You enter the living room, the family is settled in to watch their favorite TV show and you notice the last spot on the couch has been claimed by Sparky. You bend down and put a finger through the collar and you hear a low growl, and as you continue to scoot him down off the couch, the unthinkable happens…he sinks his teeth into your arm.
What happened? Where did your sweet puppy go? There is an almost unrecognizable dog sitting in his place.
Dogs bite. Yes, even the family pet. They often have reasons that make sense to them. They might be in pain or they might be truly aggressive, but the most common scenario is that they often don’t realize their position in the family pack. Bite prevention has always been an important factor when dealing with dogs, but now more than ever it might be a case of life and death for your pet.
The media has done such a tremendous job of telling every detail of dog attacks, that many dog owners are starting to doubt their own canine friends. If a growl or nip happens, their thoughts turn immediately to aggressive dog scenarios and the dog is reluctantly shipped off to the local shelter.
By setting some initial ground rules, most of the bites can be avoided. First, lets get a better picture of what is really happening. While the media portrays dogs jumping fences, often in packs, to attack an innocent bystander, that is not the most common scene. It is far more common for dogs to bite someone in their own family and statistics point to the most common bite being to 9-year-old boys. So, while we should always teach our children safety around strange dogs on the street, to always hold out their hands to be sniffed and to pretend you are a tree if a strange dog comes bounding up, we should be concentrating on establishing an appropriate relationship with our own family dog.
Children need to be taught how to behave around Sparky. In a nutshell, they simply can’t flail their arms around, jump onto the couch, and screech. This might seem like a mountain to climb for some parents, but this behavior from children might cause your dog to become overly excited, and a nip might be just around the corner. It is up to you to figure out how to instill quite, calm behavior in your children while they are around the dog, or to put the dog away when there is a water gun fight out in the yard. It might be an accident waiting to happen. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and in this case, some dog management might just fit the bill.
We get numerous calls each week from dog owners whose dogs have bitten someone, mostly someone in the family. The situations vary only slightly. Most of them start with a dog that has a previous history of growls and nips that have escalated.
One man called and said his dog bit his niece. Digging deeper into the story, it was found that the dog has growled at the 2-year-old in the past, and then, as the family sat playing with the child on the living room floor, they decided to pull their dog towards their niece for a pat. When asked why he did that, he said that the dog seemed like he was doing a lot better with the child that day.
This call might sound extreme, but in our line of work, it is heard over and over again. People putting dogs into situations that might lead to an accident are never a good idea. It is almost like an extension of our own ego, to prove that our dogs really are friendly and great. As I have said before, not every dog will give you a thank you for going to the family BBQ.
Even if you have no children, it is a good idea to expose your dog to their antics. Don’t start with a playground full, but instead expose your dogs to older, well-behaved children first. If you have a dog that has body sensitivity, be extra cautious. These dogs don’t like their bodies touched and sometimes flinch away when their feet are massaged. These dogs will not likely do well with kids, who often grab a bit rough, or man handle the dogs. It is best to call in a trainer to help you teach your dog it is okay to be patted a bit firmer than they would like, and tolerance is their best friend.
I have said this over and over again, but it is worth repeating. Keep your dogs off your furniture unless they are invited to come up and have a cuddle with you. Dogs should not be allowed to just jump up and claim his position. In my experience, this is the number one place that people of all ages get bitten. Think of the number of bites that would be prevented by simply keeping the dogs on their own comfy beds beside yours.
Pack leaders always go to the highest ground. This is something I see over and over again. Dogs with a tendency to want to take control of the family want to position themselves above floor level. They like couches, beds, decks, window ledges and even the landing looking down the stairs and out the front door. I would suggest it be in your best interest to keep your dogs out of these areas.
When asked to do so, some opposition usually meets me. People call to discuss their dog, which has just nipped the youngest child in the home, and pull a long face when told to take him off the couch. In the grand scheme of things, we are not asking you to hurt your dog, or to physically punish him….you just have to get him off the couch and bed. Honestly, in my experience, this will get rid of 50% of your problems immediately.
Make sure you and your dog are both clear on the ground rules. There is no compromise. If you decide one of your rules is that the dog doesn’t come near the table when you eat, you must be consistent with your information. He won’t understand at first, so keep getting up or tether him away while you eat. If you want your dog to sit and be still while you put his leash on, then wait him out. Bring out the leash and wait for him to settle down on his own, be patient. As you clip the leash on, if he gets overly excited, don’t continue. If you think he won’t settle, you are mistaken. You just need to wait longer. He must pull himself together, and when he is on a leash he must be respectful of what that represents.
Giving your dog the gift of basic obedience is a necessity. I have heard that only 11% of dogs who bite have been to an obedience class. All dogs need to know the basics, and all dog owners should take advantage of the wealth of knowledge the dog training community has at its fingertips these days. If you have trained a dog in the past, over 8 years ago, give yourself a treat and seek out a trainer who is experienced in updated techniques. Long gone are the days where trainers used chokes and prong collars, there are far better ways available now than when I started training in 1972.
A couple of other tips. Don’t try to take the growl out of the dog. Sound silly? A growl is a warning, and should be taken seriously, but physically punishing your dog for growling will lead to bigger issues down the road. If your dog growls, be safe and put him in his crate or tether him on his leash for a time out. Even though your blood is boiling and you are very annoyed, angry and upset, this is the time to collect your thoughts. I have no moral issue in giving the dog royal heck for growling, but by doing so you run the risk of escalating that scene (dog growls, you scold, dog growls again, you shake him, he growls again and maybe bites).
Most dogs bite in fear. It might not look like it to the untrained eye, but take it from the experts, fear is the number one issue. You can see that physically punishing a fearful dog will not help fix the situation in the long run. Aggression added to aggression doesn’t equal less aggression. Don’t let it slide of course. Collect your thoughts and call a trainer for advice on your next step.
Teach your children some interactive games. It is no wonder that 9-year-old boys get bit. They love to run, jump and rough house. It is up to the parents to direct all that energy into constructive games with their dog. Instead of just ruffling up their head with a “hows it goin’ buddy”, teach the dog a few tricks or how to fetch a stick. As soon as the kids have a nifty trick or two with their dog, they will be showing it off all over the neighborhood. Now you have a dog who is working for children. If you have no kids, what the heck, teach him to fetch your slippers, or better yet, a beer from the fridge.
Teach your dog that good things happen around the food bowl. Instead of removing it, putting your hands in it while they eat, or keeping everyone at arms length, try adding some tasty treats to the bowl while they are eating. This way the dog will start to think that when someone passes by their dish as they eat…yippee…something great is coming my way.
In closing, I trust my dogs 100%. They travel with SuperDogs and have been exposed to thousands of people for years, and they seem to love it. I don’t ever take that for granted. If my niece and nephew come to visit, I supervise fully. I don’t ever leave them alone, and I supervise the games they play with the dogs. If we have visitors with children I don’t know well, I put my dogs away. That might sound a bit extreme, and believe me I am not much of a worrier, but in these cases, it will just never be worth an accident.
I am my dog’s guardian, I am responsible for the position I put them in. That is bite prevention in its most basic form.
I think they would thank me for my choices.
