If your dog has already bitten a person or another dog

IF YOUR DOG HAS ALREADY BITTEN A PERSON OR ANOTHER DOG

by Scotty Valadao - Canine Behaviourist - Friends of the Dog

This can be an extremely frightening and stressful occurrence, and very often our natural reaction is to scream or shout, and even punish out of anger, and often fear. This is the very worst thing you can do - aggression results in even more aggression, you could get hurt in the process and your bond with your dog will be affected.

Dog bites very seldom come 'out of the blue', there is always a reason (which we may not understand), and the dog is more often than not exhibiting signs of possible aggression by way of its body language prior to the growling, snarling, lunging etc. Unfortunately not all people recognize these more subtle signs such as sudden stiff body stance, position of tail, wrinkles appearing on forehead, eyes hard and staring (and often whale eye), the 'stillness' of the body, to mention a few. There are some very good You Tube videos on dogs body language, and it would be a good idea to view these, to educate yourself further.

Dogs that are often building up to actual aggression

As we said above, there is seldom a time that the dog does not have a reason for the behaviour, even tho' we may not understand it, but that is not what we are dealing with here - we are looking at scenarios where the dog is exhibiting growling, snarling etc, so that the owner becomes aware that a potentially dangerous situation is developing.

The examples below, could well be warning signs that the current behaviour could escalate - be warned, and take the necessary steps and get help as soon as possible - here are some common examples :-

Any aggressive behaviour shown where resource guarding is concerned. This could be directed at either a person or another dog, and common examples are showing aggression when it comes to food in any manner at all, whether it be the dogs food bowl or area where the dog is fed, or when treats are given in a multi dog home. There could be aggression if you try to take a bone from the dog, remove chew toy or bone or chew toys. It could even be aggression shown when a person or dog gets to close to their bed, a food bowl and even if somebody, or another dog gets too close to their owner.
Where resource guarding also occurs and aggression is shown, is with anything that the dog considers as 'his'. This could be toys, his bed, his owners bed, the couch, where it likes to lie, the back seat of the family car, and so forth.
Aggressive behaviour shown in situations where the owner is playing roughly with the dog (never good!), if their excitement level becomes too high when playing games such as pull toys with the owner or if you have the situation where two dogs are playing and the excitement levels become too high, with one of them starting to exhibit aggressive behaviour on a regular basis.
Other common situations are dogs that will resist you pulling them off a couch or bed if they will not move when requested. Some dogs will growl if you disturb them when sleeping, and if on the owners bed, will growl if owner moves in their sleep. There are even dogs that will growl when the spouse wants to get into the bed.
Some dogs do not like certain individuals, and the most common are children, men, or people of different races - these dogs may be perfectly ok with any other type of person and even friendly towards them.
When out walking, some dogs will lunge towards things such as cars and trucks, people walking or jogging in the road, when walking by a gate with other dogs behind it, or if they even see another dog out for a walk in the distance.
Other examples are the dog being forced in any way to do something it does not want to do or if reprimanded. Another one is that the dog that may growl when either touching its collar, or trying to put it on and off.
Some dogs totally dislike being touched and will warn especially if from above, and on the head area. Other dogs may be fine being touched in general, by will react if a certain part of their body is touched - the most common is head, hind quarter area, tails and feet. When it comes to feet, some dogs will only object if you are trying to cut their nails, or remove a thorn or similar from the foot area.
Other dogs may be perfect at home, but the minute they get to the vet need to be muzzled or else they attempt to bite, while other dogs will be fine until you try to open their mouth to give medication, or perhaps and injection if the dog is a diabetic or similar.
Another point to mention is both gate and fence aggression - this can quickly escalate and you may find that when two dogs are behind the gate, one dog will suddenly lunge at its companion with aggression. If a dog is behind a gate, exhibiting aggression, and the gate suddenly opens (often by accident), a common occurrence is that the dog will then attack the dog/person walking by. When it comes to fences, we also have to look at fence aggression as well.
Hormones - hormones change dramatically during the heat season, and with some dogs this can result in aggression, both towards people and also other dogs. Some dogs can experience what we woman would call 'period pains', and depending on the severity can make the female aggressive. The best option unless an educated and responsible breeder is to have the female sterilized - do speak to your vet about this.
Breeding - a female that has given birth may become aggressive if people or other dogs cam near her pups. Unless you are an educated, responsible , and dedicated breeder, do have your dog sterilized.

