Dogs That Bite Children and What Owners Do Next

“I know she's teething but what to you suggest for a puppy like mine just wanting to bite my partner all the time. It's done gently but annoyingly.. she has just hit 5 months old.. submitted by /u/Calm-Tennis-9925 [link] [comments]”

“I have a 5 year old Pomeranian that is very protective of me and we have to walk on eggshells around her. This behavior began the day after we got her. Nobody can hand me items, move towards me, or god forbid hug me. She is not allowed to sit on my lap around people and she is aggressive. She tolerates my mom sitting next to me now even though she still barks. She doesn’t respond to corrections and she just barks over you. We can’t reward good behavior because she never calms down enough, and ev”

“I need help coming to terms with doing what’s best for my boy, Noble. He is about 3 now and I picked him up from a shelter a little over 2 years ago. He is a deaf aussie/blue heeler mix. There was no description on any aggressiveness when I adopted him and for some time, there was no aggression. He was the second dog in my household and got along well with the other dog. After some time, there was a dog fight between the two and at first I thought it was the food. I solved that issue and there w”

“My Aussie is 7, she’s 40 lbs, spayed, female..this would be her third dog fight she’s been in in her life. We’ve worked hard on her reactiveness and got her to a really good place where she wasn’t in constant fear but we’ve had a major set back. Completely unprovoked on my dogs end, she was attacked from behind by the neighbour dog (Who’s probably 3x the size of her) and pinned to the ground while my mom and the other dogs owner tried to get him off of her. 3cm laceration on her chest that got c”

“My dog is 4 years old with no history of biting or aggression My husband and I left for a vacation yesterday and our best friends are watching our boy. They always watch him when we go away and he absolutely loves being at their house He’s a frenchie and he’s struggling with an interdigital cyst as well as horrible allergies, so he wasn’t feeling 100%. We got a call last night that she went to give him a kiss when he was sleeping and within 2 seconds he just snapped at her face. He got her botto”

“Hey everyone. I have a three year old female Spoodle (cockapoo). She is incredibly dog crazy and will lose her mind seeing other dogs- this involves her standing on her back legs, getting zoomies running around me and losing all focus on me. When she’s off lead she plays really well with other dogs as long as they’re bigger than her, but if a little dog approaches her and annoys her she growls and goes full attack mode spinning the little dog on its back and making screechy threatening noises. S”

“I have a 6 year old miniature schnauzer who has always been a nervous dog (thank you 2020). We had twins two years ago and have been managing their interactions really well. We understand that she doesn’t like to be disrupted when resting. In November, she was on the settee with my husband and my 18 month old ran over to her with a rattle and we think may have hit her on the face. She gave my toddler a level 2 bite. We contacted dogs trust who told us to give her her own space (we have) and only”

“i posted a couple days ago after my dog was impounded for a “bite” (which was later determined to not actually be a bite but a scratch.) I ended up deleting that post bc people started arguing whether or not my dog could be seized/legal advice which i was NOT asking for. Since that post i have got Maple back from the pound. I had to sign liability for her and still have to go to court but im fine with that. I will say for anyone telling me to just pay the bill, i was NEVER sent a bill, i was jus”

“I have a 2.5 year old Cavapoo who is so incredibly kind to humans. He also gets along with dogs, but I’ve noticed when being around my parents dogs, he’s resource guarded me, his toys, and his food a few times (to the dogs only). We no longer leave toys out and feed in separate places, but have noticed he still snaps when one of their dogs approaches me sometimes. Again, no guarding towards humans. We’re going to work on it. He’s always been great with kids, a little anxious, but have noticed no”

“Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice because this has me pretty worried. My wife and I have three kids, and we have a 10-month-old female German Shepherd. She isn't our first GSD, so we have some experience with the breed. From the day we got her she had an extremely high prey drive. We've spent a lot of time training, and she's now at the point where she pretty much ignores cyclists, scooters, joggers and cars. Birds that sit still for too long are still very tempting, but t”

