Dogs That Bite Children and What Owners Do Next

“I have a senior dog that has nipped at my baby twice now from being startled… I am worried once my baby starts walking this will become even more of a dangerous situation. I need help/advice on what the right move is to do here…. My dog is 14 and very much living her last year. She can’t go on walks but is still mentally very lively. I am BEYOND torn on what to do here. submitted by /u/Sahdealmbsy [link] [comments]”

“I have a senior dog that has nipped at my baby twice now from being startled… I am worried once my baby starts walking this will become even more of a dangerous situation. I need help/advice on what the right move is to do here…. My dog is 14 and very much living her last year. She can’t go on walks but is still mentally very lively. I am BEYOND torn on what to do here. submitted by /u/Sahdealmbsy [link] [comments]”

“I have a 2 year old and an almost 4 month old. When my baby was a few weeks old, my 12 lb, 6 year old chihuahua bit my 2 year old on the hand. I was in the NB stage full force and knew my husband wasn't going to take the dog to the vet so I set the idea aside. Fast forward to last week I took my dog to the vet (the vet knows my dog) and she recommended behavioral eutnasia. For context, my dog has had aggression and biting problems from the start. I got him from a backyard breeder (didn't”

I made another post about our dog several months ago, questions about meds - see https://www.reddit.com/r/reactivedogs/s/6KIUvvqGVF if you want some of that background - but this is about her biting. As mentioned…

“I have a 1.5 year old reactive pitbull. Since we found her (at about 5 months old) she showed fear-based reactivity towards certain people/strangers, but was fine with everyone else. I have 3 kids, and she is the sweetest, gentlest dog with my kids/family as well as my nieces and nephews. There is one 10 year old girl in my neighborhood though that for whatever reason she has always hated and barked at aggressively when she came by. We worked with her with a trainer a few month’s back and she ha”

“My male pit is the chillest out of the pack, good with all other animals and has never attacked. My baby was crawling on the ground and we were all locked in the bathroom for a second and he growled and showed his teeth near her face as she approached him. He immediately moved away. This just freaked me the hell out. submitted by /u/Then_Bite9547 [link] [comments]”

“Currently 9 weeks pregnant and really sad right now. My bf’s dog bit me a couple days ago (and has bitten many people in the past). We got into a huge fight because I told him I don’t feel comfortable with the dog around the baby. Long story short the conversation didn’t go well- he gave me an ultimatum saying if he has to get rid of his dog I have to get rid of mine (which is unfair because mine causes no problems) and I packed a bag and am staying at my brother’s house. We are still on talking”

“I have a 3 month old Samoyed boy and he acts completely different with me and my husband. We got him when he was 8 weeks and he was sweet at first and then become very energetic at home. He likes to bite everything even though he already has different kinds of toys and even chewed and damaged the carpet. He acts really differently when he is alone with me. With me, he’s super hyper. He barks at me, bites/mouths me, and constantly wants to play. He keeps biting stuff and doesn't care when I s”

“Hi all. First of all, I’d like to say that I have all the sympathy in the world for reactive dog owners. I have a 25-lb ACD/chihuahua rescue (Mac, neutered male, 1yr old) who was very people reactive, and we’ve done literally thousands of dollars of training and have made so much progress. It has been a very tough journey and a long-time coming, but I finally felt like we got to a really good spot and he is people-neutral 80% of the time, and I couldn’t be more proud. We still have some issues,”

“We've had this dog for about two weeks. In this time, she has been sweet, kind, and seems to have warmed up quickly to our place, responding well to training. She has also exhibited a significant amount of anxiety in this time. She is easily distracted by noises or other distractions on walks. She was also very anxious when we first arrived home from the shelter. Last night we had some guests over; about 9 people total. She was very scared to come in the door, and was extremely reluctant to”

“I have an almost 11 month old female Groodle who we’ve had since she was a puppy. She has been raised in a very loving home, has never experienced any known trauma, and we’ve put a lot of time into training and working with professionals. Despite that, she has shown some difficult behaviours from quite young, particularly around frustration, handling and resource guarding. Today she bit me quite hard during a handling situation. I was touching/handling her paw and she initially attempted to nip.”

