# #3 on Bite list!



## esSJay

I remember a discussion about this last year: http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...s-named-no-3-biter-animal-planet-program.html there were some interesting points made!


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## LincolnsMom

uh oh sorry I wasn't hear for that  lol i'm a broken record ;p


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## Ninde'Gold

That's interesting. I don't believe any dog is more likely to bite than another. I believe it's all in how they're raised. It's just unfortunate that some breeds were chosen to trained to be bad. I'm sure if there was such thing as Pomeranian Dog Fights, they'd be the super bad breed that needs to be banned... :doh:


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## Muddypaws

I have big problems with lists like this. It depends a great deal on the reporting and considering the popularity of Goldens, the fact that they are mouthy dogs and some people will mistake mouthy as biting. Not to mention that statistics are misleading and I bet you can find statistics that say the opposite for all three breeds.

I take these types of lists with a grain of salt.


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## Pointgold

The statistics are largely based on homeowner's insurance company lists. GR's are a very popular dog, so there are more of them. And one can assume, with some confidence, that many of the breeds that in fact bite _more, _and with more severe consequences, are owned by people who do not have liability insurance.
"Over breeding" (whatever that is) has little if anything to do with it.


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## cubbysan

I know they are not on the list of insurance company's top dangerous dogs list, where the GSD is. I had to give up my homeowners insurance in Mass and go to an insurance pool, because I then had a GSD that they would not cover.


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## Braccarius

This is far from representative of the facts when it comes to biting. The statistics are skewed so unbelievably that there is absolutely no credence to this statement at all. The following are reasons for the GR being high on bite statistics:

- Breed Prevalence (more Goldens then Dachsunds)
- Non-Reported attacks (Chihuahua won't put you in the hospital)
- Mix Breeds being reported as Goldens
- What constitutes a bite

Now, another thing people don't really broach is that Goldens get treated differently than other dogs. Little kids will hug my dogs without asking, people will stop and pet them without even asking if they are vicious. People will point and giggle from their deck while their 3 year old sits on my dog while he's chewing on a marrowbone..... Goldens aren't PERFECT, but they are as close as god has ever gotten.


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## cisobe

I saw this on animal planet as well... I was amazed pitbulls weren't on the list, as they have a very bad wrap too (mostly due to their owners!).

We've had one accident with Tobey where he unintentionally bit my wife on the hand when he got tangled up in his seat belt harness. His leg got twisted up in the seat belt and harness and he started panicking, and my wife reached back to help him and he must have been really scared and possibly in pain because he bit at her hand. This would have happened with any other dog, and it's is definitely not attributed to his breed.

He is quite mouthy, and even while playing he is very gentle while mouthing.

I used to get bothered when people just walked up and tried to pet him without even asking. Hehe, Tobey is currently in his rebelious teen years, and gets easily excited and jumpy when he see's people, so people coming up and petting him without permission isn't really a problem


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## daisysmam

I totally agree with Pointgold and Baccarius. It's always been my opinion that small dog bites go unreported because they often times don't even break the skin. My daughters old roommate had a chihuahua that would snap at and/or bite everyone except her. No one ever made a big deal about it (except me). Big dogs get a bad rap because lets face it...they can do a lot more damage. Lists like that are hardly a true representation of the truth.


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## Bender

I think too, breeds like GSD's and Rotties, people who get them usually are more likely to take them to get trained, be careful who is around them, and the general public isn't going to rush up to pet them.

Goldens, many people get them because 'they're a good family dog', neglect to train them at all, and when in public people are more likely to approach a golden and get in it's face than other breeds. 

Little dogs don't get reported as much but I'd bet overall it'd be a lot more smaller breeds on those lists at the top. The worst bite I had was a chihuahua, nasty creature - I was babysitting and the kid let him out of the crate, after an hour non stop of the dog barking ten feet away I got it into a corner and had to pick it up to put it back in the crate while it chewed on my hand. Ignoring it, food, you name it, it just barked non-stop. I see more out of control, badly behaved little dogs than big dogs, much more. The worst are the little dogs that are small enought that the kids can walk the dog so it really never learns a thing.

Lana


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## Pointgold

cisobe said:


> I saw this on animal planet as well... I was amazed pitbulls weren't on the list, as they have a very bad wrap too (mostly due to their owners!).


 
Most pit bulls are owned by people who do not have homeowner's insurance or renter's insurance. And aside from the bites that send the victim to the hospital (or worse), many are not reported because the police will be involved. (Many occur in places where it is illegal to even have a pit bull.)Take it from there...


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## bioteach

Brewer had some issues with fear biting. Fortunately he did not bite any people; but he was quite capable of biting another dog. Obviously, we did not bring him to places where he could interact with other dogs and he was a wonderful companion at home. 

