Stop Dog Biting

In this article on stop dog biting we will concentrate on the "fear biting" dog behavior. Because our dogs are usually confined in some way, (a fenced-in back yard, tied to a leash, inside the house) it is this authors opinion that most dog bites occur when the dogs natural "fight or flight' instinct kicks in and without the "flight" option available to our dog, due to its confinement, his reaction to a real or perceived threat is to bite or "fear bite".

 All most all cases of fear biting occurs when a well meaning but ill-advised human attempts to comfort or console an already anxious and scared dog. A dog is unable to communicate his fear but though body language. He can't tell the human, "I'm scared, just give me space." The well meaning human pushes the anxious dog over the edge and the bite occurs.

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 It is fairly simple to see that a dog is scared or anxious, once you know what to look for. Fear biting does not just happen. It occurs when someone has failed to see the warning signs. Some of the warning signs of a possible fear biting dog are as followed: Submissive dogs that when faced with a new situation or strange people don't react in the customary way that a well adjusted confident dog would. Instead they act un-nervy or on edge.

 The body language of a fearful dog.

* Tail tucked

* Hunched over lower back

* Ears pined back against the head

* Elbows bent (slight crouch)

* Excessive panting or yawning to reduce tension

* In extreme cases, a dog may urinate or defecate due to fear.

 What causes a dog to become a fear biter?

 At or around eight weeks old and again at about 14 weeks old a dog will go throw what is called a fear-impression stage where he is much more prone to being spooked or startled by new experiences and situations. If the dog has a scare during this crucial period and is not properly taught to deal with this scare, he could develop a phobia of the object, place or situation.

 For instance: If he has been frightened by a stranger coming to the door unexpectedly and not given the chance to be acclimated to this stranger, he could develop a phobia of people who resemble that person (people with a hat on, carrying a briefcase or tool box)

 Some dogs or breed of dogs are naturally high-strung and anxious due to their breeding. Some breeds have been proven to be more likely to develop phobias or shyness than other breeds. These breeds tend to be intelligent and typically need regular interaction with humans. A few of these anxious breeds could include Great Danes and Border Collies.

 Handling a fear biting dog.

 Let first make it clear, although the behavior of a fearful dog can significantly altered though patient, persistent and careful training, despite your best efforts a dog may never totally rise above his phobias or fears. You can't force a dog to overcome his fears.  These type of dogs require a soft, gentle patient hand, will not get anywhere with rough angry treatment of an already anxious dog. The powerful instinct and sheer panic of a fear biting dog will only worsen if you invoke more stress and anxiety with a heavy hand.

 Build confidence to stop dog biting.

 Obedience training is a wonderful way to build confidence and reduce the overall stress in an anxious dog. With obedience training your dog learns to understand the relationship between behavior and praise, reward and accomplishment. Start small with relatively easy and basic command for no more that 5 to 10 minutes a day. Work your way slowly into situation that might have previously scared your dog.

 If your dog has a phobia of an object such as a broom or vacuum cleaner, slowly incorporate the object into their daily lives. For example: if the phobia is of the vacuum cleaner, bring it out of the closet and park it where your dog is forced to see it daily, walk around, etc. Play near it, feed your dog with it closer to him each day. Each step that your dog over comes, praise him lavishly. Your dog may never truly be comfortable while you vacuum the house, but instead of attacking it or trying to jump out of window, maybe he can learn to deal with the short time that you use it.  

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