Children Need Pit Bulls: A Picture Book

[De Leonist]

69. Really?

Damn it all not every strange behavior that looks like aggression is actually aggression. Dogs bark in various tones for different reasons. The two that are barking in that video aren't being aggressive but issuing more of a "alert" bark. I suspect had the police simply just shut off the sirens, turned their cars off, and waited for the dogs to adjust to their presence for a minute or two they could've exited the vehicles without any real worry of being attacked. The dog that ends up chewing on the cop car could be easily responding to what in it's mind is something that didn't heed the alert bark and is making loud, scary noises and so the dog resorts to what is in it's mind is defensive behavior.

Most dogs, of any breed, don't just mindlessly bite or attack something. Most dogs will give off body language that shows their state of mind and how they feel about the presence of people or objects. It wouldn't take a much to train police to tell if a dog is in an aggressive state or in a simply nervous one. Unfortunately it is not always possible to deescalate the situation with a dog that is aggressive. However with a nervous one, which is what those dogs in the video were at first, as long as you keep your body language, voice, and actions in general calm, slow, and deliberate you can approach the dogs and let them see for themselves that you are not a threat. While the animal may not immediately switch to buddy mode. They will be far less likely to view you as a potential danger.

Humans and Dogs have had millennia to develop ways of communicating with each other. They are there and can be used by any body who is willing to do a few hours of research. You can't honestly blame nervous dogs for responding that way when the human is too ignorant to know what the dog is trying to say.