“Hi everyone, We adopted Keegan (30 lb male mix, ~1 year old) about 1.5 months ago. He was abandoned at around 6 months (found chasing the SUV that dumped him) and had minimal socialization in a foster home with an older woman. He’s an incredible, sweet dog 99.9% of the time with us — affectionate, smart, and eager to please. The issue is strong reactivity to people coming into the house. He barks, gets riled up, lunges, etc. We hired a professional behaviorist who came for an assessment (he had”

“Please tell me there is light at the end of the tunnel! This last week our new puppies biting has gotten worse, he goes for our hands, arms, legs, everything really. We have some teething toys, we try to redirect, but the little shit hurts like hell. What tips you got? Go! Please!! submitted by /u/PotentialAssist3902 [link] [comments]”

“So,allegedly Purebred Aussie rehomed to me. Owner threatened to BE. First owner is my DD’s parent. I took on this dog knowing this is the dog my DD has had since he was a puppy. I can’t afford a Vet Behavior consultation ($500+.) We also just moved into an apartment which is proving he barks every time someone walks by the door. Barks if anyone gets within 10 feet of us. I feel like a ninja checking hallways,exits and between cars. Yes,we do lick mats,chews,and puzzles. My bf has met him three t”

“3 month old golden retriever male. Bitting has also been an issue with him and we were told to expect it from friends that have puppies. This seems really bad though, my gf is covered with scratches and bite marks. When you first approach him he starts nipping and gently biting which is good, then the bites get harder quickly. If you turn away from him he'll just bite what he can reach. Honestly it's getting pretty bad, to the point where we don't want to stroke him. We tried removin”

“I have an 8-year-old AmStaff/Malinois mix. When he was a puppy, we spent a lot of time at our local dog park and things were fine for years. When he was around two, a woman moved into our neighborhood with a bully-type dog that wasn’t outright aggressive, but it constantly humped my dog and stole his sticks. Looking back, I know I should have stopped going after the first incident, but one day my dog had enough and chased the other dog away. The woman reacted by hitting my dog with a leash, and”

“This just started so we’re trying to get on top of it. Our 8 month old puppy has become aggressively protective with me and our toddler. To the point when my spouse approaches us he’s growling and barking and if given opportunity probably would bite. I put my hand on him hard and tell him no, and tell my spouse to continue so the dog doesn’t win. The problem is my spouse is scared and I know we should face this and not allow him to win. Any advice on how to move forward with this is appreciated!”

“I'm at a loss for what to do. A dog at the facility I work for and is a long time client has been great for the first 2 or 3 years he's been coming to us. For over a year now hes been lashing out at multiple dogs and starting altercations for what seems like nothing! He is an intact golden doodle. If a dog walks by him its a 59/59 chance he will jump them. If a dog invades his personal space he skips the warning and goes straight to fighting. The mom is aware but continues to bring him b”

“Hi everyone - desperate new dad here. Came home from the hospital with my 5 day old daughter and we have two dogs. Our reactive boy is fine with our other dog, but he is absolutely insane around other dogs, to the point where we don’t let him near them. He’s a 9 pound Chihuahua mix. He was on reconcile for a couple of years, and we did some desensitization training, but eventually we just kind of gave up and decided that he was going to have one dog friend. He’s usually fine around people, but h”

“Hi all, I have a 4yo anxious JRT who I’ve had since a puppy. He was showing signs of aggression in his first year of life including a bite that had resulted in my partner going to hospital. He was unprovoked in that he jumped onto my partner for pats then when that happened he latched and didn’t let go. I had initially tried using a trainer but it wasn’t a behaviour specific trainer and I thought this was a once off event. He has subsequently bitten many people in the family, with another person”

“My 5 year old gsd and 5 year old lhasa apso attacked my other dog brutally who is very small . They're all female. They bit her suddenly. My lhasa apso started it.. she fights often with her. Idk why they do that. But yesterday my gsd joined her too.. she injured her real bad. Someone with any experience please explain why do they do that? Also my golden retriever tries to join for no reason even if the fight has nothing to do with her. She barks continuously. I need help how to control my g”