If the dog has already bitten

If your dog has bitten before, and this behaviour has been ignored, or you think that somebody did something to deserve it, or your dog will grow out of it, that it will stop when he gets older - think again!

Where aggression is concerned, as with many other behavioural issues, the odds are that it will escalate plus increase in intensity, unless attended too as soon as possible. Why not in the dogs eyes? - the behaviour worked, therefore it is more likely to continue. Here are some steps you should take immediately:-

The best thing you can do, is to remove your dog, as quickly as possible and put him/her in a separate area, while you deal with the results of the bite, and do whatever action needs to be done from a medical point of view.
Never, under any circumstances punish the dog.
As a behaviourist, before we see any dog that has bitten, the first step is that the owner takes the dog to the vet for a full physical exam. If there is any underlying condition that could be contributing to the behaviour, whether sore tooth, underlying disease, physical pain etc, it needs to be dealt with medically, as until resolved, little or nothing done from behaviour modification aspect will really help. Ask the vet if they can recommend a behaviourist to assist you.
You need professional help. Get hold of an accredited behaviourist that has dealt with aggression before and ask them to come as soon as humanly possible.
If the aggression occurred between 2 dogs in the home, separate them until you can get a behaviourist in. Long term separation is not a good option, as mistakes in leaving a gate open often occur. Additionally, separating dogs can often cause the behaviour to escalate if they do get to one another. If necessary, swap the areas around where the dogs are being kept, and ensure that both dogs receive sufficient human socialization. Keep up the regular walks to keep stress levels down, and supply the dogs with stuffed chew toys such as Kong and Busy Buddy several times during the day. Not only will these help to keep the dog occupied and provide entertainment, chewing will help the stress levels. You can make several and freeze them. Here is a link that will explain how to stuff them and use them.
Until the behaviourist arrives, if the dog bit a visitor to your home, then no interaction whatsoever with any strangers or visitors coming to your house - put the dog in a separate, locked area, and supply him with some good chew toys such as Busy Buddy or Kong when people are in the house, as mentioned above. This is so that the dog does not view the separation from family as a punishment, rather a rewarding experience.
If the dog bit a member of the family, trying to keep life as normal as possible, avoid petting the dog and avoid any situations similar to that which resulted in the bite - try and analysis why it happened - was it food, toy, attention related, around the owner etc - avoid these situations, even putting toys, chew toys out of the way completely, and if over a food bowl, feed the dog separately and pick up the bowl immediately. If you feel that the dog is a danger, remove it completely from family areas and do not let family interact with the dog, and get urgent help - phone your vet as well as the behaviourist.
If the dog bit a person, or another dog in the street or the park, then avoid these situations completely. Yes, the dog still needs to be exercised, but rather take him to the far side of a large shopping centre where other dogs are not likely to be, and he is far away from people in the area. Under no circumstances, take the dog off lead.
If time permits before the behaviourist arrives, then desensitize your dog to a muzzle. This must be done slowly and gradually and your best bet for a muzzle is the Baskerville Ultra. This muzzle allows the dog to be given treats through the front and allow to drink and pant. A dog should never be left in a muzzle unsupervised. This can be used in future in the circumstances where a bite occurred.
If the bite resulted due to fence or gate aggression, simply avoid having the dog in that area and fence it off completely, or put the dog in another area..

What is important until you get professional help, is to ensure that the dog still has the necessary social, mental and physical stimulation it requires, unless the dog is deemed dangerous - and even then, supply chew tows to keep the dog somewhat entertained until the situation can be dealt with.

A bite is a very serious occurrence, and future bites could even result in serious damage to other dogs or people, and you may face the possibility where you may have to consider euthanasia - help your dog to change this behaviour, as soon as it starts, and get professional help.