As luck would have it, I actually was seriously bitten by a Dalmation while visiting a friend's home - you just never know! 

Any dog can be cast into the role of "evil".


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## Sally's Mom

Unfortunately, I see a number of goldens AND labs that have biting issues. It always makes me cringe. When we built our house 11 years ago and had 2 goldens at the inspection, it was very important that both goldens were spayed and that both goldens had obedience titles. I had never considered that.....


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## Sally's Mom

I do see a lot of nice pitbulls....


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## Chelseanr

Pointgold said:


> Most pit bulls are owned by people who do not have homeowner's insurance or renter's insurance. And aside from the bites that send the victim to the hospital (or worse), many are not reported because the police will be involved. (Many occur in places where it is illegal to even have a pit bull.)Take it from there...



This seems like an awfully broad blanket statement, why would one of the traits of pit bull owners be that they don't have home insurance?


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## Mighty Casey and Samson's Mom

There are SO many goldens out there compared to the number of, say whippets. Of course there will be more "bites" ,and they are a big dog, so the bits are more significant. I know of one golden that I cross the street to avoid, out of at least 30 in our immediate neighbourhood. The more popular the breed, the more of Everything!!


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## LincolnsMom

actually did you know that many of the people who own pits and chow chows are refused insurance because of their dog?


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## Willow52

Chelseanr said:


> This seems like an awfully broad blanket statement, why would one of the traits of pit bull owners be that they don't have home insurance?


Where I live, pit bulls are very popular with the inner city folks, most of whom rent or live in government housing, hence no homeowners insurance.


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## Pointgold

Chelseanr said:


> This seems like an awfully broad blanket statement, why would one of the traits of pit bull owners be that they don't have home insurance?


A. because most insurance companies will not insure them
B. much of the pit bull owning population are renters, and renter's insurance is vastly underutilized.
C. many are owned illegally


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## LilTuffGirl

hah whats weird is a friend of mine posted on Facebook how nationwide dropped her home insurance due to "viscous dog" which she has a lab...

I said I guess I have to hide my goldens... 

now what I said is true...


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## Maxs Mom

I think they have dropped to #3, I thought Goldens were higher.

I still the the number one reason the goldens are on the list is because no one thinks they will bite. I am guilty of seeing a golden and wanting to get close to it, maybe the dog doesn't want that. We think they all want to be hugged and loved. Maybe... but by a stranger? Sigh, I would be protective of my space too. I try to be better myself but goldens (and black labs) are just so darn lovable. Guilty as charged. :


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## Braccarius

I am far less trusting of labs then I am Goldens... I definitely suffer from "breed bias" as well. I want to pet every Golden I see!!! They are just so darn cute! And.... you can't tell me EVERYBODY here doesn't run after a Golden puppy to pet it!


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## Muddypaws

Braccarius said:


> And.... you can't tell me EVERYBODY here doesn't run after a Golden puppy to pet it!


Guilty..... I simply cannot resist a Golden puppy - or any puppy for that matter.


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## LilTuffGirl

I don't see either of mine biting.. hayden would run and hide behind me or roll over for you to pet her tummy..
Duke would just lick you to death. Even just now at the vet he was actually scared (never seen him that way) the vet tech let him stiff her hand then he just started licking her lol I said yea btw thats all he ever does.. lick lick lick lick.. Icky boy! lol
BUT then again he's one that barks when he hears noises outside. Hayden will once in a while but Duke is the protector. Not sure what he would do if someone broke in all aggressive like. I hope he'd bite!!


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## Maxs Mom

Years ago, I had a golden pup she was born in July it was mid Nov, so she was about 4 months old. Her name was Amber, she was a GREAT dog. I was at a horse show in Canada, The Royal Winter Fair, I had my dog with me. Amber was chained inside a stall with the door open so she could come out, I usually would close the door if I was planning to be gone for a long period, like taking a horse to the ring. But otherwise I let her have "freedom". 

I come back one time, and there is an RCMP officer playing with my pup. She is jumping up and chewing on his hand etc. I start talking to him, turns out someone reported they were bit by Amber, and he was investigating a vicious dog report. I was HORRIFIED. He said "I see she is extremely vicious and dangerous, the report will be tossed in the trash." He did ask about rabies shots, and she had just had her shot but he said even though it is not a big deal as she is under 6 months. He said the people were out of their minds. However it was a bite report... 

We approach GSD's, Pits, Rotts, etc with caution. Goldens not so much.


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## NuttinButGoldens

It's been this way for a while. The problem is, I think an awful lot of people don't know the difference between mouthing and biting, and a lot of the reported cases of biting are actually simple mouthing incidents that the owners don't understand. Being the 2nd or 3rd most popular breed also throws the numbers off balance compared to other breeds.

