Why do dogs bite?

It’s always very hard to see news items about children (or anyone for that matter) being bit by dogs. There was recently a story out of Claresholm, AB where this happened to an 11 year old girl. (Global news is anyone wants to look for it)

I want to talk about dog bites and aggression and how to avoid it.

There are many things that can make a dog bite a human and from my experience, it's usually because the human made the dog uncomfortable, and it felt like it had no other choice. Reading dog's body language takes lots of time and practice and even I don't catch everything a dog may display yet. But if we can intervene early and teach our dog what to do when they are uncomfortable, as well as teach our children how to know if the dog is uncomfortable and to leave, we can avoid so many issues. It's almost always human error that leads to dog bites. 

Here are some signs to look for and be aware of

Does your dog

• roll into a submissive position as soon as they greet someone = red flag

• growl at people of any age invading their space

• lunge and bark at people and dogs.

Enrolling in training when we first get our new dog or puppy can help us learn how to read our dogs body language and know when something might make them uncomfortable. Dog Training is at least 50% human training as well. We need to learn to speak our dog’s language and learn how to speak up for them and advocate for them. If they are left to advocate for themselves, they will bare teeth, growl, snarl, snap, bark and bite. All of which are things we try to teach our dogs not to do; so, some dogs will skip all the steps and jump into a bite without warning. 

The best way to avoid a biting dog is learning their language a bit by finding a good dog trainer to teach you! Bites CAN be avoided if we just learn how to communicate effectively with our dogs and learn how to stand up for them.

Things you should consider with children and dogs

• If you wouldn't let them cook on the stove unsupervised, they probably shouldn't be with the dog unsupervised

• When meeting, let the dog come up to the child, allow a quick scratch under the chin and ask the dog or child to leave the space before they're "over it" usually at about the 3-7 second mark.

• Get the kids involved with training! Ask your trainer for simple exercises for them to do with the dog to build relationship and trust.

While I do not work directly with dogs that have become aggressive or bite, I can work with you to avoid it happening in the first place!