“My husband and I got a dog about 5 years ago now. Since then we have had a baby she's (1) expecting second baby here as well. Since bringing home my daughter from the hospital the dog(male) has always been not the friendly. The dog has gotten into two dog fights. The dog only listens to my husband. I am a stay at home mom I am with the dog everyday. The dog acts horrible all day and then when my husband is home it's like completely different dog! The dog during the day while husband is g”

“Hey everyone! I desperately need advice on my 1.5yo Great Pyrenees mix after multiple dog on dog attacks. A little context: I currently have 6 dogs in the home. A 6yo female chow/lab mix, 1yo male Great Dane, 1yo female Great Dane, 4 month old female unknown medium mix, 13yo bully mix, and the 1.5yo Pyr. All are fixed except for both Danes and the 4 month old puppy. Both the senior bully mix and the Pyr I took in from an abuse/neglect/hoarding situation after they were removed by animal control.”

“I need to make clear before i start that I KNOW I AM IN THE WRONG. I am in NO WAY blaming the person who got bit, I should have managed my dog better during the interaction. okay, starting now: My dog bit someone, i was trying to sell an item on facebook marketplace, i always tell people not to knock because maple will lose it. This person knocked anyway. Looking back i can admit, i should have kenneled my dog before opening the door, usually She does not rush the door and will bark from inside,”

“I’m coming to this subreddit because I am unsure what to do and I was hoping for some constructive suggestions/maybe tough love. Please be nice. I am currently 37 weeks pregnant with my first child. My husband and I have a 75lb, 7 year old Australian Cattle Dog who has always had an issue with dog reactivity and anxiety. We adopted him at 3 months old and really tried to socialize him. We took him to puppy classes, hired trainers and tried to bring him around family members and friends with wond”

“My sweet angel baby turns 2 this month, and this past year has been the hardest in my life :’) She’s both human and dog reactive. She’s muzzle trained, and we never let her approach strangers or allow anyone to pet her. We do everything we can to set her up for success, but it still feels like our world has gotten so small. We live in a tiny apartment, so having people over is incredibly difficult because we can’t realistically separate her from the living room. I also find myself constantly anx”

“Today our 1 year old was on the floor and started crawling towards our dog (who had one of our sons toys that he picked up off the floor), and our son reached for the toy and our dog started showing resource guarding (he growled a bit). My wife positioned herself between our dog and the baby and told our dog to drop it. He dropped it and my wife threw the toy to the other side of the room and our dog lunged and nipped our baby in the forehead, leaving a small mark. Thoughts? We immediately calle”

“I have a 16 week old Cavapoo puppy. I got him about a month and a half ago and I am really struggling with the biting. He is extremely sweet and honestly very chill for a puppy, but when it comes to biting I’m at a loss. I’m a teacher on summer break so I’m home with him all day and we play a ton. If he’s awake I’m on the floor playing with him, and he has a variety of toys to enjoy. However, every time we play he loses interest in a toy after a few minutes and then will come barreling towards m”

“This afternoon our pug bit my mother in law... she bent down to pet him, he was ok until she stood up, he then jumped up and scratched and bit her leg. What am I supposed to do? She was in so much pain. Blood was drawn. He is 2 years old, we adopted him at 7 months. He has had issues since we got him. We have a behaviourist trainer and a behaviourist vet. He is on gabapentin, metacam and reconcile.... he is the most loving, adorable boy at home or when he is comfortable with you. He has issues w”

“I first adopted my dog from a shelter when he was about 6 months old. At this point, I've had him for over 3 years. 1 year ago, my girlfriend moved in. Within a month, my dog had given her both level 3 and level 3b bites. We chalked it up to her being a new member of the household, and went a full 12 months without incident. A few weeks ago, the dog lunged at one of our cats and pulled some fur out. The cat has been here for about a year as well, and we see the cats and dog sleeping near eac”

