How to avoid getting bitten by a dog. 3 Lessons you can learn today…

When people get bitten by nice dogs there is always a reason behind it. A dog never bites without reason. 

Picture this:

You’re alone in an elevator and a very large man gets on.

The door closes and the man approaches you and starts putting his hands all over your body.

What do you do? Tell him to stop? Scream? Fight back? It’s terrifying, right?

The same goes for a dog. If a dog is scared, surprised to be approached, feels threatened, or cornered the reaction is that the dog will bite. People make the mistake in approaching a dog without giving the dog the time to smell and give them the ok to touch a dog. 

You can see on the body language of a dog if he is comfortable to be touched or if he goes into defence.

 Dogs and a stressful situation

Let me tell you a story from a volunteer work…  Recently I had a call of a dog running around an apartment complex, barking and growling at people.

I arrived to find a small mixed breed, obviously someone’s pet, and completely terrified.

He wasn’t about to come to me and no amount of sweet talk or dog treats was going to do it. I had to carefully corner him, dodge his teeth and slip a leash over his head.

Once I had him he settled down a bit and I was able to walk him over to my car. As I was preparing to scan him for a microchip a man walked up and reached for the dog, ( I named the dog …Fluffy) to try and pet him.

Fluffy’s body language screamed “back off, you’re scaring me. I will be bitting you if you don’t give me space.” The man kept coming and I said, “please don’t touch him, he’s scared enough to bite.

” The man said, “oh no, I’m good with dogs.” And I’m thinking, if you were good with dogs, you would not be causing this poor dog more fear and stress, and if you were good with dogs, you would see that this dog is about to bite you.

I had to ask the man several more times to stop reaching for the dog and I knew without a doubt that I would be writing a bite report and labelling this poor scared dog with a bite history if I couldn’t get the man to back off.

source: Why People Get Bitten by Nice Dogs

Be aware when a dog is scared, read his body language. 

If you ever come into a situation where a dog is lost and scared be careful and don’t approach him when the dog is scared. Do not push the dog further or make him feel cornered, the chances that you are bitten by a nice dog is 80%. 

A Dog is very sensitive to energy and dogs can sense in what state of mind you are.  If you approach a dog and he is scared or shows signs of distress than you better call someone like an Animal shelter or Animal society who knows how to handle scared dogs.

Like in the article above ..lucky enough the lady knew how to handle a scared dog and calm him down. It could have been a different scenario if she would not have been there.

She kept calm when the Man approached and made sure the man did not get bitten by a nice dog. That shows that she has the experience to handle a lost, scared or trapped dog without them biting. 

A dog doesn’t matter what the situation was when a dog has a biting record it is difficult for the owner or if it becomes a shelter dog to find him a home. 

Most of the time the sad thing is that people do not consider the “why” they only see a dog who bites. 

Always be conscious and aware when you approach a dog even if he is with his owner, do not intrude into his space, ask for permission from the dog and owner to touch or pat him.

If a dog is afraid there are obvious signs and you can see and recognize the signs of a distressed dog, do not approach the dog as there is a guarantee that you can be bitten by a dog. 

Download our free ebook ” For the love of dogs” Click here 

7 Signs you should look out for in a dog if he is in distress.

1.If your dog or any dog is flattening his ears

2.If the Dog Tail is tugged between the hind legs

3.If the dog starts Cowering

4.If the dog is Lip Licking

5.If the dog starts Yawning to often 

6.If the dog starts raising the hairs on the back of the neck

7. If the dog starts to growl and shows his teeth

The sad consequences when a dog bites, no one looks for the reason everyone blames the dog.

Unfortunately soon a Dog bites or has bitten someone, people want to take action and demanding in most cases the dog should be euthanized meaning put to sleep. Most of the time you hear the saying “when a dog bites once that dog will always bite. 

That is not always true if you consider and take into account why a dog bites. Unfortunately, that is in most of the cases, not the common sense question. People have no tolerance if a dog bites, even if it is the fault of a human. 

There are cases where there is no other option, we hear often enough that a dog attacked a child.  Those are different cases and I am not talking about the extreme cases. (Dog attacks young boy, Dog attacks young girl. )

This is another chapter and needs a whole blog on its own. 

