Today my 18 month old dog has bitten my teenage daughter on the face. The bite mark is superficial but a bite to the face nonetheless.
Our dog had taken its bone into the living room, and had fallen asleep with bone tucked behind them, our teenage has come along, the dog had woken up, our teenager has sat beside the dog to stroke them and then when they’ve gone to stroke the dog a second time they have nipped at our teenaged face. Puncturing the skin.
For background when we had the dog as a puppy it did display some signs of food aggression which we thought we had dealt with as we haven’t see any signs of this for a very long time.
It’s a collie cross breed and generally a very affectionate and friendly dog. The only explanation we have is that it was being protective over the bone.
We never give big treats that they’ve had opportunity to become possessive or protective over before but a visiting family member brought it last week as a gift for the dog.
We have told the dog off immediately after the bite and put them in the safe space we use when we go out.
What I’d like to know is if anyone has experience of keeping their dog after it’s bitten and there being a successful outcome , where the dog hasn’t bitten again?