Will My Dog Bite Again? How to Assess the Risk After a Bite Incident
If your dog has just bitten someone—especially a child—it can be a deeply unsettling experience. You may be wondering if your dog can be trusted again and whether it's safe to keep them in your home. While there’s no guaranteed way to predict a dog’s future behavior, evaluating certain key factors can help you assess the risk and make an informed decision.
Key Factors to Assess the Risk of Future Bites
1. Predictability: Does Your Dog Give Warnings?
Understanding how predictable your dog’s behavior is can be a crucial factor in determining future risk. Dogs that bite often exhibit warning signs beforehand, such as growling, snarling, stiff body posture, or attempting to remove themselves from the situation. If your dog has clear triggers—such as being handled roughly, guarding food, or encountering unfamiliar people—you can take proactive steps to prevent future incidents. However, if your dog bites unpredictably without visible warning signs, the risk is much greater, as you may not be able to intervene in time.
Good Signs:
Your dog has specific, known triggers that cause aggressive behavior.
Your dog provides clear warning signs (growling, showing teeth, stiff body language) before biting.
Your dog reacts consistently in the same situations, allowing you to anticipate and prevent problems.
You have enough time to recognize warning signs and intervene before a bite occurs.
Bad Signs:
The triggers for aggression are unknown, making their reactions unpredictable.
Your dog has a history of biting without warning.
Tip: If your dog’s triggers are unclear, assume they could be aggressive at any time.
2. Potential to Cause Harm: How Severe Are the Bites?
Not all bites are equal. Some dogs exhibit strong bite inhibition, meaning they control the force of their bite even when they feel threatened. Others may bite with full force, causing serious injuries. Assessing the severity of past bite incidents can help predict future risk. A dog that delivers light nips or inhibited bites when provoked may be safer to manage than a dog that bites deeply, repeatedly, or without provocation.
Good Signs:
The bite occurred when your dog’s personal space was violated (e.g., startled while sleeping, injured, or cornered).
Your dog has bitten multiple people or in different situations but has never caused more than light bruising.
Bad Signs:
Your dog bites with full force, causing deep wounds, broken bones, or multiple punctures.
Your dog has bitten a victim multiple times in a single incident.
Your dog chases or pursues a person after biting.
Dogs with a history of serious bites or multiple incidents in different scenarios may have a low threshold for frustration, making them a higher risk for future attacks.
3. Family Variables: Is Everyone on the Same Page?
A dog's ability to be safely managed in a home depends not only on its behavior but also on the household environment. If all family members are committed to recognizing warning signs, following safety protocols, and preventing trigger situations, the risk can be minimized. However, if some household members ignore precautions, the potential for future incidents increases.
Good Signs:
Every family member acknowledges the issue and actively works to avoid situations that may trigger aggression.
Everyone follows the same rules and boundaries with the dog, ensuring consistency in training and management.
Bad Signs:
Some family members believe the dog is not dangerous and do not follow safety precautions.
There are young children or individuals in the home who may not recognize warning signs or behave appropriately around the dog.
Some family members provoke or interact carelessly with the dog, increasing the risk of another incident.
4. Overall Complexity of the Situation: How Manageable Is the Aggression?
Some dogs have aggression that is highly situational and can be managed with behavior modification and structured training. However, if aggression is present in multiple situations (e.g., fear-based aggression, territorial aggression, resource guarding, or handling sensitivity), the overall risk becomes harder to mitigate.
Good Signs:
Your dog’s aggression is limited to a few specific situations that can be managed with training and behavior modification.
You still feel like you can trust your dog under controlled circumstances.
Your dog responds well to training and behavior modification techniques.
Bad Signs:
Your dog displays multiple types of aggression (fear, territorial, resource guarding, etc.) with no clear pattern.
You no longer feel safe around your dog or worry about their behavior constantly.
Your dog does not respond well to training and continues to exhibit aggressive tendencies despite intervention.
The Verdict: Can You Keep Your Dog?
If There Are More Good Signs Than Bad:
If your dog’s triggers are known, manageable, and past bites have been mild to moderate, you may be able to safely keep your dog with strict management and professional guidance. Training and behavior modification techniques can help reduce future risk. Implementing structure, desensitization training, and supervised interactions can greatly improve safety and trust.
If There Are More Bad Signs Than Good:
If your dog is unpredictable, has caused severe injuries, and lives in a home with small children or individuals who cannot follow safety guidelines, the risk of a serious incident is high. In such cases, professional intervention is strongly recommended. Rehoming may be an option, but in extreme cases, euthanasia may need to be considered for safety reasons.
Final Thoughts: Seek Professional Help
Assessing your dog’s risk of biting again is a complex process that requires careful observation and professional input. If you’re struggling to determine the severity of your dog’s aggression, consult a certified dog trainer or veterinary behaviorist. The safety of both your family and your dog should be the top priority.
Important Note: No assessment tool can guarantee that a dog will never bite again. The only way to eliminate the risk entirely is to remove the dog from environments where it could bite or, in severe cases, consider euthanasia. Aggression issues require diligent management and expert intervention whenever possible.
About the Author
Alexandra Bassett is the dog trainer and behavior consultant at Dog Savvy, a private dog training company specializing in game-based dog training and solving problem behaviors like dog separation anxiety, leash reactivity, excessive barking, and dog 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. To book an intro session with Alexandra, click here.