Dogs have always been a lovely friend of humans but it is not unusual for them to bite someone or something. This is commonly their reaction to something, be it to defend themselves, or when they feel stressed.
Being a pet owner, it is very important to find out the reason why your dog is biting because it can include their uneasiness or some problems they may be facing. In this article, we will be discussing 18 reasons why dogs bite.
1. Fear And Anxiety
Dogs also suffer from fear and anxiety where they have instinctual responses to protect themselves. They may fear strangers, other animals, or from certain situations and environments.
When dogs feel threatened and concerned, they may feel like they are unable to escape that situation, at that time their defensive nature is activated because of which they can bite. It's similar when they become anxious because of a certain place, loud environment, or thunderstorm.
The dogs may also fear being left alone, which may make them feel more anxious and show this behavior towards objects, doors, or even people when they try to leave. In that case, the pet owners need to find out the reason for fear and anxiety in their dogs.
2. Protection
Protection is very important for dogs, be it the drive to protect themselves, their territory, or even their owners. When the dogs feel like they are supposed to protect something or someone, their protective mode tells them to bite.
The protection instinct can be towards their territory as they are very protective towards their home, yard, or their surroundings and it can activate when they see some stranger interfering in their territory.
When they feel like their family members are in danger from some objects, animals, or even other people, their protective nature appears. These animals may sometimes misinterpret their actions and think their owner is in danger because of which they can bite someone innocent.
They can be protective towards their resources, and their puppies, so understanding the protective instinct of the dogs can help to avoid being bitten without a reason.
3. Pain And Illness
Pain or illness makes the dogs feel uneasy and not in their right condition both mentally and physically. This action can be repeated by dogs when they are suffering, facing irritation due to discomfort, and even medication issues.
When your dogs are going through pain, they become more sensitive towards touch or handling, especially in the painful area, and if someone or something mistakenly touches it, they need to guard themselves.
Dogs can also be attentive towards future pain if they have suffered it before while being handled, during grooming, or even during medical treatment. Certain neurological issues or diseases can also increase the tendency to bite in dogs.
Sometimes, the medication can also cause them to continue this behavior, making them more aggressive and less tolerant to touch or handling.
4. Resource Guarding
Dogs are also very protective of their resources which are valuable to them, like food, toys, resting places, etc. When their resource-guarding instinct is activated, they are prone to bite anything or anyone that is near that object.
Along with food bowls, chew toys, and bones, they even guard their owners especially when there are other pets in the house. But before biting, a dog that is guarding their resources will growl and show teeth by staying in between their resources and others.
As an owner, if you understand this behavior, you can not only stop their biting behavior but also make them feel more at ease
5. Maternal Instincts
Dogs are great mother and are very protective towards their puppies which may lead them to many aggressive behaviors if they sense a threat. These mothers show this behavior if they feel unfamiliar people, animals, or objects approaching.
Even when their puppies are handled by their owners, they can still be protective of them if they think their litters are played for a long time or handled improperly.
Changing their living space can also cause them to grow, bark, expose their teeth, and even bite. If this type of intensity keeps on happening and even increasing, it is important to consult an informed person.
To decrease this reaction, we need to give the mother dogs time, respect their space, and provide them with comfortable positions and environments.
6. Startle Response
Startle Response is a sudden response of dogs towards something unexpected, which can lead to biting. It is their natural response to protect themselves from potential dangers.
This response can be caused because of some triggering stimuli like loud noise, sudden movements, unexpected touch, etc. This can also cause them to jerk or jump, vocalize, and other defensive actions. This is an instant self defensive reaction that allows them to be more at ease.
If your dogs are often startled easily, you should approach them calmly, avoid sneaking up, provide them safety, and also help them train and socialize so that they can get used to other beings.
7. Play Behavior
Dogs are friendly animals and they love to play around which is an important part of their social development. However, sometimes, their playful behavior can become rough especially when they are more excited, they often use their mouth which can lead to harm without their intention.
Still biting can also be their positive play behavior if it doesn't harm anyone. In the case of puppies, they should be engaged in play biting because it helps them in their social development.
This play behavior is one of the ways for them to explore and learn along with communication. If your dogs love this kind of play, then you should provide them with appropriate toys and also teach them techniques to control their teeth' strength.
Normal playful behavior is okay but if your dog starts excessive biting, then it becomes a part of your concern. In that case, you need to consult a professional person.
8. Socialization Issues
Socialization is an important aspect of a dog's life as they are known for being a good human companion. It is also a part of their development process that helps them feel comfortable and safe when encountering new beings or environments.
If the dogs are not socialized properly, they will face fear, anxiety, and aggression while facing a new situation or a lot of people. In that scenario, the dogs may use their mouth to protect themselves. Such dogs can also have low interaction skills and might overreact to other dogs or misinterpret human gestures, body language, or voice leading to aggressive actions.
So, it is essential to socialize your dogs as early as possible. To do that, you need to expose them to new things and increase positive reinforcement gradually, and if you feel like it's not working, you should take the help of professionals.
9. Fear of Punishment
If your dog is facing severe or unpredictable punishment from time to time, they will be afraid of punishments that cause them to fear, become anxious, and attack someone who seems like a threat to them.
