Pack Dynamics

[biker girl]

I am curious to why dogs will "set upon" another when that dog is in physical trouble ie choking on a stick.

Why & how they can trigger on another's pain.

Is it someting we can control or just manage or even don't fully understand??????

[Erny]

I don't know. Perhaps it is something they don't understand - something new, scarey. And that triggers a defence response. Perhaps the noises, body language and actions of the other dog triggers a prey response. And perhaps mother nature has a reason for that in the wild, where it goes back to survival of the pack.

Edited August 11, 2010 by Erny

[moosmum]

I have not often seen this behaviour in my own dogs,usualy we just see concern but one who did show this happened to have pretty extreme prey drive.

Since then its hard not to think its conected.

[Stitch]

I witnessed this kind of behaviour when I was riding with three dogs following behind.

The smallest dog did something unpredictable and was hurt by the horse.

The other two dogs immediately set upon it but stopped when I called them off.

The small dog ended up with some mild leg damage which healed well after vet care but it always amazed me how they could go from all getting on well together to 'lets pick on the hurt one' in a space of a few seconds.

I can only presume that the 'pack mentality' kicked in and the small one was seen as 'prey' for a while.

[Mas1981]

I witnessed this kind of behaviour when I was riding with three dogs following behind.

The smallest dog did something unpredictable and was hurt by the horse.

The other two dogs immediately set upon it but stopped when I called them off.

The small dog ended up with some mild leg damage which healed well after vet care but it always amazed me how they could go from all getting on well together to 'lets pick on the hurt one' in a space of a few seconds.

I can only presume that the 'pack mentality' kicked in and the small one was seen as 'prey' for a while.

I have also seen horses grazing together suddenly start attacking a sick old mare... must be something to do with survival of the herd/pack.

[corvus]

must be something to do with survival of the herd/pack.

I don't buy this for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it doesn't make evolutionary sense because a sick or injured animal will die without the help of their social group. The group will travel and the sick or injured animal will be left behind. Without the support of its group it is very vulnerable. If there is limited food supply the sick/injured individual will be competetively excluded by its social group, which will further weaken it and it will not last long. The only reason a group has to turn on a sick/injured member is if it is a threat, such as if it attracts predators or behaves in a strange way that frightens the others. In the former situation, I don't see that attacking the individual is any better than simply driving it off and/or leaving it behind. It's a less energetically demanding choice and less dangerous. Even a sick animal can injure others when fighting for its life. The latter is a direct threat and may be the answer IMO.

Secondly, there is no edvidence that I know of that canine groups in the wild kill their own members. Most of the time they are related. I remember on Big Cat Diary there was a lioness with a wasted leg who was paired up with a sister. Despite the fact the sister was perfectly healthy and would probably do better without her crippled sidekick, she stayed with her and they adapted a hunting method that accounted for the bung leg. I think that the notion that group members will kill each other for the good of the group is dubious.

[Jacquiboss&scoop]

We have a rottie that fits on and off , when she does we get different reactions from the other dogs , as the fits often start with bared teeth and falling down as well as being unresponsive to external stimulus .

The old dog will sit at a distance and watch until she becomes responsive again when she is she is sniffed and washed for a good 10 mins

the other young bitch becomes distressed and paws at her barks sometimes but mostly whines and comes looking for us sometimes just before the fit starts

her response afterwards is to reassert her place in the doggy pack ( the dog that fits is bottom of the pecking order for furries)

If it were not our own dog I think that the young bitch would attack , the old dog would ignore

the young bitch has a very high prey drive

[m-j]

I see this at the kennels I work at and it isn't only pain that will trigger it, a dog coming up from going under a fence will start this behaviour as well. It doesn't matter if the dog is going into another pack's territory or coming back into it's own territory with it's own pack. They don't do it if the dog is going from the pack under the fence, well not that I have seen anyway, unless the dog's on the other side of the fence get them going.

Pack mentality is weird, what triggers it I have no idea, but humans have it too.

cheers

M-J

[Adele]

I don't have anything to add to why it happens but I'm quite interested to find out as I have seen dogs react to my dog when she reverse sneezes. She does it really loud and it sounds horrible, she also stands in quite a wierd position when doing it so I don't know if that might be what the other dogs are unsure about. She's done it a few times now around other dogs and some react and some don't.