“my pitbull attacked a yorkie last night. she has never attacked or bitten any other human or animal. i was going to take her out, which i’m so mad, i had already taken her out for the night but thought hmm let me take her again since im awake. i pressed the elevator and the door immediately opened. to me, i (wrongly) assumed the elevator had been sitting on our floor and was empty. as i started walking a yorkie came out right in my dogs face and my dog latched onto her. my body went into shock a”

“Last September my wife was 7 months pregnant and running errands and a small white poodle darted back and forth accross one of the main roads in our town (4 lanes). Scared she would get hit my wife stopped and the dog ran and jumped into her arms like “help me”. She was skin and bones , hair matted. We had 2 small dogs already and baby coming so the plan was to try and nurse her to health and find her a home. She had no collar or chip but is an expensive dog and we ended up keeping her because i”

“Had the dog a month and a half. He always gets overly aroused when we hug but recently has been better and I've been doing training with him. I took him out for a walk there and greeted my husband when I came back with a hug. There was no warning, no growling, just jumped up and nipped him. We both had tetanus shots last year for a holiday but we're a bit concerned. Thoughts? Didn't break the skin but is already bruising. submitted by /u/DiscountHelpful6180 [link] [”

“My biased impression is that 80% of the reactive dog stories on this sub come from those who rescued as opposed to the 20% who bought puppies from a breeder. Am I close or way off? submitted by /u/Gyro_Wizard [link] [comments]”

“I keep falling into the trap of thinking that if my dog still reacts, I just haven't trained hard enough. I used to beat myself up about it, and I know a lot of you do too. That mindset is especially brutal when you're juggling kids, work, and everything else. My dog is leash reactive to other dogs and fast-moving people. We do the positive reinforcement stuff: pattern games, working at distance, high-value treats, decompressing walks, all the LIMA basics. Still, the biggest improvement”

“Sorry if this is incoherent. I'm freaking out and not quite sure what to do. I just adopted a dog from a shelter a week ago, and she's such a sweetheart with people but absolutely hates other dogs. I had already signed up to work with a dog trainer (we start in a couple days) and had noted that I wanted to work on her dog reactivity, but I didn't realize just how bad it actually is until just now. I'm usually really good about avoiding other dogs and keeping a distance when I see”

“My dog is a large dog (~80lbs) that looks vaguely German like but we are unsure as we just found him in the street. We have had him since 2023 and have only had minor issues no bites or even attempted bites. He is vaccinated. He is very wary of strangers outside the home with loud barking if he is at home. He would react badly to people holding small children until they are put down and absolutely hates any other animals but that is easy to manage as we only have him and keep him away from anima”

“For starters, my boy is formally reactive. He’s a rescue and was found in pretty abhorrent conditions. Missing most of his fur, super underweight, filthy, and scared of any person near him. I mean, cowering in the corner, and he even peed himself a few times in the beginning being in the house when someone raised their voice for any reason (never directed at him). With lots of work, we went from terrified to a little too excited to be around people with horrific separation anxiety from me, which”

“My dog is leash reactive to other dogs when we walk past a random dog but he is not reactive to dogs around the dog park when on a leash. His reactivity does look a little aggressive but I’ve never seen him actually be aggressive when he gets close to a dog. It also in my opinion does not seem like fear but it does look a little aggressive (barking loudly and lunging) so I guess it’s not excitement?? Anyway why does he only react to random dogs and how can I stop this? I’ve tried distraction gam”

“I rescued a shepherd/pyrenes/husky/cattle dog mix about 3 years ago. I also have a 2 year old lab and I love them both so much. I recently moved to an apartment after living in a house. I am walking them on leashes for potty breaks where before, they went out in the backyard on leads. I messed up by not working with my lab on a leash when he was a puppy, and now the pulling is atrocious. He is 80lbs and SO strong. I have no issue walking my rescue alone as he seems more calm by himself. Needless”