“Hello! Some background on the dogs: my boyfriends dog is a male bully about to be 6 in December. He has had him since he was a puppy. He is 60 lbs. My dog is a 1 year old female Shiba Inu, I got her a little over a month ago, she has lived with other dogs and cats in the past. She is 18lbs. We introduced them at a large off leash park and they did fine, they played a bit then did their own things. Then we walked them together after that and they did well with that. Last night went to my boyfrien”

“I'm so sad. About a month ago, my 2-year-old pittie and I were attacked while walking. A dog of similar size got out of a fenced yard, charged us, and kept circling us, lunging and snapping. This went on for a crazy long time because no one was around to help us. We walk on our rural road which is mostly just woods. I put her behind me and did everything I could to keep the dog away from her but it was chaos. We were both bitten several times and needed medical care, but thankfully it could”

“We just adopted a 3 year old Border Collie /Sheep Dog mix, we have had her for only 48 hours and she already bit our 17 year old child (bruised and broke the skin). For some reason she immediately bonded to my husband and I, but with our child she is reactive/snappy/growly, same with her BF. Both times the children approached her or called her over, not her approaching the child. She generally just ignores them. When she bit the child, she was sitting with her and petting her (this was within 5”

“Hello! I have an almost 10 month old Corgi boy who was so sweet when he was younger but now hitting 9/10 month mark he’s randomly snapping at us. Mainly when we pick him up to get out of the car. I pressed around his body to see if a certain spot triggered it and no reaction he seems fine physically. Is this normal during the teen years? He’s still intact as well. Besides that he’s so sweet! But he’s def been more snappy the last month or so and I’m worried. I should also note he mainly does thi”

“My 4yr old Australian Shepherd nipped my toddler last night. He did not draw blood, but there is a mark where skin is bruised. My 2yr old son was not watching where he was walking, and accidentally stepped on him and fell, my dog barked (not angrily I guess, more just startled) and I didn’t see him lunge at him, but he did end up with a mark on his face so something obviously happened. I am genuinely lost on what to do. He has anxiety that has worsened after we had our baby, we are looking to ge”

“(First, I'm sorry if my English is awkward. This is Pookoo, a bully!) Hi everyone, I have a 8 yrs old American bully and she has been showing extreme aggression toward small animals, especially small dogs and cats. (Weirdly she ignores birds haha) I'm aware of this so I've been walking her with a prong collar, a basket muzzle, and cute clothes. She doesn't have aggression towards human stuff(like bicycles, cars, etc) and follows my order (sit, wait) pretty well when she is wearin”

“https://imgur.com/a/BPMM6n5 There is the video that the still is from. We adopted this 1.5 year old dog one week and 2 days ago. Yesterday my in-laws came over and we were told to have them on leash to greet us and have the parents ignore the dogs. Didn't go to plan. My dog was barking and ended up recognizing them and then was crying happy and wiggling. This new dog kept barking aggressively. At the driveway my husband has holding the new dog and the dog lunged forward suddenly after pullin”

“Just a little overthinker, don't want my dogs to normalize biting especially when other people likes to pet them, so far their bites are not yet that deep submitted by /u/creamlattee [link] [comments]”

“We adopted a new puppy a few days ago. She’s a 5 month old lab mix. Overall a good dog. She’s gets along very well with my 4 year old pit. My concern though is that she is nippy and sometimes growls at my kids (8 & 5). Shes excellent with me and my wife. Never once done that. I understand it’s only been a few days and the 3-3-3 rule with new dogs. I’m just nervous because I can’t have a dog that I don’t trust around my kids. I have a lot of young nieces and nephews as well. I can’t tell if t”

“My 6 year old GSD/cattle dog/border collie mix snapped at my baby for the first time. There was no contact, it was very much a snap in the air (and intended to be an air snap, the dog did not go in for a bite). Baby was reaching toward me while I was petting the dog (dog was in between the baby and I, which was a mistake I won’t make again). I redirected the dog off the couch and all is back to normal. This dog has air snapped my entire family and our other dog to communicate discomfort but has”

“So some background, my boyfriend’s dog is a 4 y/o unfixed pit but has been the sweetest boy over the almost 2 years I’ve known him. I was cuddling with him as I always do (laying down petting his head, face near his and kisses back and forth) but he was on his new bed for the first time. I sat up after the snuggling (still on the bed but a foot or two away) and with no obvious warning the dog attacked my face, took apart of my lip and ended up with me in the hospital. It was only for a second or”

“I need to know where to go from Here. We have a dog that we got from our local Humane society. She is probably part lab, hound and maybe Pitt? She is 1.5 yrs old. And we got her In Jan. We had been working on helping her when she was reactive to other dogs and recently she tried to nip our vet when she was getting her vaccination. We had her in beginner obedience training w other dogs and she still surprisingly well. We also try to acclimate her walks around other dogs safely. I am careful w how”

