My 17 month old male chocolate bit a 12 year old boy today who had walked over to pet him through the fence. And it was a hard bite that left several deep punctures on his hand. His mother came over later to tell me about it, but was very understanding and kind about the whole situation. Earlier in the day he went to the vet for shots and a checkup. He's always been as happy at the vets office as he would be on a walk in the park, but today there was a new doctor there, female this time, and he acted very nervous and growled and snapped at her. It was the first time I've ever seen him react that way. I've only heard him growl a couple of times and he always seems to love every human and dog he meets. She had to muzzle him to examine him. He was fine once the exam was over and was friendly to the vet again. This dog has to this point been a complete teddy bear and shown no signs of aggression. He's not a barker, doesn't guard his food, always patient with our kids, even when the six year old mauls him, has never tried to hump, or mark indoors. Sometimes when he's eating, our chickens walk right up and steal his food, and he's pretty passive about it. On the advice of my vet, I haven't neutered him yet. I would say he was very well socialized as a puppy, but maybe not so much recently. I usually take him hiking with me off leash and we don't run into a lot of people. Now I'm worried sick about what happened and don't feel like I can trust him around kids and strangers like I did before. Is this a hormonal intact male thing, or is it some kind of a fear response? I'm not sure whether I should shrug this off, be a little more careful next time to make sure he doesn't have unsupervised contact with strangers and reinforce his socialization, or should I seek serious professional intervention with a trainer?
Re: My dog bit someone today Oh Andrew ,sorry to hear this and I haven't the experience to help but I couldn't read your post and just pass by.There will be other members that will be able to provide some insight I'm sure. Just my thoughts though, if he'd had vet treatment and not been so happy there the same day ...that may have been a factor? [quote author=AndrewC link=topic=9879.msg143360#msg143360 date=1423806605] I'm not sure whether I should shrug this off, be a little more careful next time to make sure he doesn't have unsupervised contact with strangers [/quote] It sounds like quite a serious bite so I don't think you should shrug it off....indeed you aren't just by coming here to try and seek some understanding ..... Certainly care will need to be taken ...so I'd be making sure he's not in the garden unsupervised where people can put their hands over the fence to him.....to be honest that could upset many a dog quite easily and he probably gave off warning signals to the child that weren't heeded before he bit...but it's hard to know what happened without being there,what exactly,was the true interaction between child and dog. Sorry I'm not more help I just know you will be feeling really gutted so wanted to drop you a reply back x
Re: My dog bit someone today Hi Andrew, I can totally understand you feeling terribly shaken by this. I wonder if he is out of sorts physically....I know you had a check up at the vet's today. How thorough was it? That aside, I would say that it was a fear thing rather than a hormonal thing. In a way, his behaviour was not terribly unreasonable, although obviously it was highly undesirable... He growled at the vet to tell her not to come closer, and I guess she did (ignored his warning) and so he stepped it up with a bite. The 12 yo boy put his hand through your fence into your property...not a wise move and one that would cause many a dog to be defensive. Still, I, too, would be pretty stressed about what has happened and I think you are right to consider what to do next. My next step would definitely be to get in a qualified behaviourist who is very experienced in dealing with fear and biting and who totally rejects the idea that growling or biting are a dog's attempts to dominate or assert authority. You want one who uses positive and kind methods to retrain and build relaxation and confidence in your dog and to help you manage the environment to minimise the chances of this happening again. There are a couple of things I'd alter right away at home too: - Don't let your 6 yr old play roughly/boisterously with your dog. That might well have been annoying your dog much more than he was letting on. - And...a less important one...Don't let your chickens eat from your dog's bowl. Your dog might appear to be tolerant of that but it is not fair and he might take exception to it one day. I have chickens too and they always want what my dog has but I never let them get close enough. Let us know how you get on with finding someone suitable qualified. And definitely don't despair - I am sure that with the right help you and your dog can work through this situation and come out the other side just fine. But I really think it needs experienced eyes on the ground who can watch your family and dog interact and who can interact with your dog as well.
Re: My dog bit someone today Excellent advice from Rachael and I agree wholeheartedly. I'm just posting to add my support for you and your dog and wish you the best of luck!