“Hi all, I have a small dog who is very protective of me and reacts to people outside by lunging and trying to bite them. He will bite strangers if they get too close (can’t have people over cause he bit my brother once). I tried a behavioral trainer for a bit, which was great, but stopped due to cost. We were using the CARE method I think, where you feed the dog treats to redirect them when a stranger is passing, not exceeding their threshold distance until they are comfortable. I live in a busy”

“I looked through the resources in the Wiki but am looking for something specific to share with my niece, whose dog is very protective of her home and tends to be reactive to strangers entering the home. My niece lives in a small apartment, and her dog's crate is in the living room, so I've encouraged her to put her dog in a separate room with a baby gate to keep her physically apart from guests but still within view of my niece. I mentioned that she should have guests ignore the dog, and”

“I have a lab boxer mix who is usually very energetic, happy, and not easily scared (even on the 4th of July she didn’t have much of a reaction). Just now I was going to step outside and called her. She didn’t come, so I went into the living room and she was just sitting there staring off into space. She didn’t move a muscle when I called her name and only really reacted when I waved my hand in front of her face. She seemed really cautious about coming outside. Like, head and tail straight and lo”

“We are fostering a 7 YO dog. He follows you everywhere, a snuggling bug, love getting pet and fully house broken. The only issue we have with him is he wouldnt let you touch his paws or clean his eyes and would nip/bite your fingers. I have been trying to use treat as an incentive. I would try to lightly touch his paws or the side of his nose with a lightly dampen towel and when he doesn’t react i would give him a treat. Every time, i thought i was going somewhere he would nip or bite my fingers”

“I own a working line GSD who has become reactive to certain dogs, people and kids. I was working him today at at local park, and when we were heading back to my car, this guy was standing right next to it with his husky. I immediately tried to go around them because my dog really struggles with huskies—especially brown ones—and this one may have even been the one he already has a history with (Simba), though I’m not positive. I managed to get all the way to my trunk, but as soon as my dog spotte”

“TW - Dogs Attack My parents have 2 dogs, one we've had since I was in high school, and the other they've had for about 6 years. The house is alongside the neighborhood park, so naturally people walk their dogs. Sometimes people let their dogs come up along the fence and bark with ours, we wish they wouldn't, but can't control other people and their pets. The fence at my parents house has been having some issues, and dad keeps needing to repair it, last I saw, which was only a wee”

“I'm not sure what to do here. It's been an emotional roller-coaster. We have a dog reactive GSD, who recently had a first bite incident, unfortunately with a child. Our dog was tied up on a lead with a harness directly in front of our RV. Child ran in after a ball and the dog charged him and started barking. I sprinted up to the dog but as the kid fell back the dog bit the kid a couple times. It happened so fast I felt like I barely had time to react. I would put the incident at a level”

“So today I took my corgi to daycare, but had to take her home because she was being snappy with the other dogs. She is not usually like that and loves going to daycare, so I am incredibly confused. This only happened one other time, but was corrected when she went back in and played the entire time. This time she snapped when she got in, played for a little, then snapped again. We are trying to figure out why she could be acting this way and these are a couple things we came up with: 1. I am 8 m”

“My 8mo lab mix is very mouthy, and regularly ‘holds my hand’ with his mouth. He doesn’t bite per-say, but he’s always kind of covering my arm with his teeth lol. We also rough house and he’ll ‘pretend bite’ me then, but again very gentle. I really don’t mind it, and he’s my dog solely. He doesn’t do this with guests except my boyfriend who also rough houses with him. However, have seen some people referring to their dogs as ‘very mouthy’ and wanting to solve the problem, so just wondered if I sh”

“Sorry this is a long one. Hi. I really need some help with a dog we have just rescued. Here is some background and information on the dog -name Atari -age 2years 9months -breed cane corso mix (unsure with what we think some kind of bully/pittie breed) - acquired her from a rescue - she was rescued as a young pup found as a stray ( around 6-8month old) -she was in the rescue for 300 days before we took her home (the rescue referred to her as institutionalised as she had never had a prope”

