There are many questions you need to sit down and think of here.

1. What sort of dog do I want? What traits do I want/not want?

If you want a pure breed you have the national breed club, if you will take any kind of dog, you have the shelters, ASPCA, and all private adoption organizations, craigslist, daily ads, pet finder and so much more. Also sit down and do a list with traits you wish and do not wish for. For example, if you do not want a guarding dog, then you cross out all mixes and pure breeds with Doberman, Rottweiler, German shepherd, and so on. Read up on the different breeds to get familiar with different breed traits so you know what to look for and possibly expect. You never know which traits a mixed breed will get from either side until they show it. If a trait is VERY uncomfortable for you, do not choose breeds/mixes that MIGHT display it. Traits to consider include, activity level, hunt/tracking, prey drive, aggression, guard, as the five top ones you need to know if you would be comfortable with or not.

• Activity level, for example, working and hunting dogs will need more mental and physical exercise then an English Bulldog.
• Hunt and tracking, you have dogs that are bred for hunting, and chase prey by scent, sight, and hearing, these dogs will be harder to have off lead.
• Prey drive is what makes a dog go for other small dogs, cats and other animals. They will need extra socialization and does not fit in all families.
• Aggression, dogs in shelter has often been abused, neglected or not trained properly and can therefore have different varieties of aggression. This can make them more or less willing to bite, which you will need to take into consideration. Do you have time and patience to handle this? There are different kinds of aggression: Dogs/animal, human, fear, and resource aggression. This is the most common reason for a dog to be euthanized.
• Guard, a good guard dog rarely displays aggressive behavior unless necessary; however, a misdirected guarding behavior might make it bark a lot, and be wary of your friends, often a one man dog, not to mention being hard to have in public if it lacks social training.

Something that often surprises people is when IT happens; IT can be a dog fight, a scuffle, or a growl from your otherwise very sweet companion. So what does this mean, is your dog bad? Is it dangerous? Did you do something wrong? The answer is no one knows, it’s an instinctual being.

Something people often forget with these animals is the one basic fact, they ARE animals, they are born with behaviors, instincts and reactive responses to stimuli. This doesn’t mean the dog is bad, or that you necessary did something wrong but that a whole series of circumstances led up to the situation at hand.

The personality your dog will have is shaped while it is a puppy. A puppy raised with patience, positive reinforcement, and proper socialization will often develop into a patient adult dog, influenced in part by its breed and genetic background. Puppies that do not receive sufficient and proper socialization and who have been treated harshly are more likely to develop fearful and aggressive behaviors towards other dogs and humans, again, with respect to the genetics behind the dog. A Labrador is less likely to develop aggression due to many generations of working in close relationships with humans and other dogs, meanwhile a Rottweiler, with its’ natural guard and higher aggression from birth, can be a danger and the next headline in the newspaper. That said, it’s not a guarantee that the lab won’t be the danger and the Rottweiler become the highly functional dog depending on small differences in similar backgrounds. However, a dogs’ personality is never set in stone. They are highly adaptable beings, and when treated correctly they have an amazing capacity to bounce back after neglect and abuse, when it comes to them we are nothing in comparison.

Something that we can rely on in many cases is that dogs are peace makers. Most dogs utilize something called calming signals, with us and with other dogs and, even with other animals if they have learned to coexist with them. Some of these signals are fairly easy to observe, and may include a dog that is turning away its head, has its ears back, or the corner of its mouth pulled up, is flattening out its face, lifting its paw, has a lowered wagging tail, is sniffing the ground, walking in a half circle and so on. Some signs are more subtle such as a quick sniff in the air, a step to the side, a flick of the ear, showing an eye white etc. Dogs speak volumes with their bodies and scents about which we human still have a great deal to learn. Here is the interesting aspect however, if we try to use similar signals toward them they do understand much of our clumsy attempt to “speak dog”. Now you are probably thinking, if dogs are such peace makers why, then, are fights happening? Probably for the same reason for between us humans, things get out of hand depending on individual characteristics, some of which are the results of the interplay of genetics and breed, some due to the ways in which the mother of the dog brings up her pups, and some due to the imprinting of the breeder and then factor in what you have done as owner and trainer. Why do I say trainer? Cause all dogs need training, socialization, and activation to feel good and be good canine citizens and satisfied members of your family. This is why it is vitally important to read up on breed characteristics before you choose your companion either as a puppy or a rescue. Some breeds require more research and knowledge, some require less; but there is a dog out there for everyone.

