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Dog bites can happen for a lot of reasons, from a puppy in the teething stage nipping you to an attack by a strange dog on the street.

When dealing with dog bites, there are certain steps to take, but what to do depends upon the circumstances and severity of the injury.

Here’s our Advice on Dealing with Dog Bites

Superficial Wounds

If it’s a superficial scrape or gash, clean the wound with running water, and then hydrogen peroxide or isopropyl alcohol. Apply a topical antibiotic and cover with a bandage.

Puncture Wounds

First of all, don’t be afraid to let the wound bleed. Unless you’ve lost a lot of blood or it is gushing out forcefully, or the wound is in your head or neck, (in which case call 911 immediately), wait five minutes. The flow of blood out of the wound will help to cleanse it.

After five minutes, see if you can stop the bleeding through direct pressure. Again, if it doesn’t stop, call for emergency help. If it does stop, cleanse the wound by rinsing under running water with mild soap for five minutes.

Do not use rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, iodine, or Mercurochrome for puncture wounds. These can slow healing. Puncture wounds do not normally need to be bandaged, but if you choose to, be sure to clean the wound thoroughly first. Luckily, dog bites do not normally leave debris or other objects in the wound which would need to be removed.

Disease and Rabies

If you are bitten by an unknown dog, the American Red Cross suggests that you do not try to stop, catch, or hold the animal. Contact animal control as soon as possible so they can try to capture the dog, and call 911 so you can begin rabies vaccinations right away.

If the animal that bit you seems to be partially paralyzed, acts aggressively, or behaves in a strange way, then it may be rabid.

For any bite, be sure to clean and disinfect the wound thoroughly, because all animal bites can transmit bacteria and cause infection.

What to Do if Your Puppy Bites You

At a certain stage, puppies bite. It’s what they do, first when they’re teething, and then later as they try to establish dominance. The important thing to remember is that a puppy doesn’t bite you because it hates you. It bites you because you’re there, it feels something soft, and it has teeth.

Sometimes, a puppy may even break the skin but, again, the important thing to remember is that this is just a stage of the puppy’s growth. In order to deal with it, remember two things. The first is to remain calm. A nip from a puppy may hurt, but the less you react to it, the less importance your puppy will attach to it.

Second, in order to break your puppy of this habit, you need to learn the signs of when she is about to nip, then correct her with a quick pinch on the scruff just before she decides to do it. This will redirect her from her instinct to bite, and eventually teach her not to do so.

If you do get nipped, most likely it’s a superficial scratch, so see the instructions under “Superficial Wounds,” above.

What to Do if Your Dog Bites You

Follow the general procedures, and then look at the causes of the bite. If it happened during a dog fight, then it was most likely accidental — your dog was in an aggressive zone and you were in the wrong place — so it was nothing personal, and you probably don’t have to worry about your dog suddenly biting you again.

Do not discipline your dog long after the fact. She won’t connect discipline now with what she did in the past, so it will just confuse her. If she does remember biting you, she may show signs of submission afterwards (ears, tail, and head down). Practice no talk, no touch, and no eye contact for a while and remain calm.

If your dog suddenly nips at you for no apparent reason, consult your veterinarian first. This may be a sign of pain or a hidden injury, which your vet can diagnose. If there are no obvious medical causes, then you have to look at what happened leading up to the bite. For example, did you suddenly sit too close to him on the couch, try to take away a favorite toy, or get too near the food bowl while he was eating?

In those cases, you need to work with your dog to eliminate budding aggression by establishing rules, boundaries, and limitations, consulting with a professional trainer if necessary.

What to Do if Someone Else’s Dog Bites You

If the dog’s owner is present, then share names and contact numbers so you can get proof of rabies vaccination from them. Treat the wound as noted above.

Afterward, check with the dog’s veterinarian to make sure the rabies vaccine is up to date. Animal control and the police should be notified of the incident so they ensure that the owner of the dog takes steps to prevent their dog from biting someone again.

Has a dog bitten you? How did it happen? Tell us all about it in the comments.

The post What To Do If You’re Bitten By A Dog appeared first on Cesar's Way.

