Porky had a bad evening last night. I took him outside to go potty and three neighborhood kids ran up to him. I kindly told them to back away and give him his space. I gave each of them a treat to give to Porky, since he is great with kids. They each took a turn giving him a treat and petting him gently. After the treats they started to get a little excited and crowd around him again. I picked him up so he wouldn't be scared and walked away. Then a neighbor man came up and wanted to pet Porky. Porky had calmed back down, so I said sure.
Porky was still in my arms and leaned his head towards the man to be petted. He seemed to enjoy the attention. Then the guy went to move his hand onto Porky's side and BAM! Porky bit him right on the back of the hand!! :crazyeyes: Porky has never bitten anyone before! I felt so awful about the whole thing, because it is NEVER okay for a dog to bite bite like that. I brought the man into our house and cleaned up his hand with peroxide and soap and water. Then I bandaged it up for him and offered to pay for him to see a doctor. The man was really great about it, but didn't want to see the doctor. I assured him that if he changed his mind, we would pay for everything.
To prevent this from EVER happenning again, we are going to make sure only one person at a time is allowed to see Porky, since Porky may have felt cornered. Also, Porky needs to be on the ground and needs to approach them first. Then we won't have any more "protective" bites. What's your take on this? Do you think Porky was protecting or just being aggressive?? :dontknow: I hardly slept at all last night because I was so upset over the whole thing. I am thinking it was a protection thing because the man was reaching his hand in my direction.
I don't know WHY for sure but I think he felt overwhelmed. Loki bit DH when he picked her up once. Knowing what we know know, it may have hurt her back.
It's too bad, but because of the risk of being sued and losing my home I allow NO CHILDREN to touch my pets. Ever.
The last time I was at the vet's office with Loki a rowdy two year old kept getting in her face. Finally I said to the mother in a nice loud voice: "Mam' would you please move your child away from my dog? (Loki was under my seat so you know the kid was practically in my lap) I AM AFRAID SHE WILL BITE YOUR CHILD."
It may not be your perspective, but I just won't risk losing my house because some idjit parent failed to act in a responsible way.
Quote from: Leslie on March 23, 2009, 09:09:41 AM
I don't know WHY for sure but I think he felt overwhelmed. Loki bit DH when he picked her up once. Knowing what we know know, it may have hurt her back.
It's too bad, but because of the risk of being sued and losing my home I allow NO CHILDREN to touch my pets. Ever.
The last time I was at the vet's office with Loki a rowdy two year old kept getting in her face. Finally I said to the mother in a nice loud voice: "Mam' would you please move your child away from my dog? (Loki was under my seat so you know the kid was practically in my lap) I AM AFRAID SHE WILL BITE YOUR CHILD."
It may not be your perspective, but I just won't risk losing my house because some idjit parent failed to act in a responsible way.
Leslie,
Thank you so much for your response! I think you are right about being Porky being overwhelmed. I was opening my mouth to tell them to all back off, but Porky bit before I had time to say anything. We are most likely going to have a rule where no one, outside of family, can pet Porky. It sounds awful, but I would hate to see anyone else get hurt. Thanks again for your helpful advice!!
That happened once with our JRT. We had guests over, and a person that normally has a good relationship with our JRT was teasing him. At the time our JRT was old, and a little crusty, and just bit him out of the blue. The guy made a big fluff that we needed to get rid of our dog. I was really annoyed because he was teasing him, and pulling a bone that he was chewing on away from him. I had told this person several times to leave the dog alone. At the time of the bite, I was approaching my dog to remove him from the room, because I didn't like the way this person was "playing" with him, and he was ignoring me telling him to leave him alone.
I normally don't allow anybody to approach Parker without permission, and I am stay very close. I have no problem digging food out of his mouth, or taking something away, but then Parker knows I'm the boss! I actually take food away from him on a regular basis, and remind him "no snapping" if he gets a little anxious.
Some people confuse him, especially people that are not familiar with approaching dogs, and especially children.
When I'm walking him and I see an unfamiliar child running up to him like gang busters, I immediately pick him up and remind Parker to "be nice". I instruct the child how to approach him, and also remind the child that all dogs bite, so they better heed my instruction.
Children that I know, I just remind them how I expect them to approach, and they comply because they really like Parker. Most of those children have dogs of their own.
When we have a gathering in our home, and we do quite often especially around the pool in the summer, I put Parker in the Xpen outside, so he doesn't get underfoot, or somebody doesn't "play" with him unsupervised by myself or my husband. We have some friends and family members that I trust, but people that I don't know....well can't risk the interaction.
I also ensure that he is approached by 1 child at a time.
I've also noticed with both dogs I've had, they just don't like certain people. I respect that. They have their reasons and they are always right on.
The man that our JRT bite, was a beater. I didn't know that at the time, but I suspected. Sometimes a dog can just sense an angry, unbalanced person.
Just be alert, but allow Porky to interact. Trust your instincts, and trust Porky. Watch for tension in Porky, and address it the second it happens (there is usually a 3 second warning), and remove Porky from the situation, and just tell the person that Porky is "unfriendly" today.
:rolleyes: Guinness is the same way - unpredictable. He has snapped at any number of adults who have reached out to "pet" him. I don't cut corners - I always tell adults that he WILL bite!
Using the Cesar method, I invite children to pet his back first, while I cradle him. It's like having a dog sniff your pupper's butt; a way to meet and greet!
Karen :heart:
Parker's mama and Auntie Karen,
Thank you so much for your input and personal stories. I was really nervous about posting this because I'm already blaming myself for the incident and didn't want any criticism just some helpful advice. You guys basically confirmed what I already was thinking. It was scary, but I really can't blame Porky. Looking at it through his eyes, he had to be very frightened. We were going through a major weather change as well and Porky gets a little strange when we have a BIG storm coming.
You guys are really the best. Thanks again!!!
:heart: Amorette
Hi Porkey Pie sorry you were naughty today but tell mama you was just protecting her. I am sure thats all it was. Just be careful my friend. Good job taking care of mama.
hugs and love Romeo
In this sue happy world I rarely let anyone pet my dogs and I never let kids pet them Its strange Patches breeder had kids I got Patches at 16 weeks. Patches does not like kids will bark at them even growl so I just say no. Buddy was also around kids I have seen a couple of behaviors I did not like so I just tell kids no.Rather be safe than sorry Porky was most likely being protective of you if you were holding him also he may have felt like he could not get away from a stranger.Sorry it happened but dogs can bite just hard to know what to do this day and age.Read in Doberman Talk awhile back that Dachshunds were number 1 biters???that was in a survey in the UK. Its done try not to beat your self up over it.
I tell people to not approach my dogs simply because of this sue-happy world we now live in. I tell people to just ignore the dogs, and eventually Alex will invite himself up onto someone's lap, but it has to be his idea. Willy is a mama's boy and likes to be with me when we have people over. Misty was a whole other story.......anyone who got near her Papa Dan was going to get nailed. She always let out the little throaty growls as a warning first. I sure do miss our sweet little girl.
I think you handled the situation really good with Porky.
Quote from: papbouv on March 23, 2009, 10:04:33 PMRather be safe than sorry Porky was most likely being protective of you if you were holding him also he may have felt like he could not get away from a stranger.
:thumb: Bernadee is right on - many behaviorists call it "Flight or Fight." If I'm holding Guinness, then "Flight" isn't an option for him any more, so he chooses the only alternative, "Fight." It also happens to dogs held on a taut leash.
Karen :wink: