In general I would agree with you about biting. However, if I live in an isolated area and somebody comes onto my property without my knowing and without my invitation and the dog, who is by nature territorial, nips him then I can't blame the dog. The intruder had no right to be there and the dog was merely protecting my property. If my dog is contained behind a fence that is dog proof but not human proof, then it behoves the human not to invade that space. The human who invaded his space knew very well that there was a dog there and there was a perfectly good path around the orchard which he could have taken rather than the short cut.
If you have ever had to break up a fight, and if you have several dogs these are inevitable no matter how hard you try to avoid them, you would know that things happen in the heat of the moment that are regretted by everybody when things cool down. Likewise, a dog in pain will do things that he wouldn't normally do. A bitch with puppies will always protect her babies. That is what she would do in the wild and that is a trait which makes her a good mother. I have had two bitches who would protect their babies with their lives, and I had one who couldn't care less. She would wander off and leave them to their own devices and would have to be coaxed back into the whelping box to feed them; her mothering instincts were awful. Thankfully her daughter and granddaughter never inherited them. In the wild the first bitch's pups would never have survived. You cannot blame a bitch for taking care of her family.
Kapani, you have horses. If somebody came into your stable when nobody was around, but your dogs were there, and he started to remove the tack from your tack room, what would you expect your dogs to do. Wag their tails and smile at the thief. "Come on in. Take what you want". Or would you expect your dogs to do what they could to prevent your property from being stolen?
There was a case recently in Richmond where somebody had a Rottie contained in their backyard behind a stockade fence and a gate. A neighbor's toddler opened the gate and invaded the dog's yard. The dog bit the toddler. It went to court and in fact the judge did not blame the dog. The toddler's parents were told that they should watch their child more carefully and the owner of the dog put a padlock on his gate.
I know a lady who lives in S.A. and keeps a bunch of RR's on her property. When she wanted to reduce the numbers, her family hit the roof because it was only the presence of the RRs that would keep them from being robbed of everything they had.
Even if the dog is "baying" the intruder, if the intruder tries to make a break for it, the dog will grab whatever it can to keep the intruder in place.
This is where the breed is divided. Most RRs live in cities, in families, where it is of utmost important that they have a stable, kind temperament (sort of like the proverbial Golden Retriever!). However, there are a number of RRs who still live on farms and still are being used as they were in the last century. The problem comes when the farm dog has to be moved to the city. This is where the human has to make a huge adjustment and help the dog adjust alongside him. Think of the effect it will have on a dog who has spent it's early years having the run of a large property to suddenly have to wait to go out until his owner is ready to put a leash on him and walk him to the park. These are dogs that are used to farm animals, tractors and other farm implements, but the sight of a baby carriage or a jogger is something totally alien. That is a huge adjustment.
Long and short of this, we really have to be a bit more understanding than just to look at things as being black and white. There are always circumstances that need to be examined carefully before condemning a dog because he bites somebody. Things just aren't always black and white. There are huge grey areas.
Caroline