Puppies begin biting very early on in life. Just like human babies, it is common for them to chew on objects during the teething stage to reduce discomfort. Furthermore, many dogs prefer using their mouths rather than their paws for manipulating objects. Once again, this behavior begins in puppyhood as young pooches start to explore their world.

Puppy biting may be cute at the beginning, but as your pup grows, these little nips can turn into painful bites. A puppy’s teeth are very sharp, and dogs often don’t know how hard they’re biting. Thus, the puppy-raising experience will generally include that one moment when Fido playfully bites down on a finger and draws blood.

Needless to say, this is not a behavior we humans want to have continue, especially not into adulthood. Want to learn how to get a puppy to stop biting? Here are the steps to take to stop puppy nipping.

Inhibit the Biting

The first step for how to get your puppy to stop biting is to inhibit the behavior. It is totally normal for puppies to mouth each other when they play. This mouthing, however, can quickly turn into a bite. When it does, the puppy on the receiving end will yelp, and this sound startles the puppy doing the biting, thus making him release.

Humans can exploit this behavior to stop puppy nipping and teach your pup how much mouthing is acceptable. When a puppy latches onto your hand or finger too hard, let your hand go limp and imitate that yelping sound. When the puppy releases, ignore her for 10 to 20 seconds and then resume play.

It’s important to remember, though, not to pull away from the bite. This can trigger your puppy’s chase instinct and make the problem worse. If the yelp doesn’t work or you’d prefer not to make that sound, you can substitute a loud “Ow!” or use other verbal deterrents.

Don’t repeat the limp and yelp process more than three times in 15 minutes. If you come to this point, it’s time for a puppy timeout.

The goal here is to teach the puppy that gentle play continues and rough play stops. Once you’ve inhibited the hard bites, repeat this teaching process with more moderate bites. Eventually, you should be able to teach her that mouthing without biting down is OK but that anything more than that is not.

Redirect

If you’d like to teach your puppy that her mouth on human skin is not acceptable at all, you’ll most likely want to use the redirection method. For this method on how to make a puppy stop biting, each time the puppy tries to mouth you, pull your hand away before contact and promptly provide a treat or wave around a chewy toy for him to bite on instead.

You can also satisfy your puppy’s urge to mouth things with noncontact games such as fetch or tug-of-war. Keep in mind, however, to never let the tugging become too aggressive. You’ll want to teach your puppy the commands “let go” or “leave it” so that you can always remove something from his mouth without the response of aggressive puppy biting.

Distraction

In addition to mouthing people, puppies will also mouth things in their environment. This is mostly done out of curiosity. There are many ways to teach your dog not to chew on house furnishings. Besides puppy-proofing your home, be sure to provide an assortment of interesting and safe chew toys for your pup to play with. These toys should be chosen for your puppy’s level of chewing and destructiveness. For example, if she shreds a plush toy in 2 minutes, you may want to stick toys made of rubber or hard plastic.

Hide-the-treat toys are also great for distracting puppies from nibbling on other things. This type of toy not only distracts your pup but also provides mental stimulation as she tries to figure out how to get to the reward.

A final option for distracting your pup is to arrange a playtime for your dog with other puppies or vaccinated adult dogs. Not only will this help to socialize her with other dogs, but those dogs will also assist in the process of teaching your puppy when a bite is too hard.

Deterrence

There are various products designed to prevent a dog from licking or chewing objects in the house. These products include Bitter Apple, Bitter Cherry and YUCK No Chew Spray. As you have probably guessed, these products will put an unpleasant taste in your puppy’s mouth each time she chews on furniture or other objects in the house. With that being said, this method of stopping puppy biting is not as simple as spraying your belongings with these products. There are two very important steps involved in using them for training.

The first step is to associate the smell and taste in your dog’s mind so that the scent alone will keep him away from unacceptable chewing targets. To do this, put a little bit of the product on a tissue or cotton ball and gently put it in your puppy’s mouth. He should spit it out right away. After he spits it out, let him smell it so that he makes the association.

The second step comes in handy when you’re actively using the product for training. For the second step to work, make sure your dog doesn’t have access to water for up to an hour (but no longer) after contact with the product. This may sound cruel, but if your dog learns that he can just run to his bowl and get rid of the taste, the deterrent will become ineffective.

