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Biting/nipping
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Oh boy…this is a tough one. I used to not like dogs, mostly because I feared them because I got nipped by a momma dog when I came too close to her pups. Also my MIL has a very old dog that has some aggression/socialization issues and has bit a couple of people including my brother so for a while, this was my perception of dogs and I believed that owners were enablers and in denial of their dogs behaviors. Now I feel that have come to the “dark” side lol
Luke is my first dog pet and he has completely changed my view on dogs, I even became a foster for a couple of different rescues.
On to the point……Luke has what I considered “nipped” 2 kids. The first time it was the 8 year old girl next door. I totally put the responsibility on her but of course when the incident happened I was very apologetic and sincerely sorry Luke did that, but more than anything I was scared for Luke and the mothers reaction…Thankfully she was very understanding. The incident happened in our front yard while the kids were waiting for the bus. Luke and I were heading for a run which usually gets him super excited…then my daughter called me because she saw a little snake in the yard and everyone knows I’m a critter lover….. so Luke and I came back to check it out. He was on leash standing next to me as the little girl approached us from behind and in a blink of an eye she was backing up and crying holding her hand. Luke had bit her….I was so terrified. She was wearing black gloves (which may had added to why luke reacted that way) I took her glove off and she had two small tooth marks….no broken skin but her hand was a bit red. I hugged her and told her she was fine and that I would talk to her mom. I think mostly she was super scared. The mom was very nice about it and like I said I was very apologetic. I did speak to the little girl and told her never to approach a dog from behind like that and to always ask if its ok to approach specially with dogs she doesn’t know. Luke has never shown aggression toward anyone …..he does “soft bite” everyone here in the house from time to time but he never ever closes his jaw. He has been taught as a puppy how much pressure he can put on human skin. We play around and I even bite him on the neck and loves it. He even jumps at my husband and put his teeth on his arm during play but never hurting him or anyone…I do feel that it was just a reaction he had and he did not intend to hurt anyone. Another thing that may have triggered him is that this particular girl likes to climb up our fence and call for my kids and Luke goes crazy when this happens as he is very protective of our property and us. This little girl also loves to come and ring the bell with her little rat terrier and as the dogs come barking to the glass door she giggles and takes off….and I feel that all this adds to the stress level of Luke and how he reacts when she is around.
The second incident was a kid on a bike. Luke is really good off leash and he loves to be outside with me when I’m working in a project…so we where out by the garage cleaning out then a friend stopped by with her little 2 yo and Luke was fine just hanging out but then 2 kids on bikes passed by and Luke took off after them and I ran behind him and he turned around but when one of the kids stopped and tried to get off his bike, Luke got him on the leg…same thing no broken skin just one tooth mark. Luke immediately knew he was in trouble and came right back. I checked the kids leg and apologised profusely and I told the kid to tell his mom to come and talked to me is she wanted/needed to. Luke has been know to hate bikes even when my kids ride them he kind of goes crazy so on this one it was totally my fault and I feel so bad for having him lose. I feel that I put Luke in danger and of course others…I just never thought he would do something like that. I feel terrible and as if I cant trust him lose anymore, which sucks because I enjoy him being lose, he is so funny and he loves the lake and he loves being out there with me. I feel as if I have failed him. Luke has been in puppy classes and we recently tried an AKC certified trainer but he was mostly focused on teaching Luke things I wasn’t interested on. Luke is a very smart guy and learns quickly but the problem is when he gets excited it all goes out the window…which is what happened with the bike. I dont know what to do. To me the nipping is not big deal but I can understand how someone would be freaked out if their kids gets nipped…I feel as if I’m in denial. Am I???? Help!
My honest opinion is that people need to stop over reacting. Kids do dumb things sometimes, and will probably get bit at least once. As a dumb kid myself, I reached over a fence once to pet a Rottweiler once. Dumb kid as I was, I obviously got bit as a reward. My own dumb fault. And I learned not to suddenly reach out to a dog. Especially if it’s on it’s own property.
Sadly, this is the world we live in now, and especially the US is filled with self righteous crybabies.
Now, on to your concerns. I think you can relax a bit. This is more owner error than dog error. That means you can learn to guide your dog better, and avoid these situations.
In the first case, the fault is yours and the little girl. Somebody should have taught the girl not to sneak up on a dog like that and reach out. Secondly, as an owner you should not have been this distracted, and paid a bit more attention to the situation. While at first his reaction is “bad”, it is also understandable. And he did show very good bite inhibition. Little kids are fragile, and to only leave a little red mark shows great restrain on his part. That’s a good thing.