So what is it that causes dogs to react negatively toward people and other dogs? It’s everything that occurs in a wide range of factors, from minor pain to severe stress. Different dogs have different perspectives depending on how they were raised. A dog that has had a safe puppy hood, and a secure upbringing is not likely to react towards humans or family dogs because of minor pain because there has developed a bond of trust. A new dog, however, can make your otherwise sweet and playful dog very reactive depending on the dog he meets with still the same amount of pain. A dog you have rescued that might be insecure and who has only been with you for a short time, and having the same minor injury as the dog above, might not only be reactive towards you and others he might exhibit straight out aggression. This is often caused by a lack of trust, self esteem and fear and is an example of how different dogs can react in different situations. Therefore it is also important that with your pup or your rescue dog, you condition the dog as much as you can in as many situations and with as many different people as you can. In today’s society there is very little understanding of dogs that show aggression, even if it is just a reaction from fear so the more you work with your dog around people, the more pain or stressful situation will be needed the next time to trigger him/her to behave in a negative way as long as you keep all other experiences positive. If you only allow your dog play with calm, kind dogs that do not squabble over sticks, toys etc. that behavior can actually rub off on your dog. However, if you let the insecure or young dog play with a stressed or nervous dog that emotion and its consequences are likely to rub off instead. A rescue that has had it hard will need more positive and social experiences than the average puppy. This is an excellent reason to adopt a dog from a registered rescue group; they do temperament tests and can help you pick a dog that suits you, your lifestyle, and experience so you get a dog you are comfortable with.

Some of the reasons negative reactions and behaviors occur are:

• Too much stress (this includes wild play with many new dogs in the dog park- all it takes is one insecure dog and the others will fight to protect themselves), it may also be a situation where things are just too overstimulating for the rescue to handle, for example a situation where there are too many cars, too many people or similar factor that trigger the dog’s reaction.
• Pain-, ranging in severity from minor to severe depending on how stable the dog is. My big one requires quite a bit of pain to be reactive to humans but very little to be reactive to dogs.
• Fear-, fear creates blockage, stress, or injury can create fear of not being able to defend itself so the dog exhibits defensive behaviors.
• Many and various factors for the dog that has had little to no contact with humans and been locked up.
• Waving arms for a dog that has been physically abused.
• Kids for the dog that not familiar with them.
• One very fearful dog in a dog park that acts out on that fear and your dog might become the random target when running by too close during play.
• Resources (bones, toys) in the possession of an insecure dog can trigger aggressive behavior towards humans or other dogs or if it is a calm dog resource possession in combination with pain.
• Being startled while resting or being focused on something else.
• Mental and physical overwork.
• Hunger.
• Lack of proper sleep.
• Sickness, either you know it or not.
• The dog has been trained to do it.
• The dog has learned that it earns by displaying the behavior for example fighting over a bone, sitting on the couch etc with its owner. This if not trained away can make the dog bite further down the road.
• Your dog has gone through first maturity phase, and in the aging process has grown older and does not want to be bothered by other dogs anymore. Dog dislike can occur at any age depending on a dog’s breed, background, and genetic code no matter how much you socialize. The parents of the dog are usually a good indicator on this when considered together with breed; for example a pit bull and Akita Inu is less likely to like other dogs after around a year to 18 months while many retrievers like other dogs for the rest of their lives. There are exceptions but I do not bet on them. It’s wonderful if your dog works a full lifetime with other strange dogs, but do not count on it, be aware.
• Lack of mental and physical stimuli.
• Instinctual fight reaction or prey reaction can be triggered by a high pitch baby’s cry or scream, or a scream or yelp from another dog that has hurt itself or by someone running.

