Category Archives: Animal Behaviorists

A collection of posts that include commentary by animal behaviorists about impulsive aggression, heritability of aggression, temperament testing and more.

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bull Kills 3-Week Old Girl in Detroit

Tarilyn Bowles, 3-weeks old, was mauled to death by a pit bull on Detroit's west side. Insights from Behaviorist The funeral for 3-week old Tarilyn Luciana Bowles, mauled to death by a family pit bull while strapped into a child safety seat, is scheduled for Wednesday. DogsBite.org along with commenters have been repelled by the statement by the owner of the dog blaming the deadly attack on the animal smelling "baby formula on the infant's clothes." The endless denialism by t… [Read full blog post]

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Oklahoma Woman Killed by Pit Bull in Her Home

Nellie Davis, 61-years old, was killed by her granddaughter's pet pit bull. Insights from Behaviorists DogsBite.org along with commenters have become alarmed at the misleading rationale that a "normal" response by a "noise-sensitive" dog is to attack and kill a family member when under the duress of loud sounds, like the crack of thunder. It is even more disconcerting that a police captain is echoing this false rationale provided by the dog's owner. One wonders if the dog h… [Read full blog post]

2012 Dog Bite Fatality: 1-Year Old Henderson Boy Killed by Family Dog

Fatally attacking dog depicted with the victim, Jeremiah Eskew-Shahan. Saving Killer Dogs? UPDATE 05/13/12: The Las Vegas Review-Journal published a follow up piece about animal activists who intervene to "save dogs" that have bitten and killed. The article refers to the February death of a 2-day old baby who was killed by his family's adopted Husky, named Nikko.1 On April 27, a Pennsylvania judge allowed Nikko to be sent to an out-of-state "sanctuary" instead of being pu… [Read full blog post]

The DNA Paradox: Hired Gun Ledy VanKavage Flip-Flops Position on Pit Bull DNA

Dogfighting DNA Database San Francisco, CA - In September, the San Francisco affiliate of NPR, KQED, ran a segment about the Canine Combined DNA Index System, a DNA database of pit bulls seized in dogfighting raids. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) helped establish the database, which they dubbed the "Canine CODIS,"1 and hopes that it will help authorities connect dogfighting investigations across the country by creating multi-juri… [Read full blog post]