[SallyintNorth]

Seemed like an interesting tangent from another thread...


I have been bitten / attacked (as a small child who adored dogs so probably my own fault) by :

• a Pembroke corgi (twice, same dog) ^(*)
• threatened but not bitten by a goldie tied up outside a shop
• our own family labrador (a yellow from working stock - mad way to source a pet, but my parents knew no better).  Definitely me pestering it, poor bugger.
• a Great Dane (not my own fault, this one.  It wanted my cuddly toy and I wouldn't give it up)
• chased by (but not caught - on my bicycle) by an Alsatian.  It chased all the kids on bikes.

And as an adult by :

• a dachsie (clipping its claws and stupidly let the owner hold it.)  It bit me 6 times on one forearm and 7 on the other.  Heavy duty antibiotics were required
• a yellow labrador which was fighting my dog, a GSD cross (rescue), after I separated them; its owner didn't hold onto it tightly enough and it went in for another go at my dog and got me on the thumb.  My dog was very likely to have started the vendetta these two had, he was like that
• a border collie, farm dog, on the front of the thigh, marked the skin through a thick pair of jeans.  I was cross about this one, I know collies (and rather prided myself on not getting bitten since I was 10 years old, except by that Dachsie and the accidental bite by the Lab...)

^(*)   This is the story I tell people who say, "I was bitten as a child so I am frightened of dogs."  I was bitten twice by a Corgi as a 2 year old, but it never stopped me liking dogs, never made me frightened of dogs.

[Fleecewife]

I have been bitten only once.  I was going to a house I didn't know in a remote village. I asked two men which house it was, and a door in a high wall was opened for me and I stepped directly into a garden.  As the door shut behind me a large German Shepherd was right in my face, snarling and snapping.  I was taken totally off guard, so defended myself as well as I could, but in summer clothes I had little protection.  I'm embarrassed to say that I also screamed, to attract someone's attention  .  Meanwhile I was bitten on my midriff as well as on my forearm.  I had not felt able to whack the dog over the muzzle because it was my hostesses dog.
I spent the night and was horrified to realise the dog was left loose to prowl the house, presumably against possible burglars.  This meant I couldn't get to the loo in the night  .  I've not been back!!
From the dog's point of view, I was an intruder and she did what she was trained for.  In fact there were two large German Shepherds there, but only one attacked me.


My new puppy was very bitey when we first got him so my arms re a bit scarred, but that was just him learning the difference between humans and his litter mates.  He's fine now      Otherwise, dogs don't tend to go for me, thankfully 

[Rosemary]

My grandad's Cairn Terrier, every week. I was preschool. I loved her, she wanted peace. My Dad would say "Leave her alone, she'll bite you"; I'd ignore the advice and she would. Ther was never any suggestion that the dog should be pts. There was some suggestion that I was just plain stupid 
On to early late teens, my boss's collie nipped me. Colliesdo that.
Our collie, Tess, who was a mad bugger and used to grab my sleeve when I lifted her into the car. Once she got flesh and there was a moment of suspended time, while she very, very slowly released my wrist. She didn't break the skin.

I don't know where all these feart folk come form and why.

[SallyintNorth]

My grandad's Cairn Terrier, every week. I was preschool. I loved her, she wanted peace. My Dad would say "Leave her alone, she'll bite you"; I'd ignore the advice and she would. Ther was never any suggestion that the dog should be pts. There was some suggestion that I was just plain stupid 

 

[in the hills]

.......Only once by a collie who dashed out of a field being used for dog agility classes and bit me on the back of the leg as I was walking away .....charming!


I've always been respectful of any dog. I'm not one for touching other people's dogs unless it's plainly obvious that they want attention and even then I don't over do it.


I always carry a stick when walking around here because I've known several local people that have been bitten by farm collies that come running out of the yards and on to the road.

[Buttermilk]

As a child I was nipped by a farm collie I wanted to make friends with, my fault as the dog was scared of children.
My uncles labrador who went for me as I was coming out of the bathroom.

As a teenager I was fear nipped by a rescue border collie several times in the first week.  I was removing her feed bowl to wash and refill it each time.  She only bit once more in her long life when the vet needed to stitch her leg up.

As an early adult my sister's labrador went for me when I told it off for jumping up at the kitchen counter.
My friends daxies used to come up from behind and bite ankles, so I always wore wellies when I visited.

As an older adult my daughter in law got a rescue staffy who was scared of its own shadow, it would fear nip if approached directly.*

Otherwise only puppy nips as they have learnt to inhibit their bite.

I would not trust my neighbours ridgeback as it has several times made to come and bite people, it has bitten several small dogs that have needed vet attention afterwards.  All were on leads, on public paths.

* They lived in the same house as me for a while.

[HappyHippy]

I talk to EVERY dog I meet...... can't help myself
I've been bitten twice in my life and both offenders were collies, I love collies!

First one was as a child, a shepherd's working collie who had been left in our yard while he and my dad were talking. Six year old me just wanted to pet it, but either it wasn't used to getting petted or I scared it. It couldn't have been a bad bite because it didn't stop me talking to every dog I came across since then 

Second one was nippy! I was visiting a friend who had a few collies and Ben was particularly nervous but usually absolutely fine with me. I had to use her bathroom one day and didn't notice him lying in behind the loo. He caught me on the little tender bit of (naked) flesh behind my knee. It hurt and it hurt for weeks!
I still talk to every dog I meet

[doganjo]

A few years ago, two of my bitches decided they no longer liked each other.  I suspect it began when I had to go away for a couple of days, and had  told my dog sitter (who was very well known to my dogs) not to walk them together.  But she ignored me, took them for a walk on flexis, and both went in after birds in a hedge, and came out rolling, snarling and biting.  Probably one got stuck by a branch and thought the other had bitten them. The younger bitch was three weeks pregnant which is why I'd told Denise to keep an eye on them.

