Some Reasons Why Dogs Bite And How To Stop Them

You might have heard the old adage “his bark is worse than his bite” which generally suggests that a person/dog is not as bad or dangerous as he seems, however, there is nothing more terrifying than a dog bearing down on you, about to sink his gnashers into your juicy flesh.

Dog bites can cause terrible trauma, often scarring a person for life, both literally and figuratively. While we hope that our trusty hound won’t be one of the offenders, sometimes the most docile-seeming dog may still bite and there are several possible reasons for this.

These are the most common reasons for a dog to bite:

  • Protecting his territory – dogs are territorial by nature and if he perceives a person to be an intruder, this can trigger a bite.
  • Fear – sometimes a dog, if cornered, may bite because he simply does not know what else to do. His fight/flight response kicks in and sometimes the “fight” wins.
  • Maternity – the mothering instinct in both humans and dogs is exceptionally strong- we will often protect our cubs above all else, therefore, if someone handles a puppy, the mother might not take kindly to this and bite to put her point across.
  • Prey – dogs, although domesticated, still have the same primal urges as their forefathers and will often attack a smaller, defenseless animal or person, simply because it is weaker and/or annoying.
  • Possessiveness – our dogs love us and generally see us as belonging to them so it stands to reason that if they perceive us to be under threat they will attack. By the same token, if he is eating and suspects someone wants his food this will do the same!

Avoidance and management of the above-mentioned situations are the best techniques to prevent a dog from biting.

Feature Image Source: Pixabay

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