Quiz: Which dog do you think attacked his owner and how did you come to that conclusion?Dog pics included?

Question

This is a true story, one of the following 2 dogs actually bit his owner on the face, right on the lips. I am asking you to guess which dog was the culprit based on looks, breed and information I provide and I want to know why you think you are correct about the dog you choose.
Dog #1 is a male mutt, 8yrs old, neutered, 80lbs, never violently abused, owned his entire life by a woman who is a straight A student and very popular. This dog was born and raised in a rural area. http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/jaspertopaz6/Buddy.jpg
Dog #2 is a male American Bulldog, 2yrs old, not neutered, 100lbs, never violently abused, owned by several people before being owned by a man who is a highschool drop out. This dog was born and raised in a urban area. http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/jaspertopaz6/Nitro.jpg

I lived for over a year in the same house with these 2 dogs, both slept in the bed with me at night, were affectionate, gentle, housebroken and well trained.

I will tally the results and post the story of which dog actually bit his owner and the circumstances in a different question later tonight.

I purposely did not include the circumstances of the biting incident because I wanted to see how people judged these dogs based on the way they look, who owned them and the environment they were raised in. The reason for this was to see if looks influence a persons opinion of a dog more than circumstances. and yes I did expect more people to immediately accuse the dog who looks more like a "pitbull". To your credit everyone many of you are much more discerning than that and dont base your opinion solely on looks. Currently there are 10 votes for dog #1 and 12 for dog #2 as the culprit.

Answer 1

The mutt. Reason being, he was too sheltered all his life, he didn't receive enough exposure to people or circumstances that challenged his ability to cope. The bulldog clearly had a wide range of experiences in his life, and was therefore bound to be calmer and less easy to startle.

Answer 2

Not enough info is presented. What kind of early socialization with unknown people did they have? How old were the dogs when removed from the litter? How many puppies in the litter?

Most important: What were the circumstances of the bite? Was the dog startled awake? Did the owner trip over the dog? Did the owner have a seizure? (Seizures can cause dogs to react badly)

The American Bulldog has the history that makes it most likely to bite a person. The more homes a dog has, the more likely the dog is to feel insecure. More fearful = more likelihood of biting.

Also, the American Bulldog is not neutered. NOT neutering a dog greatly increases the statistical probability of aggression.

However, the eight year old dog increases in some likelihood as older dogs experience more physical problems, which can increase aggression. Pain is a great predictor of aggressive behavior.

Answer 3

Was the owner who was bit a male?
In order for me to give you an answer to this question you would need to give some me some more information. Like what was happening before the bit? What food involved? Were the dogs fighting and the owner broke it up?
Without the answer to these questions I can only suppose.
According to the statistics, I would have to say it was Dog #2 that bit its owner. It is an intact male, has had several owners and his breed tend to be a little more aggressive then others. The only thing that might sway me is that the dog was raised in an urban area so he might have been socialized with more humans.
But...Dog #1 might be some sort of terrier mix and they can be a little snappy. It also has some traits that might cause it to be a biter. If the bitee was a male, it could have bit because of the limited exposure to men and has been raise in a rural setting which limits its socialization with humans.
I'm going to say Dog #2 is the culprit but any dog has the potential to bit.

Answer 4

It is not possible to tell a dog's behavior or temperament by a photograph, not even a photograph of the dog interacting with the owner. It is also not possible to tell by reading a dog's history or whether or not the dog has been abused. Any dog can bite if the circumstances are right, and yet many, many dogs brought up in the "wrong" breed and "wrong" circumstances are as well-behaved and loving as is possible.

I'm sad to see how many people are willing to believe that the second dog did the biting based on appearance, even when this is clearly a set-up that it was Dog #1. Reading people's logic for what makes a dog bite also makes me sad. For animals that we with whom we spend so much of our lives, we as a society sure don't understand dogs very well.

Answer 5

I'm going to say Dog #1.

-- The mix of breeds (shepherd/hound/maybe some herding breed?), as well as the dog's age and the slightly timid posture in the photo. Those breeds are more sensitive/reactive than bull breeds, which tend to only be aggressive toward other dogs. Also, since the mix is much older, it's possible there's a health issue or pain involved.

I was really torn on this! I almost chose Dog #2 because of possible anxiety/neuroses caused by being rehomed repeatedly. Also, being such a large active breed living in an urban area he might not be getting enough exercise, which can create frustration and possibly aggression.

Answer 6

Your probably expecting everyone to reply with dog 2 because of its looks and given the fact that it is closley associated with the apbt arent you? But honestly it could of been either one. Any dog if provoked can turn violent just as any human can. But maybe people will be suprised if you say it was the innocent looking mutt. Which would prove my point about how people discriminate the apbt the amstaff the bull terrier or bulldog. But as the owner of 2 apbt who are not aggressive in no way shape or form its hard to tell which one might have done it. So I guess Ill just wait for your answer.

Answer 7

I'd be more inclinded to think dog #2 based on his history, and breed. Not being neutered, being young, and being owned by serveral people.

Upon looking at the picture he seems to be a very outgoing dog, secure, friendly like with his body position and eyes.

Dog #1 based on history would less likely be the bitter, being older, not being passed around from one owner to anther constantly, neutered.

However upon looking at the picture his body language is telling a whole different story. He looks more insecure, his eyes and body positioning are in a way that he is unwanting of the attention. He's got his body all underhim.

So based on all of that combined, I'd have to go with dog #1 being the one who bit, not based entierly on the information but on the body language the animals potrays.

I might be wrong though, some times confident dogs are just as capable of biting as underconfident animals.....

Answer 8

This is a tough one because, #1 looks to have a lot of German Shepard in him and they are the best dogs for tracking people but since he was owned by only one person who was a very smart young lady and then there is #2 who has a history of being passed around before BOTH dogs ended up with an undereducated man who didn't have the brains to stay in school, I would have to say in this case that it was #1 because he does have a lot of german shepard and since he did live in a rural area, he was able to roam freer than #2. This time the bulldog is in case is more than likely innocent

Answer 9

Im just gonna guess dog #2 since a man owned him and some dogs can territoral and not like men. Plus the fact he is raised in an urban area and most dogs in citys dont get as much exercise as they need therefore tend to have alot of built up energy. Also he isn't neutered so he could have alot more built up energy from sexual frustration and unneutered dogs can be more territorial. Im not gonna judge the breed because I work at a vets office and have seen plenty of supposably gentle breeds that are very violent and dogs like pit bulls and german sheperds are the most gentle dogs you could ever meet

Answer 10

Dog 1

Answer 11

I don't have enough information here about the incident of the bite to make a conclusion with confidence. However, I am going to say that it was the Bulldog because he was owned by many people in a short time, he could be scared and looking for stability. A submissive dog will show submission my licking the face/lips of a bigger dog, nip at the face like a puppy would the mother to ask for food or press their head up under the chin of the bigger dog. This behavior translates to how dogs react to humans.

I say it was the bulldog looking for stability and showing submissive affection by nipping at the face.