I recently heard a dog walker in the UK was attacked by 7 dogs she was walking. News is stating that the 7 dogs attached her and she might have died. I am not sure of the full story as it keeps changing, and you all know how that goes! Being that I am in the field of animal behavior, we find this type of news out quickly.This writing is about the possible reasons this attack could've happened. Therefore, MAYBE more humans will see the problem we have with so MANY unsocialized dogs that get into trouble, or possibly kill. I just wanted to throw my opinion and thoughts out there for anyone who is interested in canine behavior.

Let me start by saying - forgive any spelling errors or bad structured sentences. I didn't have time to proof read. (for the spelling Nazi's- the internet can get rough).

Ok, now your going to hear everyone's thoughts on the "WHY". Unfortunately this is going to be from A to Z about every theory anyone can come up with.

Now we all know we will NEVER know why, correct? Right? We will NEVER know! Because dogs are good at keeping secrets (they'll never tell use why).

Ok, that's deep but it's animal behavior FACTS...See ABC's of behavior here.

OK, let's keep this short:

With all my experience my first thoughts is always look to the basics, and that's taking a history report, which we have limited access too. Therefore, my first thought is some or all of these dogs had a poor socialization period and definitely towards humans.

My second thought is when one dog in a group (can be two dogs) is injured, one or all dogs can attack. One dog might start, and others just join in. Some will say that it's related to instincts.

Now, with that said, there can be many more variables added to this. One such variable is:

• I would like to hear a full history report of all dogs and handlers. A full history report will involve medical reports on all the dogs just to rule out anything medical like pain, tumors, ETC.
• The full history of each dog, from birth to present day, has basically everything we ask in a history report.

Now that's basically it, but rest assure you will hear 1000's of possible "whys" but for me, I go straight to science. Who's going to know the best answer as of today? I believe it would be science, not some news guy, neighbor or friend. We just don't know right?

With the ABC's of behavior, something happens in the environment which triggers a certain behavior. Then we observe this behavior or behaviors, and then, a consequence. We all know what the ultimate consequence for the human was in this case, but what about the dogs? hmm

Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps set more humans' and dogs' relationships up for better success!

Note: I hope the takeaway from this is the importance of socialization!

SOCIALIZATION during the imprint/critical stage

Here is some scientific studies that I researched to try to back my hypothetical theories. Use a search engine to find the story. Search: Dog walker attacked in UK...

Intraspecific killing in dogs:

Emotions and Dog Bites: Could Predatory Attacks Be Triggered by Emotional States?

Feel free to comment below or add your studies...