Many incidents of aggressive dog attacks are reported as having happened "out of nowhere". In fact, most dogs give ample warning signs that their mood is escalating into an unwanted state. The signs are usually not correctly observed by humans and therefore, the dog may reach a level of no return and lash out physically. 

I'd like to pause here and note that this article is being written with the utmost respect paid to bite / attack victims. The purpose of this article is to educate and enlighten dog owners to the indicators present when dogs are losing patience and what to do in such an event. 

It must be said that dogs are living, breathing, feeling creatures. They are capable of mood variances and will advise through facial expression and body language when they are scared, uncomfortable, nervous and, happy. When dogs are put into situations where they feel threatened or scared, bad things can and, sometimes will happen. 

There seems to be a common misconception that dogs are more than willing to be treated like a jungle gym and actually enjoy being taunted. While usually very loving and accepting of human behaviour, dogs do not enjoy being crawled all over, hugged, poked at, taunted, or, bullied in any way. 

Besides being overstimulated, dogs can react quite negatively to joggers, other dogs, bicycles, humans approaching too quickly to greet them and, unexpected loud noises. It's important to watch for signs of escalation during walks, especially for dog/dog meetings. 

The key to having a calm and relaxed dog is providing a calm and relaxed environment. When negative triggers such as invasive physical taunts and raised voices are replaced with respected boundaries and level voice tones, the environment will automatically balance to calm. 

If you see a dog responding to unwanted stimulus with raised hackles, whale eye, curled lip, lip licking, ducking the head away, or any other clearly readable body language signs, its time to intervene. Calmly. 

• Use the "Leave it" cue
• Ask for a sit
• Distract with a toy or favorite treat
• Remove the trigger or take the dog to a quiet space
• Use a sharp whistle or a finger snap

The absolute BEST course of action is to keep a watchful and educated eye open. Be aware that even though dogs are cute, cuddly and loving, they too have limits. Get to know the warning signs of a dog escalating and practice your chosen intervention technique. 

Unfortunately far too many people take for granted that their pet dog will not react and remain placid in all situations. This lack of knowledge and training can result in injury and in extreme cases, death. There is no court hearing to determine the fate of the dog when it has been labelled as agressive. Euthanasia is an automatic sentencing for dogs that have bitten or attacked, regardless if responsible dog ownership was not being practiced.
A dog attack is a most undesirable situation as the victim count only keeps rising for the concerned family. Firstly, the person that suffered an injury, secondly, the dog paying the ultimate price of it's life, and thirdly, the entire family suffers from the incident and fallout. 

Having multiple species in your home is doable, many of us rescue folks have cats, dog, humans and, the occassional "other" type of animal coexisting under one roof. If you are planning on introducing a second foster or pet to your family, expect to be doing some work on integrating the new addition regardless of species. 

Introduction is key, space is mandatory and, a "my pets are fighting like cats & dogs" strategy will also come in handy. If you are introducing a cat into your doggy home, be prepared to have a safe space for your new feline friend to retreat to. A secluded room for kitty to spend his first few days is a great way for cat & dog to get used to each others scents. 

If you are bringing a dog into your up til now cats only home, keeping pup leashed at all times is highly recommended. While this might sound like a tiresome task, the benefit is that you will be in constant control of your pup. Your resident cat will likely be indignant (to say the least) at a K9 interloper in his home. And, since dogs are hugely fond of chasing, the leashing technique will prevent nasty scuffles from happening.

Because dogs are so inquisitive and want to be friends with everyone and, cats require a bit longer of a warm up period, the Pack has put together some tips and tricks on how to best integrate Feline & K9:

• Provide hiding spaces for the cat, clear out underneath your bed or cut a cat size hole in a sturdy box
• Let Kitty decide how the relationship will evolve
• Invest in a cat tree or have some higher ground available for Kitty to evade your dog
• Keep an eye on your fur babies, it's never a good idea to let your pets "work it out"
• Place food and water in different rooms, elevating cat dishes is a great idea (dog = food ninja)
• Provide separate sleeping areas for each pet
• No playing favorites! Share your time and attention equally between your fur babies
• Keep your pooch by your side at all time during the "getting to know you" phase
• Discourage the chase game, dogs love to play chase. When Kitty runs away from Fido it's not usually to engage in play time (see above)
• Ensure both pets are safely confined with no access to each other when you are unable to supervise them
• If you are searching for a dog savvy cat or a cat savvy dog, check with your local rescues
• Get yourself a covered litter pan for 2 reasons:

              To provide Kitty with privacy &
              To prevent Fido from eating poopalicious treats     

Unfortunately there is no gaurantee that you cat will ever fall in love with your dog or vice versa. If you can however, reach a place where Kitty is politely tolerable of Fido and there are limited fracuses, I'd go ahead and call that a win. 

With a little patience and a good game plan, chances are good that Kitty & Fido will learn to absolutely adore each other. Pictured to the right are my fur kids, Marley and Lacie. Now they are all about snuggles and are constant companions but, this was not always the case. 

When Marley first moved into our home, he was completely overwhelmed by Lacie. He stayed hidden for most of the time. Lacie wanted to be buddies but Marley wasn't having any of it! With a lot of patience, some of the tips on the list above and, about 120 days or so, they started to form a bond based on love, affection and, trust.