Dog Bites: If You’ve Been Bit, It Was Your Fault
Trust me, I’m doing my very best to control my personal feelings pertaining to dog bites, but it’s incredibly hard lately. Here’s the real deal. Being bitten is not part of the job when working alongside or sharing your home with dogs. It should never happen. Yes, never.
If a dog trainer or groomer brags about her previous dog bites, she’s basically telling you she’ll force your dog to comply. It also implies she’s willing to use so much force your dog will be forced to bite her to make him stop. Now, remember, millions of dogs are euthanized for biting humans every year. This is not a behavior you want your dog to learn. Trust me. When someone brags about how many times she was bitten, run away!
Dog Bites are Not a Badge of Honor
When I hear dog trainers, groomers and rescue volunteers boast about numerous dog bites like it’s a badge of honor, I become incensed. Witnessing newbie dog enthusiasts bragging about numerous dog bites in an attempt to convince dog owners of their extraordinary dog experience makes me sick. Oh, but seasoned dog professionals do the same thing, showing off their battle scars to further prove themselves as qualified professionals. Nooo!
Why Dogs Bite
Dogs bite for a reason.When they bite, it’s because they were forced to. Ninety percent of all dogs have high tolerance levels for human nonsense and will calmly try to disengage. Dogs will tell you you’ve crossed the line. If you keep pushing, you will be bitten.
Let’s think about it in a different way. Do you walk around punching people in the face whenever they cut in line at the grocery store? How about when someone steps on your foot or cracks an inappropriate joke? I would hope not. Instead, you roll your eyes and walk away. Disengaging is best, as violence is used as a last resort. If all parties are allowed to disengage, everyone walks away unharmed. Now, you’ve learned (and practiced) how to successfully and calmly walk away from conflict.
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What happens when you’re unable to disengage from an encounter? What if someone grabs your arm and pulls you out of bed, pushes you onto the ground, forces your mouth to open, pulls your hair, snatches your arm as you’re trying to disengage or forces you to interact with something that scares you? Yeah, you would probably punch (in a dog’s case, bite) someone too. If this happens often, you’ll learn to punch someone’s lights out within seconds because this stops the conflict quickly.
If dogs are forced to bite someone, they will learn biting stops scary things from happening and bite more. Instead, listen to your dog. If he’s scared, leave him alone.
What to Do When Your Dog Bites
Listen to your dog when he tries to disengage during a stressful encounter. When dogs have had enough, they should be allowed to walk away and remove themselves from the situation. Believe it or not, choosing to engage or disengage is very rewarding for dogs–it’s just as rewarding as food treats.
Never reach in and pull a dog out from a kennel. Instead, make a trail of sprinkled treats outside the kennel and voila! When grooming dogs, give them plenty of breaks. Rather than restraining dogs during baths and nail trims, offer peanut butter stuffed toys tied to your grooming arm, so dogs will voluntarily stand still. Human hands should be for petting dogs and never for forcing, pulling, tugging or punishing.
Please never teach a dog it’s okay to bite.
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Dealing with dog aggression, moderate to severe anxiety or fearfulness or obsessive compulsive behaviors (OCD) is extremely trying for pet owners. I’ve held these owners in my arms, as they sobbed. It’s a difficult situation for dogs and their owners.