“Our dog is two and can lean more towards the reactive side if overstimulated. He’s very rambunctious and hyper and sometimes gets too playful and he’s a Doberman so he’s huge. He’s never bit anyone aside from puppy nips when he was much younger. Yesterday on his walk, as soon as we left the door there were 5-6 kids playing basketball in our street, then our next door neighbors 2 little girls were running around playing and ran up to our dog to pet him. We’ve never had an issue, so we let them, l”

“Title: My dog has severe fear/anxiety and has now seriously bitten family members 5 times. Is there any hope left for him? I’m posting because I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore, and I’m hoping to hear from people who have dealt with serious behavioral issues, especially fear-based aggression and resource guarding. My dog Chai is a large Doberman mix. When he was around a year old, he was attacked by a much larger dog. After that, his behavior around other dogs changed drastically. He dev”

“i’m sorry i just need to vent. my dog is a rescue (about 2.5 years old), we’ve had him for about 2 years and when he was almost a year old he started having behavioral issues. he was territorial and protective of us and really reactive on his leash. last march we got him into a trainer that keeps him all day and he goes there twice a week. he’s been better but still reactive on the leash when he sees other dogs. we’ve tried everything—he’s on 40 mg of fluoxetine as well. but today i was walking”

submitted by /u/KyGLar87 [link] [comments]

“Advice on reactive dog I’ll keep it short but I need advice about my situation currently. I have a 8 year old pug who has been with me since birth. I got her from a pet shop. She began snapping at certain people when she was 2/3 years. It was only a certain person in my life and a tradesman who would come to the house. Essentially she runs at the person and goes for their lower leg/ankle area. She began showing aggression after living with two male dogs who would get territorial. Example being i”

“We have an 8 y/o English shepherd and a toddler, currently 18 months old. Over the last 9 months, since our son learned to crawl fast and walk, there have been 3 incidents of "level 2" bites, all were provoked by our son being an excited toddler. The first one was on us, because it was during the period that we didn't know about the importance of separation. The next two were at periods of transition in an enclosed space, e.g. because we let the dog out of the kitchen when we are n”

“So my 6 months and 2 weeks old puppy, since a few days ago had started being aggressive for no reason, yesterday when my brother stopped him from barking and simply pulled him away from the door, he bit my brother. And today while playing with my mother, he started growling and getting ready to bite. He gets extremely scared for no reason in such situations too, and I don't know why he is feeling threatened, how can I change this situation, because I don't want him or my family members t”

“I feel immensely guilty and stupid. My dog is a year and a half and hadnt been around other dogs growing up at all which is why I believe he’s reactive now or doesn’t know how to interact with other dogs. My dog is high energy and a walk is usually not enough exercise for him, so I accompany his walks with fetch sessions at a big grassy area near my house. These fetch sessions are immensely helpful specifically after my university classes where I haven’t been with him for the whole day as they’r”

“We have had our dog since she was 8 weeks old, born in the shelter and we are the only family she’s ever known. We love her so much. She’s the ultimate camping buddy, she loves the dog friendly cafe and splashing in any and all water. She’s wonderful with our cats. She has always been very timid. On leash, in the car, with company over. She’s bit me multiple times in the face, but we have seen major improvement. When I was pregnant we included her in setting up the nursery. She and our son love”

“I (30f) rescued a 2 year old staffie x French bulldog around 4 months ago, at first she seemed shy and scared, we slowly worked on trust as she had previously been abandoned and we wanted to give her a loving home. After about 2 months she’s started becoming reactive, lunging barking etc especially when someone is at the door/ coming into the home. She normally barked and walked away, that was it so we would just put her out until she calmed down, she then one day nipped a friends shoe as he was”

“I have an around 8 year old pit/mastiff mix. I say around 8 because he was rescued and I am not exactly sure how old he is. Last night I gave him a bone and put him in his room to separate him from my other dog. He can get fairly defensive over bones but in the past it’s usually just been tail wagging and running away ( not dropping it ) when he’s done chewing on it. Anyways I go in the room after letting him chew on it for a while and ask him to release the bone as this works with items he’s no”

“I need advice on this horrible situation that I’ve never walked through, regarding our dog biting a child. For context, my family and I are traveling while my parents are watching our golden retriever. My parents had most of my family over one night, we were not present as we are currently out of town. Everyone was eating around the table and our dog was in the corner beside the table. There were many children and adults over at the house. No one was watching our dog and this child, but they kno”

“My 4-month-old puppy is going through his biting phase, and sometimes he accidentally breaks the skin. Should I be worried? submitted by /u/g_i_ane [link] [comments]”