Re: My dog bit someone today Thank you Dexter, Barbara and Rachel for your kind support and advice. Rachel, the examination today wasn't all that thorough, but I haven't noticed any drops in energy levels, or changes. He seems to be quite healthy. I believe you're correct about not letting my six year old play roughly with him. My 10 year old daughter is a natural with dogs, but my boys just can't seem to understand he's an animal and not a toy. The thing with the vet was my fault. He had a very slight case of cherry eye a few months ago, and his inner eyelid on one eye is a little bit misshapen. I wanted her to take a look at it. When he growled, she backed off and said she'd need to sedate him to continue the exam. I didn't want to do that and suggested we just put a muzzle on him. So we put a muzzle on and continued the exam, but very briefly. Here's one interesting detail that only just occurred to me. There is a boarding kennel next door to the veterinary clinic which is owned by an old friend of mine. When my dog was probably about three months old, I decided after visiting the vet one day, to stop into the kennel to say hello to my friend whom I hadn't seen in a couple of years. My dog has always been confident and outgoing, but on this day, there seemed to have been some stressed out dogs in the kennel, and I think the place really scared him. My friend was showing us the place, and I ended up having to carry the dog, because he was so scared. I didn't think much of it at the time, but it probably left a pretty strong and unpleasant impression on him. Well, today, right before the vet started the exam, this same old friend happened to be in the clinic. I think he was there helping out. When he saw me in the exam room, he came in to say hello. I wasn't really paying attention to my dog at the moment, because there were four people in the room and the dog was kind of behind me, but I wonder now if he saw this guy and remembered the fear he felt more than a year ago at the boarding kennel? And it was only moments later, without really taking a minute to properly introduce herself to the dog, that the vet began to examine him. Is that a stretch?
Re: My dog bit someone today I do not think that is a stretch. I remember taking my first dog to the RSPCA shelter so we could take one of the resident dogs for a walk. I started to walk him towards the cages and, about 20m from the shelter cages he absolutely planted himself on the concrete, just about digging his claws into it, and REFUSED to budge. He was not going to move one more millimetre towards those cages. He knew it was not a happy place and he was afraid. I won't forget his face. We turned and walked away. He had never been there or anywhere like it before and we hadn't even got in sight of any dogs. So, I definitely can see that your dog could have had a powerful, memorable, bad experience at the shelter and that seeing that man brought back that fear. I find it plausible that it was a contributing factor today.
Re: My dog bit someone today I really hope it's just a blip for him. I would get you 6 year old trained pronto (I recommend the 1-2-3 magic videos and book for this, seriously) I would also get a double fence so that you can have him in the garden without worrying. All the other advice about dog behaviourists is excellent. Good luck, it must be such a worry x
Re: My dog bit someone today How horrible and worrying for you. But I don't think you have a truly aggressive dog there, I would just echo what has already been said and somehow safeguard the fence so no-one can put their hand through. Chicken wire behind the fence, for instance?
Re: My dog bit someone today Another voice offering you support. One other thing. What was the boy doing? Sadly there are people who like to goad dogs and are surprised when they get bitten. They also have a tendency to "forget" that they were teasing the dog before the bite. You are right to take this seriously, but don't overreact.
Re: My dog bit someone today There is another possibility, Andrew. Our dog, Sara (6 months) has recently started barking at the neighbours. she adores people and is not much of a barker, but this is serious barking. They're great neighbours and when she was younger there was no problem at all. When I let her outside she sits and stares at their house. It just struck me the other day that since the fence between our houses is 5ft solid at that point and all she sees is a head walking by. She can't see the rest of the body and a head walking by is just wrong and we need to be protected. Maybe your boy can only see the hand and has no idea what it is. Who knows do when things don't make sense.
Re: My dog bit someone today It doesn't sound like you have an aggressive dog. Harley (18 months old) did give my goddaughter a quick bark a few weeks ago after she was jingling keys in Harley's face. My goddaughter said 'Harley bite me'. I had to explain to my 19 month old goddaughter that Harley doesn't like things in her face and her barking was her way of saying that's enough. This stopped any incidents happening. As others have said, kids can cause dogs to react by goading them I. Different ways - they think they are playing, but the dog doesn't. Good luck and please let us know how you get on
Re: My dog bit someone today Hi Andrew like so many I cannot read and pass by, but not sure I have much to add to the really good advice here. I wonder whether your vets reaction wasn't a little over the top too? I wouldn't want anyone poking me in the eye either and if she was suggesting sedation after a little resistance from him, it does not sound like she really took any time to reassure your dog before she reacted by backing away and then suggesting sedation! Surely she had met a reluctant patient before! Then, maybe he picked up on her fear or anxiety. Also your idea about your friend who runs the shelter being there can also have triggered some thing too. The only other thing I initially thought after your first post was about the boy on question, as others have said, what was he doing to your dog, petting him, or poking him in the face - if your dog already has gad a person trying to look at their face, putting their hands near to their face that day ( and it was unpleasant ) then he may have reacted badly. Good luck , I think you are right to have concern and be taking advice, but hopefully this set of circumstances won't arise again. Best wishes.
