# Aggressive dog?



## Charlie&Finley (Nov 3, 2017)

I am new to the forum, but have been following along for awhile. We have a 8 month old golden retriever that has been a saint and just an amazing addition to the family. But tonight there was an incident. My 10 year old son was laying on the flooring cuddling with her which he does all the time. This time he decided to check her teeth (which he knows better than to mess with her mouth). My dog snapped and bit him in the forehead. My son did not need stitches, but did require a butterfly bandaid. She has never shown any aggression before at all. It was completely out of no where. Has anyone had anything like this happen before and how did you handle it. My son is hysterical thinking That we will ‘get rid’ of the dog. My wife and I are very concerned. Yes we know he should not have been messing with her mouth, but I never would have thought she would have had this reaction. I was right there working at my desk and didn’t notice him playing with her mouth. Any feedback would be appreciated. We don’t know where to go from here!


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

This must be heart breaking. I don't think you need to get rid of your dog. But you might want to find a trainer to access the situation. And your son has got to have it stressed to him you do not mess with her mouth. Did it require a doctors visit? Very lucky if it didn't. Did she give a warning growl?


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## Gleepers (Apr 20, 2016)

My thoughts
Did you see it happen?
Was there warning growls before?
Did the dog actually bite or did he attempt to snap at the kid to stop him and the poor guy just catch a tooth wrong?
Is there anything going on in the dogs mouth that?s making it sensitive?

Assuming this is a new thing the dog will probably be fine. Training both the kid and the dog is really important. I think I?ve spent as much time training my kids to interact properly with the dogs as I?ve had to train my dogs to interact properly with the kids. 
Over the years through 4 dogs and 3 kids we have had the occasional issue. Luckily for us husband has been the only one to have had skin broken but it?s been his own fault for playing to rough.


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## Ginams (Jan 20, 2015)

To be honest, it wasn't likely to come out of nowhere. Dogs can give subtle ques to show their discomfort in a situation, but if we don't know what to look for, it seems that things happen with no warning. Even if the dog growled, there were likely signals given prior to the growl as well.

I would recommend working with your son on learning about dog body language and communication. This can help the whole family better understand your dog's feelings in certain situations and reach the goal of listening to the dog before he ever has to growl or bite. It won't hurt to also bring in a behavior expert if you feel the need, but make sure the whole family is present so that everyone receives the feedback necessary.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Sorry to hear your son was injured, but good that it was not too serious! I understand your concern, but sincerely doubt you have an 'aggressive' dog, if she had intended to hurt him, it could have been much worse. Dogs rarely bite, or bite without warning, but we need to keep in mind that all dogs _can _bite. Dogs generally do tend to put up with a lot of the 'mistakes' kids make, but even at that, they do have their 'limit'- and unfortunately your son pushed her a little too far. Perhaps a bit of a 'refresher course' for your son, on what are appropriate and safe ways of handling and interacting with a dog? Teach him about body language and how a dog might 'tell' him (the (often silent) signals they display) they are not feeling good/happy about what is happening?

https://doggonesafe.com/Signs_of_Anxiety/
https://stories.barkpost.com/bite-prevention/


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

I'm so sorry, this had to be frightening for your son. You might ask him if he enjoys going to the dentist  It might curb his "get rid of" desire a little.

Could your pup have a sore in his mouth? Do you brush his teeth so he is used to having his mouth checked and comfortable with this? Does he allow you to open his mouth to remove toys or objects .. without a fight?

IMHO if aggression was involved your son would have needed stitches. Of course I wasn't there to observe but sounds like more of a personal boundary violation.

My girl tolerates the teeth brushing process but it's been a learning curve. But this has made it very safe for great grand babies to take a peek.


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## CedarFurbaby (Jun 6, 2016)

I was watching these videos by Ian Dunbar (https://www.udemy.com/treatment-prevention-of-dog-aggression-biting-fighting/) and he said the top couple of triggers for biting, air snapping/warnings were collar grab, touching ears, paws, mouth etc. Essentially the "prevention" is to expose them to these things with rewards before they're 3 or 4 months and the "treatment" varies depending if they punctured the skin or was just a light scratch. A trainer/behaviourist can help you get her comfortable with touching, while your child learns to interact with the dog. 

When I watched these vids, I checked my dog to see if he was okay with these triggers, as I had handled him a lot when he was young, and sure enough I missed out one thing which was the collar grab, simply because we never used collars much so he wasn't used to it. When I tried it at first, i started off just touching and then put a little light pressure. Although he didn't bite or anything he communicated his discomfort by looking around at his collar and opening his mouth a little. That's the warning sign. I suspect if someone grabbed him suddenly and harshly, he will be biting. Since I realised this, I find little opportunities to touch his collar and give him a treat or release him to play, so as to associate a light touch with good things. It is normal for a dog to be uncomfortable with things he's not used to, but I wouldn't want any accidents with someone else doing something stupid to my dog resulting in bites.


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