How to Avoid Dog Bites
How to Avoid Dog Bites
People are most likely to be bitten by a dog that they know due to an error in their interaction with the dog. Children are especially vulnerable due to their small size and unawareness of the dog’s behaviour and how they should act. Any dog has the capacity to bite given the right situation, so understanding the common reasons and signs of a dog bite can help people to avoid such fate.
The most common situations which cause dogs to bite include:
Possessiveness and protection of property
Dogs can become possessive over anything such as toys, food, territory, or even a person. Early training can minimize this behaviour, such as snapping them out of an obsessive state of mind when getting aggressive with a toy. Making the dog submit and wait while you put their food down is another good trick, as well as taking the food away and putting it back to show them you are the one in charge. Adding treats to the bowl as they eat teaches them that an approach toward their food is not always a bad thing. Children should be taught to leave a dog alone when it is eating.
Fear
When a dog is in an unfamiliar situation with strangers such as with the vet or at the groomers, it can bite as a form of self-defence when it feels vulnerable or uncomfortable. Giving the mailman or groomer some treats to give your dog can change its neurological associations toward these sorts of situations, as well as placing it in many positive social situations from a young age. Startling a dog from behind or during a deep sleep can also trigger a fearful bite reaction so teaching children to let sleeping dogs lie is a must.
Pain
This can cause even the friendliest dog to bite. If your dog has any chronic injury or serious pain, you should teach children to avoid these sore areas and be gentle when handling the dog.
Maternal instincts
One should always respect the maternal instinct of a bitch when she has recently given birth as even a friendly well-trained dog can bite when it comes to her puppies. Use caution when handling the puppies and only let children approach them when the mother is not around. A mother and her pups should always have a place where they can feel safe with minimal disruption.
Prey drive
One should avoid running or cycling past a roaming dog as this could excite the dog enough to trigger its prey drive, resulting in a chase. If this happens to you, the best things to do is to stop moving and stand tall, facing the dog and claiming your space with confidence. Do not make eye contact as this could be seen as a challenge. Ignore the dog and let it sniff you, it will soon lose interest and walk away. Occasionally an unbalanced dog may knock you over, in which case you should remain calm, curl up into a ball and protect your face, hands and neck, remaining completely still. Children should be taught this drill also.
While remaining in a calm and assertive state is the key to avoiding dog bites, watching for the tell-tale signs will also be a big help in avoiding injury. Common triggers include:
• Ears being pinned back or straight up and forward
• The fur along their back standing up
• The whites of their eyes becoming more visible
• Yawning; this is not the dog trying to appear casual but instead showing off its teeth as a warning.
• Non-social “stand-offish” behaviour such as freezing when being touched
• Intense eye contact
Other actions you can take to stop your dog from biting someone can include:
• Getting your dog fixed to decrease behaviours related to biting
• Giving them regular exercise and play to burn out the nervous energy which can lead to biting and to reinforce the human/animal bond. Remember to make your dog regularly submit if playing roughly otherwise this can lead to dominance issues.
• Making sure they know basic commands such as sit, stay, come, no.
• Never allow your dog to roam free. If you are outside of your own fenced off area your dog should always be on a lead by your side.
• Keep your dog social with many different people and situations although take care as to not overwhelm the dog.
• Teach any child that often sees your dog how to respect and act around the dog and what the triggers and tell-tale signs of biting are.
The six dog rules that all children should know are:
• Never approach a strange animal, even if it’s a cute little dog. Always ask the owner how to approach it.
• If a strange dog approaches you, don’t run or scream. Stand still and stay calm. If it knocks you over, remain calm, roll up in a ball and lie still, protecting your face, hands and neck.
• If you see a stray dog or one with strange behaviour, never approach it. Tell an adult straight away.
• If you or someone gets bitten, tell an adult straight away so that the dog can be taught otherwise and the wound can be tended to, no matter how small. Never worry about getting in trouble.
• Leave dogs alone if they are sleeping, eating, or around their young, whether it’s your dog or another.
• Kids should always remember “no touch, no talk, no eye contact” when meeting a dog for the first time Let the dog come to you, sniff you, and calm down. Then you can pet it.
