I’ve had a silent theory for many years about something which could explain why some dogs inexplicably attack people. There’s a certain sound pitch that dogs don’t like.
Janine G’s answer to What do humans do that dogs don’t like? is what prompted me to write about my experience.
I adopted my rough collie, Chuck, (a Lassie dog) when he was a small puppy from his breeder. He was really adorable. He died a natural death just before his 14th birthday.
Chuck was perfect in every way. He was brought up with three boys who really put him through his paces. His ‘tricks’ repertoire was quite something. There was no-one, young or old who Chuck wouldn’t welcome. Dogs just didn’t come any more people friendly than him. He was frequently approached by young children. They would regularly say, “oh look, there’s Lassie” and they would run to him to stroke him. He was always friendly.
One evening when Chuck was around nine years old, my husband, youngest son (he was around 11) and I decided to visit the local fair which was in town. We took Chuck with us.
We were walking through the various rides and, as usual, people were stopping to talk to Chuck. We came across a group of young teenage girls. Because it was the fair, the girls were in high spirits. As we passed, the girls burst into screaming excitement at something one of them had said. Like a flash, Chuck bared his teeth and lunged at them — growling and barking at the same time.
Fortunately, he was on his lead so wasn’t able to get to them. I was able to hold him back. I also yelled, “Chuck, NO.” He stopped in his tracks immediately and adopted ‘naughty dog’ body language. It was over in a few seconds. To say I was shocked and astonished isn’t enough.
That was the day I realised that no dog is 100% reliable. Whatever pitch Chuck heard that day sent him into an uncontrolled fury, albeit for a few seconds. The outcome may have been very different had he not been wearing his lead.
That experience has come to my mind several times over the years when I’ve perhaps read or heard on the news about yet another dog attacking a young child.
I may be totally wrong but I do wonder if there’s that certain pitch which can set dogs off. There may be studies about this but I haven’t come across any.