Anyway, after that they could get into a serious fight instantly, so I was careful to manage them.

On one occasion, I was in the lounge with Belle(the pregnant one, but a couple of years after the pups were born); I had forgotten my dog Allez could open the doors and in he strolled with his aunt Freckles behind him. 
A brief second or two of stalking and growling ensued, then immediate mayhem - and I was stuck in the middle.  I managed to get Belle into the cage, but in the process she bit a chunk out of my leg - thinking it was Freckles no doubt.  Freckles had a hold of my finger but I said quietly 'Freckles, that's mummy's finger, let go please' and she did    The skin and flesh was peeled off to the bone in parts

I went to hospital, got fixed up and pumped full of ABs overnight, and never felt so stupid in my life admitting it was my own dogs and that the  police needn't be involved. 
Other than that, I have no fear of dogs, and have never been bitten before or since.  And I can read body language so much better now - I should have seen Belle's reaction and leapt to shut the door on Freckles before anything happened.

Needless to say Denise never worked for me again.

[sabrina]

I was bitten by a lab as it was busy attacking the wee dog I was walking for my neighbour. Never put me off dogs though.

[in the hills]

Blimey, collies and labs are the ones with the teeth!

[Fleecewife]

Let's look at why dogs bite.


So far we've had:
#Fear
#Pain
#It's their job (guard dog)
#Defending their 'owners'
#They're just nippy wee buggers 


None of the bites you've related were truly serious, but every now and then people are badly mauled or killed by dogs so what causes this?  I can think of situations I've heard about where 'pack mentality' has been at play.  One was an elderly lady who had several small dogs which had attacked and killed her at home as a pack.  Other people have been killed by dogs trained for fighting.  Children and babies have been killed or mauled by family 'pets' gone rogue (or were they really family pets, rather than fighting dogs in disguise?)
At one time we had six dogs, mostly large, and they operated very differently from single dogs.  What the pack decided seemed to hold, rather than what their training said.  There was a ring leader and when she seriously worried a neighbours sheep (worried being rather a feeble word for when a dog attacks sheep) she was destroyed.  Horribly sad but she was quite dangerous and I had my young grandson living with me so could not take risks.  She was not suitable for rehoming. 
But without such a 'wrong-un' for leader, packs do work differently so I'm wondering about that kind of dog bite.  Has anyone experienced a pack attack?

[in the hills]

I've not searched for the figures but guessing that attacks by an actual pack of dogs on people in this country are very uncommon.


My father at times owned 4 or 5 dogs and had others that came and went while being trained for people but I can't say that they ever showed much sign of working/thinking as a pack or showed any more sign of aggression to people or other dogs than they would show as individuals.


So, for example, I remember having a Flat Coat dog that was fairly dog aggressive but I never saw any sign of the other dogs in his 'pack' wanting to get involved.


Having said that the farmers around me say that a lot of sheep worrying involves more than one dog ..... I suppose in that case the supposed fun of the chase is what gets them involved. It's probably a different thing to dogs that bite humans. Not sure that the two are comparable.

[in the hills]

And I don't think that my dad's 'pack' ignored their training in favour of any pack rules or preferred behaviour.
In fact I think maybe the opposite. The young dogs were more easily trained because they followed the example of their older trained pack members. Recall for instance ..... older dog returns instantly when called and so the younger dog runs back too. Actually used this principle when walking with a neighbour and her young dog .....he was happy to return to recall because he followed my dogs back. He then gets loads of fuss so the behaviour is reinforced. And he wants to do what they're doing anyway and be part of their pack.
Think this is true of other aspects of their training too.
I suppose I am only relating this to a 'pack' where dogs are trained to quite a high level though and where they are already working happily with their trainer and are responsive because they love working.


A pack where the dogs are untrained might be very different in dynamics so guess you might see widely different behaviours depending on each 'pack', FW.

[arobwk]

I've never actually experienced a bad pack attack, but one of my clients had 2 dogs (Vera and Meg - sadly Vera since run-over) that, together, would often make a bee-line for other dogs on the beach and act in a very aggressive manner. I've seem them do it and potentially really bad situations avoided by stern recall by owner.   
Yet at home, they were welcoming of all and any dogs.  Can anyone explain that ?
(My 1st wee dog and then my new addition were never once bothered by them over many years either in the garden or on the beach!)

[A slightly amusing tale in passing:  my Papillon will not "play" with other dogs. I chose her because she was the gutsy little one beating up her larger siblings, but over time she would not participate in a bit of rough and tumble with other dogs no matter what.  She didn't mind a chase (cos she was quick - still surprisingly quick at the age of 12 especially when she feels wet beach sand under foot), but not fun-fights.
However, Vera and Meg, as above, loved nothing better than a rough and tumble on the lawn and had fun-fights frequently.  When they did, Madam Papillon would take up position in the "front row" bouncing up and down, barking in encouragement and with the excitement of it all !!!  Bless!]

[Rosemary]

I would not trust my neighbours ridgeback as it has several times made to come and bite people, it has bitten several small dogs that have needed vet attention afterwards.  All were on leads, on public paths.

Forgot that one. The only dog I've been genuinely frightened by was a Rhodesian Ridgeback - someone I met in outside the livery yard and we had a chat. I didn't even talk to the dog but it was scary and given the opportunity, I'm 99% certain it would have had a go and it wouldn't have been a nip. It was a seriously scary dog.