These are a few of the reasons why it is so important to truly condition and train your dog to feel safe in as many situations as possible as such conditioning will prevent many behavioral situations from ever happening. Not only that but also to learn about dogs, learn to understand them, learn their body language as much as you can. Take a few training classes, go to a seminar and a whole new world will open between you and your canine friend.

Things you can do to prevent accidents from happening:

• Socialize your puppy a lot in all kinds of environments.
• Socialize your rescue a great deal, if it is scared of humans; take private classes with a trainer that can teach you counter conditioning and positive reinforcement to reshape the dog.
• Socialize with calm, self secure dogs that have no issues with sharing toys and bones.
• Remove all toys and bones in a multi dog household when they are not supervised.
• Do not use the dog park unless there are 1-3 dogs in there that you have gotten to know gradually; rather keep a handful of friends for your dog. All dogs do not mix no matter how much you socialize them. Additionally, certain breeds do trigger more easily which is something to keep in mind.
• Let the dog sleep in peace.
• Teach the dog it is ok for you and others to handle its bones and toys.
• Train them with kids around, help the children train the dog also as doing so teaches children to respect the dog and vice versa.
• Do not flood the dog; flooding is when you put the dog in a major situation of its fears. This will make the dog shut down and you risk creating a ticking bomb that might attack you in the end.
• Keep a good level on the training, it’s better to overdo it a bit than underdo it, more importantly, choose a breed that is compatible with your level of exercise wants.
• Never leave the dog alone with a child of any age, since should a dog’s prey drive kick in, the child cannot defend itself.
• Do a physical examination on your dog at least once a year, this will assure you of the dogs health and you will not need to worry about any underlying issues that can cause behavioral changes and result in the loss of your dog.
• Never punish or correct a growl, a growl is the warning prior to the bite, you will want your dog to warn or the bite will come out of nowhere.
  

The bottom line is, a dog that growls and or bites is not a bad dog, though you do need to be careful around it depending on the reason, but it does not mean it is a bad dog. Everything is dependent upon the situation. A scuffle in the dog park will not make your dog bad, but you, as an owner, have to be alert, was my dog in pain? Did something scare him/her? It is always easier for an owner with a grumpy dog, they have seen the irritations before and know it’s usually more bark than bite but for a first time dog owner that sees their lovely retriever they had as a puppy turn into a snarling beast it can be very frightening. However, dogs use their body language to communicate, it is often a sign that something is not right whether the dog got a scare, or it may be regular insecurity, pain or taunted sufficiently by another dog to retaliate to tell the offending dog to LEAVE ME ALONE (something you as owner should see and break before your dog reaches that point and move take your dog away from the play). The more often a dog has to defend itself the more often negative behaviors will be triggered and the greater the risk becomes each time that more damage will result. If the size difference is big between them, then it is could easily become a fatal accident. An incident or a growl will happen when the individual dog you have is pushed beyond its capacity and limit of being able to cope with the situation. Alternatively, it is trained to have an aggressive response in the case that is this sometimes not even trained on purpose by its owner but it has become reinforced by mistake or the dog is born with a high level of aggression. Also, even if you have a dog in which you have seen tremendous improvement, remember that cues from the previously negative experience coupled with pain or other stimuli might again frighten him and induce negative behaviors so you can “never say never” about an animal. With correct training and handling the accidents will hopefully never happen but we do need to remember that it is an animal we are dealing with, you can never control them to a 100%. You will always have to take a many factors into consideration: breed, age, altered, not altered, gender, physical status, mental status, background, resources etc. to avoid as much strife as possible.

Many of the sad accidents that have happened with dogs have been unnecessary. There have been contributing factors of recklessness, coincidence, poor ownership, disease, etc but I do not think I have seen one case where it truly has been the dog’s fault. In most cases there has been human ignorance involved which is sad because it is the dog that gets the blame. BSL is the ultimate injustice for many dogs currently misidentified as dangerous, with so many breeds in so many places and in the end it is still the human flaw that has caused most of the accidents.

So be a responsible dog owner, make your dog everything your dog can be, the dog will love you more for it and the bond that is created while doing this is amazing and well worth the effort.