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A good watchdog will not hesitate to attack an intruder. Still, the owner of a pet canine does not want that four-legged friend to attack anyone that visits the home of the canine’s owner. For that reason, the pet’s owner must become familiar with those factors that can alter a dog’s behavior.
Things that can affect a dog’s behavior
• Old age
• Illness or an injury that immobilizes one or more paws
• Stress
Pet owners cannot keep a canine from aging; neither can they feel sure that their beloved canine will never get sick. Still, each of them does have the ability to keep a pet from feeling endangered or deprived of needed security.
How you can make sure that a pet canine feels safe and secure
• Use a leash when walking the dog. If planning for the two of you to visit a dog park, take the time to learn the park’s rules.
• Be sure that your pet has company at all times. It will feel more threatened when left alone. A threatened animal can behave in an aggressive manner.
• Understand how to avoid problems. If you think that your dog’s behavior seems strange during a visit to a park for dogs, do not hesitate to leave that same location.
• Dogs should never be allowed to jump on visitors.
• Use extreme caution if your pet dog must share space with children. Sometimes children perform a playful act without realizing that a canine might feel threatened by that same act.
• Do not take chances. Do not assume that a visitor feels comfortable around dogs.
Advice on becoming friends with a stray dog.
If you elect to shelter a stray, do your best to ensure the safety of those that pass the stray’s new home. Your new four-legged-friend does not know anything about a property’s boundaries or about the sorts of people that pass its new home on a daily basis. When you take in a stray, you become that canine’s owner.
You become responsible for controlling its behavior. If a group of people have chosen to shelter a stray, then each member of that same group becomes responsible for the stray’s behavior. An adult’s concern for an animal does not automatically keep that same animal from experiencing periods of stress.
Use extreme caution, if you have chosen to shelter a mother with puppies. She will certainly feel compelled to behave aggressively towards those that get too close to her puppies. While you may mean well, by providing the puppies and their mother with a temporary shelter, you could still get charged with negligence. You need to come up with a means for controlling that nervous and stressed mother. Additionally, if the dog bites a visitor, you as the owner will be responsible for it. It does help to discuss your case with the personal injury lawyer in Barrie, if you have been sued by the dog bite victim.