Hundes betrifft: hinsichtlich der fasse, oder einer korrekten Erziehung des welpen. Die geringen Kenntnisse des Problems führen den Beitzer dazn: er interpritier manche pathologischen Verhaltensstörungen und wendet sich nicht an den Tierarzt, sodaß die anfänglichen Störungen zu einer manifesten Pathologi werden. Daraus folgen oft dramatische Ereignisse, deren Protagonist der Hund selbst ist; unter ihnen leann man Fälle von Bissen an Kindern eder sogar von Zerfleischungen verzeichnet.
RÉSUMÉ: Les pathologies du comportement peuvent être considérées comme la maladie la plus fréquente chez le chien. il n'existe pas de données définitives concernant l'aggressivité du chien, mais il s'agit certainement d'un événement particulièrement diffus et absolument sous-estimé et, en plus, peu documenté. l'importance du phénomene est caractérisée par une augmentation progressive, proportionnelle à l'augmentation du nombre des chiens domestiques. Les troubles comportementaux sont caractérisés par une forte composante génétique qui est alimentée par des expériences spécifiques, par des pressions ambiantes et par des métissages qui, effectués sans tenir compte d'aucune considération éthique, portent à l'exacerbation du problème. Il est rare qu'on demande son avis au vétérinaire pour avoir des conseils à l'occasion de l'achat d'un chien, aussi bien en ce qui concerne la race que les soins nécessaires pour une éducation du chiot correcte. La faible conoissance du problème amène le propriétaire à ne pas considérer comme pathologiques certains comportements de son propre chien, et à ne pas recourir aux conseils du vétérinaire, permettant ainsi que les troubles initiaux se traduisent en une pathologie évidente. Il en résulte des situations dramatiques où le chien devient protagoniste comme dans le cas de morsures ou même de mises en pièces.
SUMMARY: Behavioural pathologies can be considered as the most frequent desease affecting dogs. Although there are no conclusive information about bogs aggressiveness, it is unquestinably windespread desease which is generally underrated and scarcely recorded. The entity of this phenomenon is characterized by a stong genetic element, backed by specific experiment and environmental pressures, and worsen by breed crosses made in total scorn of ethical considerations. Aveterinarian is rarely asked for advice about the acquisition of a correct education of the puppy. A scarce knowledge or consciosness of the problem usually is the first cause for owners' inability to recognize their dogs weird behaviour as pathological, and generally prevents them from asking for a veterinarian' advice, letting the original trouble grow into an evident desease As a result, dogs get involved into dramatic events such as bites on children or murder by tearing victims to pieces.
Bibliography
Ringrazio Michela indispensabile aiuto per la traduzione del testo dall'italiano all'inglese.