Hi. Am feeling very sad and confused, as I am sure our Lab is tonight too. Long standing friends who know our dog well came to our house tonight for dinner, as their daughter approached our gate on her scooter wearing her helmet, she put her hand through the gate to stroke our dog and he bit her fingers. She says he didn't growl... He is very vocal when people walk past the property and does bark if people approach the gate \ front door. Any advice v gratefully received. Is he just protecting our property??
Hi @Vikki Roberts I would get a dog behaviourist to evaluate him and suggest a counter conditioning programme. Until then put some material on the gate so that children cannot put their hands through the gate or fence. Act now. Don't waste anytime.
Was it possibly a play bite, not a serious bite? The problem still needs to be corrected either way, but lots of dogs do inhibited play bites that don't cause damage. That said I never approach a dog I don't know well with my hand open.