Did Your Dog Just Have a Bite Incident?

Here’s how to assess the severity of the situation. 

After your dog bites someone, it can make you think twice about whether or not it’s a good idea to keep them as a pet.

This is a valid concern since a dog bite that occurs without warning and for no apparent reason is more serious than a dog bite that occurs after fair warning and for obvious reasons.

Here are the four key areas that can help you assess the danger of your dog’s future behavior and whether they can safely stay in your home.

Predictability 

Good signs 

• Your dog has a few known triggers for aggressive behavior

• Your dog provides a significant warning before biting

• Your dog acts consistently in each situation

• You have time to recognize warning signs and make
  the situation safe

Bad signs

• Triggers are unknown

• Your dog has a history of giving no warning before biting

• Tip: If the triggers for bite behavior are unknown, assume the dog could be aggressive at any time.

Potential to Cause Damage

Good signs 

• Your dog bit when a person violated its personal space

• Your dog—regardless of size—has bitten a variety of
  people in a variety of situations many times and has
  caused nothing more than light contusions

Bad signs

• Your dog—regardless of size—is unable to inhibit the force of its bite and, even if it has only bitten a few times, has caused serious injuries such as deep tears or broken bones

• Your dog has bitten a victim multiple times in a single incident

• Your dog has pursued a victim after biting

Family Variables

Good signs 

• Every family member is aware of the problem and takes steps to prevent triggers for aggressive behavior 

Bad signs 

• Some family members think the dog isn’t dangerous and allow dangerous interactions with people or animals

• Some family members are too young or immature for good decision-making 

The Overall Complexity of the Situation 

Good sign 

• Your dog is aggressive under one or a few clearly defined circumstances (like when you get deliveries)

• You still feel like you can trust your dog

Bad signs 

• Dog displays many types of aggression (fear, territorial, etc.), and a wide variety of stimuli trigger aggressive behavior 

• You no longer feel like you can trust your dog

The Verdict 

More good signs than bad:

If triggers are known and can be managed by diligent owners and the history of injury is mild to moderate, you can likely keep your dog and start exploring training options. 

More bad signs than good:

If several factors are at play—like a large dog that bites children unpredictably, without bite inhibition, living in a home with many small children, and a low commitment to supervision by family members—then there is an extremely high risk for a serious injury. Euthanasia may be necessary, although rehoming may be an option.

We recommend having your dog assessed by a certified dog trainer or a veterinary behaviorist if you need help determining the severity of your dog’s bite incident.

Take Precaution

Aggression problems are often very complex. Once a dog bites, there’s no way to know if it will bite again.

The above are merely guidelines for assessing the amount of danger inherent in your current situation. They should not be used as a guarantee that your pet is safe.

The only 100 percent guarantee that a dog will not bite again would be to:

• Commit to managing the dog when potential triggers are in the environment and train it to wear a muzzle;

• Never allow the dog to have unsupervised contact with people or animals outside the family;

• Remove the dog from the home;

• Euthanize the dog.

If you are still unsure whether or not it’s safe to keep your dog, we recommend contacting a dog aggression expert for help.

To speak with a certified dog trainer and aggression expert as soon as today, please book a behavior consultation using the link below.

About the Author

Alexandra Bassett is the owner, dog trainer, and behavior consultant at Dog Savvy, a dog training company specializing in game-based dog training and solving problem dog behaviors like dog separation anxiety, leash reactivity, excessive barking, and aggression.

She is certified as Knowledge Assessed by the Council of Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA) and is available for online dog training sessions via Zoom.