What To Do If Your Dog Bites Someone

The last issue was rather greedy on the old bandwidth. Sorry if it took you ages to read. To make up for it I'll try and keep today's issue short and to the point.

I recently had someone ask me what to do about a dog which seemed to be developing certain aggressive tendencies. He was worried the dog might bite someone.

I've just read this advice from The Humane Society of the United States on the subject of dog bites -

# Spay or neuter your dog, and it'll be three times less likely to bite.

# "Socialize" your dog by mixing it with different people and situations so it won't be nervous or frightened as easily.

# Don't play aggressive games with your dog such as wrestling, tug-of-war, or "siccing," it on other people.

# The first time it exhibits dangerous behavior toward any person, particularly toward children, seek professional help from your veterinarian, an animal behaviorist or a qualified dog trainer.

# Provide regular veterinary care, including rabies vaccinations.

# Confine the dog immediately and check on the victim's condition. If necessary, seek medical help.

# Provide the victim with important information, such as the date of your dog's last rabies vaccination.

# Cooperate with the animal-control official responsible for acquiring information about your dog. If your dog must be quarantined for any length of time, ask whether he may be confined within your home or at your veterinarian's hospital. Strictly follow quarantine requirements for your dog.

I think the most important piece of advice there is the bit about socialising. If from an early age you have made sure the pup is used to seeing and meeting people in as many different situations as possible you should end up with a well balanced dog that is highly unlikely to try to bite people.

Socialising is one of the most important things you must do with any new dog or pup that you take on. Like most training issues it isn't particularly hard to do, neither will it take very long. But if you don't do it properly you may spend the dog's entire lifetime being uncertain how it will react in different situations.

This might only be a minor inconvenience, but on the other hand it could turn out to be a source of constant worry to you. Why take the chance? Do the job properly in the first place and it's never likely to become a problem.

If you need advice on how to properly socialise your dog, it's a topic I cover in detail in my book "Dog Training Blueprint To Success"

One other thing I would strongly recommend you do is take out insurance for your dog. Most policies will cover things such as veterinary bills, offering a reward if the dog's lost and holiday cancellation if the dog needs emergency medical care. But potentially their most valuable benefit is third party legal cover. So if the dog causes an accident, or if it bites someone you should be covered against any legal liability.

Obviously all policies are different, so shop around and make sure you read the small print. Don't just _assume_ you'll be covered if the dog bites someone.

As I say, if you've socialised the dog properly it should never become an issue. But if the worst comes to the worst you'll be mighty glad to have all your bases covered.

Recommended reading "Dog Training Blueprint To Success".

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