During the training process, place the product once a day on any objects you don’t want him to lick or chew. Continue doing this for the next two to four weeks until your puppy has stopped chewing your belongings.

Ankle Biters

Puppy biting doesn’t always happen during playtime. Many dogs become fascinated with nipping at people’s feet or ankles as they walk. This is particularly true for herding breeds. To teach your puppy to stop nipping at your heels, keep a favorite toy in your pocket. When she bites at your heels, immediately stop moving and wave the toy around to distract her until she latches onto it.

Another method is to stop moving when she bites, and then, when she releases on her own, offer her the toy or a treat. Always praise your puppy when she releases from nipping at your heel. The idea is to teach your dog that good things happen when bad behavior stops.

Puppy nipping and biting are natural behaviors for puppies but unwanted in adult dogs. Remember, a large majority of dogs surrendered to shelters by their owners are between 18 months and 2 years of age—the point at which “cute” puppy behavior becomes frustrating to the owner. Taking these few simple steps now will help prevent that bad behavior down the line and allow you to have a stress-free lifelong relationship when that little bundle of fur grows up.

Looking for another method for how to keep a puppy from biting? The Wodifer Dog Toothbrush Dog Dental Brushing Stick is a great product I recommend for not only teething but also cleaning!

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Some Prevalent Behaviors in Cannines

Dog Panting

Because dogs sweat through the pads on their feet, most of their body heat is expelled through their mouth when they pant. It’s their primary means of regulating body temperature. Dogs also pant to cope with pain.

Dog Barking

In nature, dogs bark to raise an alarm at the first signs of possible danger or to herald a new arrival. Barking is an important means of canine communication. See What your dog’s bark is telling you.

Dog Chewing

Just as a growing child, your dog will want to chew on toys and other objects to relieve the pain of a new set of teeth coming in. If your dog is full grown, you may also come home to find your couch cushions or favorite pair of shoes ripped to shreds, but it is not because they enjoy the taste. Your dog could be exhibiting signs of separation anxiety or anxiety in general. See 5 steps to correct inappropriate dog chewing.

Dog Digging in Your Yard

Digging is an instinctual activity, written deep in a dog’s DNA. It is especially strong in terrier breeds. Dogs in natural packs will dig to hide food or to uncover food such as small rodents. A den dug in the cool earth can also provide shelter from the heat. See Cesar’s dog training advice on how to get dogs to stop digging.

Jumping Up

Though it may seem like play behavior, or an enthusiastic greeting, jumping up is a sign that your dog is attempting to assert her dominance over you. By encouraging jumping up with affection, you are reinforcing the behavior. See Cesar’s training video on how to deal with dogs jumping when excited.

Dog Biting

A dog will bite a person as a way of communicating their current state of mind. The dog could be reacting in aggression, fear or nervousness. There are, however, ways to prevent a dog bite from ever happening if you stay in tune to the dog’s body language. See Dog bites 101: Why bites happen and how to prevent them.

Separation anxiety

Dogs live and travel in packs, so it’s natural for them to feel anxious when they are separated from their pack-mates. Try taking your dog on a nice, long walk before leaving her alone in the house. Leaving her in resting mode can calm her anxiety.

Once you understand these behaviors, you’ll be better equipped to recognize when your pack’s needs are not being met! When your dog’s needs go unfulfilled, unwanted behaviors begin to emerge. Consider: Are you giving Exercise, Discipline, then Affection?

How has your dog misbehaved lately, and how do you plan to solve the issue? Share your story in the comments.

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No matter how close you are to your dogs, sometimes the unexpected can happen and your dog bites you. So now what? The first step, of course, is to stay calm. This isn’t the end of your relationship and doesn’t mean that your dog has turned into an aggressive killer. There are lots of reasons a dog might bite. To find the solution, you first have to figure out your cause.

If your dog is a puppy and suddenly clamps down on your thumb, don’t worry. All puppies go through this phase, and it’s your perfect opportunity to correct the behavior so it diminishes in the future, as we explain here.

