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I had to use a picture of this cute, little dog because small dogs bite more often than big dogs. It’s just that small dogs typically do less damage.
I’ve been bitten by at least five dogs bad enough to break my skin, but that is because of how much time I’ve spent around so many dogs. The chances of a dog biting me are much higher than a dog biting an average person. When working at places like boarding kennels, grooming shops and shelters, there are so many stressed out and overly excited dogs in a small area that sooner or later a bite will happen.
But out of all these dog bites, none required stitches or a hospital visit and all could’ve been prevented on either my part or the dog’s owner. I never blame the dog.
For example, the fearful-aggressive bichon that bit my hand while I bathed her should have either been muzzled or not taken to a grooming shop to begin with. I recognized the warning signs, did not muzzle her and she bit.
Another case was while I worked at an understaffed boarding kennel. A yellow Labrador was boarded even after his owner admitted his dog had “a history of aggression towards people.” I was working quickly in the kennel and did not take the time to react to the warning signs from this dog: a raised tail, excited barking, staring eyes. I was hurried, excitedly trying to get all the dogs in and out and fed as fast as possible. Looking back, it’s not a surprise at all that this dog reacted the way he did.
Statistics and news stories are everywhere reporting dog bites, dog-bite fatalities and “dangerous” breeds. We all hear about what dogs are capable of, but we often forget common sense when we are around animals. Really, any dog will bite under certain circumstances. It’s up to us to protect them, ourselves and others.
What about you? Have you been bitten by a dog?
Email your dog-related question to me at Lindsay@thatmutt.com, and I’ll post it for others to answer. Click here to read all my weekly question posts.
(Image from thechihuahuaguide.com)
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October 7th, 2008 at 6:28 am
When I was about 10 years old I had a Sheltie. I brought him outside with me everywhere. The neighbor two doors down had a 200 pound Rottie. He wanted to eat my dog. The Rottie got out one day and I panicked, of course. He came right for my dog and I picked my little guy up over my head to protect him from being hurt (good thing I was a tall kid). Anyhow, when I picked my guy up my face got in the way of his growling and he managed to nip my cheek. I still have a slight remnant of the scar today but it is really small. I don’t blame either dog for their natural behavior and feel lucky that my dog was not injured and I only have a small scar.
Apryl DeLanceys last blog post..Sunday Sports Wrap - Insanity Edition
October 7th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I am sorry but I’m an English freak and saying ‘bit’ by a dog is sooo wrong. LOL. It should be ‘bitten’.
And no, I haven’t been bitten by a dog.
October 7th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Apryl, my cousin did something similar to this when he was about the same age. A dog was trying to get after his cat. So in order to protect the cat, he lifted it up over his head. Well, that didn’t work so well. The dog ended up biting and the cat scratched him up pretty good too. Plus the dog bit the cat’s tail.
Cynthia, you’re right. I’ll have to change that.
October 7th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I was bitten by my aunt/uncles doberman in the face when I was a small child and have a small scar on my forehead/hair line. I have gotten in the way of several fighting teeth.. stupid on my part but hey I knew it when I put my hands in the scrapping heap of dogs. Once I was feeding a Saint and I started to put his bowl down and as he went in for the food I pulled my head to look at something which also moved my hand and bowl and he got my hand and he was going in. Freak accident but BOY DID IT HURT. And I had a rescue pry that was “unbalanced” corner me and bit my side. I have no idea what prompted it. Sounds like a lot, but honestly its very limited considering the number of dogs I have been around in my life. I feel very lucky and have learned some valuable lessons about attention and reading body language.
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October 8th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Im with Cynthia..while never having been bitten, Ive been in situations with dogs and thought…ooooh this could get nasty but luckily it never has
Abz & Chelss last blog post..Juste parce que je l’aime
October 8th, 2008 at 7:42 am
I have trained dozens and dozens of protection dogs and police dogs and have been bitten my fair share
October 8th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I have only been bitten once, and unfortunatly, that was an accident from my own Dane. She decided to pick a fight with the St. Bernard we were fostering. Not thinking, I reached in to grab a collar, right when my Dane went to clamp down on the St’s scruff. No stitches, but very ugly and required shots for cleaning (which almost caused my hubby to pass out), and limited use of my writing hand for several weeks. My Dane was quite contrite after the St. put her in her place and was adopted shortly after into a forever home.
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October 8th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Hi Lindsay,
I was bitten by a dog when I was about 7. It was our friends’ dog and it had hidden under a car and I reached out to touch him… ouch! I had to be taken to the hospital because my hand was dripping blood, but fortunately it looked worse than it was and they just gave me a tetanus shot. Maybe that’s why I was a cat person until about 5 years ago. LOL. The bite didn’t make me fearful of dogs, which is a good thing.
I’m surprised about the Lab that bit you. I always thought labs were gentle dogs.
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October 8th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I was bitten by a friends do when I was a kid. I’ve been bitten by my aunts chihauhau and my own mix breed has snapped at me a couple of times. My labrador will accidentally bite my fingers when we’re playing tug sometimes.
I’ve never been SERIOUSLY bitten, though the first two did draw blood.
I once knew a boy who was attached by a german shepherd and it tore his face up pretty bad. He was afraid of shepherds and most dogs in general after that. His mom used to bring him to my house to play with my german shepherd as a form of therapy to help him get over his fear.
Eventually it worked.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Wow. I’ve been snapped at but never bitten to the point of breaking skin or drawing blood. My old dog, Boo, had CCD (doggie alzheimer’s) and near the end he had to be hand fed because he couldn’t find the food, and he had lost his bite inhibition so if he was hungry he’d chomp down on anything that approached his mouth, thinking it was food.
When Biggie was younger and “testing” how far he could get with his humans, he would occasionally nip or snap, usually when he was tired and we were trying to get him to move somewhere, or that time I was trying to get him in the tub. But as he’s gotten older he has gotten much, much better and never snaps at his humans. He’s still mouthy though - he likes to hold our hands (basically he very very gently takes our hands in his mouth and sucks on them) when he’s relaxed and feeling lovey. He also uses his mouth to try to get people to play, but sometimes people interpret that as “biting”.
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October 9th, 2008 at 9:50 am
P.S. I have been around lots of dogs, and really learned to read their signals. And since we’ve had Biggie, I have become much more aware of the need to ASK persmission to pet someone else’s dog, and to not take it personally if the owner says no!
Biggie-Zs last blog post..Teaching a kuvasz not to guard - is it possible?
October 9th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Biggie, I notice that kids are better at asking to pet Ace than adults! Obviously my dog is friendly, but that is not necessarily obvious to people who don’t know him. They see a black-lab looking dog and assume he won’t bite.