“We have had a 4 year old border collie/Aussie cross since she was a puppy and and we have tried to socialize her the best we can. We took her to visit my senior mom in the nursing home since she was a puppy and she would visit the residents and let them pet her. We took her to the dog park and on walks all the time. She was good with the seniors and people who are sitting calmly and is good with other dogs at the dog park. She has barked at people walking by her before but usually keeps her dist”

“Not sure if it still fits in this sub, but I'll give it a go. I have my 15 month old for exactly a year now. During this year I have studied and learned a lot and I felt like we were growing together. Puppyhood was tough because he is quite anxious with low food drive and didn't respond like the average puppy to many common tips and advices. Then came adolescence and due to a poor choice in puppy school that I still regret, he developed strong reactivity to other dogs. This is still an i”

“Hello I am reaching out I have never used this app before other than to read up on a few things without an account. I have a 8 month old pit hound mix that is super friendly. He has 2 dog bothers that he gets along with very well he is 60 pounds and the smallest dog is about 35 (this matters). The pit hound mix has had cats in the house hold for about 4 or 5 months when he had to stay at a family member’s house for a while due to moving. He had never attacked any of the 5 cats he was very friend”

“We have had our puppy for about 3 weeks now. Her name is Ash she is a shepherd mix just over 3 months. Up until literally monday she has been so sweet. Obviously a little crazy and biting cause shes a puppy. All of a sudden monday night it was like a switch flipped. I cant hold her i cant pet her i cant even walk through the living room without being attacked. Im talking biting my face eating my hair i literally cant escape her😭. I know puppys are supposed to bite thats just what they do but is”

“We had our dog for 6 years, he had a normal appetite. We had our first baby 1 year ago and he hasn’t become comfortable with the baby. But has been acting normal other than avoiding the baby. Recently if we give him a beef liver treat, or a piece of chicken. Things he normally would have been excited to eat. He just gently holds it in his mouth for days. Carries it around the house, takes it outside and sits on the grass just holding the treat or chicken. Does anyone know what this is ? How conc”

“My shepherd rescue pup (she’s about a year old and we’ve had her 4 months) has a BAD habit of throwing hands for everything… She’s a VERY reactive dog outside of our house, and listens very well, at home we have a ton of schedule and structure. She thrives off of it. All of a sudden about a month ago, she started this… it’s not only if she’s excited. If I start to stand up, or let her, or anything really… I’ve tried everything I can think of: Ignoring it Turning away Leaving the spot it happened”

Hi everyone, I’m posting here because I’m feeling pretty lost with my dog’s reactivity, and I’m hoping to hear from people who have been through something similar. I have a 3-year-old neutered…

“Hi all, I have an 8 month Old English Sheepdog (m), he is lovely HOWEVER when he is over excited or witching hour comes about he bites. And I am not talking little nibbles, they’re big bites. Thankfully, (albeit sadly) it’s only me that he bites, he doesn’t bite anyone else. They don’t seem aggressive, it seems he just doesn’t know what to do and unfortunately neither do I anymore. After taking some advice from dog trainers, advice from posts and even the breeder I have tried the following: Givi”

“I’m new here, and not entirely sure if this is where I should post to get the best results. About a year ago, I adopted what we were told was a shepherd cross of some sorts. The staff had warned me she hadn’t taken to any previous candidates for adoption and was extremely anxious and shut down. When they brought her to the meet and greet pen, she ran to me immediately and curled up in my lap. Since the whole reason for this adoption was to help my other dog and I heal after the passing of my chi”

“My Cavalier has, as of 3 weeks ago, began biting people who come to our home to deliver packages or groceries. I’ve had her for a year and a half, she will be 2 years old in 3 months. This just began, pretty much out of the blue. We live in a very busy house, so she has always been exposed to many people in and out everyday. There’s 4 other dogs in the home, none of them bite or ever have. She has never shown aggression, and still doesn’t, so I don’t understand why this has happened 5 times now.”