But what if your dog isn’t a puppy? Here are the reasons that a dog may bite:

Maternal instincts
The first two are easy to deal with. Is your dog a mother with puppies? Then respect their space and let the mother dog deal with her litter until she’s ready to let them be around other people.

Pain
Is your dog in pain? If you’re bitten unexpectedly and none of the other three reasons apply, it’s time to take a trip to the vet. Dogs are very good at hiding pain, but if you touch a sore spot that they’ve been keeping secret, they can react instinctively with a warning nip. Your vet can determine whether your dog is feeling pain, or if they have some other neurological condition that caused the unexpected behavior.

This leaves possessiveness, fear, and the prey drive, of which the first is the most serious and takes longer to deal with. Let’s look at the other two first.

Fear
If your dog bites you because you scared him, then you need to build trust in the relationship. It may just be a one-time thing — you moved toward the dog too quickly, or sat too close to him while he was sleeping, for example. But if you don’t build trust after an incident like this, it can happen more often whenever your dog is feeling insecure, and anyone can be the target.

Build trust
Your best trust-building exercise is walking together, provided that you are acting as a calm, assertive Pack Leader. This helps your dog get used to the idea that nothing bad is going to happen to her while you’re around and reinforces her trust in you. Once you’re both comfortable on the walk, work together to expose her to new situations, people, and dogs. Increasing novelty for your dog will help reduce her fear.

Work on discipline
Second, work on discipline by teaching him simple tricks, particularly sit and stay, using positive reinforcement. At first, this may be a treat, but if you gradually switch over the reward to praise and affection, then you become the treat. Your dog will associate you with pleasant things, and so become far less likely to react with fearful aggression.

Prey drive
When a dog bites because of their prey drive, it’s frequently accidental — the dog was aiming for the rope toy and missed, hitting your hand, for example. After this has happened once, it’s time to adjust the game. Instead of playing tug-of-war, refocus your dog by playing fetch. This will satisfy her prey drive while keeping accidental human targets out of range. Also combine discipline with the game — you don’t throw the ball until she sits and waits calmly for you to do it.

If your dog is high energy and can get aggressively distracted by his prey drive, then consider professional training in things like agility or treibball, particularly if your dog is a herding breed, although agility will work with any breed of dog that’s healthy enough to do it.

Possessiveness
This leaves us with possessiveness — the kind of bite that happens when you try to take something away from your dog, like a toy or food. This one isn’t an accidental or spontaneous reaction. It’s your dog responding to you with dominance and defensiveness and is the one kind of biting behavior that, if not corrected, can turn into aggression.

Rules, boundaries, and limitations
To deal with a possessive biter, you must establish rules, boundaries, and limitations, and enforce them. This is to establish for your dog that you, the Pack Leader, are the source of everything she is allowed to have or do, whether it is food, water, treats, toys, or attention. In order to get what she wants, she is going to have to go into a calm, submissive state first.

Obedience training
This is also a good time to teach him the “leave it” command, which means that the dog has to put down and move away from anything in his mouth. You can start this with a favorite toy. While your dog is holding it, present a treat while telling him, “Leave it.” He gets the treat when he puts down the toy and is no longer paying attention to it.

Gradually extend this so that you pick up the toy when she puts it down and then you give her the treat. Eventually, you should be able to get your dog to drop whatever is in her mouth on command, and even be able to take something out of her mouth.

Preventing food aggression
The idea is similar with the food bowl. Once you’ve established the rules around feeding and the leave it command, begin to approach the bowl while he’s eating, and toss a couple of high-value treats in. Repeat this from time to time while he’s eating. The idea is that your dog will begin to associate humans approaching his bowl with good things, because he gets special treats.

If your dog is specifically showing signs of food aggression, here are more tips on dealing with it.

Stay calm
Humans manipulate the world mostly with their hands, while dogs manipulate it mostly with their mouths. Needless to say, a dog’s teeth are a lot sharper than human fingers, so unintentional or accidental bites can happen. Just remember when they do it that it isn’t the end of the world. Stay calm, figure out what caused it, and then take the right steps to prevent it from happening again.

Were you ever bitten by your own dog? How did you handle it?