Dogs are not born with the Gene to attack people. 

A dog is not born bad and to attack or bite. A dog is born as a great cute little puppy, the surrounding shapes the personality of a dog.

A dog owner is the one who raises a vicious or great loving  Dog. It is always a good idea to give a dog training.

Have a look do you walk with your dog or does your dog walks with you? If your dog walks with you then you should consider training. 

Brain Training for dogs the best training you can do with your dog. A force-free training method that is fun for dog and owner. 

 

A dog needs to know he is a dog, and you are the pack leader, not the other way around.  and training a dog is fun and it benefits both of you. If you love the contact with other dog owner’s go and enrol yourself together with your dog into a training school it is rewarding for you and for your dog. 

It is a great way for your dog to socialize with other dogs.

It is not fun if you have raised a dog and he becomes jealous, aggressive towards other dogs and people or in extreme cases starts to mouth, nip or bite.  That is every dog owners nightmare when a nice dog starts biting. 

How do you stop a dog from biting?

In my opinion, it is gone too far and you need professional help to solve this. Go and find a good training school or a trainer who can train the dog and teaches the owner how to handle a dog.  

When a nice dog starts to bite…

Believe it when I say …any dog can bite, doesn’t matter how cute, how cuddly, how calm, how nice, big or small a dog is, any dog can bite. ( The best way to stop your puppy mouthing) 

 A dog will bite for a different reason.

• stressful situation
• the dog feels threatened
• when a dog is hurt, sick or not feeling well. In cases where a dog has pain and you touch the part where it hurts.
• when a dog has rabies
• the dog is provoked
• the dog is cornered or trapped
• protects the owner or territory
• protects the food, toys, blanket, a bone, anything that is valuable to them.
• a mother dog protects their puppies
• when a dog is eating

The most common time when a dog bites are when a dog is protecting something that is valuable to them, like food, toys, a human, a blanket, a bone, their puppies etc.

A dog might start to nip during playtime and when he becomes overexcited he bites stronger. It might be fun for the dog but it can be dangerous for the people. Playing wrestling or tug of war makes a dog overly excited and may lead to stronger nipping up to a bite. 

Socializing with your Dog in Parks, and other places

Good prevention for a dog not to bite is socializing with him in parks and other places where he will lose the fear of interacting with other dogs or people. 

It is a great way to introduce a puppy as early as possible to other animals and people as it will help your dog feel more comfortable when he gets older and he is able to cope with different situations easier. One thing is also important a puppy will learn from socializing with other dogs the do’s and dont’s of what is ok and what is not ok. 

One thing a lot of owners forget when they go for a walk to put their dog on a leash. It is good to put a dog on a leash, even if your dog is ok with other dogs the next dog you meet might not be ok.

The leash also gives you control over your dog and in case a situation arises you are in control. 

One of the best prevention for a dog to bite is educating yourself and your family, especially children. A lot of dog bites could have been avoided if people would educate the children and family members on what to do and what not to do with a dog. Involve the family members into the training and use the same commands. 

Love to train your dog by yourself from home. Use the best Brain training for dogs. It is the best dog training you can get. Every dog is smart and when a dog is well trained he is less mischievous.

Conclusion:

Before getting a dog/puppy as a gift think about and make a decision with the family.

If you meet a Dog what is alone and scared do not approach the dog if you are not sure you are able to handle the dog.

Dogs tend to be a great companion but sometimes when they come into a situation where they are scared, lost, provoked, hurt, etc. the dog’s behaviour might change.

One thing is clear, having a dog requires skills and training. If you want to have a long-term relationship with your dog then you need to set rules and train your dog.

A dog is a dog and you are the pack leader, not your dog. The best way is when buying or adopting a dog educate yourself about the dog breed how active is a dog, how many time he needs to have a walk. the big dogs versus small dogs. ( what is the best dog breed for me and suits my living environment) 

To raise a happy dog and become a happy owner is through Education,  Information and Training. Take the time to educate yourself and don’t rush into a decision.

Download our free ebook ” For the love of dogs” Click here 

Do you have a dog, did you learn how to train your dog? Leave us some tips on how do you train and prevent your dog from biting. Did you ever get bitten by a nice dog? Please share with us your experience. 

Would love to hear from you. 

 Melanie