Some Reasons Why a Dog Bites

By : MattR
It happens all too often; sometimes even the most mild tempered and obedient dog will do it. He or she bites, you or someone close to you and it's for no apparent reason. Now you're scratching you're head and digging through your mind trying to find the reason why your normally good dog has suddenly changed.

More often than not, when a dog that has never bitten before bites someone, the answer to why is almost in plain site. Yet, in the shock and excited aftermath of the dog bite you may overlook the potential simplicity of the situation and think only that your dog has become a bad dog. Your immediate reaction could easily be the reaction of overreacting and in doing so could cause more problems down the line.

The most immediate thing you should do is give your dog a thorough looking over. Sometimes overlooked when a dog bites a person they are familiar with is that there is a physical problem that was aggravated. The explanation for why your dog took a bite could be that he or she was merely reacting to the pain that was unknowingly inflicted by the victim.

Whether or not you see any visible signs of a physical problem that may have irritated your dog, you need to get them to a vet as soon as possible. By doing so you will be able to identify or eliminate any other medical reasons for it's happening, this will ensure that nobody else is harmed and will go a long way to preventing any follow up issues that may arise because of the bite.

Analyze the situation surrounding the moments leading up to when your dog bit. Pay careful attention to whether or not the person who was bit had unwittingly violated your dog's territory. It could be something so small as a toy, your dog's favorite place to rest or maybe the victim ventured too close to the food dish. Whatever the case, perhaps you're dog was only trying to protect what is his or hers.

If your dog has bitten somebody already or if he she does someday, keep in mind some of the potential reasons mentioned here. In situations like this cool heads always prevail, so take a step back and think the situation over before coming to any conclusions. You could save your dog, and yourself, from hassles that really have no need to take place.



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