The post My Dog Bit Me — Now What? appeared first on Cesar's Way.

Bite wounds are a common cause of trauma in dogs and typically result from altercations with other dogs, cats and wildlife. Bite wounds are puncture wounds and while they may appear small they can spell big trouble for your dog. Their deceptive nature lies in the fact that while the external wound can be small, the same wound can be deep, extending through the skin and into the subcutaneous tissues and muscles. There is a high risk of infection with bite wounds because of the numerous bacteria that are normally harbored in an animal’s mouth. Because the surface wound is usually small it tends to heal fast, trapping the bacteria in the deep wound. This creates an ideal environment for some bacteria to grow and result in an abscess.

Cat bites are the most likely to cause abscesses because their teeth are long and needle thin. They introduce bacteria deep into the wound and the tiny puncture wound closes up usually within a day or two. Dog bites are usually shallower and the external wounds are typically bigger than a cat bite thus the rate of abscessation is lower but still possible.

There are steps you can take if your dog is bitten that can dramatically decrease the risk of complications:

How to Control Dog Bleeding From Bite Wound

Control any bleeding by applying a clean towel or washcloth to the wound and apply firm pressure. Dog bites tend to bleed more than cat bites and it also depends where the bite wound is located. Wounds in the highly vascular ear and nose tend to bleed a lot while legs and trunk may not bleed much.

Have a Vet Evaluate Dog Bite Wound

Seek immediate veterinary attention to evaluate the wound.Your vet will look to see how deep it is, judge how much dead space is involved and make recommendations for treatment. Dead space is created when the skin is pulled away from the underlying subcutaneous tissue creating a pocket of air between the skin and the underlying tissue. If the space is large, bacteria tend to grow creating an abscess. Typically one of two things will happen, your vet will clean the wound and prescribe antibiotics or if the wound is deep it may need a surgical drain.

How to Clean a Superficial Dog Wound

If the wound is superficial, start the cleaning process by applying a small amount of KY jelly (or other water-based lubricant) into the wound and clipping the fur around the wound — the KY jelly will keep the clipped fur out of the wound and you can wipe it off with a washcloth after clipping. Clipping the fur makes it easy to clean the wound and prevents bacteria on the fur from contaminating the wound. Once the fur is clipped, clean the wound thoroughly with a chlorhexidene or betadine solution.

Home Care for Dog Wound

Home care involves cleaning the wound gently with hydrogen peroxide moistened gauze three or four times a day and then applying a small amount of a triple antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin to the wound. It is important to monitor the wound for the three signs of infection which are: excessive redness, swelling or purulent discharge. If you notice any signs of infection then a re-check with your veterinarian is needed.

Continued Home Care for Dog Wound

Continue the oral antibiotics as directed by your veterinarian. It is important to restrict exercise as a dogs skin is very motile; if she is too active she may keep reopening the wound delaying healing and increasing the risk of abscessation.

If Vet Installs a Drain

If your veterinarian needs to install a drain, home care is similar. Keep the area around the drain clear of discharge by swabbing the area with hydrogen peroxide or a topical cleaning solution as needed. After a few days (usually three to four days), the discharge stops and the drain is ready to be removed by your regular veterinarian. The wound is then cleaned as above until fully healed.

With timely veterinary treatment and good nursing care at home most bite wounds will heal with little complications.

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If it hasn’t happened to you yet, the first thing to remember if it does is to stay calm and quiet. Yelling or otherwise panicking will just make it worse because it will fuel the aggression between the dogs. But do try to get the biting dog off of the other dog as quickly as possible.

Also resist the temptation to immediately show your dog affection after being bitten. Your dog needs you to be a calm, assertive leader in that moment, probably more than any other. By staying quiet during the incident and calm afterwards, you can avoid reinforcing any traumatic associations your dog might make with the bite.

Remember: dogs live in the moment, so once the bite is over it should be over, unless you hang on to the past and relive the trauma, which your dog will sense.

But what happens if your dog has been in a fight and been injured or bitten, and then starts to show fear or aggression toward other dogs all the time? Here are some steps to take.