It is never a dog’s intention to terrorize humans. If a dog is acting out, it is usually a defensive reaction or bi-product of bad human behaviour toward dogs. If a dog is balanced, and if people understand what makes them happy and what overwhelms them, dog bites can be avoided all together. Respecting your dog and having it respect you is the best way to keep your dog happy, healthy and peaceful.
The most common situations which cause dogs to bite include:
Possessiveness and protection of property
Dogs can become possessive over anything such as toys, food, territory, or even a person. Early training can minimize this behaviour, such as snapping them out of an obsessive state of mind when getting aggressive with a toy. Making the dog submit and wait while you put their food down is another good trick, as well as taking the food away and putting it back to show them you are the one in charge. Adding treats to the bowl as they eat teaches them that an approach toward their food is not always a bad thing. Children should be taught to leave a dog alone when it is eating.
Fear
When a dog is in an unfamiliar situation with strangers such as with the vet or at the groomers, it can bite as a form of self-defence when it feels vulnerable or uncomfortable. Giving the mailman or groomer some treats to give your dog can change its neurological associations toward these sorts of situations, as well as placing it in many positive social situations from a young age. Startling a dog from behind or during a deep sleep can also trigger a fearful bite reaction so teaching children to let sleeping dogs lie is a must.
Pain
This can cause even the friendliest dog to bite. If your dog has any chronic injury or serious pain, you should teach children to avoid these sore areas and be gentle when handling the dog.
Maternal instincts
One should always respect the maternal instinct of a bitch when she has recently given birth as even a friendly well-trained dog can bite when it comes to her puppies. Use caution when handling the puppies and only let children approach them when the mother is not around. A mother and her pups should always have a place where they can feel safe with minimal disruption.
Prey drive
One should avoid running or cycling past a roaming dog as this could excite the dog enough to trigger its prey drive, resulting in a chase. If this happens to you, the best things to do is to stop moving and stand tall, facing the dog and claiming your space with confidence. Do not make eye contact as this could be seen as a challenge. Ignore the dog and let it sniff you, it will soon lose interest and walk away. Occasionally an unbalanced dog may knock you over, in which case you should remain calm, curl up into a ball and protect your face, hands and neck, remaining completely still. Children should be taught this drill also.
While remaining in a calm and assertive state is the key to avoiding dog bites, watching for the tell-tale signs will also be a big help in avoiding injury. Common triggers include:
• Ears being pinned back or straight up and forward
• The fur along their back standing up
• The whites of their eyes becoming more visible
• Yawning; this is not the dog trying to appear casual but instead showing off its teeth as a warning.
• Non-social “stand-offish” behaviour such as freezing when being touched
• Intense eye contact
Other actions you can take to stop your dog from biting someone can include:
• Getting your dog fixed to decrease behaviours related to biting
• Giving them regular exercise and play to burn out the nervous energy which can lead to biting and to reinforce the human/animal bond. Remember to make your dog regularly submit if playing roughly otherwise this can lead to dominance issues.
• Making sure they know basic commands such as sit, stay, come, no.
• Never allow your dog to roam free. If you are outside of your own fenced off area your dog should always be on a lead by your side.
• Keep your dog social with many different people and situations although take care as to not overwhelm the dog.
• Teach any child that often sees your dog how to respect and act around the dog and what the triggers and tell-tale signs of biting are.
The six dog rules that all children should know are:
• Never approach a strange animal, even if it’s a cute little dog. Always ask the owner how to approach it.
• If a strange dog approaches you, don’t run or scream. Stand still and stay calm. If it knocks you over, remain calm, roll up in a ball and lie still, protecting your face, hands and neck.
• If you see a stray dog or one with strange behaviour, never approach it. Tell an adult straight away.
• If you or someone gets bitten, tell an adult straight away so that the dog can be taught otherwise and the wound can be tended to, no matter how small. Never worry about getting in trouble.
• Leave dogs alone if they are sleeping, eating, or around their young, whether it’s your dog or another.
• Kids should always remember “no touch, no talk, no eye contact” when meeting a dog for the first time Let the dog come to you, sniff you, and calm down. Then you can pet it.
It is never a dog’s intention to terrorize humans. If a dog is acting out, it is usually a defensive reaction or bi-product of bad human behaviour toward dogs. If a dog is balanced, and if people understand what makes them happy and what overwhelms them, dog bites can be avoided all together. Respecting your dog and having it respect you is the best way to keep your dog happy, healthy and peaceful.
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