“Long post but would love some feedback and advice. I am brand new to this sub. October of last year, my wife and I adopted a rescue. He is a sweet mix of border collie/retriever/australian sheppard and a small amount of pit and is about 78 lbs. We knew he had some anxiety and carried over his prescription for Prozac. He has had no history of biting at all. We're both very careful people and have done our best to feed him the right food, love him unconditionally, keep him healthy and we both”

“Hello people, I don't know how to tag this because it's an interesting scenario. Our family dog Freddie (7 years old) has always been fixated on bugs, as in, if he sees one, he won't stop looking for it for ages. However it doesn't happen super often and a lot of the time it is possible to divert his attention using food or toys. For the past hour, Freddie has been acting really weird and I don't know how to help him. He's been roaming around upstairs sniffing and scratch”

“A lady brought her small dog into the small dog park enclosure where I take my 8 month old puppy. She mentioned it was an ankle biter, by which I thought she meant it makes snapping motions at ankles like some small dogs do. Instead, I'm minding my own business, walking back from the water fountain and her dog runs up and chomps on the side of my calf, twice in quick succession. Thank God it didn't break the skin but there are abrasions, almost immediate bruising and some swelling. It ke”

“We adopted a rescue mixed breed puppy two months ago and he’s now 6 months old. He’s been mostly very good and our kids love him. We’ve been good about keeping him contained in one area of the home (besides outdoor time), especially because he likes to grab things he shouldn’t like shoes or towels, etc. I have a 10 and 6 year old. They are always supervised when interacting with the puppy. However there have been a couple concerning incidents and it only involves when the dog has an item he shou”

“I’ve had my dog for 4 years and he has been completely fine up until now. recently when I walk him he’s been attacking me, jumping on me, and trying to bite me (which he has successfully done multiple times). I have two other dogs and he has been attacking/attempting to attack them as well. We’ve even had to separate them completely because he keeps starting stuff with my other dogs. He recently even started resource guarding and I’m not entirely sure why. I understand that sometimes my other do”

“Hi everyone. This is my first time posting and I’m super uncomfortable doing this but I really need some advice. We have a male 3 yr old Sheppard mix l. He is beyond friendly and truly loves the kids. We have a 5, 6 & 8 yr old children. With kids there is always food around somewhere and he tends to snag it quite often. He’s given trouble but never seems to stop. He has shown resource guarding in the past with bones or things he chewing on (mostly things he’s not supposed too). One instance”

“Hi everyone. This is my first time posting and I’m super uncomfortable doing this but I really need some advice. We have a male 3 yr old Sheppard mix l. He is beyond friendly and truly loves the kids. We have a 5, 6 & 8 yr old children. With kids there is always food around somewhere and he tends to snag it quite often. He’s given trouble but never seems to stop. He has shown resource guarding in the past with bones or things he chewing on (mostly things he’s not supposed too). One instance”

“Our standard will be 6 in October, and he has gone from very dog social as a puppy/young adult to now increasingly dog selective. Is there any way to help with this? He’s about to be kicked out of group play at his doggy daycare. submitted by /u/gabes_babe [link] [comments]”

“I have a small and feisty two year-old. While he was still a puppy, maybe around one, he started becoming reactive. It is the eager, hysterical, I wanna play with you kind of reactivity. Once he gets a chance to say hello, he’s usually OK. But half the time all that barking makes the other dogs get aggressive and then it gets out of . I’ve been working on all the avoidance and reconditioning techniques. With a bit of success, sometimes. Anyway, I took him with me for three months in Europe, this”

“I have a soon to be 5yr old blue-tick hound / Australian cattle dog mix named Runa. She's always been super sweet and loving to people. She's always been hesistant of other dogs but has never acted out or been aggressive until lately. I've lived at home with my mother for a couple years now (unfortunately) and runa had been with me since I got her and lived 3 other places. She grew up with a cat that was in my old apartment first with my ex fiance and never had an issue. They would a”

“My dog bit my 6 y/o in the face (single snap, broke skin in 2 little dots on bridge of nose and tore a little flap of skin up on bottom of chin, stopped bleeding, no stitches) for petting her on the couch last night. It is not the first time but the worst and the most unprovoked- we were sitting right there and know he wasn’t doing anything ill advised. Don’t know if there was maybe a quiet grumble or big eyes first or if she was asleep and startled or if she thought something was going to be ta”

“Hello, I have a 9 month old chocolate lab. Who is reactive to new people while on walks. Especially if they’re alone without a dog. When someone has a dog she goes right up to them and lets them pet her is so excited. Without a dog she’s barking backing up won’t let them pet her or even is barking at them across the street. We have been to group training and one on one. She is a bit better but still barking at new people. We are feeling discouraged and at a loss what else we can do. She loves th”

“So quick context, my husband and I have two dogs. We both had our dogs before we met and they’re both rescues. My dog just turned ten and was attacked at a dog park when he was 2 or 3. Since then he’s slowly become more and more reactive. I’ve worked with trainers, behaviorists, and doctors and luckily it’s been manageable. Acclimating my dog from being an only dog to living with another dog took a lot of time and work but we’ve all lived together for almost 5 years now. There have been a few sm”