Preventing Dog Bites: How to Stop Nipping or Biting Family Members and Guests

Although most domesticated adult dogs don’t bite family members, all dogs have the potential to bite. A dog’s teeth are one of its tools and it uses them to accomplish its goals. Whether it is trying to get something it wants through aggressive behaviour, or it is defending itself or your family, some dogs may nip or bite. Dogs know full well how to behave with each other, but they don’t automatically know our human rules. Given that we choose to bring them into our lives, it is our responsibility to teach them how to behave properly and to correct their bad behaviour when necessary. That said, if you ever feel that you cannot correct a dog’s aggressive behaviour, you must immediately call your veterinarian or a dog trainer for advice. Almost all biting and nipping behaviour can be solved fairly easily.

Dogs can nip or bite humans for various reasons, and the most common reason is because it thinks it’s the boss or at least an important vice president. In the wild, dogs are pack animals and they follow their leader. Every dog in the pack knows its place and they all know who the leader is. You can bet your last nickel that a low ranking dog will NEVER bite the leader. It just doesn’t happen. When dogs bite or nip family members it is usually because the dog thinks it is of a higher rank. The most usual targets are children or adults that show fear. The scenario goes like this: The dog threatens a family member by nipping or biting, the family member backs down, gives the dog what it wants (reward) and the dog’s higher status is confirmed by this submissive behaviour.

The most gentle and humane way to control this situation is by teaching the dog that all humans are higher ranking than dogs. This is easily accomplished by controlling the dog’s food resources, toy resources, and by making the dog work for what it wants. In the wild the top dog controls the food resources, and it eats first. Therefore the human family should eat all meals first and dog food should not be left out all day. Let your dog know that YOU are the boss of the food. Let your dog see you put the food in the bowl and give the dog 5-10 minutes to eat it and then take it way until supper time even if it is not finished. It will quickly learn that it eats according to your schedule.

Don’t let the dog nip at your fingers when you’re trying to give it a treat. Fold your arms while NOT looking at the dog and wait until it calms down. Then look at the dog, tell the dog to sit, THEN give the treat. Don’t just give or drop a dog toy because the dog threatens to nip at you. Instead, teach the dog to sit and then reward it by giving the dog the toy. These techniques gently lower or demote the dog to an important but lower ranking member of the pack (your family). Dogs that have been demoted don’t bite their ‘superiors’ and are generally calmer and less stressed because they don’t have to worry about being top dog. A good article on the alpha or top dog and lowering its status is located here.

If it is a puppy that is biting or nipping it is probably doing this as a matter of play or it may never have learned bite inhibition (controlling the strength of the bite). In either case the puppy needs to learn its boundaries. Click here for a past tip dedicated to dog biting and dog bite inhibition.

As noted before, dog aggression and biting can be very serious issues. If you can’t control the situation yourself, ask your vet for advice or for a dog trainer referral. It goes without saying that children need adult supervision while interacting with dogs at all times.

As noted before, dog aggression and biting can be very serious issues. If you can’t control the situation yourself, ask your vet for advice or for a dog trainer referral. It goes without saying that children need adult supervision while interacting with dogs at all times.