“I have a puppy that's about 4–8 weeks old. I found him in a drainage pipe, and I've had him for 4 days now. He's already very attached to me and follows me everywhere. I'm just curious about one thing: does anyone know why he keeps trying to bite me? When we're playing, he often climbs onto my leg, opens his mouth, and gently puts his little teeth on my leg. When I pet his head, he also turns toward my hand with his mouth open, but he doesn't seem aggressive at all. Does”

“My dog (chi/rat terrier mix) was attacked by another dog today. I filed a report already, but being its a Holiday weekend (in USA) the dog warden will get back to me monday. I checked her over at first and thought she was okay, but i checked again just recently and she has a small bite on her thigh in the back. It's super small, and isn't bleeding anymore but it bled for a little. I don't think it's an emergency visit, she has an appointment tuesday morning. I cleaned the wound a”

“Hey everyone. My pup Luna has significantly struggled with leash reactivity since she was ~4 months old. We did puppy classes, individual training, spent hundreds of hours looking into puppy training, socialization, and desensitization. She has always been friendly with dogs she has been introduced to properly (parallel walks, etc) although very energetic. Today on a walk, a lady appeared from around the corner with her much smaller dog and it ran right up to my dog, and instead of sniffing or b”

“I am beyond exhausted with this neighbour. Since the day she moved in her dog has terrorised my two in their own home. He's allowed to bolt up and down the stairs repeatedly (neurotic large cocker spaniel) and will stand and aggressively bark under my front door even when my dogs are asleep or eating so it's not like they are instigating it. The dog is never on a lead in the area around our flats and has repeatedly rushed my two - one of whom is a nervous rescue on the nearby streets. On”

“So my family just got a Shih Tzu Poodle mix and my French Bull Dog’s aggression and anxiety is to a max. Any tips submitted by /u/Fun-Cress5909 [link] [comments]”

“Today, for the first time, my M 7-month-old Border Terrier bit me, and I've been so down about it. He was laying on the couch with another family member, and we had all just been playing together. I wanted to pick him up because I was trying to check the bottom of one of his back paws. He recently had a small scab there, and I needed to lift him to get a good look at it. There were no warning signs beforehand. He wasn't growling, stiffening, or acting uncomfortable. He looked completely”

“Hey all. I’ve had my dog Archie (17 lb chihuahua mix, ~2.5 years old) for about 1.5 years. Unlike most of the dogs here, he doesn’t have much leash reactivity, but he has… everything else lol. Resource guarding / food aggression: If someone begins preparing his food, he will attack anyone else in the room. Either my partner and I will have to hide in another room behind a closed door to avoid getting bitten. The he will cry and slam into the door because of his… Separation and confinement anxiet”

“I’ve had my 11 month old dog for a couple months and she’s never shown this behavior before. Today I gave her a bully stick and the cat walked near and she barked at him, which surprised me because she’s never done that. So, I went over and (maybe stupidly) put my hand kinda near what she was chewing on and she stopped chewing and bared her teeth a tiny bit and made a small growl sound and kinda went for my hand, but didn’t bite, just kinda touched me with her nose. This is a new behavior, but I”

“I don't really know why I'm writing this, I think I just need to say it to people who actually get it. My dog is Kira, she's a 4 year old Malinois. I found out after getting her that she came from one of those breeders just pumping out puppies for money, no thought to temperament or socialisation, so she started off behind before I even met her. I didn't even really understand what "reactive" meant until I was already deep in it. The thing that's slowly breaking me”

“Hi! I know there have been similar posts, but my daughter (14 months) has been bitten 3 times in the last week. Two of them we received a report, but one of them we found once we got home (wasn’t noticed by her teachers?!). All of them have left a significant mark — thankfully no broken skin. I worked at a daycare in college in a ones classroom, and it was rare for the kids to bite each other. I am upset because my daughter is one of the youngest in the room and she’s not quite walking yet.. jus”