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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

DDog bit me

24 replies

GameofPhones · 19/03/2021 22:04

Ddog bit me, so I've been giving him the silent treatment. Now he's whining at me and putting a paw up. What should I do?

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Easterbunnygettingready · 19/03/2021 22:05

Circumstances??

Ideclarethumbwar · 19/03/2021 22:07

Don’t punish (eg silent treatment) for more than about 10 mins -it has a bad effect on them

FurrySlipperBoots · 19/03/2021 22:07

Oh God, I'm sorry. What happened exactly?

redwineandonionrings · 19/03/2021 22:18

We need more details really if you're looking for help. But I'll start with this:
Dogs don't understand punishment after the fact. So the "silent treatment" won't be teaching the dog anything if that's your aim. Dogs don't usually bite for no reason.

Do you want to tell us about what happened?

RunningFromInsanity · 19/03/2021 22:43

Dogs don’t associate delayed punishment.

If you want to separate the biting incident and giving him attention, then get him to do a few simple commands (sit, down, paw etc) then give a small reward and treat him like normal.

OldCow1 · 19/03/2021 22:44

Is d dog Young?

GameofPhones · 19/03/2021 23:37

He's not young (about 8), Actually he's bitten me two days in succession. The first time he was lying belly up on my bed, apparently inviting a belly rub. When I went to touch him he bit my hand. He often does this, but in a playful 'mock bite' way. This time it was more of a real bite, marked my skin but didn't break it.

The second time we were in the park after a walk around the village. He was intensely interested in some kids in the distance and obviously wanted to run over to them. I wanted to go home, so pulled him away (not harshly) then he JUMPED UP fiercely and bit me on my inner upper arm. I had a jacket on, so now have two clear bruises there. I was quite shocked and admittedly angry.

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ArcherDog · 20/03/2021 00:02

Bite 1. Do you think he meant it or misjudged the strength of the bite?
An obvious solution would be to allow him to approach you for strokes, rather than the other way round.

Bite 2. Redirection. Did you pull the lead or his harness/collar? It’s likely you made him jump and he redirected on to you.
This type of bite isn’t ok, and needs addressing.

I would take a day or so to let both of you decompress.
Whether you mean it or not, you are going to be giving off angry/wary vibes to him and that will put him on edge, creating a viscous circle!

It could just be terrible timing and may never happen again. Especially if this is the first time in 8years.

However if the biting escalates then you need to make a note of the situation in each incident and maybe have a chat with a behaviourist for advice.

GameofPhones · 20/03/2021 00:10

Well I won't be giving him any more belly rubs. As for the second bite, I don't think I pulled him harshly (he has a harness). I guess it could have been redirected excitement, but the apparently aggressive leaping up to bite me was quite shocking.

I will try to return to my normal behaviour with him (except for belly rubs) and will obviously note any further bites.

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bluetongue · 20/03/2021 02:33

If this is unusual behaviour for your dog then I’d get a vet checkup. Sometimes pain can cause dogs to change behaviour and it’s best to rule out physical causes before workers ng on the behaviour.

Dillparsleyandmint · 20/03/2021 03:05

There was a video going around You Tube a while back of a man being mauled by a Labrador after he had gone to it and rubbed it's exposed belly. The key being that the dog had walked away from the man and laid on its back and the man had followed the dog to stroke him, misinterpreting the dog exposing it's underside as a sign of affection, not "walking away/lying on back " = leave me alone/submission under stress.

Dogs usually do give warning signs of what they are going to do but they can be very subtle and context is everything.

How is your dog generally when it comes to possessiveness? Does he guard food or his place on the bed, or sofa? Encouraging play biting is possibly not a good move.

But second bite more worrying. The context doesn't sound as if it was pain related but worth a vet check anyway. It sounds more behavioural. Is he generally frustrated on the lead? Do you ever walk him off leash? How is his recall generally?

In your shoes , once any pain has been ruled out, I think I would go back to basics, working on simply getting his attention and rewarding with a clicker and a treat using the "look at me" command.. Start at home in an enclosed area and then gradually move out to more open, more stimulating spaces. Then when you want to redirect his attention in future , keep the leash in a loose "smile" and instead of yanking or pulling , use the "look at me" command first. The brain has to engage before his body does ifyswim.

LApprentiSorcier · 20/03/2021 03:26

I second the advice to get a vet check up if it's out of character. It may be that your dog is in discomfort somewhere.

Hoping you can get this sorted out easily.

fallfallfall · 20/03/2021 04:19

i was going to come on and say exactly what @LApprentiSorcier said.
suspect pain somewhere, dental, joint, back, somewhere not necessarily conspicuous.

sunflowersandbuttercups · 20/03/2021 06:59

Vet check. Always get a thorough check up when you see a sudden behaviour change.

The fact that it happened twice in two days and both bites occurred when you touched the same area (remember, pulling on a harness pulls at their underside/belly) makes me think he's in pain - possibly his back or joints and you've aggravated it.

If he's broken the skin you should get the bite checked at A&E or a minor injuries clinic as well. Dog bites can easily turn very nasty.

I hope you're okay and not too shaken up. Being bitten is horrible Thanks

GameofPhones · 20/03/2021 10:07

This is helpful advice thankyou. At the last vet visit it was mentioned that Ddog had some stiffness in a back leg, and I should give him fish oil capsules or mackerel, which I have been doing (mackerel). So it is possible he is getting some pain there.

He is generally well behaved, accepts the lead though likes to run free and has good recall. He is not resource guarding, except for the bed. He runs upstairs at bed time and gets on the bed before me. That is when he shows his belly. I have always interpreted this as inviting a belly rub, but now realise it may mean something different. What I saw as play-biting may actually be warning bites, and he is now starting to follow through with real biting.

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sunflowersandbuttercups · 20/03/2021 10:23

He is not resource guarding, except for the bed. He runs upstairs at bed time and gets on the bed before me. That is when he shows his belly. I have always interpreted this as inviting a belly rub, but now realise it may mean something different. What I saw as play-biting may actually be warning bites, and he is now starting to follow through with real biting.

Yes, exposing the belly is often an appeasement gesture rather than an invitation to have his belly rubbed.

Have you ever heard of the ladder of aggression? It's a very useful thing to have a read up on :)

DDog bit me
PollyRoulson · 20/03/2021 10:27

Showing a belly can be askig for more space. Think where the dogs legs are, if you approach they can push you off with their legs.

There is a great body language video showing this somewhere - see if I can find it

PollyRoulson · 20/03/2021 10:28

Totally agree you do need a vet check on your dog

tabulahrasa · 20/03/2021 10:30

You were giving your dog the silent treatment at home, because he but you however long beforehand on a walk?...

Um I’d suggest you get a behaviourist tbh as you’ve obviously got a dog with a bit of an issue and not enough knowledge to work on that alone.

Sea12 · 20/03/2021 10:34

touching the belly and getting a reaction then then harness pushing against the belly/ribs when he's pulling suggests he is reacting to pain

GameofPhones · 20/03/2021 10:36

This is the dog in question. Usually a darling.

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redwineandonionrings · 20/03/2021 16:50

He's beautiful! I agree with the others about a vet check although it sounds like you might already know that he has some pain in his legs at least. My old boy has bitten a couple of times recently because he is so easy to hurt now. Both times he was more distressed than I was! I'm much more careful with grooming, nails etc now.

To help avoid more problems in the future, you could work on a "let's go" cue so you won't have to pull him away from distractions in the future. This shouldn't take long to teach. Pair "let's go!" Or whatever you want your cue to be with a treat, then work up to him moving towards to, then finally moving with you. Make sure moving with you is always in his best interests. Or you could play the Kikopup leash pressure game (on YouTube). For the scenario when he's belly-up on the bed it sounds like you already understand what went wrong here. But if you were worried, you could do some training here too so that he learns that you joining him on the bed = good. You can use treats for this too as long as you respect his space.
Hope you're ok though. It's horrible being bitten and even worse when you can see that they're distressed too!

Moondust001 · 20/03/2021 17:01

@bluetongue

If this is unusual behaviour for your dog then I’d get a vet checkup. Sometimes pain can cause dogs to change behaviour and it’s best to rule out physical causes before workers ng on the behaviour.
I would agree with this. Play biting should never be encouraged because it can easily lead to mistakes, and that isn't the dogs fault. So if he has done it before in play and not been corrected, then you have not much to complain about if he has misjudged the strength of his bite.

The other incident is more worrying in a dog of this age with no history, and would suggest that there may be something else at play, such as pain.

By the way - belly rubs can also just be belly rubs! My Border Collie loves his belly rubs. You know your dog - you should be able to tell whether it is wanted or not, and I am sure you do.

Given his age, and if there is some age related stiffness appearing, I think I might take a step up from just providing some fish. There are any number of joint support mixtures - personally I have seen fantastic outcomes from Synflex, but other people will recommend their own favourites I'm sure.

GameofPhones · 20/03/2021 18:29

This is all really helpful advice, gives me something to work on. Thankyou.

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