These fears of punishments are developed if they suffer from harsh punishments which can be associated with certain persons or scenarios. When they fear the punishment, they try to protect themselves and may even bite the one who comes to punish them.
It is essential to reduce the fear of punishment in them because it can hurt their mental health. To do so, you need to give them positive reinforcement, consistent training, and building trust and you should also avoid physical punishments.
10. Overstimulation
Overstimulation occurs when the dog is overwhelmed by more senses which makes it hard for them to process. This will increase their excitement, stress, or anxiety level which makes it hard for them to cope at a single time. Because of this, they can show unexpected reactions along with biting.
This can be caused by high-intensive environments, overly much play, mixed stimuli at a single time, along with unexpected changes. During this, the dogs may start to bite due to over-excitement or frustration.
In case of this thing being continued for a long time, there may be several behavioral issues in the dogs like anxiety, aggression, etc. They may bite more often as part of their reaction. So, you need to avoid your dogs from being overstimulated.
11. Defensive Aggression
Aggression is an act of opposing or attacking someone or something due to various triggers. When the dogs feel there is some threat to him, their resources, or their territory and that they cannot escape it, they turn on their defensive mode whose one of the actions is to bite.
Your pet may be showing defensive aggression due to suffering, discomfort, past bad experiences, or even poor socialization. In that case, they give the warnings first like body posture, growling, baring teeth, etc and if none of these work, they attack with their teeth.
If your dog shows defensive aggression towards something, then you should avoid the triggers, create a safe place for them, and most importantly, you should have patience and a level of understanding.
12. Lack Of Training
Training is very important for dogs, especially to build your dog's confidence. Insufficient training can lead to behavioral issues such as biting since they will not know what to do and how to react in many situations.
Because of a lack of training, there can be miscommunication between the owners and the pets along with doing something without thinking. If they don't know how to properly react to the situations, they may be aggressive, and frustrated, and misunderstandings may occur.
When the dogs are not trained or there is not proper training, they may have various behavioral issues like being disobedient, anxious, and many more. It is not good for both the pet parents as well as the pet themselves.
13. Predatory Instincts
Predatory Instincts are the instinct of the dogs to chase, capture, and kill their prey as they are a long line of hunters. Although domestic dogs have long been removed from their wild ancestors, they still show this instinctual behavior in the form of chasing, stalking, and sometimes biting.
This behavior in dogs differs according to the breeds and individual dogs as some of them can be more powerfully driven to it. The predatory instincts to bite are not like an aggressive one and are more focused, or less defensive.
This can be hard if their instincts become more aggressive and may become a danger to other animals, or while going in public. You need to give them training and try to keep in leash control. You can also manage their environments and have a behavioral consultation from experts.
14. Being Provoked
Provocation is the result of some actions of an individual or any animal, intentionally or unintentionally, that cause the dog to have unexpected and unwanted reactions. This unwanted behavior can lead to biting those who provoked them.
Some of the common things to provoke them are physical threats, verbal abuse, going into their personal space or taking their resources, etc. If this happens, they bare their teeth, make noise, try to be aware with different body language, and finally use violence.
This is not good for both the pet and the owner, so to control this behavior, one can avoid provocative actions, respect their personal space, and give them exposure from time to time.
15. Dominance Assertion
Dominance Assertion is their behavior aimed at maintaining the social hierarchy or control over the environment. If they think they are superior they try to dominate others and they can even bite to show their superiority.
This can lead to unwanted fights, disobeying, and a tendency to fight. If this increases, it can be a problem to the pet owner and even a threat to other beings and small children.
You can decrease this behavior by setting clear rules and boundaries, giving positive reinforcement, training, and commands, giving them fair treatment and the power they deserve, and helping them socialize more.
16. Previous Trauma
Once a traumatized dog will always be scared of the same or similar actions and situations. This can play a huge role in their behavior and response to certain things which can be an instinct to protect themselves.
Previous trauma can lead your dogs to have an unfavorable response in which biting can also be one of them. They may be traumatized by some abuse, neglect, or any other incidents which can hurt their mind.
It is important to make your dogs feel safe and secure so they can live a happy and comfortable life without the fear of their past trauma. For this, you should provide them safe environment and approach them gently.
17. Improper Handling
Improper Handling may lead them to have behavioral issues with time, leading to uneasiness in them along with fear or aggression. Good treatment is not only important for their behavior but also for establishing a healthy relationship between the owners and the dog.
If you are handling your dogs properly, it can lead them to feel difficult, and uneasy, they can be afraid, and even less responsive and as a result, they may run away, growl, or even bite you.
Physical punishment, unpredictable handling, not understanding their body language, etc can be examples of improper handling. This can lead them to shrink their body, avoid you, and show nervousness in their behavior.
You as a pet owner, need to figure it out and be more gentle towards them and try to understand them.
18. Frustration
Frustration can lead your dogs to unexpected situations like undesired behavior, anger issues, annoyance, etc. It can be because of unmet needs, poor training, barriers to goals, not meeting their expectations, etc.
More frustration in them can lead to different changes in behavior, making them more restless, barking more, doing destructive behaviors like digging, chewing, and in most cases, when they are over frustrated they use their mouth and teeth as part of the violence.
It can hurt their behavior as well as their health, so to minimize them, you can give them adequate exercise, play with them more often, and give them training and reinforcements.
