Canine experts not sure why dogs attack

Jace Radke

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2002 | 9:20 a.m.

Source: Dr. Rolan Tripp of the Colorado State University Veterinary School, and Dr. Leslie Cooper of the University California, Davis Veterinary School.

Pack behavior, prey instinct and territorial defense can all provide the impetus for attacks such as the one involving an 11-year-old boy last week.

Identifying that impetus is difficult, said Dr. Leslie Cooper, a veterinarian and animal behaviorist for the University of California, Davis.

"It's sad because in most cases ... dogs (in general) are quite nice under most circumstances," Cooper said. "All we know for sure is that something comes together to create the right environment for the dogs to attack."

Michael Foley was feeding four Great Danes at a neighbor's home in a rural neighborhood off U.S. 95 near the turnoff to Mount Charleston when the animals attacked him Wednesday afternoon, Las Vegas Animal Control officials said.

Foley is in fair condition at University Medical Center. Foley, who required emergency surgery after the attack, was originally listed in critical condition after being bitten from head-to-toe by the dogs, which weighed between 110 and 140 pounds.

Dr. Rolan Tripp, a veterinarian and animal behaviorist for Colorado State University, has spent the past 20 years studying aggressive behavior in dogs, and estimates about 800,000 dog attacks are reported each year.

"About one person a month is killed in a dog attack," Tripp said.

Tripp has identified what he says are 25 causes of aggression that lead to attacks.

"One that may have played a role in the attack in Las Vegas is pack mentality aggression," Tripp said. "Just as humans in a mob have a different mindset, so do dogs. They'll do things they might not normally do, and the rest of the pack follows along."

Another possibility is that Foley may have run from the dogs, consequently triggering the animals' prey instinct, Tripp said.

"Maybe he turned to run when they became aggressive," Tripp said. "He could have been playing with them and it escalated, or the boy could have gone into a part of the yard that he hadn't been in before, and the animals became territorial.

"Without specific information about the dogs, their environment and exactly what led up to the attack, it's hard to pinpoint what caused it. But often there is more than one factor."

Cooper concurred, saying a number of things must occur to prompt an attack. He said research into pack behavior has shown that dogs are more liable to go on the attack when in a group.

"(At the University of Pennsylvania), a group did a study with a group of dogs that (had) actually mauled a woman to death," Cooper said. "One by one they let the dogs into a room with a stuffed doll. The dogs became more and more agitated with each other and finally attacked the stuffed doll."

Dail Kohler, who owns the Great Danes involved in the attack, said she doesn't know what could have caused the dogs to attack Foley. The dogs, two 18-month-old males, Star and Jack, an 18-month-old female, Nessie, and a 7-year-old female, Dilly, are being held under quarantine at the Lied Animal Shelter.

Kohler has said that she will not fight a decision by animal control to euthanize the dogs.com