Firstly I want to make comment on the picture I've used in this article. I deliberately used a photo of a small dog in the act of biting rather than one of the much maligned "dangerous" breeds like rotties, bull terriers, dobermans, GSDs etc etc.

Everyone is horrified when news breaks of a dog attack. The newspapers dig out their devil dog pictures and the breed in question gets hauled over the coals. Renewed demands for banning the breed usually follow and it's hot news for a few days.

I just like to say I think the bad press generated against rotties and bull terriers in the UK is not deserved. This type of adverse propaganda is detrimental to the breed and can often help attract the wrong type of owner. This has a snowball effect and leads to poor breeding, more rescue center dogs and generally weakens the breed.

When I hear people say "I'm scared of rotties", I usually retort "Yeh , you obviously read too many newspapers". Most of these people have never encountered a rottie up close and their opinions are based solely on the sensationalistic information they've read in the tabloids. Anyway that's my rant about the UK press and my much loved rotties.

My view on biting is that there are 2 main circumstances that provoke a dog attack or dog bite.

1.      This circumstance usually occurs when the dog feels he needs to protect something. This can be property, food or even his owner or mate. This type of aggression is usually down to insecurity or jealousy and generally results in a single act of aggression.These types of attacks are generally not serious but victories in this area can lead to more serious incidents.

2.      This is a more disturbing scenario. The way I see this is that the dog has been left in charge or more importantly, the dog thinks he has been left in charge.The dog is forced into a situation he has no experience of dealing with. The dog feels he needs to make a decision to assert his authority and subsequently lashes out with his teeth.

When 2 or more dogs are "left in charge" the consequences can be tragic.Without getting too graphic I'll explain how I see a the later dog attack scenario from the dogs viewpoint. This scenario is hypothetical and is not based on real events.

• 2 adult dogs are left in a house with a couple of teenagers.
• The teenagers decide it would be fun to have the dogs in their bedroom with them.
• The dogs are in the room with no means of escape and the teenagers decide to turn up the music and start jumping around on the beds.
• The lead dog is stressed with this situation. He knows the bedroom is normally out of bounds and knows he will get into trouble for being there. Worse still, he has no means of escape so he can't resolve the situation by vacating the room.
• Although the teenagers have locked him in the room, he knows he is higher up the pecking order than them and is capable of a "takeover bid".
• The dogs logic is telling him that he needs to resolve this situation. He can't run because the door is locked.
• The music is load and the atmosphere is tense and he realises that it's up to him to sort this situation. He needs to take charge.
• He makes the decision. He cant run so he'll have to fight. He turns to the smallest or weakest teenager and bites. The other dog joins in.
• This is the only way he knows how to resolve this situation and he's started and now he has the backup of the other dog and they keep going until someone higher up the pack tells them to stop or the teenagers are "out of the picture".

The dogs will undoubtedly be put to sleep and the whole situation is just unthinkable.
Every time I hear of a dog attack I always look for the tell tale signs that the dog has been put in a situation where he thinks he has to make a decision to resolve an issue.Dogs think like dogs.

A dogs brain is comparable irrespective of body size. A small dog will make the same decision as a big dog. The only difference is the damage that can be inflicted by a large breed can be more serious than that of a toy breed.Owners have to take the responsibility of managing household situations.

Think twice before you leave a dog alone with a toddler or a teenager. Also think twice before you invite friends to sleep over and encroach into the dogs usual resting place. Avoid situations that force the dog to make a leadership decision .My advice is to promote control at all times.

Displaying control mechanisms to the dog emphasises your pack leader status. A dog who knows his place will not attempt a takeover bid.

 Dogs do not want to be leaders. Most dogs are happy to know that someone else is in control and is making all the decisions for them.

Dog attacks will continue until owners take the responsibility of leadership away from the dog.