How dangerous is that dog?

(Getty Images)Is every dog with a history of bite behavior a hopeless case? Not at all, says Wayne Hunthausen, DVM, the director of Animal Behavior Consultations in Westwood, Kansas, and the owner of Westwood Animal Hospital. He says four key areas can help you assess the danger for future behavior and whether a dog can safely stay in a home.

1. Predictability

There is hope if a dog has a few known, predictable triggers for aggressive behavior, the dog provides a significant warning before biting, and the family or the victim has time to recognize warning signs and make the situation safe. Another positive factor is whether the dog acts consistently in each situation. But if triggers for bite behavior are unknown, Hunthausen advises that it's best to assume the dog could be aggressive at any time.

Good sign: The dog has defined, recognizable triggers and has always responded consistently to those triggers.

Bad sign: The triggers are unknown, and the dog has a history of giving no warning signs before biting.

2. Potential to cause damage

The size of the dog is a factor, of course, but more important is bite inhibition. “If a large pet has bitten a variety of people in a variety of situations many times and has caused nothing more than light contusions, it is in all probability a safer pet than a smaller one that is unable to inhibit the force of its bite and, even though it has only bitten a few times, has caused serious injuries such as deep tears or broken bones,” Hunthausen says. Other negative factors-multiple bites in one incident and the dog's pursuing the victim.

Good sign: The bite caused minimal damage and was delivered when the person got too close to the dog's personal space.

Bad sign: The dog ran after the person and bit multiple times with serious injury.

3. Family variables

Supervision of the dog is key. “Large families or those with young children often have difficulty providing safe supervision or confinement of the pet,” Hunthausen says. “Doors are left open, locks on gates are forgotten, and supervisory duties are not consistent.” Even worse are families that deny there is a problem. The best case is one in which the owner is aware of the danger the pet poses, can be depended on to always provide safe control of the pet, and-upon recognizing subtle signs of threatening or aggressive behavior-makes sure to prevent escalation.

Good sign: Every member of the family is acutely aware of the problem and takes steps to prevent known triggers for aggressive behavior.

Bad sign: The family thinks their dog isn't dangerous and allows dangerous interactions with other people or animals, or some family members have cognitive or maturity problems that prevent good decision-making.

4. Overall complexity of the situation

If a pet displays many types of aggression (e.g. fear, territorial) and a wide variety of stimuli trigger aggressive behavior, the danger increases, says Hunthausen. A concurrent behavior problem can increase the risk that aggression. “For example, if the owner of a pet with a fear-related aggression problem is upset about destructive behavior or housesoiling, the person might be likely to react impulsively in a way that will elicit an aggressive response from the pet,” he says.

Good sign: The dog is aggressive under one or a few clearly defined circumstances.

Bad sign: The dog is spurred to an aggressive response from many triggers.

After the assessment

More good signs than bad: If the aggressive triggers are known and can be managed by diligent owners and the history of injury is mild to moderate, Hunthausen says you can likely keep the pet in the home and start a discussion of treatment options.

More bad signs than good: If several factors are at play-a large dog that bites children unpredictably without bite inhibition, the home is busy with many small children, and the adults provide poor supervision and can't comprehend the danger of the situation-then there is an extremely high risk for a serious injury. “Removing the pet from the home will be a priority in this case,” says Hunthausen. “Euthanasia may be a necessary choice, although rehoming may be an option in select cases.”

Precaution from Dr. Hunthausen: The above are merely guidelines for assessing danger and helping explain to the owner the amount of danger inherent in the current situation. They should not be used to guarantee to the family that the pet is safe. The only 100% guarantee that a pet will not bite again will be to either remove the pet from the home, never allow it to have contact with people or animals outside the family, or euthanize it. Aggression problems are often very complex, and, whenever possible, the family should be referred to a qualified behavior consultant.