Check Your Own Energy First

When your dog displays fear or aggression toward another dog, what’s your state of mind? Are you reliving the bite and afraid that your dog will be bitten again? If this is the case, then you’re the one reminding your dog, “Something bad happened, and it might happen again right now.”

Look at your energy and body language. Are you tense? Nervous? Moving stiffly or trembling? Breathing unevenly? If you’re on the walk, all of these signals will go right down the leash and alert your dog, and she will react accordingly.

If it seems that your dog is becoming fearful or aggressive because of your energy, then learn to achieve a calm, assertive state first, then see if this changes your dog’s behavior. If it does, then congratulations — you’ve helped your dog get over negative associations with having been bitten. But what do you do if your dog’s behavior doesn’t change?

Check Your Dog’s Behavior

The next step in rehabilitation depends on how your dog is reacting to other dogs. She may be timid or nervous and try to avoid other dogs; she may be fearful but show aggression toward other dogs, or she may show aggression and no fear.

If Your Dog is Timid and Showing Avoidance…

If your dog tries to avoid other dogs, or starts showing signs of fear like shaking or going low to the ground, then the best route to rehabilitation is socialization with other dogs. Expose your dog to other dogs in controlled settings, like with friends’ or neighbor’s dogs, or take her (on-leash) to the small/timid dog area of the dog park, if available.

Don’t try to force him to socialize with other dogs, but don’t let him try to hide behind you, either. The goal here is to get him used to being around other dogs without feeling the need to panic or run.

You can also help a fearful dog by boosting her self-esteem with things like running obstacle courses, giving her a job to do, or teaching her new tricks. By taking your dog to a group training class in obedience, agility, socialization, or Treibball, you can combine self-esteem building with socialization.

If Your Dog is Fearful But Showing Aggression…

Fear aggression can be difficult to deal with, but not impossible. You can tell the difference between it and non-fearful aggression by watching your dog’s body language before it lunges. If the dog seems submissive and in retreat but then abruptly lashes out, then the source of his aggression is fear, especially if he seems to give a warning nip and then back away.

In these cases, your dog needs you to be a calm, assertive, and confident Pack Leader more than any other, fulfilling the primary function of providing protection and direction. You can also use socialization, although initially in a much more controlled manner. Dogs with fearful aggression can respond well to pack walks because their instinct to move forward with the pack will help override their fear.

If Your Dog Has Become Aggressive…

Dogs become aggressive when they’re frustrated, and they become frustrated if you don’t provide them with clear rules, boundaries, and limitations.

You can help to reduce their aggressive tendencies on the walk by making it a ritual through which the dog earns the right to go outside. Before you put the leash on, she has to sit calmly; she can’t go out the open door until you’ve gone out and then invited her; and she has to stay next to or just behind you.

You can also help limit aggression by knowing when and how to correct it — with a short sideways tug of the leash at just the moment the dog starts to show any sign of it. This can take practice to get the timing right. If you’re having trouble with the correction, your dog still shows aggression that you can’t control, or the dog is large or a power breed, then consulting a professional trainer is probably the best approach for both of you.

No one wants to see their dog get bitten, but it’s up to us as Pack Leaders to do the right thing, not only when it happens but after the fact, to rehabilitate our dogs and restore balance.

Have you had to rehabilitate a dog that had been bitten? Tell us your story in the comments below!

The post Rehabilitating A Dog That’s Been Bitten appeared first on Cesar's Way.

While it can be cute when a tiny puppy tries to do it, it’s an important habit to break because nipping and destructive chewing are two the biggest reasons that adult dogs wind up abandoned in shelters once the cute factor wears off.

Andre Millan dropped in on Dog Psychology Center trainer Todd Langston for some tips and advice on how to stop your puppy’s unwanted nipping and chewing. Watch below!

Have you successfully fixed your puppy’s biting or chewing problem? Let us know what you did in the comments below!

The post How To Stop A Puppy From Biting And Chewing appeared first on Cesar's Way.

Many dogs can become possessive or even aggressive over a toy or other object.  As a Pack Leader, you need the the ability to claim an object and make your dog give it up. This skill could someday be a lifesaver.