All Golden Retriever puppies should come with a book entitled "Your Golden Retriever Is Not Trying To Eat You".





LincolnsMom said:


> I've got some bad news everyone. It turns out that golden retrievers are number three on the national bite list. The cause over breeding so now agression runs in some lines. why am I really not surprised that this is caused by greeders? German Shepperds are #1 and chow chows are number 2.


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## rightcoast

I agree that many breeds would be under represented in bite stats. And there are different types of bite stats. Dog on adult humans, children, dog on dog etc. We have a puppy, which is a "mutt " he was an "accident" between a registered Golden male, and registered yellow female. Neither parent had any family history of aggression. That being said, we have quite a few Goldens, of both sexes. Our Young fella has been charged by just about all of them, and especially the males. Today he was charged and bitten by one we, and he, falsely considered a play-pal. This is our first experience with this breed, and hope this is not a trait we were not aware of. All of the aforementioned Goldens seem to quite friendly towards people.


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## rightcoast

*Bias*



Braccarius said:


> I am far less trusting of labs then I am Goldens... I definitely suffer from "breed bias" as well. I want to pet every Golden I see!!! They are just so darn cute! And.... you can't tell me EVERYBODY here doesn't run after a Golden puppy to pet it!


LOL! I really have no bias, I love 'em all, but having said that, as soon as we got our lil' guy we quickly discovered what people meant by "breed snobs" ...we went into a pet store to pick up some toys and puppy food, and the woman behind the counter was very nice, and she asked what breed he was. We informed he of his accidental mixed parentage (Golden dad yellow mom) so we jokingly said we call him a "Golden Lab" ..poking fun of course, at all the designer breeds popping up everywhere. Well the woman's' whole demeanour changed, and she curtly gave us a verbal lesson in dog breeding, and Goldens in particular LOL! So when I jokingly asked if perhaps we could refer to him as a "Glab" she was not amused. She said.. I quote "you would be best referring to him as a mutt". So mutt he is lol..because he really does not care what we call him..as long it's not late for supper! As we were leaving I asked why one can cross a poodle with a lab and give it an actual name...her reply? "thanks for shopping Pet____ . "


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## fostermom

rightcoast said:


> LOL! I really have no bias, I love 'em all, but having said that, as soon as we got our lil' guy we quickly discovered what people meant by "breed snobs" ...we went into a pet store to pick up some toys and puppy food, and the woman behind the counter was very nice, and she asked what breed he was. We informed he of his accidental mixed parentage (Golden dad yellow mom) so we jokingly said we call him a "Golden Lab" ..poking fun of course, at all the designer breeds popping up everywhere. Well the woman's' whole demeanour changed, and she curtly gave us a verbal lesson in dog breeding, and Goldens in particular LOL! So when I jokingly asked if perhaps we could refer to him as a "Glab" she was not amused. She said.. I quote "you would be best referring to him as a mutt". So mutt he is lol..because he really does not care what we call him..as long it's not late for supper! As we were leaving I asked why one can cross a poodle with a lab and give it an actual name...her reply? "thanks for shopping Pet____ . "



There are snobs on both ends. Both of my goldens are rescues, but I have come across people with mixed breeds who have hinted at the fact that they are superior to me because they rescued their dogs. They just assume I purchased mine. 

My own lab/golden mix looks very much like a pure lab, other than the big what spot on her chest. So a lot of people think she's also a purebred, so when I am walking all three it appears that I have three purebred dogs.

Of course, I have had people with much better bred goldens than my boys look down their noses at my dogs, too.

Either way, that's their problem, not mine. All I know is that I love my dogs totally and completely.


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## LauraBella

I agree with all the popularity comments. The sheer number of them may skew the numbers in error, even though it's a smaller percentage of goldens that bite, they might account for a higher number of bites.

On the issurance thought, my agent asked me my dog's breed, and I told him. He laughed, said, "No problem! She's not gonna bother any body. But, you're covered if she does."


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## rightcoast

*Rescue snobs*

ROTFLMAO! That's a first!...never heard of that before, but then again I guess it depends where you live...our last fella was wonderful 4 year old "Rott'n-Lab" and people mostly just crossed the street, as he looked like a Rottwieler...which IMHO, get an undeserved bad rap. We actually tried for a very long time to give a forever home to a rescue Golden or Lab, but they were always in very high demand, and gone by the time we picked up the phone...however, we are just as happy to teach the little..( well, [email protected] months) guy his place in the pack. 

You have a great lookin' trio of trouble makers there


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## rightcoast

Yes, I suspect that dog snobs are, well...snobs LOL!


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