Lesson learned: be aware of your surroundings, and take some space when needed.
The second thing with the bike is totally on you. Bikes are scary, weird, noisy things to dogs, and can trigger all sorts of behaviours. Remember that Weimaraners are a hunting breed, and their first instinct is not to hide, but to CHASE! I know it’s great to have them off leash around the house. But with Weims this is often simply not possible. There are too many things to chase and get distracted by. Either watch him like a hawk, and don’t let him wander more than a few feet away while he tinkles and sniffs for a few minutes, other than that, leash him up.
Next time he might run into the street and get hit by a car.
So, the good news is, that if the owner learns, the dog won’t get in trouble as much 😉
Forever Weimanamanama
Good honest advice, BasG. I would not allow him to “play bite” with you or the hubby. He thinks that is ok, and kids have little fingers and thin skin.
I also don’t totally trust Amos (has bite history with kids before we adopted him) and I always watch him closely when we are out and tell kids who are coming up to him to not do that. I tell them to never approach a strange dog and the kids that do ask I tell no and explain that he doesn’t like to be petted by strangers and ask them if they would like everyone that passes to pet them on the head. So, just watch him closely.
Well, the thing is, a dog won’t have good bite inhibition unless somebody trains him. Usually this is done in the pack with their brothers and sisters, or while socializing with other dogs. Unfortunately, most dogs never really get this chance, unless they grow up in a multi-dog home where they get told off as a puppy.
This is why rough play and play-bite is encouraged, as long as there is consistent feedback to what is too rough.
Forever Weimanamanama
Thank you BasG I do agree with you totally that was my error and my fault 100%, for letting him off leash with the bike incident. I do feel that the other instance with the little girl it was totally her fault as I was in my property and she is obviously scared of my dog yet she teases him and then goes and approaches from nehing…actually I take that back I think its her mother’s fault for not educating her about the dangers of her behaviour. With that being said since he is my Dog and I care for him deeply and love him as my child I should have been more cautious especially knowing this girl was around.
Luke really is amazing off leash, we have taken walks, runs, swam and done all this things without incident with him off leash…as a matter of fact he does better off leash except when there are bikes around. He is even trained to go on the side walk when given the command or when a car approaches I know accident can happen but for the most part cars don’t pose a threat to him as he will jump in the sidewalk as soon as one approaches. I think the best thing to do in never leave him off leash in the front yard or where there are bikes and also train him to be around them because his fear of them makes him unpredictable and out of control. I disagree with Tina that abut bite play. I have been doing this with him since he was 10 weeks old as he used to bite so hard as a puppy and it wasn’t going away so I taught him that his bites hurt me so he learned just how hard he can bite without causing pain in human skin, I feel that this helped in the situation with the kids, had he never played bite with us he would have probably bit them with full force. The other dog we adopted came to us no knowing how hard to bite and often would hurt luke and us but he so far has learned that is not ok to bite that hard.
I didn’t intend to give bad advice, just trying to help and share the experience I have. Do you think he “bit” the little girl harder than he play bites with you? Others will pull back making the “bite” worse.
Unfortunately a lot of people don’t use common sense when around dogs or teach children to. It’s why we have to be more vigilant.
I’ve seen that too. Many of the “bites” I have seen are actually drag marks or cuts from pulling back and skin getting caught on teeth, and not so much puncture wounds from getting bitten.
Sadly, even if the dog is totally in the right, they almost always get blamed. This is why I’m always excessively aggressive with my language if even the slightest thing happens. I always immediately full out blame “the human” for “suddenly lunging” and “frightening” for my dog asking “What did you do that for?!”. Hence, the dog is just defending himself.
Also, if ever, anything happens. BE THE FIRST TO CALL THE POLICE. They always listen more to whomever called first.
Forever Weimanamanama
I do agree that is exactly what happened. The human natural reaction is to back away or pull. Like I said Luke never closes his jaw. We call it baby bite or fake bite because your entire arm could be in his mouth but he won’t close lol He really does know that biting to hurt someone is not ok. I really don’t think he meant to hurt anyone and the bike incident maybe even was his prey drive instinct….who knows but no more off leash for him outside of our fenced in yard.
Thanks for the advice, hopefully it never ever gets to that point, where the cops have to be called.
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