So how do you get a large breed to give up possession? The same way you would any other dog! In this episode of “Chance Encounters with Cesar Millan,” Cesar helps an unsuspecting pair in the park learn how to get their German shepherd puppy to relinquish control of a favorite ball.

The post Mouthy Mutt: Claiming An Object From A Possessive Dog appeared first on Cesar's Way.

Every year in the U.S., around 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs. According to the AVMA, the most frequent victims of dog bites, in order, are children, the elderly, and postal carriers. That 4.5 million figure may seem high, but it represents just under 1.5% of the population. Additionally, while that many people get bitten by dogs every year, only about 20 die because of it. Compare this to the average number of people struck by lightning in the U.S. each year, which is about 330 — you’re nearly 17 times more likely to be hit by lightning than to die from a dog bite.

You and your children are also far less likely to be bitten if you take steps now to prevent it from happening. Here’s what you can do:

Take responsibility

The most important thing we can do is to take responsibility for our own dogs. This means training and socializing them properly, so that they get along with other dogs and people. They should also be trained to be submissive so that humans in the pack are able to take food or toys away from them without issue — dogs should see any human, not just their own people, as having a higher position in the pack.

Two other important things you can do: Avoid playing aggressive games with your dogs, like tug-of-war. Instead, focus on games like fetch, training your dog to drop the ball in front of you. And, most of all, have your dogs spayed or neutered. This will prevent your female dogs from becoming pregnant — a nursing mother can become very defensive and aggressive around her pups. This will also keep male dogs from becoming aggressive in general.

Educate your children

Children are naturally drawn to animals, particularly dogs, because they’re cute and furry. However, children don’t understand that it’s not a good idea to run right up to a strange dog, which is how a lot of bites happen. They often also don’t understand that not all dogs like having their ears or tail pulled, or being grabbed or picked up. Two thirds of all children bitten by dogs were bitten by the family dog, and this is often the reason.

The first thing to teach your children is to never approach a strange dog, even if the dog seems friendly, and especially if the dog is alone. If the dog is with its owner, teach your children to ask permission from a distance to approach and pet the dog, and to not be upset if the owner says “No,” because there’s probably a good reason for that.

When approaching a strange dog, children (and adults) should practice “No talk, no touch, no eye contact,” and should wait for the dog to come to them. Remember: dogs come to the Pack Leader, not the other way around. If the dog sniffs you and stays, then you can pet it, preferably on the front of the chest and not on the back or head. If the dogs walks away, with or without sniffing you, don’t take it personally. She’s just not interested in interacting.

Above all, teach your children how to stay calm around dogs. A lot of kids have very high energy and can be loud or erratic, both of which can make dogs anxious or over-excited. Especially with strange dogs, they should never yell or run away.

Educate yourself

I mentioned that in two thirds of cases when dogs bit children, it was the family dog. This is why, as an adult, you should never leave small children and dogs together unsupervised. A dog is much less likely to bite a child if an adult human is present. Also, if something does happen, you’ll be right there to intervene.

You should also learn the dog bite prevention rules for children because they’re exactly the same for adults. We don’t get a free pass to directly approach strange dogs just because we’re grown up.

Finally, learn how to read a dog’s body language so you can see the signs that a bite may be coming and de-escalate the encounter immediately. Signals that a dog may be about to attack are the ears pinned back, and the fur along their back may stand up in a visible pattern — the origin of the expression “getting their hackles up.”

You might be able to see the whites of the dog’s eyes, and they may yawn which, with the other signals, does not indicate the dog is tired but, instead, is the dog showing off its teeth as a warning. If the dog makes intense and direct eye contact with you, this is a clear sign that you should back off immediately.

The motto for National Dog Bite Prevention Week is, “70 million nice dogs… but any dog can bite.” The good news is that in the vast majority of those dog bite cases, humans bear some of the responsibility by not knowing how to approach or interact with a dog.

By learning to read a dog’s body language, educating our children, and understanding how to respect a dog’s space, we can reduce those 4.5 million bites per year substantially. Join me in spreading the message.

Stay calm, and don’t get bitten!

Has your dog ever bitten someone or another animal? Tell us how it happened in the comments.

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