Val bit me!

As I collared Val and was leading him to the kitchen, where I have the area gated off, he turned his head backwards and bit me in the middle of my forearm!

It was bleeding plenty and I washed it off and got antibiotic ointment and a band-aid. The bleeding is now stopped. I've never, ever been bitten by a dog like this, any dog, let alone my own dog!

I put a call into the home of the breeder, and she is going to call me back when she comes home from work, around five o'clock.

I am wondering about Val and us.....I hope that this can be resolved in a way that works out for everybody.

We need more information before we can offer any suggestions or help. What was Val doing when you collared him? What was he doing afterwards? Were you looking at him when he did it? What was his body language like?

NILIF, thats what i would do Nothing in Life is Free

edit: before any of that. we need to know more about what happened.

isnt val still a pup?

^^^ agree !

So where did you go, people are asking you questions trying to help?

Do you have puncture wounds or scrapes?

What do you mean by "collared"?

What was he doing when you went to get him?

I suggest using something pleasant to help puppies go where they need to be.

oh and speaking from experience with a dog who is scared by people touching her collar (he last owner must have dragged her or w/e) it is NOT A GOOD FEAR for a dog to have. kenya has never bitten me, but she SHUTS DOWN. She will drop to the ground, not move, and pee sometimes.. I learned this the hard way one day trying to bring her inside. Now we use the treats and KENYA COME

Try leading him there with treats if possible, or leash him up to bring him and add positive associations to it

I was taking him in from going outside. It is wet and raining here. I reached for his collar to guide him into the kitchen. His leash was off and as I bent over, he reached backwards to get to my arm to bite it, as I walked him from the dining room into the kitchen. He will be 4 months on 4/30. He tore skin off my arm I'd say about the size of a baked bean. I washed it up, put antibiotic ointment on it and a band-aid and after about a half hour, it stopped bleeding.

I called my doctor and they said as long as I had my tetanus updated, (which I do), I'd be fine.

I just want to say that this Aussie is much more "bitey" than my other Aussie girl, who only nipped at feet, not at hands, at all. I guess that's why I am so surprised about this mouthing, biting and such. I am certainly upset about drawing blood like this.

The breeder hasn't called me back as yet.

I would begin serious work on bite inhibition with this puppy.


Dog Tip: Bite Inhibition -- an Essential Part of Socialization

Dogs and Puppies - Training and Behavior Help

The Bite Stops Here

Bite Inhibition Article

http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/bite.txt

Dog Logic Obedience Articles

Bite Inhibition

I would also never be without a leash AND COOKIES in order to avoid putting the pup in this situation again.

If you are not in training class, I'd say its time!

I was set for a training class, but it was the day before Easter and was changed to 4/19, so we are set for a training class.

I've looked over the different puppy biting websites and nothing I've done, I don't think deserved this kind of biting, except that we had been playing tug games, of which I am going to stop immediately.

I've not been able to take the puppy out as much as I'd like to due to inclement weather which neither of us likes much.

I took photos of the bite, just in case I ever need it for reference. God forbid he ever bit someone else like this, I'd surely be sued up one street and down the other and who knows what would become of Val!

This dog was the dominant one of a litter of seven live puppies.

Tug games have nothing to do with Val biting you. Many dogs (and puppies) do not like being hauled around by their collars. It's a threatening gesture and some will resort to biting, snapping and yelping to escape. Teaching good bite inhibition as Redyre suggests is the best thing to do right now, and train Val to understand that you touching his collar is a good thing by giving him treats when you do so.

These are all good suggestions, which I will follow to the enth degree! We have lots of treats here for Val.

He might not like being hauled around by his collar, but I can assure you that my house isn't large enough for it to have been for a very long haul, nor was I being tough about it.....I just needed to get him into the kitchen, but I will make sure that I take him and his leash into the kitchen each and every time to prevent any unnecessary collaring, for the time being, at least until he gets used to my touching his collar.

His breeder never uses collars on any of her dogs, for what it's worth. I was the first person to put a collar on Val, with his name and phone number and his rabies info. He didn't mind having the collar put on him very much, but the tags seem to annoy him a little.

Thanks to ya'll for the comments and help.

Tug games have nothing to do with the bite. Actually tug when taught well will help teach dogs awareness of how and what to bite when playing.

This bite could have been an accidental thing..... to much is unknown. If he has never done anything like this, as not acting upset or frightened.. well then I doubt he meant to hurt you.

(and him being dominant with other puppies has NOTHING to do with any issue you may have or not have with your relationship with him)

I would say that you caught him by surprise if he was wet and you were trying to guide him ......many of us have lost our cool when we have one thing in mind and the dog has another ! Not saying you were rough as I wasn't there .

I am quoting the following from one of the Stop Biting Puppy Websites.....


"While you are trying to stop your puppies from biting, never play tug of war, wrestling or chase type games with them. This only encourages the biting and nipping."

A lot of those websites still advocate "dominance theory" and under those guidelines, they say that tugging creates aggression, which is not necessarily true.

Val .... I let my pups and dogs do tug of war , but never did myself . I think that it has to do with the breed ( Goldens are soft mouthed ) . I don't think that this is related to the bite .

Yep.. and I can find sites that will tell you to choke your puppy till he almost blacks out to stop the biting.

Most if not all top trainer use tug as a reward.

Grammy>> I know many goldens who LOVE to play tug with their people. Its not a breed thing. Retrievers are normally very into tug as its a co operative game and they have been bred to work with humans.

Val>> you have a working breed. The pup will want to work with you... tugging is something dogs who live together do... its not a contest. Calling it tug of war is a bit of a misnomer. The dog who 'gets it' often brings it back.. its not a game you can play on your own. So winning is actually loosing. (unless you get chased.. that is fun lol)

I agree with what's been said about tug not having anything to do with the bite.

Grabbing a dog by the collar, unless he's been conditioned to it, can be very intimidating to the dog. He suddenly feels very trapped and you most likely are reaching over the top of him - which can be interpreted as a threatening position. At the very least he is surprised.

The bite may have been a startled reflexive action. Condition him to accept collar grabbing by doing it slowly and from his level and always pairing it with treats.

The bite may have been an objection or fear response to being held tightly. On a leash - even a short leash - they have more wiggle room and don't get as worried about it.

I would use a leash and treats/toys to lead him.

Yea, there's a lot of bad advice on that site.